Cute 10-year-old made a 'stick library' for local dogs: 'No late fees, new sticks weekly'

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on February 23, 2021.

Jeremiah Carter, 10, from Saskatchewan, Canada, found a new way to spend his time during the long winters of the pandemic. While he typically likes to play sports with his friends, he found himself looking for alternative ways to keep himself entertained. One day, he got especially creative. He saw someone from New Zealand had posted online about a "stick library," for local dogs to go to "borrow" sticks, like humans would borrow books at a real library, and decided to do the same. The idea struck a chord with thousands online, CNN reports.

"He likes doing sports, he's sports crazy, and he likes hanging out with his friends," the father explained in an interview with the news outlet. "And that hasn't been happening very much lately." In light of all the free time the Carter family had, they were choosing something new to do every night and usually ended up creating something. When Carter stumbled upon a post about the stick library, he decided to try it out with his son. He shared, "We had to do a lot of measuring and figuring to cut the wood and put it all together. Plus Jeremiah got to use the power tools, which always makes it a good time."

The project was particularly close to their hearts as the Carters have a dog themselves. Their pet dog Nala is a Goldendoodle, aged 2. According to Carter, she is "energetic when they take her to the dog park every day." This gave them more incentive to start the project. Once the father-son duo had finished building the stick library, they headed to the local dog park so other dogs could enjoy their creation. The dad stated, "We took it and zip tied it to the fence so it wouldn't disappear, we gathered sticks that we figured dogs would enjoy, and filled it up and waited to see what happened."

To their surprise, the stick library was actually being used by the dogs in the neighborhood. When they visited the dog park one day, there were no sticks remaining in the library. "When we would go to the dog park, there would be no sticks in there, or lots of sticks lying around," Carter said. "It seemed to make people happy and it's given him some enjoyment and a bit of purpose. It seems to be a good thing for the community. It can connect us in a way when we're not as connected as we normally are." Jeremiah has indeed gotten a lot of satisfaction from seeing people interact with the stick library, but its positive effects reach much further. At a time when folks seem more disconnected than ever before, the Carters' project have brought the neighborhood together.