Cuteness overload as story dog Daisy visits Heritage Bank branch

10 May 2021

Heritage Bank’s Plaza Branch had a special visitor last week when Daisy the Story Dog dropped by to promote the newly launched program, which uses the unique appeal of a loveable pup to encourage kids to read.

The Story Dog program is built around the idea of children reading to dogs, which creates a safe and enjoyable environment for them to develop a love of reading.

Volunteers take their dogs to a school, where they engage with children normally in Year 2. 

Reading sessions take place in a quiet area of the school grounds, such as the library or outside the classroom. A reading session is approximately 20 minutes long, where each child is one-on-one with the dog team. Books are chosen to suit the student´s reading level. 

The program is relatively new to Toowoomba, and Heritage Bank has come on board as their most recent sponsor.

Heritage’s support will enable a Story Dogs team to visit a Toowoomba school for a year.

Two-year-old Daisy was a huge hit when her owner Kate brought her into Heritage’s Plaza Branch on Friday last week to promote Story Dogs Day, the annual fundraiser for the program.

The program is looking for more supporters so story dogs can be linked up to more schools on the Toowoomba area. 

Anyone willing to help can find out more at www.storydogs.org.au

PHOTO:  Reading a book to Daisy the Story Dog during her visit to Heritage Bank’s Plaza Branch are (from left) Jasmin McLoughlin, Jacinta McCoy, Haylie Goulding and Lauren Burgess.