Great Bend Post
For more than six years, Luna, the Burnese mountain dog, and her handler, Glenn Schraeder, helped young, shy students become more confident readers at the Great Bend Public Library. On Sept. 4, the library reported Luna’s passing in a lengthy Facebook post.
The post went on to say:
As most of you know, Luna was a Reading Pet Partner dog. As part of the program, children could come read to Luna at the Library. Luna, along with her handler Glenn, have been coming to the Great Bend Public Library since 2018. Back in May of this year, Luna officially retired from full-time volunteer work at the library. At almost 10 and a half at the time, she was ready to spend more time relaxing and vacationing in her favorite spot, Colorado, with her family. Luna was a Bernese Mountain dog with a life expectancy of 7 to 9 years, so we were extremely lucky to have her for as long as we did.
We at the library try and take solace in the fact that she lived a long and rich life. She was the embodiment of a gentle giant, and she touched the hearts of all who met her. Luna spent almost three quarters of her life helping children to gain confidence in reading and helped bring the joy of reading to countless children. Luna will be remembered for the wonderful legacy she leaves behind and the no doubt thousands of people she brought joy to in her lifetime.
READ MORE: MEET LUNA: THERAPY DOG HELPING SHY READERS
Before Luna's passing, the library had been working with other organizations to get a story walk created in Luna's honor. Although we are deeply saddened by the news of Luna's passing, we are filled with gratitude that we get to continue Luna's legacy of dedication to childhood literacy and honor her in such a special way. We will speak more on this subject in our upcoming Book Nook article next Thursday, including opportunities for the community to help us make Luna's Story Walk a reality.
Finally, we would like to thank Luna's handler, Glenn. Glenn has been right by Luna's side at the library since 2018. He has brought her to weekly Read to Luna events and countless other library events over the years. During our Summer reading programs, he even provided prizes to Luna's top readers. We would like to thank Glenn for being a faithful part of our library family for so many years and for his time and dedication to improving childhood literacy in our community. Thank you, Glenn, most of all for sharing your amazing, wonderful dog Luna with us for all these years. She has been an amazing gift to this library and community. One we will all sorely miss. Rest in peace over the rainbow bridge, Luna.