Therapy dog Maggie Mae visits the Clearwater Public Library once a month for children to practice reading to her. Her August visit coincided with Clearwater’s annual Heritage Festival, and Clearwater Heritage Festival Princesses Charlene and Alexis took the opportunity to read to her themselves.

Therapy reading dogs provide a variety of benefits to young readers. They create a supportive, non-judgmental environment for children to improve their reading skills and build confidence, helping reduce the anxiety some have with reading aloud. They encourage a love of literacy and can help improve overall reading comprehension.

Maggie Mae will be at the Clearwater Library again on Sept. 6 and Oct. 4, ready and waiting for more young readers to come in and practice their reading skills with her.