Sad Dog Inundated With Requests From Kids Who Want To Read To Him

WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN — Poor Sting, a greyhound dog in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. No one wanted to read to him during the Paws to Read literacy program at the local library. So he splayed his long legs on a quilt and looked more lonely and forlorn than any dog has ever looked.

John Muellner, the friendly dog’s owner snapped some photos and popped them up on Facebook. “Unfortunately,” he wrote, “nobody signed up to read to Sting at the White Bear Lake library tonight.”

The post did the trick. It was shared nearly 100,000 times, and now Sting has a date — many dates.

"Honestly I was hoping when my friend re-posted the link publicly on FB I was hoping to get more people interested in bringing their kids to the library, but nobody could have expected this craziness," Muellner told Patch.

Sting, 10, is a former racing-turned-therapy dog. Regular stops include the Gillette Children’s Hospital in Saint Paul, as well as a nursing home in Hugo, where he lives.

Muellner describes Sting, a retired racing dog he adopted from the Minneapolis chapter of Greyhound Pets of America, as "super laid-back."

"At Gillette Children's hospital he just tends to wander up to patients, their family or staff nice and slow looking for a pet," Muellner said. "First thing people can't believe is how soft and quiet he is. At the library he's usually already laying down and the kids just plop down next to him. We tell the kids to show him the pictures, because that's the part he likes best. We used to go to a couple other hospitals, but I've decided since he's turned 10 last month, he can take it a bit easier."

Muellner enrolled Sting in the Paws to Read program to add some variety to the dog's day.

"I wanted to find a different environment to be involved in, and the library seemed a good one," Muellner said. "He's so easygoing, and honestly it gave him a chance to do what he does best, lay there and look adorable. The library shoots for the age of 4 to around 8 years old, so they can help them work on their confidence in reading and reading out loud. And I find it very rewarding to see the looks on their face at the end."

Sting will be at the library for the next Paws to Read session on Feb. 21, and he’s booked through April for the program, which allows kids of all ages to improve their literacy skills by reading aloud. Similar programs are held at libraries across the state.

"We got inundated with calls from people all over the country who wanted to visit him," Ann Wahlstrom, the library’s children's librarian, told KMSP-TV. "People wanted us to hold a phone up to his ear so they could read to him."

Calls to the library came from as far away as New Zealand. An entire team at a Petco store in California called the library to say how much they love Sting, Wahlstrom told NBC’s “Today” show.

“It’s just amazing, the outpouring,” she said.

Some people who saw Sting’s long face worried if he was OK.

“People who don’t know Sting don’t know that’s his normal look,” Wahlstrom told KARE-TV. “He isn’t sad or lonely but that’s just the look he normally has."

Of Sting's sudden popularity, Wahlstrom told KMSP: “Our hearts are full. I mean, it’s kids and reading and dogs.”

As for Sting, he’s “pretty blasé about it," Muellner told KARE. "Very unflappable."

"We’re just so touched that people are taking time out of their schedule and loving Sting and giving us a call and checking in," Wahlstrom told KARE. "We’re just overwhelmed with love."

Here's the post that brought all the love to Sting.

Photo of Sting and his body guards courtesy of John Muellner