I held my breath yesterday morning when I woke early to head to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Hadley, Massachusetts, where we would be holding our FUN DAY WITH DOGS. I was hoping for a good crowd. The planning for the event started last summer after I was approached by Barnes & Noble Bookstore about running a book fair to benefit Bright Spot Therapy Dogs.
Yes, this was to be a fundraiser to benefit the meaningful work our Bright Spot Therapy Dog Teams do in healthcare and educational environments, but I wanted this to be so much more for people. My vision was to create an event that would build awareness among adults and children about the many fun and beneficial things they can do with their dogs. I wanted people new to dogs, possibly looking to get their very first dog, to learn about the different types of dogs in the dog world. How they are bred to do certain things – like herd, hunt, race, and so on. To learn from the handlers what it’s like to live with a large dog, like a Great Dane, or a tiny dog, like a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. To ask, Is an Australian Shepherd the right dog for me?
It has always been an aim of mine to be sure a person really knows what type of dog they are bringing into their home, so the owner doesn’t realize, after the fact, that the new dog is a mistake. Dogs deserve to be brought into their forever home, not end up in a rescue group or a shelter. At this event, I wanted people to talk with expert dog trainer and Bright Spot volunteer, Tibby Chase, and learn about the types of training they should do with their dog. And, to find out how much fun training, like Agility or Rally, can be for both owner and dog.
Of course, I wanted to showcase the amazing work our Bright Spot Therapy Dogs do for people of all ages in both healthcare and educational settings. Through our event, I hoped to inspire others to become involved and train to be a certified Bright Spot Therapy Dog Team.
Thanks to the efforts of 18 dedicated Bright Spot volunteers and their dogs, my dreams of such an event were fulfilled as the store filled with people spending time with the dogs. Barnes & Noble staff kept commenting on the positive energy the dogs brought to the store… Yes, smiles and laughter could be seen and heard throughout! Judging from book sales in support of Bright Spot Therapy Dogs – we are told we surpassed all book fairs held this year – people were very happy with the event. We’re already thinking about next year’s FUN DAY WITH DOGS!
If you missed yesterday’s FUN DAY WITH DOGS, but would like to support Bright Spot Therapy Dogs with a Barnes & Noble Bookstore purchase, in-store (Hadley store) and online sales through November 18th will count. You must give our book fair ID #11678117 at check out.