Libraries pair furry friends with phonics

Curled up in a red beanbag chair in a conference room at the Mounds View Public Library last week, Lucia Momsen paged through a tall alphabet book, "The Dog, from Arf to Zzzzz."

"C for cat," she read. "D for dog."

The 5-year-old's mom, Janell, and two older brothers, Carlos, 7, and Corey, 10, listened as she read, but her target audience was Otis, who Lucia insisted was listening even though he did nod off and drool. Just a little bit.

The Momsen family was participating in the Ramsey County Library's Paws to Read program, which pairs kids who are just learning or who are struggling to read with therapy dogs who are trained to sit patiently and offer a nonjudgmental ear.

"It was good," Lucia said afterward, "because I thought he was listening to me, so I kept on reading."

Otis is a 4 1/2-year-old Old English mastiff. At hip-height and 160 pounds, he's on the small side, said his owner, Peter Martin of Vadnais Heights.

Martin and Otis visit nursing homes and libraries, but Martin thinks his dog prefers the libraries.

The Ramsey County library system introduced the Paws to Read program last summer, when therapy dog owners approached library administrators about volunteering. So far, the library system has hosted programs in Roseville, Shoreview, Maplewood and now Mounds View.

Although Mounds View children's librarian Ann Wahlstrom planned a dozen 15-minute reading sessions, a couple were filled before the first session began. Wahlstrom hopes the program will expand.

"We'll do it as much as we can, as often as we can get the therapy dogs in the building," she said after Otis and the kids left. "The excitement was palpable. Anything to get kids excited about reading and about being at the library ... I'm riding a super-high buzz right now."

Hennepin and Dakota counties also host reading programs for kids involving therapy dogs.

As the three Momsen kids read their books to Otis, a gaggle of girls gawked through the conference room's glass wall, obviously excited for their own turn to see him.

The five girls nestled themselves around Otis. Linnae Brasaemle, Nicole Polson and Deanna Blair took turns reading pages from "The Cat in the Hat." As each girl finished her page and handed off the book, her hands moved immediately to stroke and scratch Otis' bristly back and soft ears. Linnae started and then giggled when Otis swung his giant paw onto her lap.

"We're working pretty hard here on the academics, but I do want to get kids thinking about reading outside of school," he said. "Sitting around reading books to this giant dog, nobody's saying a thing about this being hard work or something they don't enjoy doing. They were all having fun."

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409