Kids who ‘Sit, Stay and Read with Katja,’ will now be honing their literacy skills with Alberta’s first designated library service dog.
The two-year-old chocolate English Labrador retriever who works at the Red Deer Public Library recently earned her service dog vest after two years of training with Aspen Service Dogs, a government-approved organization.
This means Katja has learned to be gentle, patient and empathetic with children of all personalities, reading levels, and emotional needs, said Tatiana Tilly, the library’s Dawe Branch manager and one of the dog’s handlers (along with Karen Drok).
The Red Deer Public Library had been borrowing service dogs to ease children’s stress during reading programs for many years. But previous canine volunteers had other duties in the community and only came to the library when their schedules allowed. A particular favourite, Isha, passed away in 2019.
Library staff have since recognized that a lot of young children were falling behind with their reading skills because of pandemic restrictions. They thought it was time for the public library to have its own service dog — and the library’s board agreed to pay for Katja’s training, said Tilly.
Like Argo and Quinn, the service dogs at Red Deer Victim Services and the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre, Katja senses when children are sad or frustrated and does what she can to soothe them.
For instance, a small girl at the library began to cry on Monday. “She was having a bad day,” recalled Tilly. Katja went over to put her head in the girl’s lap. “I asked her if she wanted Katja to give her a hug, and she said she did… Katja really comforted that child.”
Although many libraries have been borrowing undesignated service dogs, Tilly admitted she was initially skeptical when canines first began coming to the library, many years ago. But she’s since seen the many benefits that supportive, non-judgmental dogs can bring.
“There is some magic that happens when kids read to a dog.”
Katja takes part in many library programs, including Sit Stay and Read with Katja, which mostly runs at Dawe and Timberlands. It offers half an hour of one-on-one time with the dog on a reading couch.
Tilly, who brings Katja to her home at night and also buys her food, plans to take the dog on outreach visits to Red Deer schools to ease student stress during exam weeks.
The public library, in partnership with Wellspring Alberta, brought the dog on board for their Cancer Connect program for people with the condition, their families and caregivers at the Dawe branch.
And every two or three months, Katja gets to participate in a special library program at the downtown branch.
She wore a baby Yoda costume at an activity station for Star Wars Read Days, nudging a cube to the floor so children could read the Yoda saying that came up on top. A costumed Katja was also at a Harry Potter library event, helping out at the Care for Magical Creatures station.