Improve your reading skills, and make a new friend, by reading aloud to therapy dogs!

Sponsored by DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital and the Cedar Mill Community Library Association, Read to the Dogs is a program that pairs young readers with trained dog-and-handler teams. The program helps children develop their reading skills in a relaxed, non-judgemental environment.

Readers register in-advance for a 30 minute session. During the session, the reader chooses books from library shelves and then reads aloud to a trained therapy dog in a designated section of the children’s area. The dog’s handler encourages the child to interact with the dog and may offer reading help if the child requests it.

Interested readers can register beginning Saturday, August 1, 2009 by stopping by the Youth Services Reference Desk, or calling Cedar Mill at (503) 644-0043 x112 or Bethany at (503)617-7323.

This program will be held every Tuesday evening from September 1 through December 29, 2009. Sessions begin at 6:00 pm, 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm.

Please note: Because of the popularity of this program, readers are asked to register for two sessions only at either library.