By Alyssa Serrano
Correspondent
For a child who is struggling with reading, classrooms can go from a safe space to learn to the source of their anxiety. But for Theodore Finley or “Teddy Bear Finn,” a 6-year-old German Shepherd rescue and the star of Ewing Library’s bi-monthly Read to the Dog event, every stumbled word is just more time with a new friend.
Read to the Dog is a program that the Ewing Library children’s department holds one-to-two times per month. Finley’s mom and 1986 graduate of the College, Liz Celentano, stated in an interview that the event is so great because, “For some kids it’s not that they need help reading, but they need help practicing reading in front of an audience, and a dog is the perfect sort of audience because they sit and give attention but not the social pressure of peers or other people.”
During this event, children are able to pick a book and spend 15 minutes reading to Finley in a very low pressure, safe environment. The goal of the program is to help children not only feel more confident and comfortable with their reading, but also to enjoy it more as a whole.
Celentano met Finley on accident during a drive, “I saw someone walking him and literally pulled over while driving and yelled out the window ‘Is he your dog or is he from the shelter?’ and the guy walks over with the dog, and Finn immediately walks over and whines and wants to get in the car,” said Celentano. “It was meant to be, it was just meant to be. I was just so thrilled. We bonded immediately.”
The shelter Finley came from was EASEL, a local shelter that Celentano had previously worked with another German Shepherd from, so Finley went from being housed by a local shelter to working hard to support Ewing’s children.
Celentano always had plans to get Finley into some sort of service work, but for a while she was debating between having him work with children or seniors.
“He’s imposing looking and very large, but then you get to know him and he’s just, like, so funny; he loves children, seniors. The first time he met my mom, I did not realize she had Alzheimer’s yet, but the moment he met her, he would not leave her side. He would lay next to her and put his paw over her when she laid down, even when he only knew her for 5 hours,” said Celentano.
When Celentano mentioned her plans for Finley, the Ewing Library Youth Librarian Chetna Kukreja told her they had previously held Read to the Dog at the library, and Finley’s career was chosen.
Although the program was originally intended to support young children in building their confidence as they learn to read, Celentano stated that students at the College are more than welcome to get library cards and read a story or practice for an exam in the company of Finley.
“This is an education program overall, so you do have to read to him first, but then you absolutely can pet and love him a little,” said Celentano.
While in college, students are able to check out and get a library card if they come in with their student identification cards to show that they are in the Mercer County community, and then they have access to their full catalogue of books, but also to the other libraries in the county.
Celentano encourages students to utilize the many services the library has to offer and said, “We are always there welcoming people. I’m a former educational professional, so when teaching students come, I am always happy to give them help in terms of student teaching or classroom work. There’s a whole other world I can offer up besides Mr. Theodore Finley.”
