THUNDER BAY— Piper, a five-month-old mixed-breed dog, is checking out books this month at the Thunder Bay Public Library.
On Tuesday, more than 20 children and their family members lined up at the County Park library branch to see Piper from PAWsitively Social.
“It is an opportunity for kids to learn how to interact with dogs, perhaps for the first time in a supervised environment and learn their cues so that way it is a safe experience for both the dog and the child,” said Kristal Vandeleest, a library technician.
Vandeleest said the popular puppy perks program provides children in the community with a safe and reliable first interaction with dogs.
“Occasionally, you do hear about, you know, bad situations where children are injured. So this is an opportunity to prevent injury and instead to have a very positive lifelong experience and understand the dog's cues,” she said.
Several points mentioned by Tammy Williams from PAWsitively Social included that children should not be left unsupervised with dogs, that children should not attempt to pick up dogs of any size, and that when children are supervised, they should wait for a dog to approach them first.
Williams has previously told Newswatch that, “Children and dogs don’t understand the same language. And sometimes puppies don’t understand that children are just really excited, and sometimes children don’t understand that puppies and dogs are really excited. So, they need to know how to interact safely with each other.”
With the program's attendance being above-average for the last year, the Thunder Bay Public Library branches have no plan on stopping the story times.
“I was hoping for about this much. We are definitely packed full in the kids department, so that is always good to see,” Vandeleest said.
Parents looking to sign up for future children’s events at the library can find more information here.
