BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (AP) - One recent Saturday at the Bridgeport Public Library, Jacob Watts read a book about dogs called "See Me Dig" to a dog.
Jacob, who attends kindergarten at West Milford Elementary School, read the book to Becky Conrad's 8-year-old Italian greyhound, Strawberry, who perched on a blanket embroidered with her name and the fruit that inspired her moniker, as well as two tags attached to her collar that indicate she is a therapy dog.
"He reads extremely well for a kindergartener," Conrad, of Bridgeport, said to Jacob's mother, Laurie Watts.
Conrad should know. As a therapy dog handler, Conrad has appointments at various area libraries for events that allow children to read to Strawberry.
It really can help them learn to read and overcome shyness, said Conrad as well as Barbara Higgins, who also partners with a therapy dog, an 8-year-old miniature poodle named Brenda Lee.
Higgins recalled a shy boy who began reading to Brenda Lee at a library event.
"He walked in the door and he and Brenda had an immediate bond," she said. "He sat down beside her to read to her and continued to do so for several years.
"Six years later, this past fall, he is now a strapping young man of 14, and he's a Boy Scout leader and he coaches Cub Scouts."
The boy, Benjamin Sturm of Shinnston, recalled how it was that reading to dog helped him learn.
"The dogs just sit there," he explained. "The dog can't tell you, 'That's not the word.' The dog just sits there and gives you extra confidence, like you are talking to someone you like."
Benjamin's mother, Stephanie Sturm, noted that Benjamin's dyslexia made reading difficult for him.
"He was struggling with confidence and not wanting to try," Sturm said. "I took him to the reading dogs as a last-ditch effort. Having [Brenda Lee] there, listening, and he was able to pet her. They weren't judgmental and he got motivated. He said, 'I have to read to her next month. I'm going to practice for Brenda Lee."'
These days, in addition to scouting, he also has helped out Higgins at a Meet the Breeds event at the Bridgeport Farmers Market for the Greater Clarksburg Kennel Club.
"He assisted me and gave out brochures and talked to people about how much it benefited him," Higgins added. "He enjoyed his day. He reads at a high level. He would be the first one to tell you that it benefited him tremendously."
Conrad and Higgins visit area libraries with Strawberry and Brenda Lee on a schedule that includes the Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library, 6 to 7 p.m. on the third Monday of the month; the Lowe Public Library in Shinnston, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. the first Monday of the month; the Philippi Public Library, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. the second Saturday of the month; and the Bridgeport Public Library, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. the first Saturday of the month except for during the summer.
Letting kids read to them at libraries is just one task that therapy dogs can perform. They also can visit patients at hospitals, residents at nursing homes and students preparing for exams at college campuses, helping to ease anxiety by lending a sympathetic ear and perhaps reminding them of a dog they have at home.
They also will be on hand during the YMCA's Healthy Kids Day event at Clarksburg City Park in Nutter Fort from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 30.
"Their job is to - our logo is, 'Sharing smiles and joy,"' said Higgins, who also serves as the coordinator for Mountaineer Therapy Dogs, an informal group with about 50 members who work in the Morgantown, Fairmont and Bridgeport areas.
Brenda Lee is Higgins' first therapy dog.
"I've been around dogs my entire life," she said. "This is the first dog I had that I felt had the correct temperament and personality to do therapy work, which pleased me. It was something I always had been interested in doing."
Conrad has had three therapy dogs, all Italian greyhounds, which are smaller than traditional greyhounds. She just retired a 15-year-old dog.
Both Conrad and Higgins and their dogs are registered through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs (www.therapydogs.com), and Bruce Felton, of Morgantown, serves as a tester and observer for the Cheyenne, Wyoming-based group.
In order to have a therapy dog, Felton recommends that an owner first go through regular obedience classes with the pet, but it is not a requirement.
It also is not necessary to take the Mountaineer Kennel Club's four 90-minute sessions geared toward potential therapy dogs that allow him to check dogs' temperaments as well as introduce them to objects such as wheelchairs that a therapy dog probably will encounter.
What is required is a filled out application that can be downloaded from the Mountaineer Kennel Club's website, mkclub.org.
After that, the dog and owner meet with Felton, who goes over the rules and regulations with the human and checks the dog's prospects of going out and offering comfort to the general public.
"I do several little things," Felton said. "When I first meet with the person, I see how they are holding the dog on a leash, does the dog try to jump on me, bite my pants leg or sit there quietly?"
Felton also makes sure the dogs do not mind being touched and having their bellies rubbed or paws pulled a bit, and also that the dog and human can walk on the leash well.
"It doesn't have to heal perfectly, but the idea is to make sure you can walk the dog and make turns without the dog jerking in the opposite direction."
Dogs also should be healthy, well-groomed and up to date on shots.
If all those things check out, then Felton accompanies the dog and human on three therapy dog visits as an observer.
"If I see no problems and everybody looks good at what they are doing, I can sign off on paperwork and send it off to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, and they register them."
Felton points out that dogs are registered, not certified. The registration essentially gives the owner a $5 million liability in case the dog should bite or trip someone and a lawsuit occurs.
Although Felton currently does not work with a therapy dog, he has in the past.
"I just enjoyed the people - talking to the people," he said. "It was rewarding. I went to a nursing home and tapped on someone's door and said, 'Excuse me, would you like a visit from me and my dog?"'
He would see several reactions, he added.
"Some, immediately as they saw the dog, burst out crying and would hug and hold him and say, 'I miss my dog so much. Thank you for coming in.'
"At the same time I realized, you were making them happy, making them forget about their pain and loneliness. For 15 minutes, as long as a person is petting a dog, they are not thinking about their problems."
Conrad remembers visiting a patient at the Louis A. Johnson Medical Center in Clarksburg who had not been communicative with his physical therapist.
"We don't know what he said," Conrad recalled. "He wasn't communicating. He was making noise. He knew what he was saying. We put the dog on the bed and he petted the dog and I'm sure he told us in his mind that he had a dog. Sometimes they cry. The therapist could not believe the reaction this man had."