Sting the Greyhound was all alone at the library, with no one there to read him a story. The reading therapy dog from Minnesota spends many evenings at the local library having kids read to him. But on this particular night, no one showed up.
His human, John Muellner, didn’t want Sting to be all alone again so he posted some photos of sad-looking Sting with a request for more readers:
“Unfortunately nobody signed up to read to Sting at the White Bear Lake library tonight. If you know of a 4 to 8yr old who would like to read to a dog. Please contact the White Bear Lake library by phone or their website about the Paws to Read program. Sting will be there Feb 21st 6:30 – 7:30.”
https://www.facebook.com/john.muellner/posts/10213138427028120
Muellner’s post quickly spread like wildfire (with over 100,000 shares), and soon the library was getting calls from as far away as California. Some dog lovers asked if the librarians could hold the phone to Sting’s ear so they could read to him. There was also an outpouring of calls from local families and the once lonely Sting is now fully booked up.
Muellner told TODAY that in truth Sting isn’t that lonely, he just looks that way. The 10-year-old former racing dog is a certified therapy dog and is “very easygoing” and “nothing scares him; nothing bothers him; not even squirrels.”
That’s why the dog is well suited for his visits to the library where he promotes the joy of reading to young people and to give kids a non-threatening and fun way to practice their reading skills.
Sting is certainly up to the task and no longer has to worry about being alone at the library again!
Pupdate: Feb 19, 2019
Muellner shared the news that he had to let Sting go earlier this month. But he also shared Sting’s lasting impact after two brothers who read to Sting sent him these cards. “This is about 2 brothers who read to my boy Sting the Greyhound at the White Bear Lake MN library. Unfortunately I had to let him go earlier this month. They were nice enough to make this cards for me. This is one of the reasons why the Pet Therapy program is awesome. And the Paws to Read program in the library is so great.”
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