Thousand Oaks Library's Dog Days pairs kids with therapy dogs

Children at the Thousand Oaks Library are reading aloud to an audience that never interrupts and never corrects them: certified therapy dogs.

The library's weekly Dog Days program brings about a dozen therapy dogs to the Grant R. Brimhall Library every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Children ages 6 to 11 sign up on the spot for a 10-minute session with a dog and its handler. No registration is required.

KCLU first reported on the program Friday, Sept. 11, profiling several families who attend regularly.

Kiva Runnels, the library's outreach and programming coordinator, told KCLU that parents of reluctant readers have credited Dog Days with changing their children's habits. "They started coming to Dog Days, and their reading improved, and they were much more willing to open a book," Runnels said.

Runnels called the program an extension of the library's mission to provide free public resources.

The dogs are certified through Love on a Leash, a nonprofit that trains volunteer therapy pet teams. Mindy Levine, a Love on a Leash handler, brings her Golden Retriever, Annie Oakley, to the sessions. Levine told KCLU that Annie Oakley has listened to hundreds of children read. She said the dogs create a pressure-free space where kids can read at their own level or simply narrate the pictures in a book without fear of criticism.

During a recent session, 8-year-old Viviana sat reading a book about Piggie and Gerald the elephant to a Bernedoodle named Yogi Bear. Nearby, Roya Parsa's 5-year-old daughter, Kiana, had her head resting on Annie Oakley's back. Parsa told KCLU the program has become part of the family's weekly routine and gets her kids through the library doors.

Dog Days takes place in the Children's Program Room at the Grant R. Brimhall Library, 1401 E. Janss Road. For more information, call (805) 449-2660.

Upcoming Dog Days sessions: