Tales for Tails

Sandi Martin had two great loves—dogs and reading. As a nurse and intensive care unit manager at a Salt Lake City hospital, she saw the healing power of therapy dogs that visited her hospital. Then, in the middle of the night, she had an inspiration. Could dogs have the same kind of impact with kids struggling to read as they had helping sick patients recover?

Sandi told her friend Kathy Klotz about her idea. Klotz is the executive director of Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA). ITA is a nonprofit group that provides animal-assisted therapy. Martin and Klotz asked the public library if ITA could bring therapy dogs into the library for a four-week trial program. They would