Read to a Dog

Ruth Robinson (in chair) with Emma, a reader, and a parent

Every other Tuesday at the El Cerrito Library, children can be found reading to a companion who does not know how to read and will simply listen.

The Read to a Dog program is the El Cerrito library’s longest-standing program and costs the library nothing.

It has been brought to the library by volunteer teams with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs since 2017, except for a short break during Covid when the program moved to Zoom. Each team consists of a dog owner and a dog who has gone through testing to become a certified therapy dog.

How It Started

Ruth Robinson, whose golden retriever Emma was there to read with children on March 17, was also the first participant in the Read to a Dog program. Robinson has lived in El Cerrito for 50 years and raised her children here. Emma is her third therapy dog.

“I consider myself the Johnny Appleseed of Read to a Dog,” Robinson said with a smile. The program started after Robinson’s chance meeting on the 4^th of July with Julia, a library staff member who has since retired. When Julia heard about the possibility of reading with a therapy dog, she asked if the dogs could come to the El Cerrito library.

Robinson said yes, and a new program soon followed.

“We started in the basement,” Robinson recalled. “That first night we had three or four dogs and we were flooded with kids. We had to move up here.”

How to Sign Up

“Here” is the big rug in the children’s section of the library. Usually there are four dog teams available to listen between 5 and 5:45 p.m. Children can sign up for 15-minute slots.

Advance registration is required and can be done here.

Parents gave the program a thumbs-up on a recent Tuesday.

Kendra, an El Cerrito resident, said it was her daughter’s first time.

From Nervous to Confident

“She was nervous at first but now she’s fine,” Kendra said as she watched her daughter read. “Reading is such an important skill and having therapy dogs around is wonderful if it’s a way they can build confidence in reading.”

Robinson said, “The teacher provides the skills and we provide the motivation. The reading levels are so different that it really helps children to read out loud where it’s fully non-judgmental.”

Enjoying the Library

Mim, a Kensington resident, was there with her labrador retriever, Zak.

“I love this library because there are always children here who like to read,” Mim said. “The setup is perfect. The staff here is amazing.”

Robinson said the El Cerrito library, which is 75 years old with a future that is currently being debated, is “okay for this program.” It was hot outside and the library was warm, plus Robinson pointed out that Read to a Dog may have interrupted other patrons in the small building. On the other hand, Robinson said the current location is safe for children and their parents.

Considering the Future

She does not support the proposed library tax coming up on the June ballot.

“I think the location that’s been identified is too big and has no parking,” she said. “When parents come here, it is a stroller parking lot. They’re not going to walk down to a BART station. If the library goes into the plaza, you’re going to have to triple the staff and you will need to have uniformed security.”

“Have you ever seen the Rockridge library?” she asked. “It has about the same footprint as this one but it’s two stories.”

In addition to reading with her dog, Robinson also tests and certifies dogs for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. She was observing one potential therapy dog named Geronimo as he sat quietly during the March 17 reading session.

Not Just in El Cerrito

Robinson said the alliance also listens to readers at other locations around the East Bay. It offers a Read to a Dog program at Kensington Library once a month, and at all the Berkeley libraries. The dogs listen to readers once a month at Fairmont Elementary School next door to the library, in specific classes at Madera Elementary, and have just begun listening to children at Kensington Hilltop Elementary School.

Library Manager’s Appreciation

Heidi Goldstein, the library manager in El Cerrito, started work there the same year Robinson started the reading program.

“Ruth has been here since Day One,” Goldstein said. “It’s wonderful to see kids who are engaged in reading. The dogs are also unable to read. That’s my joke, but think about it. They aren’t going to correct them. They aren’t going to say, ‘That’s not the right way to pronounce it.’ They’re going to listen.”