​On Feb. 2, members of the Next Chapter Book Club at the Davie County Public Library hosted some feathered friends.

Congratulations are in order.

On Monday, the National Book Foundation announced the winner and honorable mentions of the 2016 Innovations in Reading Prize.

​Bill Porter, a book club member, prepared a list of questions to ask Maltba about Minnie, wanting to know how she’s helpful to him, how long it takes to train her, and if she can be a regular dog outside of being a service dog.

Maltba and Minnie spent 400 hours of training getting to know each other, he said to the group. And, when Minnie wears her service vest, she knows she’s “on the clock” and working. Whenever Malta takes it off of her, like he did at the library, she’s just like any other dog and hangs out, he explained.

Bringing Minnie in to the book club allowed them to see the real-life workings of the story, Parsons said.

“It’s not pretend,” she said. “People really do have Minnies and Clares and it really works.”

The book club also occurs in a public space and encourages interaction between individuals with developmental disabilities with anyone passing through the library, as stated in a library news release.

“Literacy is not just the mechanics of reading,” Parsons stated in the release. “It is the enjoyment of gaining ideas and sharing them with others who also want a bigger life. That’s the ‘why’ of book clubs. Book clubs are for everyone.”

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