Growth in Our Therapy Dog Programs

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With the challenges of COVID and its impact on the schools over the past two years, the Read to Rover programs at Salish Coast Elementary School in Port Townsend and Chimacum Creek Primary School in Port Hadlock started the year with fewer teams willing to risk exposure to second graders who then weren’t eligible for the vaccine. Over time, several teams have decided to return and we have added new teams that recently passed our therapy dog test.

We are thrilled that we have added 5 new teams at Salish Coast, doubling the size of that program. We welcome Aimee Dailey-Fallat with Bodhi, Janice Chappuis with Barry, Kristina Kelley with Finn, Collene Funk with Bailey, and Araya Sol with Toula. In addition, Chimacum Creek Primary School has added new substitute teams, Debaran Kelso with Rocket and Karen Sherwood with Bailey.

Thanks to Georgia Towle who has restarted offering therapy dog tests on an approximately once a month schedule.

Congratulations to all of the dogs on becoming Pet Pals Therapy Dogs!

The Power of Storytelling

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At the start of the school year, Denise Aedan, Salish Coast librarian and first-class storyteller, created a video expressing joy that Read to Rover was back. She says that when it’s time for Read to Rover sessions to begin, the school is abuzz with positive energy, with whispers from children and adults alike of “the dogs are here, the dogs are here,” reverberating in the hallways. 2nd grade students proudly bounce down the corridors in their bright red Read to Rover Tshirts hugging the books they have brought to share, and they are so excited to enter the Library to read with their dog. As one student hugged her furry friend goodbye, she whispered in his ear, “I just wish every day was Read to Rover Day!”

Although it wasn’t Ms. Aedan’s primary motivation, the video has been a powerful recruitment tool contributing to expansion of our group of Read to Rover therapy dogs.

Click on this photo to view video:

Older Students as Helpers at Chimacum School Read to Rover

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The Read to Rover program has become an integral part of the Chimacum School District, not only for our second grade readers at Chimacum Creek Primary School but also for students in the Flexible Learning classroom, housed in the High School. Students in the Flexible Learning classroom have been washing the Read to Rover dog blankets every other week for many years now and with COVID protocols in place this year, on a weekly basis. This particular task enables students to learn functional daily living skills such as using a washing machine, a clothes dryer, folding, sequencing, vocabulary, organization, following directions and pre-vocational training. It takes half of the school day which is completed between academic classes plus specialists at the elementary school. This fabulous offering has been a real gift to the Read to Rover program and has kept our reading areas clean and comfortable for our canine companions as well as their handlers.

This year, we are proud to highlight the student in charge of this endeavor, Gage, who is 10 years old and in 5th grade. Gage loves household chores of any kind and helps take care of his 3 year old twin brothers at home. We thank “Teacher Veronica” for her ongoing assistance and guidance with Gage as he completes this Read to Rover activity. We especially thank our new friend Gage for all his help and hard work! In addition, we would like to thank our friend Curtiss for his many years of washing our blankets in years past. Curtiss is now 16 years old and is working hard in his HS classes and community transition program! Thank you Curtiss!!!!

Another wonderful program that supports our Read to Rover program this year is “Dog Biscuit Making” at the Gathering Place. We wish to feature one of our amazing long time students, Cole Henley, who is involved in this project. Cole is joined by several of our other older students, Curtiss and Dylan. Cindy and Raelynn help them each week as Educational support staff and are stellar in their own right!

This is the first year we have tapped into the Gathering Place to provide our terrific Rovers with their now “expected” treats! You can’t beat the yumminess of the many flavors these tasty biscuits bring to the table…er uh, dog bowl! Similar to the Flexible Learning Program, the Gathering Place supports ongoing learning albeit for older students who are focusing on transitioning from school to work within our community. We can’t thank Cole enough for his hard work making the biscuits, but also for delivering them to Chimacum Creek Primary School each week in such a timely manner. In addition, Cole delivers our very clean blankets each week. We are proud to highlight Cole and his contributions to Read to Rover.

Rave Reviews for Salish Coast Read to Rover Reading Circle

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Denise with Lumie, Chico, and Leo on Zoom


Every Wednesday from October through May, Denise Aedan, Salish Coast School Librarian, invited kids to read their favorite books to a few Read to Rover dogs on Zoom.

Here is what Denise had to say:

“THANK YOU R2R! We are forever grateful for your teams’ willingness to try R2R with ZOOM. It WORKED! The R2R volunteers and their dogs helped our remote students feel connected to their community and it gave them a reason to practice their reading aloud every week with their families in order to share their voice as a reader with the dogs! Over the year, 45 Salish Coast students attended these R2R zoom sessions! We look forward to seeing you all in the Library next year! With utmost gratitude, Denise Aedan”

Here’s what some of the kids had to say:

“Thank you for being such a good listener! We liked reading to you! You are such good dogs! Woof! Woof!”

“Thank you for bringing all your dogs for us to read to! I like reading better when I can read to a dog!”

“Thank you for participating in Read to Rover. I really love reading to my pets too.”

“Thank you for making reading fun! We really like seeing Chico, Lumie, and Leo. We will miss Read to Rover but we will make sure to read to our dogs over the summer.”

“I really appreciate storytime with the dogs. I love them. Thanks! Here is a joke about dogs. Why are dogs, such good storytellers? Because they know when to PAWS for dramatic effect!”

“Thank you volunteering for Read to Rover. I enjoyed reading to you!”

“Thanks for letting me read to you! It was fun!”

“I love reading to you and your dog and to my dog and cat!”

Announcing New Coordinator for Salish Coast Elementary School Read to Rover: Donna Geer

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Laura Joshel, who has been coordinating the Read to Rover program at Salish Coast Elementary School for the past three years, is stepping down from this role. She did a wonderful job of revitalizing the Port Townsend program before the COVID shutdowns hit and has continued to contribute virtually with her dog, Chico, in the Zoom-based reading circles. Our thanks to Laura for her excellent volunteer leadership!

We are very pleased to announce that Donna Geer will serve as her replacement. Donna and her dog, Cooper, have been a Read to Rover team since the new Salish Coast School opened its doors to volunteers.

Donna Geer and Cooper

Here’s what Donna has to say about taking on the coordination of Salish Coast Read to Rover:

“I have always wanted to get more involved in this program and while no one can fill Laura’s shoes, I am hopeful that I can follow her footsteps and help the Read to Rover program get restarted for in-person reading this fall. It would be great to see all of our volunteer teams (and new ones, as well) back up at the school, listening to the second-graders as they read their books to our dogs, children with one hand turning a page while the other hand is petting the dog that’s intently (well, mostly) listening as the child reads out loud. Sometimes the dogs even comment on stories, in their own way, with their own vocalizations. Children love reading to the dogs and the dogs just love being with the kids. What a treat to witness!

“My husband Mike and I recently moved to Port Ludlow with our beagle Cooper. We have four children between us – five if you count Cooper – and three little grandsons. As you can probably guess, dogs take on a new significance when children are grown, so Cooper doesn’t know he’s a dog. In fact, he thinks he’s just one of the boys when our grandsons are visiting. I’m not sure I want to break the news to him, not just yet anyway. He’s really anxious to start the Read to Rover program again at Salish Coast Elementary School in Port Townsend this year. It was so much fun and honestly, I’m not sure who liked it better – me or Cooper. We love Read to Rover and did it for almost two years before we were sidelined due to COVID-19. We can’t wait to see all our friends at Salish Coast once the program starts again!

“I love volunteering and have spent the last few years trying different opportunities after retiring from a career at Boeing as a senior operations manager and a contracts manager for airplane interiors. Prior to that, I was a senior project manager at Arrow Electronics for large banking computer systems. I spent years in the contracting arena for the Air Force purchasing airplane components and one of my earliest jobs was driving a forklift, moving landing gear parts from one building to another. I was also in the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard building bombs and conducting radar surveillance. Along the way, I snuck in college classes here and there, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in Business and later an MBA and a professional coaching certification. I couldn’t have done it without my family’s support, as almost all of us can attest to. Good things are never done alone. Once I retired, I went back to school to do something really fun and got a Multimedia degree, which has kept me busy taking photos and creating videos. Now I work part-time at Peninsula College in Port Angeles as an advisor to veteran students. Each time I’ve changed careers, I’ve learned so much.

Donna Geer and Cooper at Salish Coast Library

“In the end, however, what gets me up in the morning is volunteering because it’s something I can do that’s fun for me, uses skills acquired through the years, and hopefully makes a difference in our communities. Isn’t that why we all volunteer? I feel so fortunate that I get to do great things like that. I currently volunteer with Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County as a Grief Support Facilitator, running 6-week grief support sessions throughout the year. When I first started volunteering, it was with the Olympic Medical Center as a greeter and with my husband’s help, I also started the Novel Conversations Book Club in Sequim for the North Olympic Library System. And of course, you’ve heard about Read to Rover!
“It’s all been great fun, so if your dog is looking for a volunteer opportunity and you wouldn’t mind coming along for support, we could sure use you! If you and your pup are interested, please contact me at donamgr@gmail.com. We’re still figuring out what it will look like this fall, but it’s never too early to raise your hand, or paw, to express your interest. Thanks so much for your support and we’re hoping to hear from you very soon!”

Kim Pratt’s Paintings Celebrate the Chimacum Creek Primary School Read to Rover Dogs

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Three years ago when Kim Pratt, co-cordinator of the Read to Rover program at Chimacum Creek Primary School, decided that she wanted to honor the dogs by painting their portraits, she could not have imagined how her project would serve to bring the community together during the isolation of COVID. Back then, Kim also didn’t know how to paint, so she decided to learn how by taking a pet painting class from Julie Read, through the Port Townsend School of the Arts.

Kim Pratt and Julie Read at the Elevated Ice Cream Show

This January and February, her paintings were shown at Elevated Ice Cream and the Read to Rover volunteers flocked to see them (and each other) at the artists’ receptions.

Then King 5 TV’s Evening Show got wind of the show and filmed a segment about it. Many of the teams came to be a part of that.

Paintings hanging in the Chimacum Creek School Library


Since the show ended, the paintings have been in the school library for the kids to enjoy. The library will be a permanent home for prints of these paintings once the original paintings are given to the volunteers who own the dogs.

Kim’s dream became much more than a set of wonderful portraits. Thank you, Kim, for your gift to our R2R community.