Half Price Books’ Dog Days of Summer
Other area Half Price locations children can read to dogs:
• Tuesdays through Aug. 17 at 4999 Houston Road, Florence, Ky.
• Wednesdays through Aug. 18 at 8211 Arbor Square, Mason and 8118 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati
FAIRFIELD TWP. — Hitch loves to have a child read to him almost as much as he enjoys a good belly rub.
The 3-year-old golden retriever and his owner, Rebecca Townsend, volunteer with Therapy Pets of Greater Cincinnati. Children can read to Hitch — and give him a belly rub — from 11 a.m. to noon every Thursday until Aug. 19 at Half Price Books, 3185 Princeton Road. It’s part of the store’s Dog Days of Summer reading program.
“Kids come and they pet, love him, watch him, hang out with him, or they can read to him,” Townsend said.
Bree Rumpke of Fairfield Twp. often comes to Half Price Books, but last Thursday, July 22, was her first experience with Hitch.
When her kids — Ella, 4, and Bennett, 2 — saw Hitch, they were “pumped.” Reading is important in the Rumpke household.
“We have lots of books,” she said. “We’ll have to come back again next week.”
Katie McGill of West Chester Twp. is watching two Fairfield boys this summer, and they are regulars at Half Price Books.
“It’s really good, especially with Ben (Geis), who has Down syndrome,” she said. “He loves reading books.”
McGill said reading to Hitch makes Ben, 7, focused and calm.
“Coming here gives him that opportunity to want to (read),” she said.
Reading over the summer is important for any child, said Xavier University psychology professor Kathleen Hart. She said early readers prefer to read aloud and hearing the words helps with learning.
“Especially when kids struggle with reading — either because they’re very early in the process or because they have a learning disability — it’s difficult for others to listen to them read,” Hart said. “They stumble, they get the wrong word, it’s very slow. And the kids know that.”
But a dog doesn’t care. A dog that’s good around children often will sit and look as if it’s interested, she said.
“It creates the listener that the child needs, and also a comforting and calming presence,” Hart said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.
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