Corte Madera woman and dog Stinson help kids enjoy reading
For many kids, reading doesn’t come easy. It can be an uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing experience. One dog is on a mission to make it a little bit easier.
Since February, Stinson, the 18-month-old Australian Labradoodle, has tagged alongside his owner Lisa Levin, a teacher librarian at Mount Tamalpais School in Mill Valley, to work, using his skills as a reading dog to help kids have a positive feeling towards reading and encourage them to keep doing it. It’s a message, she found, that aligned perfectly with her work.
The Corte Madera resident and Stinson will help young readers out at 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at Sausalito Books by the Bay.
Q When did you get Stinson?
A I got Stinson when he was 10 weeks old. This is my second Australian Labradoodle. My first, her name was Liberty and she helped me raise the kids and she was so good with kids. She passed away during COVID at 16. She had an amazing life and I knew that I wanted my next dog to be the same dog and a reading dog because I had worked with reading dogs when I had worked at the Corte Madera Public Library, and I saw the effects on kids and their reading. And being a librarian, I thought how amazing would it be to have my own reading dog, so I knew this is what I wanted to do. Having a reading dog worked perfectly with my life.
Q What’s some of the special training he learned?
A He had to do some specific training to be around kids and for them to walk around him and for him to sit quietly, and lean on the children when they are reading. And he has learned some therapeutic techniques, he knows how to do deep pressure therapy. It’s like a weighted blanket and it relieves stress and anxiety. You can see the kids relax and that’s been really awesome to watch.
Q What have been some other reactions to him?
A They are very excited. They really enjoy him and I have been working with some students over the summer, practicing their reading and letting him practice more and they love it. I feel like it’s really important for the kids. It really helps those reluctant readers build more self confidence and self esteem, it encourages more reading and it keeps their stress down. It’s a positive association with reading as well. Dogs don’t judge, which is great. They don’t know when you’re mispronouncing a word or anything.
Q What’s been the best reactions for you to see?
A They laugh, because he gives them kisses. Sometimes he leans on the book, which they think is funny. He puts his head down to keep their place. They have a big smile on their face.
Q Why was he named Stinson?
A It’s kind of my special place. Being that I grew up here, it was the place I went to when I needed to be calm or go to destress or see a beautiful sunset. My daughter knew that and when she saw the color of him, she came up with the name, and it’s really stuck.
Q What got you into education?
A I always loved working with kids. I always babysat when I was younger. I think as I got older, I wanted to be someone to help children like me, like people who were shy or needed a little more attention or weren’t understood. I think that’s really why I went into it. Everybody needs an ally.
Q How did you become a librarian?
A I always loved books. I always was always a huge reader and when I went back to school to become a teacher, my goal was actually to be a reading specialist, so after I got my teaching credential I was working on my masters to do that, but then my life changed. I got married and left California. We were up in Oregon and they didn’t have any programs like that, so I did some special-ed for awhile and raised my kids. And then when my kids started to get bigger, I started volunteering at their schools, mostly in the library, and that love of books came back to me and that’s when I decided I was going to go back to school to become a librarian. But books have always been a part of my life.