King has quickly settled into his role as a Bright Spot Therapy Dog. This boy has a full schedule on Thursdays. First off, he heads to the Hilltown Charter School in his role as a Bright Spot Reading Buddy for the Yellows and Greens (two different classrooms at the school). Between the two classes, he’s at the school for an hour and a half. When finished, King hops in the car and we head over to Linda Manor Extended Care Facility just down the road.
Today was Meet-and-Greet Day for the children in the Yellow and Green classes. We all sat in a circle together surrounding King. Many of the children had read to James last year and thought King looked a lot like James. Each teacher modeled reading to the dog and showing him the pictures, so each child would know what is expected when he/she has reading time with King. Individual reading sessions will start next week, with three different readers in each class reading one-on-one with King for 15 minutes a piece. The Meet-and-Greet sessions ended with a chance for each child to pet King’s soft fur.
His segue to the nursing home was seamless, moving from 7 and 8 year-olds to 80 and 90 year-olds. King adores people of all ages. The folks at Linda Manor were elated to see him. While training to become a certified therapy dog, he visited them every day. He has become their special friend. It was cloudy and rainy outside. His visit certainly brightened their day. I am so happy to be back visiting the folks at Linda Manor again on a regular basis. This is where I started visits twenty-two years ago with Beatrice and have visited with each of my seven therapy dogs through the years. I really love watching my dogs bring comfort and caring to these wonderful people.