Dog Team Profile

Mabel & Peggy!

Mabel and Peggy are one of SitStayRead’s beloved dog teams, helping young readers build confidence, comfort, and joy through reading.

Certified Good Girl

Meet Mabel

Mabel is a sweet and goofy English Cream retriever with three primary goals in life: to please, to fetch a ball, and to get treats. She knows when to be calm and brings exactly the right energy to every classroom she visits!

Blue animal paw prints of various sizes scattered on a plain white background, with the largest print on the left and smaller prints trailing to the right.
A white dog wearing a blue vest sits indoors on a floor with social distancing signs, near a trophy display case.

Mabel’s Adoption Story

Peggy brought Mabel home as an 8 week old puppy, and the two have been inseparable ever since. Now 8 and a half years old, Mabel has grown into a gentle, devoted companion with a heart as golden as her coat.

Mabel’s Personality

Mabel is sweet, goofy, and eager to please. She has a natural calm about her that makes her a perfect fit for the classroom, and her love for people — especially kids — shines through in everything she does.

Red heart icon with a white paw print in the center, symbolizing love for animals or pets, on a light gray circular background.

Mabel’s Favorite Things

Mabel lives for a good game of fetch, a swim in the lake, and a long, satisfying belly rub. Give her all three in one day and she’s in heaven.

Blue cross with a white paw print in the center, suggesting a veterinary or pet care symbol.

Mabel’s Least Favorite Things

Thunderstorms and car rides are Mabel’s two least favorite things in the world — though she’ll brave the car if it means getting somewhere fun!

Illustration of a hand reaching to pet a dog's head with a red heart above the dog, symbolizing affection or care for animals.

Mabel’s Perfect Day

Mabel’s perfect day starts with a trip to the park for fetch, followed by a walk to the beach for a swim and more ball chasing. After a long nap in the shade, she’d wrap up the evening with a walk to Dairy Queen for a vanilla swirl ice cream in a cup — her ultimate treat.

Cartoon illustration of a person with brown hair and a blue jacket sitting next to a gray dog wearing a red collar.

Mabel’s Nicknames

Peggy calls her Miss Marbles and Maybe — two nicknames as charming as the dog herself.

Two children in green shirts work on a worksheet together on the floor, while a white assistance dog wearing a blue vest lies nearby.
A wet white dog stands in a circular stone fountain with water flowing from the top, surrounded by trees and benches in a park.
A white dog lies in the snow next to two plush toys, with outdoor furniture and snow-covered plants in the background. Snow is falling.
Two children in green shirts work on a worksheet together on the floor, while a white assistance dog wearing a blue vest lies nearby.

Meet Mabel’s Human

How Peggy Found SitStayRead

Peggy first heard about SitStayRead from a friend and began volunteering in Fall 2017 with her dog Woodrow. When Woodrow grew too old for the work, Peggy brought Mabel on board in 2024 — a seamless passing of the torch. Her favorite memory captures exactly why she keeps coming back: a child who had been too afraid to even approach the dog at the start of an 8 week residency worked up the courage on the very last day to walk up to Mabel and feed her a treat. She overcame her fear and learned a new skill — and that moment says everything about the magic of what SitStayRead does.

Meet More SitStayRead Dog Teams

Every SitStayRead dog team brings a unique personality to the program, but they all share one important role: helping children feel more confident as readers.

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