Wesley the therapy dog, Pine Creek Animal Hospital, Lucky Dawg Animal Rescue and Parkesburg Area Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) were among the participants in a Pet Fair presented on July 10 by the Atglen Public Library (APL). The first-time event, which took place in the parking lot of Atglen Borough Hall, was held in keeping with the theme of the library's Summer Reading Program, "Tails and Tales."

Wesley was at the Tails and Tales Pet Fair with his owner, Amy Celona, who explained that Wesley visits the APL as part of the PAWS for Reading program. "Reading to a dog (provides) a non-judgmental audience," Celona said, noting that Wesley was available for Zoom reading sessions with children when the library was shut because of COVID-19.

Wesley also visits children every other week at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del. "He'll get up on the bed with a (sick) child and just lay down," Celona noted.

Welsey is part of Paws For People, a nonprofit organization that provides therapy dogs to visit with senior citizens, children and people with disabilities. Therapy dogs are also utilized in businesses and in courtroom settings to help people relax during stressful situations. To learn more about Wesley, visit http://www.facebook.com/wesleytherapydog.

Young APL patron Piper Pine was on hand to present a jar full of dog bones to Wesley. As part of a library contest, children were asked to guess how many treats were in a jar. When Piper won the contest, she decided to donate them.

Dr. Jen Morris from Pine Creek Animal Hospital, along with her husband, Christopher, brought their Great Danes, Cyrus, Brisket and Turducken, to the Pet Fair. Visitors were invited to pet the dogs, including the largest of the group, Cyrus, who weighs 200 pounds. Jen reported that Cyrus eats 12 cups of food a day and sleeps in an orthopedic dog bed. The other dogs sleep in toddler beds.

Lucky Dawg Animal Rescue brought several kittens and puppies, which are available for adoption, to the Pet Fair. Lucky Dawg is no-kill, foster-based, all-volunteer animal rescue that is dedicated to rescuing homeless, abused or unwanted animals. To view a list of available cats and dogs and to complete an adoption application, visit http://www.luckydawganimalrescue.com.

April Kenworthy-Brade from Parkesburg Area TNR was available to talk about the organization, which is composed of volunteers committed to getting the stray cat population under control by utilizing the TNR method. She explained that once the feral cats are trapped, neutered and vaccinated, they are returned to their home environment. Kittens are put into foster care until they can be adopted. To learn more, visit http://www.facebook.com/TeamParTNR.

With the help of Robbyn Kehoe, library director, children who visited the Pet Fair were able to sign up for the library's Summer Reading Program. Karen's Pet Clips was also on-site to offer reduced-rate nail clipping.

More information about upcoming Summer Reading Program activities is available at http://www.facebook.com/AtglenPublicLibrary and http://www.atglenpubliclibrary.org.