A small but growing number of young students are earning, and coveting, bookmarks with the picture of a big black and brown dog.

On the front of the bookmark are two quotes:

Zeke loves to read!

Zeke says, "Read to someone every day!"

The back of the laminated bookmark states: I was a Paws for Reading reader at the Moon Township Public Library.

Children earn the bookmarks by reading to Zeke, a 6-year-old German shepherd dog. He's the pet of Ben and Nancy Bogus, of Moon, and he's a certified therapy dog.

The program started late last month. Zeke and Mrs. Bogus come to the Moon library from 6:30 to 8 p.m. every Thursday, and children have 15-minute read-aloud sessions with the dog.

"We've already had children sign up for repeat sessions," said children's librarian Jane Miller.

Libraries and schools all over the country have started similar programs. Children love it and parents are happy to see their children cheerfully reading out loud, according to information on the Web site of Therapy Dogs International.

That's the organization that tested Zeke and certified him to make visits to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and any locale where people might benefit from a visit from a well-behaved, well-trained dog.

Reading abilities improve and test scores go up when children read to dogs, the TDI site says.

During a recent session, Zeke wagged his tail and sat or laid quietly as children read. Sometimes he gazed into their eyes. Other times, he looked right at the pages of the book as the children read.

Zeke never criticizes or corrects when a child stumbles over an unfamiliar word. Zeke would never make fun of a child who mispronounces a word.

Children seem to be uninhibited and relaxed when reading to dogs, which is why the program seems to work.

And, it's just plain fun.

Usually the reading is done in a small room with the dog, the young reader and the dog's owner.

Parents and siblings can stay, with the reader's consent, and that's what Lia Cueto, 8, a third-grade student at McCormick Elementary School, agreed to on Oct. 8.

Lia read to Zeke while her brother Ian, 7, and parents, Aldo and Arlene Cueto, of Moon, watched and listened.

"We always come to the library and we saw the announcement about the program," Mrs. Cueto said.

"Lia was very excited. She loves dogs," Mr. Cueto said.

Zeke listened, sometimes looking at the book and at other times gazing adoringly into the eyes of Lia.

Ian rubbed the dog's head, and Zeke rolled over onto his side and put his head on the boy's lap, much to the delight of the family.

Next up was Madison Elias, 8, who arrived with two books.

She held them up in front of Zeke and said, "I didn't know which one he would like."

Mrs. Bogus smiled and said, "He'll like whatever you read to him."

Lia, also a third grade student at McCormick, read her book while holding the pages up in front of Zeke's eyes so that he could see the pictures.

At the end of the session, Lia and her brother Colin, 5, gave Mrs. Bogus a bag of home-made dog treats.

Zeke wagged his tail as Mrs. Bogus explained that TDI rules prohibit therapy dogs from eating during their volunteer visits, but she said Zeke would enjoy the treats at home.

The children also enjoyed looking at photographs taken by Mr. and Mrs. Bogus. Some of the pictures showed the 95-pound Zeke playing with a tiny kitten named Casey.

"That's his kitten," Mrs. Bogus told the children.

She said she brings the pictures because some people are afraid of big dogs. The pictures prove that he is a gentle dog, she said.

Zeke was an unofficial therapy dog for several years.

It started with visits to Sis Dietrick, the mother of Mrs. Bogus. When Zeke would visit with Mrs. Dietrick, other residents in her apartment building would ask to see him.

When Mrs. Dietrick moved into a Bridgeville nursing home, the staff gave permission for Zeke to visit her and other residents.

"Zeke is just a natural therapy dog. We never went to training classes. He's laid-back and sweet tempered," Mrs. Bogus said. The duo made it official last summer, when Zeke took the TDI test and passed on the first try.

Since then he has also made visits to the School for the Blind "and to a private residence where a very sick person requested a visit from a therapy dog."

To maintain his TDI certification, Zeke has to make regular visits to at least three different facilities and must be re-tested once a year.

For more information or to sign up for a reading session with Zeke, call the Moon Township Public Library, 412-269-0334.

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