2015 Books & Barks contest

It's hard to be cuter than Benny

I've long been an advocate of children reading to dogs in the classroom. I have always been an avid reader; my mother taught me to read long before I started school. For me, reading was - and is - fun. It's not just for information but for a wonderful escape. Someone who can't read is missing out on a lot. There are, however, children who have reading problems. No one is perfect - don't ask me about math! Making that child read aloud in class can be a nightmare for the child.  All eyes are on him or her and it feels like a very judgmental situation for the young student.

Enter dogs. Reading programs that include dogs started many years ago with dogs brought into the classroom.  Dogs don't judge, don't criticize. They just sit there, or lie there, happy to have the attention. They provide amazing support to young people just learning to read or develop their reading skills. 

GuyNoir is apparently helping choose a book

This marks the second year of the Books &Barks contest, created by Pets Best (www.petsbest.com), a nationwide insurance agency.  They invite Therapy Dog handlers and organizations, students and educators to submit inspirational stories about the effects of therapy dogs in reading programs. 

The winning school or library associated with the program will receive $1000. from Pets Best. Additionally, Pets Best will offer a $500 donation to the therapy dog handler's favorite animal-related non-profit charity.



Entries can be submitted here: http://www.petsbest.com/forms/books-and-barks-contest

The submission deadline is February 15, 2015.

As an adult, I enjoy reading with a pet curled up near me. I can only imagine what it means to a child to have the comfort and encouragement that a Therapy Dog can provide.

Honey listens avidly as a child reads to her

Book Review: The Poodle Tales

Author Toni Tuso Faber & her three stunning Standard Poodles,
London, Deja vu, and Dante

Former Miss. California, Toni Tuso Faber, has enjoyed an interesting and varied career since winning her title in the Miss. World Contest. After college, using money she'd earned in pageants and modeling she purchased a struggling magazine and turned it into the successful Orange Coast Magazine, the largest magazine in California's Orange County. An inveterate Poodle lover, with  Standards, the largest of the three Poodle varieties, being her dog of choice, she turned her writing skills and her love of this incredibly intelligent breed into a wonderful series of books aimed at children ages four to nine. The truth is, this series easily appeals to children from four to ninety-four.

"I have had Standard Poodles in my life since birth," says Faber.  "They are smart beyond compare...and have great temperaments. I decided they would be great Therapy Dogs, so we now have therapy dogs who thrill the lives of patients weekly! It's a blessing to me, the patients, and the Poodle who is in attendance."

I received a copy of Book Twelve, The Poodle Contract, to review. Written in charming rhyme, the book carries a responsible owner message and the best place to start that is with children. It will also allow the children to educate their parents as the parent reads aloud or the child relates the tale.  Responsible dog breeders sell their puppies with an extensive contract and will not sell to anyone they deem unacceptable to own one of their puppies. This message is brought home with such charm and warmth that it's hard to think of a better way to do it.

Faber is a talented author.  Children's books are notoriously difficult to write and yet she pulls it off with warmth and caring.

Wonderfully illustrated by Benton Rudd who captures the insouciance of Poodles with seeming ease, each of the twelve puppies in the litter has an obviously different personality.  They come alive on the pages. Rudd illustrates Faber's rhymes to perfection.

As if the twelve books weren't enough of an undertaking, Toni Tuso Faber has created a website to enhance the experience:  www.thepoodletales.com is chock full of fun animations and interaction. A child can receive a message on his or her birthday from one of the adopted Poodles in The Poodle Tales "Poodle Club." The Club also features two online or printable activity books, audio eBooks, the official Club ringtone, and a new game, "Catch A Poodle," available in HD online or as an IOS or Android App. Faber has apparently left no stone unturned. There is also a video, Introducing The Poodle Tales on YouTube which has over 331,000 views and is featured on the website. A thirteen minute cartoon based on the first two books in the series is in production and should be online any minute now.

A portion of the sales of all the books will be donated to charity.

"We do not show the Poodles," Faber relates.  "Two are, in fact, rescues.  Poodles are my passion.  A series of books about them and their capabilities....just perfect!"

Each book would make a wonderful gift for a child or for an adult who collects children's books, creating a very special library that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Published by Windstar Media, each book is priced at $16.99.

NOTE:  I received no compensation for this review, just one copy of one of the books in the series.  The review is my own.

Having Faith

So many people have seen Faith, the two-legged dog on various television programs, walking on her hind legs. It’s not unusual to wonder about her, about her life and the family that adopted her.

Faith was born in 2002, just before Christmas. She wasn’t the only deformed puppy in the litter but she was the only one of those deformed puppies to survive and is the one one of the litter who was adopted by Jude Stringfellow and her family in Oklahoma. Faith’s mother, Princess, is thought to be mostly Chow Chow. About three weeks after her birth Faith was rescued by Jude’s son, Reuben, who jumped over the fence into the flea market that Princess was raised to guard. Reuben was accompanied by his friend, Johnny, who owned Princess. Princess was trying to kill the deformed puppy but Reuben managed to snatch her out from under Princess and, tucking her into his football jersey, he brought the tiny pup home.

“We accepted her immediately because we don't believe in treating any animal or person differently just because of a handicap or disability,” says Jude. “I would call what Faith has done for us a concerted effort between herself and Jesus to change my hard ways of looking at life. I was in a bad place at the time we got Faith both financially and emotionally. She taught me, and my family that being complete doesn't mean looking complete, or having money. We all have a unique and genuine purpose that only we can fill. She may not have realized it, but she was the perfect fit to our dysfunctional family - - she was the thumb that crossed over our fingers to make us one fist of a family. Before she came along we were all connected, but in many ways we were not working together. She changed that,” she explains.

When Reuben brought Faith to us she had three legs, but the left front leg was badly deformed, placed backward, upside down, and it had more toes on it than is normal. The leg was removed when she was seven months old when it began to atrophy. People ask Jude if it was easy to teach Faith to walk upright. The answer is that it was neither easy nor natural. According to Jude it was “Super natural.” She states clearly that she gives the credit to a high power and to Faith in every sense of the word.

Faith was given an Honorary Commission as an E5 SGT in the U.S. Army in June 2006. She was commissioned out of Ft. Lewis near Seattle, WA. There were many many soldiers and civilians in attendance who cheered her on as she accepted her Commission. She even has her own custom-made ACU jacket with the American Flag and Department of Defense patch. No, she can’t be deployed and she has no official benefits. Faith makes therapy dog visits giving hope, love, and yes, faith.

Not surprisingly, Jude Stringfelllow wrote a book about her family’s wonderful dog, “With a Little Faith.” And there will be a movie of her life. It’s currently in pre-production.

“Not one thing is different about Faith really,” says Jude. “She makes just as many messes, and farts just as many times as the other dogs do! She was more difficult to train only because what we had to train her to do. She was actually quite easy to potty-train - it was the upright thing that set her apart from the other dogs in my life. She has been very well behaved and has had the best disposition of any dog I've known personally. She rarely gets upset and if she does it is rightfully so. She is a bit shy of men only because she cannot fight. She barks or walks away so that there isn't a problem. She has always been drawn to children who are around her height or bigger - she smells all the babies too, just to see if they'll play with her or not.”

There are lessons to be learned. Faith didn’t just change a family. She’s touched the hearts and lives of many people. There’s obviously a reason why she was saved. We could all use a little Faith in our lives.

Caring Canines

Today was no ordinary Saturday. It's one I had eagerly anticipated since receiving a request to speak to Caring Canines (www.caringcanines.org), a dedicated therapy dog group in the Greater Boston area. I have a special spot in my heart for therapy dogs since my mother benefitted from a therapy dog who visited her adult day care.
What a heartwarming group of unselfish people make up the Caring Canines membership! I wasn't surprised.
Raise your hand if you're familiar with Therapy Dogs. Not every dog is right for this job but for those who are, and for their owners, they bring a world of caring into the lives of the lonely, ill, infirm.
Caring Canines, one of many such groups throughout the U.S. and probably many other countries, take their dogs on regular visits to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals, day care centers for the elderly, etc. Anywhere people can use a smile, soft fur to pat, and unconditional love.
For some, a visit can mark the first time someone has spoken or smiled in months or even years. For family members and hard-working staff members, the visits to patients also brings smiles and a chance to relax.
After I spoke, many members related what the visits are like for them, how much they, as well as their dogs, benefit. Just walking in and out of a building can take 15 minutes while people come up to pet the dog. Even those accidental meetings are helpful and welcome.
They also have special programs along with their regular therapy dog visits. Their Hug-a-Pet program brings dogs to at-risk children in residential homes, as well as children who are hospitalized and those in Special Needs classrooms. An Entertainment Team brings dogs to do tricks at Children's Hospital, while another, a Critical Response Team, comforts those who are in the throes of an emergency.
The visits are, of course, free of charge and all of the people involved are volunteers.
Sure, they could be out doing other things with their lives. But they have chosen to share their dogs and that unconditional love with others, asking nothing in return. But what they do get in return is not just the knowledge that they have brightened other lives but that they are connected to other people in a very special way. The experiences touch their hearts as well.
Thanks to the volunteers' generosity of spirit and sharing the world becomes a little brighter place for those in need of light at the end of the tunnel.