Dog Tutor Program Comes To Harrison Library

HARRISON, N.Y. – A dog will soon be invited into the Harrison Public Library to lend an ear to children while they are reading.  

“We’ve had it in the past and it’s very popular,” said librarian Judith Clark. “It’s a nice program.”

“Tail Waggin’ Tutors” takes place at 11 a.m., Sept. 8 and 22.

“The theory behind this is if children don’t like to read or they feel uncomfortable, that if there’s a nice dog, they will listen,” said Clark. “They’re not going to be critical and sometimes the child will feel more comfortable with the dog.”

Children of all ages will be able to practice and improve their reading skills because “dogs do not mind if you make mistakes,” the library said. “They don’t feel pressure at all,” said Clark of the readers. “There are some children that are afraid of dogs and at the end of the program, they love the dog because these dogs are trained to be very gentle.”

Clark was grateful to the library director, Galina Chernykh, for allowing the program.

“It’s very nice that Galina’s here because some people might not like dogs in their library, but I think it’s a wonderful thing,” she said. “It’s a very good program for the children and the dog, too.”

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