By Anita Weier
Northside News
Jimmy is an 11-year-old dog who enthralled children at Lakeview Library merely by sitting quietly as they read to him, pet him and talk to him and his human friend and owner, Jean Krieg.
Once a month on Mondays, children come to see Jimmy. He often has repeat visitors, some of whom have dogs at home and some who do not. Jimmy sits or lies down on a dog blanket where books about dogs await attention.
Jimmy is a Pet Partners registered therapy dog, a Read With Me Dog, and a member of Dogs on Call, Inc. He is tested every two years to maintain these ratings. The tests he must pass include walking past another dog without disruption, looking at his owner and being under voice control, staying in place, sitting on cue, accepting a friendly stranger, accepting rough petting and walking through a crowd.
Jimmy and Jean live on the Northside with Jean’s partner, Mike Joyce, so Lakeview Library is a logical place to visit.
Jimmy is a mixed breed dog born in March 2009 and came to Madison from Mississippi. He is black, white and tan and weighs 66 pounds.
“I got him when he was nine months old, and he had already had two owners by then. This was in 2009 during the recession, when many people couldn’t afford dogs,” Krieg said. “He was a rescue dog who came to Wisconsin through Tail Waggers 911 out of Thiensville. They take truckloads of dog food down south and truck back adoptable dogs. He is just the sweetest dog. He assimilated very well in our home. Everything had to be taught, but he was very eager to please and learned quickly.”
Jimmy doesn’t say much about his past, but he obviously enjoys the present. He and Jean started visiting various libraries in the Madison area in 2013. He also visits the UW Campus to calm students before exams.
The pair also participated in a celebration of the birthday of the Dane County Regional Airport, where it was very noisy and balloons were popping. “He looked at me like I should get him out of there,” Krieg recalled.
One of Jimmy’s readers on a recent day at Lakeview Library was 5-year-old Sam Whaley. Sam’s mother, Alex Fulton, said he has just learned to read and “enjoys interacting with a dog other than our dog.” After their session with Jimmy, Sam and his mother went off to an Early Readers Book Club at the library.
Jimmy and Jean will be back at Lakeview Library when Madison libraries reopen. He will also be present during months after that, but no schedule has yet been set. Children sign up in advance. If there is free time, Jimmy and Jean walk through the children’s area and gain interest.
“Jimmy brings so much joy to patrons of all ages,” said Madeleine Kain, youth services librarian at Lakeview. “It’s so important to give children who are learning to read an experience without any pressure. So they just read and pet the dog.”
Some children have visited Jimmy several times. “It is the best feeling to see these kids come back because it means they got something out of it,” Krieg said. “They are opening up and reading better. Studies show that if you can’t read well by third grade, it affects the rest of your life.”