Everyone knows about seeing-eye dogs.  But did you know that there are other types of service dogs?  Debbie Fedorovich has such a dog — Sheila.  She wrote Adventures of Sheila the Therapy Dog to teach children about what she and Sheila do.

The author avoids falling into traps that are common with this type of book.  The story is not “cheesy,” nor is it self-aggrandizing.  It’s written in third person, and sounds like “just” a story — but it happens to be true.

Sheila’s story begins with her homecoming from the pet shop.

The puppy images are reminiscent of 101 Dalmatians.  We learn what prompted Debbie to train her as a therapy dog.  We read about what that training entailed.  We learn about her taking (and passing!) her test.  And then we begin to read about what she does as a therapy dog.

Sheila keeps residents company at nursing homes.  She brings healing to patients at rehabilitation centers.  She even helps children learn to read!

The tone of the book is matter-of-fact.  Concepts (like “nursing homes”) that might be unfamiliar to children are clearly explained, but there is no condescension.

My children thoroughly enjoyed this book (and made it disappear, or you’d have heard about it sooner!).  I feel like they learned from it — and I admit that I enjoyed it, too.

Disclosure: I was provided by the author with a copy of the book to facilitate this review.  As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own, and those of my family.