November 2017 THE BEACON Page 13
Tails and Tales- Reading with a New Best Friend
The greatest gift is often simply an outstretched paw , a listening ear , and a heart that understands . At Harrison Library , one of its employees is doing just that . Except this employee resembles a snowball and is making a huge difference in the younger patrons she encounters . Meet Peaches , a therapy dog that encourages children to read .
Peaches and her “ Mom ”, Karen Altherr , volunteer twice a month . The program is called “ Tales to Tails ”. Children can sign up for a ten-minute slot during the hour Peaches is there . The program is designed for children ages 5-12 . The goal is to provide children with a safe space to read aloud and boost their confidence in reading as a whole .
How Karen and Peaches came to this point in their journey together is an awesome one . Just three months before meeting Peaches , Karen and her family faced a hard loss . Karen ’ s sister in law had passed away . As the family was grieving , Karen ’ s mom came up with the idea to get a dog in hopes to let people laugh again and give everybody a reason to get up . A Great Pyrenees mix grabbed her attention on the DREAM website . DREAM is an animal sanctuary in Miami County . Many of the dogs rescued there are transitioned to foster parents before finding permanent homes .
Karen and her parents made their way to Tripp City . When they entered the foster parent ’ s backyard , they were greeted by many different
From a dogs point of view
By : BamBam & Tammy Turner
Hi , I ’ m BamBam a 4
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/ 2-year-old hound mix that will be helping out on this article . Puma , the former author , finally found his forever home and is doing great when we called to check . They love him a lot .
We hear our caretakers here at the shelter say , “ Every dog deserves a home , but not every home deserves a dog !” What that means is that if
BamBam you don ’ t have the time and money to put into a pet , you may not need to take one home . Pets need regular vet appointments for check-ups and vaccines , along with flea medicines and anything else they may need . They need nutritious food and plenty of clean water . Every dog , no matter how big or small , young or old , needs physical activity . This may include going for walks , tossing a ball in the yard , or sitting on the floor and playing . Going places in the car is my personal favorite ( going through the drive-thru of my favorite fast food placemmmm .) Pets need
How to Speak Dog with Emma and Henry
Have you ever wondered what a dog was thinking ? Join Emma Risinger and Henry the shih-tzu as they teach us how to be safe around dogs by learning about their behaviors and body language . Stick around after the presentation for a chance to ' speak dog ' with Henry ! For children in grades 1-6 .
Saturday , November 4 11 AM Lawrenceburg Library 2 PM North Dearborn Branch
foster dogs . Peaches did not approach them at first but remained laying under a parked car . Karen learned Peaches was found a couple of weeks before Christmas . She was running down the highway dragging a large stake connected to her by a chain . Rumor has it she stayed at the police station for a couple of days after being picked up . The foster parents were very fond of Peaches and her maternal nature . They were considering keeping her , but as fate would have it , Peaches went home with Karen in January of 2012 . Karen dove into obedience classes right away . It was during this time the instructor suggested that Peaches would make a good Therapy Dog . Peaches was enrolled in Therapy Dog International . Karen eventually learned Peaches strengths and her special connection with children . With a small child , Peaches would always lay down and let the child pet her , usually offering up her soft belly . After brainstorming , Karen googled “ library ” and found the closest location . As timing would have it , their previous Therapy Dog had just retired . Peaches went in for the interview and passed with flying colors . A new employee was hired .
When Peaches comes in for her shift , she has a routine . First , she likes to greet everybody , starting with the librarian , John Schmidt . Peaches then goes into the community room , where Karen lays out her quilt . She plays with her toys for fifteen minutes . After playtime she
interaction with their humans . We love it when you talk to us . Scientific studies now show that dogs understand more of what people say than originally thought . And you can see from this article I am a highly intelligent hound . So talk to us . We may not answer , but we do listen .
Keeping us groomed and watching for signs of potential problems is important too . When I came into the shelter , they noticed that I scratched a lot and had sores from the scratching . They gave me medicine for my allergies ; now I have beautiful fur , no more scratching , and am very happy . But as pet owners , you need to watch for these things . Like changes in eating habits , limping , or loss of energy . When you ’ re sick , you go to the doctor , and we ’ re just the same . We are your fur babies .
Patience is sooo important . We may take awhile to adjust to our new home , so just be patient . When your kids get into trouble , you use patience with them and teach them what is right . The same applies to us . Teach us what you want us to do because we only want to please you .
Pets take time and patience . We are family members who deserve to be loved and given your attention . Please treat us
starts to calm down for 5 minutes and sits on her quilt , recognizing that she is getting ready to “ work .”
The families come into the room one group at a time . It could be just the child , or the entire family . The young reader will usually sit on the quilt . Reading to those kind eyes tends to break down any fears or anxiety . Peaches does not judge if anybody makes a mistake . She does not interrupt . Children have been known to crack up laughing and not take it so seriously . Peaches has been known to “ army ” crawl towards the child reading and put her head in their lap . Karen explains , “ I hated to read as a kid . I was terrified to be picked in class . When I was in school , there was no program like this . The only way I could have read was out loud . It tuned out I had dyslexia .” Parents at the library say their children , who were not previously strong readers , are now reading with more confidence . The program also helps break down any fears a child may have of dogs in general .
Karen ’ s positive commitment does not stop there . Karen wrote a book titled , “ How a Snowball turned into a Peach .” A previous art student , Karen illustrated it herself . The book describes the actual events that transpired in adopting Peaches . The young readers may bring in their own book , pick one from the library , or read from Karen ’ s book . Karen originally created the book just to share with her friends but found
with the respect we deserve , because we will stay in the heart of a true pet owner forever .
So take care of your pets , and have them spayed and neutered . And come to the shelter and visit me , I really am a handsome hound . Love you , BamBam she had more customers that wanted to purchase the book . For every book she sells , she donates $ 5.00 to the DREAM organization .
To book a time slot and take advantage of this program , visit www . cincinnatilibrary . org for the
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monthly schedule . It is so neat to meet Peaches , and I am certain you will be looking forward to your next visit .
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Sudoku Sudoku is a logical puzzle game that may seem difficult at first glance , but actually it is not as hard as it looks !
Fill a number in to every cell in the grid , using the numbers 1 to 9 . You can only use each number once in each row , each column , and in each of the 3 × 3 boxes .
The solution can be found on our website www . goBEACONnews . com / print _ edition . Click on the link for Sudoku and view the solution for this month and last .
Good luck and have fun !
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Tails to Tales is a program designed to provide children with a safe space to read aloud .
Peaches , a Great Pyrenees mix , found a home and a career to boot .
Peaches and her owner Karen Altherr .
www . lpld . lib . in . us
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