Library loans out dogs

Photo: The Canadian Press

You can take out almost anything from libraries these days, but this one requires a leash.

Eight therapy dogs will be available to borrow from the Canine Library on Saturday for 15-minute outings as part of Vancouver's Poetry in Parks initiative.

Candie Tanaka of the Vancouver Public Library says people will have an opportunity to sit with a dog and a handler and either read from provided material or bring their own.

She says the event is a chance for those who don't own a dog to interact with one.

Ashten Black of the therapy dog program at St. John Ambulance says the animals are non-judgemental and reading to them is disarming and fun.

She says the dogs are not picky about the reading material but her pet, named Pig, enjoys poetry.

The poetry program was a pilot project launched in 2015 to bring poetry to Vancouver parks.