Fido and Friend in Five: Marianne Mitchell and Misty!

Marianne and Misty

Misty & young reader

As most of you know, my day job is as a librarian for the Salt Lake County Library System. Like many public libraries, we have therapy dogs come to our library most every Saturday for the kids to read to. All of us who work in the library are so excited when the dogs come! And the kids are so earnest in their reading to the dogs--and of course, the dogs are non-judgemental. So I'm particularly pleased to have in the spotlight this week author Marianne Mitchell and her therapy dog/Read Dog, Misty. Marianne and Misty are quite a team, volunteering in many different capacities to help homeless pets, and share their love of books with kids. As if she isn't busy enough, Misty--yes, Misty the dog--has her own blog! She not only talks on her blog about their volunteer exploits, but also shares dog treat recipes and talks about her favorite books. Sign up because, I mean seriously, how many dog's blogs do you follow?

Marianne is a busy, busy author. She's the author of numerous books, ranging from mysteries for middle-graders to folk tales for the young-uns. Her novel, Finding Zola, is a riveting mystery about a 13-year-old wheelchair-bound girl determined to solve the mystery of her neighbor's disappearance. Her lovely picture book, Maya Moon, is a re-telling of the folk tale from Mexico that explains why the moon changes shape.

Note the t-shirt!

1. How did you and Misty find each other?  I was a volunteer at the Larimer Humane Society in Fort Collins, Colorado, when Misty (then called "Mystique") showed up on their website. My first words to her were, "Hello, gorgeous!" She was five years old then and her previous owner had become too sick to keep her. I wish that lady could know how happy Misty and I are to have each other. After her adoption, I had a t-shirt made up with our picture on it saying, "We found each other at Larimer Humane." We celebrate her adoption date each year with a donation to Larimer Humane.

2. What makes Misty's tail wag?  When we lived in Colorado, it was chasing squirrels along the fence. Now in Arizona, it's chasing lizards as they scurry from bush to bush. She never catches them, but she loves the hunt and wags her tail the whole time. She also wags and jumps when it's time for us to go listen to kids read to her at the library or at a school.

3. What's your all-time favorite dog story?  My favorite picture book featuring a dog is My Big Dog, by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. I once had a golden retriever like the dog in that story.

The Fab Misty!

4. If Misty could change just one thing about you, what would it be?  She'd like me to be smart enough to teach her something really hard, like astrophysics. She loves the challenge of learning new things and the biscuit rewards that follow.

5. In five words, tell us what Misty means to you:  Love. Comfort. Friend. Motivation. Inspiration.

You are so right, Marianne. Thanks so much to this inspiring, motivating duo for visiting Fido and Friend! Check out both Marianne and Misty online to find out their latest adventures!