CRESTVIEW — Dozer the therapy dog’s monthly visits to the Crestview Public Library do a lot more than provide children a big, furry reading buddy.
When kids read to the Great Dane, they gain confidence and improve their reading skills, library staff members and supporters say.
Saturday morning, the Friends of the Crestview Library expressed their appreciation for Dozer’s contributions toward area child literacy with a gift bag of treats for the dog and his mistress, Angie Nousiainen.
Pawsitively Scrumptious, a Main Street business known for its support of community animal-related programs, donated some of the goodies.
“One of the things we like is you help kids learn how to interact with animals,” friends President Rae Schwartz told Dozer and Nousiainen. “Especially big animals.”
“He’s so big I could ride him like a horse,” Violet Content, 6, said as she and her sister Vivian, 7, stroked Dozer’s back.
Nousiainen cautioned the girls that though Dozer is indeed as big as some miniature ponies, his bone structure is not suited for carrying riders like those of equines.
“You could actually hurt Dozer if you tried to ride him” Nousiainen said.
Vivian and Violet represented one of the constituencies the Friends of the Library enjoys supporting, Schwartz said.
“We get to do a lot of things to support the library,” she said. “This is my favorite. Dozer’s visits are just one of several youth programs we do throughout the year.”
Nousiainen said Dozer has between five and eight young friends read to him on a typical Saturday morning. When he visits Northwood Elementary School, the numbers jump.
“At Northwood we’ll get 30 or 35,” she said. “The kids have to read a certain number of books to earn the right to read to Dozer.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Dozer rewarded for supporting child literacy