LIBRARY DOGS.COM
"To get the full value of joy
you must have someone to divide it with."
~
Mark Twain
| All-Around READing Dogs | ||
| Iowa ~ "Gunnar" |
Gunnar watches the finger puppet Golden Retrievers are typically wonderful family pets and known to get along great with children. They are gentle, trusting, and calm with an exceptional eagerness to please.
Waiting for the next pop-up figure to appear. Gunnar works primarily with kindergarten children. The youngsters enjoy seeing him and reading to him.
Gunnar has made a difference in many chidren's lives.
Gunnar makes sure the page Pete says Gunnar has become the most loyal and loved dog he has ever had, and he has lived with many dogs his entire life. He only wishes there were more like Gunnar so they could read with ALL the children at school who want to read to him.
Gunnar's pawtograph. In June 2011, Gunnar completed his first R.E.A.D.® assignment at a local kindergarten. The school has a tradition of all staff member putting their hand prints on the wall at the end of the year. That year, Gunnar was invited to add his, and so he did.
Gunnar at a public library visiting Gunnar is a very special dog not just to Pete, but to the many others who meet him. Pete comments that it shows in everything he does and how he behaves around each of them. He is one of those dogs that everyone falls in love with and would like one just like him for their own. Books about Golden Retrievers include: Dubs Goes to Washington: And Discovers the Greatness of America, by Dick Morris, Eileen McGann, & Clayton Liotta (Click on the titles above for a brief description and convenient ordering information.) |
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Gunnar is a Golden Retriever, the breed fourth on the American Kennel Club’s 2012 most popular breed list. Gunnar was 1-1/2 years old when he came to Pete and his wife, Kris, for foster care. In spite of fostering more than 50 dogs in the past, and currently owning two other dogs, it was soon obvious that Gunnar was very special. Within 24 hours of his arrival, they had decided to adopt him.
Gunnar is right at home Historically, golden retrievers were developed as gun dogs to retrieve birds during hunting and shooting parties. Pete looked forward to seeing Gunnar at work, intent on a scent and zeroing in on a pheasant under cover, happily pursuing the life he was meant for.
Gunnar helps teach 4-year-olds Gunnar, however, had other ideas. He proved he is not only “man’s best friend” but friend to many others as well…dogs, cats, children, even pheasants...and so began his career as a therapy dog and Reading Education Assistance Dog® team member.
Teaching 3-year-olds how to greet Gunnar volunteers twice a week at a local elementary school and also visits several local libraries, representing Corridor Therapy Dogs.
Gunnar helps Pete demonstrate Gunnar not only helps children learn to read but also to understand about the responsibilities of pet ownershp and how to properly greet strange dogs.
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