Celebrating Our Furry Friends
In December staff and patrons at the Columbia Pike Branch Library hosted a holiday party to recognize some of the fantastic people and dogs who help beginning readers through the Paws to Read program.
The party included a “Sit! Stay!” competition and a dog biscuit Secret Santa exchange.
Humans and dogs from in attendance from PAL (People Animals Love) were Maria & Petra, Maggie & Brodie, Stephanie & Starr, Liz & Lucy, Stefanie & Holly, Cynthia & Humphrey, Helen & Sparky, Amy & Lou Lou, Rebecca & Ovi, Tracy & Tavish, Tom & Watson, and Carolyn & Willow:
Children in grades Kindergarten through 5th read with therapy dogs every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at Columbia Pike.
Cynthia Power, an Arlington Public Schools educator, first brought her wonderful team of PAL volunteers to the Central Library two years ago. Since then the program has spread to six Arlington Public Library locations, as well as other library systems throughout the area.
We applaud PAL for the fantastic work they do in our communities!
Wow! What a great series, and a great event for the library. Though some may wonder aloud about dogs in a library, it seems this is the perfect means for reaching kids. Continued success for the program. I hope these kids can discover the joy of reading, and see the library as a place to open doors…