Volunteers staffing our Bright Spot Therapy Dogs information booth explain to shoppers how to get their dogs certified.
Bright Spot Therapy Dogs is busy preparing for its 4th annual FUN DAY WITH DOGS at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Hadley, Massachusetts, taking place on Saturday, November 3rd.
It’s a fun event for all. Our volunteers love talking to shoppers about their dogs’ breeds or mix-breeds, and about the therapy dog visiting they do with their dogs.
Bookstore customers delight in meeting all the Bright Spot Therapy Dogs while they shop for books on their reading lists. Therapy Dog Teams will be circulating the store or participating in one of the many activities we have planned during our FUN DAY WITH DOGS Event.
FUN DAY WITH DOGS is a great time for children to interact with our well-trained, friendly Bright Spot Therapy Dogs.
Activities will be ongoing throughout the day from 10:30-3:30. Below is a schedule of activities we will be conducting.
Learn about Therapy Dogs: Our Bright Spot information booth will be set up with photos of our Therapy Dog Teams visiting in healthcare, educational, and business settings. Copies of our print publications will be available as handouts, and our knowledgeable volunteers will be on hand to describe the meaningful work our therapy dogs do and explain how dogs get trained and certified as therapy dogs through Bright Spot.
Read to a Bright Spot Reading Buddy Dog:Dogs are wonderful listeners and enjoy all kinds of books! Young children will have the opportunity to read to one of the Reading Buddy dogs for a 15-minute time slot. Different Reading Buddy dogs will be scheduled throughout the day. Bring a favorite book from home or choose one from the store to read to the dog.
Agility and Obedience: Caroline Moore, the new owner of Animal Alliances, will be demonstrating agility and lots more training skills people can do with their dogs. Demonstrations will be on-going throughout the day. Shoppers will have the chance to talk with Caroline about the schedule of classes offered at Animal Alliances, which is located on Damon Road in Northampton, Massachusetts. We are pleased to have Animal Alliances, our training facility sponsor, joining us for our event.
Meet the Breeds: Find out what it’s like to live with an Australian Cobber Dog (aka Labradoodle), an English Setter, a Standard Poodle, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a Golden Retriever, an All-American-Mix, and lots more. A variety of Bright Spot therapy dogs will be scheduled throughout the day. Event attendees will have the chance to meet the breeds in person and talk to the dogs’ owners.
The Fun Sport of Geocaching with Your Dog: Meet Comet and Clementine, geocaching companions extraordinaire, and learn from their teammate Nancy Ronan what geocaching is all about. The pair has trekked all over western Massachusetts in search of geocaches. Stop by the demo area and learn all about their adventures.
Meet Brinkley and Raven, certified Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response Dogs: Brinkley and Raven and their teammates Ned Polan and Karyn Cordner would love to talk with you about the meaningful work they do helping on the national level in times of crisis, along with the training and certification involved. Brinkley has served at a military kids’ grief camp, the Revere tornado, a weekend encampment for homeless and at-risk veterans, and four weeks with survivors and the families of victims at the Washington Navy Yard shooting. For his work, Brinkley received an Award of Merit from the Secretary of the Navy. Raven is new to Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response Dogs, having received her training and certification this year.
TRICKS TRICKS TRICKS: Tricks are a fun activity to do with your dog. Stop by our demonstration area and watch some of our Bright Spot dogs performing a variety of tricks. Ask the volunteers to show you how to teach them to your dog at home.
Bright Spot volunteers love talking to shoppers about their dogs.
Whether you have a dog or are planning to add one to your family in the future, you’ll surely have a good time at FUN DAY WITH DOGS!
Join us if you can – and remember: we’ll be at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Hadley, Massachusetts. We hope to see you there on Saturday, November 3rd.
COME! Meet Peanut! He’ll be at the event all day and would love to meet you!