Reading aloud can be scary. Therapy dogs are here to help at Myrtle Beach, SC library

Learning how to read can be hard and for some and learning how to read out loud can be downright scary.

Chapin Memorial Library in Myrtle Beach has an event every other Thursday during the summer that can help children overcome these literary anxieties.

Paws for Reading is a program where students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade can read a book to a therapy dog.

“We have been inviting the therapy dogs for about five years,” Stacey LoCascio, the youth services librarian, said. “This summer is the golden doodle, [Mr. McDuffie], and there is another dog coming, and that dog is called Ling-Ling.”

LoCascio said that the program is very popular and that their sign-up slots tend to fill up fast. Each child gets to read to the canine for about 15 minutes.

“We think the program is really important because reading aloud in class can cause a lot of anxiety for children, so this is a way for them to practice their reading on an audience that is not gonna laugh or judge, just give snuggles,” LoCascio said.

Questions and registration requests can be directed to ysstaff@chapinlibrary.org, or you can call 843-918-1293.