This week, it seemed almost as if a celebrity showed up in the children’s room at Belfast Free Library.
A big, furry celebrity, that is, who was very happy to let new friends say hello to her, scratch her ears and — especially — read to her out loud.
Nikki, a 147-pound Leonberger who was the center of attention, sported her red kerchief that proclaimed she is a therapy dog. She and her owner, Marje Stickler of Belfast, will be spending time in the next two months at the library so that beginning readers will have the chance to practice reading aloud to her.
“She’s pretty patient. She likes children, and just likes to be with people,” Stickler said. “When she sees her scarf, she knows we’re going somewhere and gets excited.”
The practice of reading to dogs is not new, but it is new to Belfast Free Library.
According to the Public Library Association, it can be easier for children to read to dogs than to their classmates because dogs don’t mind if they make mistakes and no embarrassment will happen. A 2010 study by the University of California, Davis, found that children who read to dogs showed greater improvement in reading skills and more enjoyment of reading when compared to children who did not read to dogs.
“Trained dogs like Nikki are very accepting and attentive listeners, and they give a lot of confidence and reinforcement to kids who are learning to read,” Steve Norman, library director, said. “I think Nikki is a very sweet dog, and the kids just love her. It’s a real incentive for them to read. Reading gives them a way to interact with a sweet dog.”
It was Nikki’s first day at the library, and she didn’t have a lot of appointments yet. That meant the dog described as a “gentle giant” by Stickler could relax and enjoy getting patted by passersby as well as the experience of hearing the beginning of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” read to her by a trio of girls. Eva Ociepka, 11, Isabel Furko, 12, and Piper Sanders, 10, all of Belfast, traded the book back and forth as Nikki listened.
“She’s big and fluffy,” Isabel said of the dog.
“She’s really cute,” Eva said, adding that she is no stranger to the benefits of reading to dogs. “I did when I was younger. They always listen.”
Nikki has had other experience working as a reading dog and as a therapy dog at Waldo County General Hospital, Stickler said. Although the Leonberger is much bigger than most of the kids with whom she works, she is easygoing and enjoys the company. In her previous read aloud stint at the East Belfast School, she even started a correspondence with the kids she met.
“We wrote little postcards to the kids, and they all wrote letters back, and drew pictures,” Stickler said, adding that it is a gig that she enjoys as well. “I used to be a teacher, and I like to be with children. I think libraries are wonderful. And Nikki needs a job.”
Nikki will be at the Belfast Free Library from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25; Monday, March 11; and Monday, March 25. To set up a time to read with her, call 207-338-3884, ext. 24.