All Over Albany

At Schenectady's Duane Branch Library, some of the tales are furry

This week the top show dogs in the world strutted their stuff at the Westminster Dog Show in New York City. They were judged on the sheen of their coat, the whiteness of their teeth and the curves of their hind legs.

But we're upstate. We value dogs for different reasons.

Meet Samson. A lovable, tail-wagging 80-pound working dog. He does community service and he's great with kids and seniors. He's a certified therapy dog.

I met him recently when he was helping kids read at the Schenectady Duane Branch library...

7-year-old Williyah reads to Samson as his owner, Sandy Gonzalez looks on.

Without even looking toward the door, I knew Samson had entered the library. I heard squealing and little 6-year-old voices repeating, "Doggie, doggie." A parade of children then marched behind Samson as he made his way towards the back of the library with his owner.

It's excitement that happens about once a month at the library.

The idea behind having a therapy dog visit is quite simple: Kids read to the dog and because he can't judge or correct them, they feel more comfortable and they gain more confidence in their reading.

Samson's owner is Sandy Gonzalez. A special education teacher for years, she now works as a contractor in the field and teaches at St. Rose. She joked that if she was going to get a dog, it'd have to be a working dog. So he's been to -- and passed -- quite a few obedience and agility classes.

7-year-old Syair Ramdass lets Samson sniff his hand during PAWS for Reading on Tuesday.

Samson got his therapy dog designation by being put in situations that a therapy dog might frequently encounter. He was tested on his reaction to loud bed pans being dropped, people in wheelchairs approaching him and food sitting in front of him. He didn't react to any of them, which is what makes a good therapy dog.

They have to be non-reactive: to loud noises, sudden movements and like yesterday, kids pulling and tugging on him.

Most of the hour and a half that he was there he sat contently on the floor, gently sniffing new people that approached him. The kids were enamored, and it seemed Samson was too. About 20 different children rotated through to visit with or read to Samson.

So is he a good listener? Better than most humans I know. Sometimes he would face the kids, other times he'd gaze at the door. He kept a gracious countenance as one child read through the larger part of a novel. And he only spoke back once -- just a very quiet "boof" -- when a treat for him in a child's bag was being discussed.

The Youth Services librarian, Kayla Wallman, loves when Samson visits because she sees how great it is for the kids. Therapy dogs have been coming through the library on and off for the last eight years that Kayla has been there.

6 year old Addonis Osborne reads a book about dogs to Samson.

It's also good for the kids, she says, because some of them are scared of dogs. This shows them that they don't have to be.

The library isn't the only place Samson visits as a therapy dog. Once a week Sandy takes him to the Daughters of Sarah Nursing Home in Albany. There, too, he makes a big impact.

Check the Schenectady Library website for the date of the next "PAWS for Reading" event.