On Sundays March 22 and 29 Spellbound Children’s Bookshop and Blaze-N-Skyy Pet Boutique will co-host Waggin’ Tales, which gives kids a chance to practice reading with certified therapy dogs. Volunteers will be on hand from Paws With a Purpose to handle the dogs and assist as necessary. A $3 registration fee will be donated to Paws With a Purpose to support their work with therapy dogs in the local community. Limited to children in grades 1-8, the events will take place at Spellbound, 19 Wall St. in Asheville, with time slots available between noon and 4 p.m. each event day. In addition, there will be drawings for gift certificates to each of the hosting stores. Participants are encouraged to RSVP early to reserve times.
Board member Norma Palmer says, “Paws With a Purpose has been offering a reading program in the Asheville City Schools for several years. Currently we visit Hall Fletcher and Ira B. Jones Elementary Schools. The first graders who participate do show significant improvement in their reading skills and self confidence. Children spend 20 minutes a week reading stories to a therapy dog who is accompanied by their handler. The dogs don’t care if the child has speech difficulties, hesitates over words, or is reading on grade level. The only grade the dogs give is a sticker for a job well done. They always love the stories.” Info: 232-2228.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.