Mariah's little Toon drawing...wins on Disney's Toontown...and that is a talented girl...well it is genetic...of course...haha... Not bad for twelve..
But...so is her love of reading...
Dogs Mind Their Manners, Don't Interrupt the Readers: NO PRESSURE: Library Program Uses Pets to Entice Kids to Read.
By S.J. Komarnitsky, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
Jul. 5--WASILLA -- Flopped on a pink blanket, eyes closed and drool dripping from his floppy jowls, 4-year-old Ben E. Ficial bore the look of a weary beast. Then again, the boxer may just have been content with a job well done.
For almost an hour, he and a 3-year-old black Lab mix named Chyanne had patiently listened to a string of children read to them from books like P.D. Eastman's "Go, Dog. Go!" and Eva Ibbotson's "The Great Ghost Rescue."
The children, ranging in age from 3 to 11, took their job as seriously as military cadets, lining up to wait their turn and making sure to give their charges parting pats and hugs.
Meanwhile, the dogs did what they do best, licking faces, listening without interruption, and giving the children an excuse to read even when their canine audience wandered off to sniff a nearby building, or take a sip from an offered water bottle.
The Read to a Dog program, which runs from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturdays through July 22, is new to the Wasilla Library.
Held on the lawn at the Old Wasilla Town Site across from the library, it is modeled after similar Lower 48 programs that use trained dogs to help kids with reading problems. The idea is that children feel less pressured reading to a dog than another person.
"The dogs just listen," said youth services librarian Karen Davis. "There aren't any of the expectations."
In some places, children work one on one with the dogs in indoor settings run through school districts. The Wasilla program is less formal. Anyone can come, and, in practice, it has been less "read to a dog" than "read with dogs around."
Those who came Saturday followed a familiar pattern.
While the adults sat on a picnic bench or grass, the youngsters settled in next to the dogs, picking a spot on the blanket or nearby lawn. Several brought their own books to read, and all made sure the previous children had finished reading before starting their turn.
Once reading though, they paid little mind to their canine audience and didn't seem to notice or care if their charges wandered off as Chyanne did to find shade under the picnic table.
Asked bluntly if she thought Chyanne listened to her rendition of "The Great Ghost Rescue," 11-year-old Mariah Moschetti quickly responded, "No."
While the readers Saturday did include two children with special needs, most didn't appear to have any trouble with their reading. Instead, the appeal was the dogs.
Sydney Jacobs said her three grandchildren begged her to go, convincing her to come even though she wasn't feeling well.
The children have their own dog at home, but it's a husky mix with a short attention span, she said. Ben and Chyanne, in contrast, are happy to lie around listening.
Betsy Woodin said the program is a highlight for her 8-year-old son Calvin Anderson, a third grader at Finger Lake Elementary.
"He feels like he's doing something for the dog," she said.
While most jumped right in to reading, others took time to warm up to their subjects. Six-year-old Cassidy Hoffman, a blond-haired first grader described by her mother as naturally shy, shook her head when asked if she wanted to read to the dogs.
Eventually coaxed by her mother, she moved to the picnic bench and started to read silently from a Clifford book, and later began reading out loud.
Dawn Diaz, who owns Ben and Chyanne with her husband, Bob, said the dogs enjoy the attention even if they don't always appear to be listening to their readers.
All she has to say at home is, "Do you want to go read to a kid?" and the dogs go nuts, she said.
Diaz said the couple first got interested in the reading to a dog program while living in Maryland. Ben is too personable not to work with people, she said.
"He was just completely love in a little package," she said.
When they moved to the Wasilla area in 2003, they started looking for similar programs.
Both Ben and Chyanne are trained therapy dogs, certified by national organizations that vouch for their mild manners.
Besides the reading program, Ben has also made the rounds at multiple Valley schools, senior centers and a local youth shelter, Diaz said. He even has his own business card printed with his picture. The card also lists Bob Diaz' name, but Ben's picture gets more attention, he said.
Adults would probably come up with many reasons for the dogs' appeal. Mariah Moschetti couldn't offer any such deep analysis. She said she wasn't even sure which dog listened to her read. But she said, "It's something I like. I can't point to why, but I like it."
FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Read to a Dog program, call the Wasilla Library at 376-5913.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
So, congratulations Mariah...on your first contest win...and your little prize...which I suppose you will use to create more. I agree with the Toontown Council...you did a good job young one...now remember you come from creative types...so it is in your blood...keep it up!!!
Love,
your lass...aunt didi...
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