My most recent obsession has been working with my Covid pup, Loki, doing therapy dog work.

Reading events are common activities for therapy dog groups. Children like reading to dogs because they are non-judgmental. It’s just cozy snuggling up with a dog and a book.

We had wanted to have a collection of books about therapy dogs for the kids to read. That way kids and their parents could learn about therapy dogs during the events. Unfortunately, most books had major inaccuracies or were inappropriate in other ways.

Solution: write one we liked. I Want To Be A Therapy Dog! comes in three versions – one short, one shorter, one shortest. Many parents bring their children to dog reading events because they have problems reading or because they are afraid of dogs. My experience with a beta test of the book suggested kids were much happier with short, simple sentences.

All three books are available in Kindle and paperback editions. In addition to the children’s book, they also include resources for people interested in becoming part of a therapy dog team and information the difference between service, emotional support, and therapy dogs that I had written for Psychology Today.

Some of the money from sales of the books will be donated to Riley’s Angels, a therapy dog organization in northeast Ohio.