Toots , A seafaring Dog Tale

When I retired from teaching in 2006 after thirty-three years of teaching, I jumped on our sailboat, Drama Queen, with my husband, Toots and my journals. It was a time of adventure as we set off to wherever we landed. I wrote every day. This little cairn terrier was six years old and had never lived on a boat. She adapted to our fiberglass deck

 and getting breaks by riding the dinghy to shore. She never complained and her loyalty grew stronger each day.

I observed her behavior and she is truly my dedicated fan. I return her love by being her number one fan, too. In my observation of Toots, I started to narrate her story and found myself giving her pirate traits. It doesn't take me long to become a pirate so I joined her and the next thing I knew I was telling her story and we were pirate mates. I also included Max as one of our pirate mates, too.

The children always delighted in her cuteness and I always was amazed at how docile and sweet Toots was around the children. Animals tell so much about who they are in their interaction with you, but they also tell you about yourself.  Toots is twelve years old and a fabulous Old Dame that likes hanging with me and is always a great entertainer for children. I always have to check with the schools to determine whether she is allowed to visit the school. Sometimes there are restrictions because of children's allergies. Regardless whether she comes along with the performance, Toots, A Seafaring Dog Tale, takes children on adventure of pirates and they learned about Toots who traveled with Arabella, my female pirate character.
Contact me for more information about storytelling programs or writing workshops at maureenbarry380@hotmail.com

Writing original Stories

I have been writing my original stories and performing them for a number of years. Stories connect us to others. We share experiences through stories. I travel to schools and perform assemblies around my books. The children are receptive audiences as they delight in connecting with chickens, frogs, other farm animals and occasionally a pirate takes them on an adventure with a seafaring dog by the name of Toots.

The Barn at Spring Brook Farm exposes children to animals that are trained to work with people who may be sick or disabled. The person develops a relationship with one of the farm animals and then starts to walk or make progress through the relationship.
As a storyteller, I tell about the animals and how each is special in a unique way. I use puppets and a farmhand approach to connecting with the children. The performance is interactive and not only entertains but teaches about the special qualities of animals.