Telling tales to wagging tails

The term “dog-eared books” may take on a new meaning at the Palo Alto Children’s Library Saturday, as a program launches to help kids gain confidence in their reading skills by matching them up with canine companions.

The program — “Paws to Read” — is being organized by librarian Jill Ehrhorn, who said reading to dogs is a way for kids to build positive associations with reading and improve their literacy skills.

Dogs make good reading partners because they are non-judgmental and non-threatening, Ehrhorn said. They won’t interrupt with corrections or make fun of mistakes, as teachers or peers might.

The pilot event for Paws to Read will take place Saturday from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Children can sign up for 15-minute sessions, during which they will select a book and read out loud to a dog provided for them.

All Paws to Read canines are well-trained, and their handlers will be present at all times, Ehrhorn said. With 10 dog/owner teams at the event, about 40 children will be able to participate.

Robin Levy, a sixth-grade teacher at Jordan Middle School, has volunteered two of her own dogs for the program: Willow, a golden retriever and certified therapy dog who frequently visits Stanford Hospital, and Berlin, a yellow Labrador retriever.

Berlin is a “career-change” dog — trained as a professional guide dog but ultimately disqualified. Levy sought a new job for Berlin — who she said has quite a work ethic — and learned he’d had experience visiting an elementary-school classroom in Marin County.

The Jordan school librarian put her in contact with Ehrhorn.

Through Levy’s connections with Guide Dogs for the Blind, for whom she raises puppies, Levy recruited several other friends with career-change dogs to participate in Paws to Read.

The role of the dog, Levy said, is to be a “completely supportive, uncritical audience; to sit quietly; no wiggling, no whining.”

According to Ehrhorn, as the children pet the animals and read quietly, “the dogs usually just fall asleep, although some act like they’re really enjoying it.”

Ehrhorn said that the reading technique has been used nationwide, and studies have shown positive effects.

She is hoping the pilot program will be popular enough to create demand for future offerings, ideally once a month. She may also contact the reading specialists at Palo Alto schools so that they can recommend students who might benefit from the program.

Ehrhorn got the idea for Paws to Read from a similar program at a library in Pleasanton. Another comparable program, called Paws to Tales and headed by the Peninsula Humane Society, operates in San Mateo County libraries.

But dogs don’t need to be formally trained to be of some help to kids. Even an untrained family pet could be useful in building children’s reading skills and confidence at home, according to Levy.

The dogs are happy to serve as reading helpers, she said.

“I really think that dogs know they are helping. They like having jobs. It’s a kindness and a service that only a dog can provide,” she said.

Kids may sign up for the Paws to Read program at the Palo Alto Children’s Library, 1276 Harriet St., or via e-mail to librarychildrensservices@cityofpaloalto.org.