Special Spaniels

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T12:42:00.001-06:00

Toby and Special Spaniels wishes everyone a Happy New Year! Toby is surrounded by his 2012 storybooks - lots of great, new books for kids! He looks forward to reading with children, groups and any interested individual. Visit us at SpecialSpaniels.org to schedule a visit!

2011-12-15T12:15:00.003-06:00

Toby loves Christmas & knows his friends are on Santa’s “good” list. He’s been reading Frosty to his pals this season. Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! Visit us at www.specialspaniels.org for updates and to plan a visit from Toby.

Halloween

2011-10-21T13:56:00.001-05:00

The Littlest Pumpkin
By: R.A. Herman

I love Halloween and dressing up! And reading Halloween stories with my friends is one of my favorite things to do! The Littlest Pumpkin is one of my top 5 books for Halloween. It is about a pumpkin who is the smallest one in the group. She is very excited about the holiday and being a part of the celebration. As the families come to the Bartlett Farm Stand during the day, the Littlest Pumpkin waits anxiously to be picked by one of the children. But her dreams never come true. At the end of the day, she is left in the patch. But the mice living at the farm end up making the Littlest Pumpkin’s Halloween truly special.

If you would like me to come and read with you, please give a call to my good friend, Julie at 219-398-8082. All of my visits are free of charge. Check out my website at www.specialspaniels.org to learn more about Special Spaniels Therapy Dogs!

Our Newest Member!

2011-09-22T12:43:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone!

Hi Everyone!! This is Toby, the Special Spaniel Therapy Dog! I would like to introduce you to our newest human member of Special Spaniels Therapy Dogs, Inc. His name is Austin John Dearing and he is the son of Julie Chelich. Austin was born August 28 and is excited about his new role in visiting children and adults with myself and our handlers. He already loves to have books read to him and seems to prefer many different genres. Hopefully you will get to meet him in the near future. Have a great day!

Your Reading and Therapy Dog!

Toby

Plan a visit from Special Spaniels!

2011-04-30T15:48:00.001-05:00

Special Spaniels is getting ready for a busy May! To help children & literacy or to arrange a visit from Toby go to www.specialspaniels.org

Playing in the Snow

2011-02-03T15:06:00.002-06:00

Toby and Ziva had a great time during the Chicago 2011 Snow Blizzard. They loved having the day off and are now ready to get back to reading with their friends. Visit www.specialspaniels.org to set up your free visit and tail wagging experience!

Arrange a Free Visit with Toby!

2011-01-30T21:54:00.000-06:00

Special Spaniels is gearing up for a wonderful and busy 2011. Toby is excited to be a part of the lives of so many special children and individuals. He is also looking forward to meeting many new friends this year. We are putting together our calendar for Spring and would love to visit you! Please stop by our site at www.SpecialSpaniels.org and e-mail us. We can’t wait to bring our tail wagging happiness to your home or business. Remember – all visits are free!

Alex's Lemonade Stand

2010-10-06T22:24:00.003-05:00

Please follow a wonderful organization that helps children with cancer and is working to find a cure for this terrible disease. Please let your family and friends know about Alex's Lemonade Stand and support them in any way that you can. Thanks from me (Toby) and all my special friends! The links to the organization are listed below:

Website: https://www.alexslemonade.org/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AlexsLemonade

Great Website for Kids

2010-09-20T15:50:00.003-05:00

Toby, the Special Spaniel Therapy Dog, suggests that you check out @MrsPstorytime
and www.MrsP.com for info on kid's writing contest & books, videos, etc An award-winning FREE interactive digital storybook destination. Classic children’s stories brought to life by TV star Kathy Kinney as Mrs. P. You'll love it, I do!!

Reading to Children

2010-08-21T09:55:00.002-05:00

Here is a great article about another dog, just like myself, who likes to read to kids and the great things that can happen. "N.M. School uses dog to give kids leg up on reading," http://tiny.cc/nj6ap Give me a call if you would like to have me come and visit you and read to you. Or you can send me an e-mail at my own address - Toby@specialspaniels.org!!!! I'd love to take some time and meet you!

Toby, The Reading Dog
219.378.6956
Toby@specialspaniels.org

City Dog, Country Frog

2010-08-02T20:32:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!
City Dog, Country Frog is my new favorite book!! It's by Mo Willems and my 4-7 year old friends really like it. It has wonderful watercolor pictures and a story about friendship, differences and loss but with a really cool ending! Send me an e-mail at Toby@specialspaniels.org and I will personally come and read the book to you!

Your Tail Wagging Buddy!
Toby

August Visitations

2010-07-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

We have taken some time off during the months of June and July and now are ready to come back and begin our visitations to old and new friends. Please visit our website at specialspaniels.org to see where we will be during the month of August. Stop by and say "hi" and give us a pat on the back!!

2010-05-27T10:40:00.002-05:00

We have updated our website with new pictures and our June newsletter. Please take a moment to stop by and check it out at www.specialspaniels.org

Toby's Review of SteamPotVille

2010-05-22T11:34:00.005-05:00

Title: SteamPotVille

Author: Steve Ouch

About the Book:

One part Where’s Waldo, two parts I Spy, and three parts Monty Python: pop them in a blender, hit spin, and you get the topsy-turvy world of SteamPotVille! Every day in SteamPotVille is extraordinary—cats are mooing, monkeys are riding on horses, and cows are flying through the air! Each spread showcases a unique, lush, never-before-seen landscape that draws one into this magical town. Readers will be enchanted to visit the pages again and again looking at the eye-popping artwork. At the end of the book, children are invited to become residents of the town and to revisit the pages looking for hidden animals, objects, and people. But is SteamPotVille just a dream or does it really exist?

About the Author:

Steve Ouch has a degree in international business and currently works as a social media consultant. He has worked with Intel, Twitter, and Facebook leading social media campaigns. He has a strong web presence and summer 2009 he made monthly movies for Ford’s viral video campaign while traveling around the country to promote the Ford Fiesta. In May 2008, he self-published SteamPotVille. Ouch lives in Portland, Oregon.

My Review:

SteamPotVille is a book that is not only entertaining to children of all ages but also a wonderful educational tool. The story presents itself in a funny and magical way combining both hand drawn illustrations and photographic pictures to illustrate a rhymed verse throughout the book. The illustrations are bright with unbelievable clarity and depth that captivate the young and old reader alike

The author has a marvelous way of presenting this crazy and zany story using minimal sentences. The pictures are the highlight of the book and open up a wide range of opportunities in which to develop enjoyable learning experiences beyond the initial reading of the story. The author does include pictures at the end of the book and asks you to locate these animals throughout the pages of the story. Other options for utilizing the book include having younger children discuss what they see on each page and develop their own stories about the animals, having them draw pictures to illustrate their own versions of the book and allowing older children to write on-going stories and elaborate on the initial storyline in the book.

The children that I have worked with and read SteamPotVille to have responded in an amazingly positive way. Although they want to hear the story again, they really want to see the pictures and discuss what they see and think is happening or could happen to these animals and items in the pictures. There have been many moments of deep laughter from the children and myself as we wove our own tales. This book definitely encourages participants to use their creative imagination while reading and viewing it. It is a must for all ages and delights the reader each and every time with something new.

If you would like to purchase this book, it can be found on my website at www.specialspaniels.org under FAQ/Links/Bookstore or at Amazon.com.

Be sure to follow Steve on Twitter and tell him his book is awesome! You can also read more about Steve Ouch and SteamPotVille at http://steampotville.com/

I am giving away one copy of SteamPotVille, courtesy of Running Press. If you would like to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment with your email address by midnight on June 10, 2010. I will draw one winner at random and contact you if your name is drawn.

Facebook and Twitter Connections

2010-05-01T17:44:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter under Special Spaniels. We love to be able to update you on new and exciting things that are happening with us. By utilizing these other sites, we will be able to keep in touch no matter where you are.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you on our other sites.

Ziva, the Wonder Dog!

Beautiful Day for Barking

2010-04-30T11:55:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

It is a beautiful sunny day where I live and I'm going to take a walk with my owner to the Gazebo in my city. I'll be taking a book with me to read to anyone who may be interested. I hope your day is just as wonderful.

Ziva

The Stinky Cheese Man

2010-04-21T21:19:00.004-05:00

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka

I love this book! And it does not stink!! I was hoping that I would be able to smell it from a distance with my fantastic dog nose because it said it has a stinky cheese man in it but I could not find a bad smell anywhere in the book. The pictures are sooo funny and the kids laughed when they saw the bowling ball and the frog's tongue! After our storytelling, we had a great time drawing pictures about the characters that we had met in the story. I can’t wait to be able to read it with another group of children soon. I will put a copy of the picture that I drew in my blog tomorrow. Come back and see if you can guess who it is.

First Post!!!

2010-04-15T13:22:00.003-05:00

We are so excited to have our first blog up and running! Let me introduce myself. I am Ziva, the original Special Spaniels Therapy Dog. My friend and fellow Cocker Spaniel, Lucky Charms, and I started Special Spaniels on March 22, 2009. We visit with children and individuals throughout Northwest Indiana and Chicago, Illinois.

Special Spaniels Therapy Dogs Reading Program is organized to assist in developing the literacy skills and enriching the lives of special needs children, preschool/elementary school children and any individual who would like to utilize our services.

Our reading program is multifaceted, comprehensive and innovative. The community has a tremendous need for additional assistance with limited resources and opportunities. Special Spaniels Therapy Dogs Reading Program has identified appropriate community groups, organizations and special needs schools and Lucky and I offer our program free of charge. We will also give each child a book so they can read at home and parents can become involved with their child’s literacy development. A measurable outcomes evaluation tool will be used to monitor the progress and successful implementation of the program.

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Lucky and I will review books that we have read to our human friends. We will also make suggestions on books for you to read in the future. Reading is fun!!

Check back tomorrow for our first review and new pictures! We hope to meet you someday and read with you!