Louie's Letters

By Karen Pirrone, Roxy Volunteer

Louie, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Roxy volunteer

Louie and I started visiting Kutz Elementary school in 2019.  The kids would read letters to Louie about what they did on the weekend.  I thought it would be a good idea to have Louie write about what he did on the weekend.  We would read his letter together first, then they would ask questions.  Afterward, they would read their letters to him.

And Then There Was COVID

The kids loved having Louie come to the classroom. We were having fun! Then suddenly, everything was shut down! No more visits! No more school! Only Covid. Louie was disappointed. No more Roxy friends! 

Soon Roxy came up with Roxy Reads, a way to continue story time with the students. Not to be outdone, Louie read the stories himself!  He was a big hit! 

Back to School

Soon, school started again, but there were no outside visitors allowed in the school. Since I was still working at Kutz, the students would always ask about Louie. I thought, why not continue with the letters to the kids?  So, Louie began “writing” his letters, and we would email them to his teacher. They began to get more elaborate, including photos and eventually videos! 

Lessons in Letters

His teacher loved the letters and used them as a writing prompt. The kids would then write about the letter and give them to me in the office. It was great! Reading their letters made my day! I would send a letter to school every other week. The alternating weeks I would send them a story that Louie read to them. 

Louie’s 7 Letters

Roxy then requested “day in the life” stories from the Roxy dogs, so the kids could see what their friend was up to. They were put on the Roxy site and made available to the whole district. Since we had been writing letters, putting them on the site was just the thing! Louie now has 7 letters available to read on the website. (Scroll to the bottom.) The kids all have their favorite, and since we are visiting 5 classrooms this year, everyone knows how much Louie loves his frisbee!