DAVIE, Fla. - It doesn’t take long for a crowd to build up around Moki the therapy dog when he visits Broward College. 

Moki, an 11-year-old mix of Cocker Spaniel, Pomeranian and Chihuahua, is in his second year of visiting the University College Library at the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus in Davie. Moki’s owner, Ruth Stone, adopted him from the Humane Society when he was a few months old. Stone, a longtime volunteer at the Humane Society, keeps a busy schedule with Moki as he visits libraries across Broward County. 

“We do all kinds of things,” Stone said. 

Every first and third Tuesday of the month, Moki visits the library and makes his way around as Stone asks people if they want to pet him. Sometimes they’re hanging out with friends or deep in the middle of studying, but either way, Moki provides a brief respite. He plops down next to everyone and waits to be petted. “I needed that,” one student told Stone after she approached him. 

“Sometimes people say, ‘you made my day,’” Stone said.

Moki is a regular enough presence at the library that students seek him out, sometimes after having seen posters about his visits. 

Student Marijose Hernindez was in the library for a class and saw a poster advertising Moki. Although Hernindez has dogs of her own, she made a point of coming to see Moki. 

“I’m just going to be here for him because he seems lovely,” he said. 

Ayonna Concepcion heard about Moki several weeks ago and sought him out at his most recent visit. She has fish at home. 

“He’s a sweetheart,” she said. 

Aside from providing students with a friendly face and soft fur to pet, Moki visits other libraries as part of the Humane Society’s Wags & Tales Reading Program, which allows children to practice their reading skills with dogs. 

“It’s a privilege to be able to do this,” Stone said.

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