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Therapy Dogs Lend An Ear To Young Readers

Little Luke loves to tell stories -- especially now that he has a listening ear.

Brewster, a therapy dog, is Luke's very attentive, never judgmental audience of one.

"There's no judgement. It's totally relaxed. They read at their own pace, but the dog never judges," said Mary Kleiss of Therapy Dogs International.

Mary and Brewster are giving otherwise shy kids a chance to read, uninhibited, unhindered and out loud at the Royal Oak Public Library.

There's something about reading to a dog that takes away stage fright.

"Many kids are self-conscious about it and in a school situation they may be extra uptight and their not liking to have to stop on words that they don't know or can't pronouce. And so this way it's just a much more relaxed atmosphere," said Mary Karshner, Director of the Royal Oak Public Library.

It's exactly why Royal Oak Public Library offers this unique program, once a month, 10 months a year.

Like most kids, it only takes Luke a few minutes with Brewster to a make a difference.

This feature is part of CBS 62's Eye On Detroit series as seen weekdays during "CBS This Morning".

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