Party Time

Cooper and Sadie each got to have a big party at the library. He has now made 50 visits and Sadie has made 100 visits as a therapy dog to the Ruidoso Public Library. Cooper and Sadie each got a special cookie from No Bones About It   

http://www.nobonesbakery.com/home/

For the kids I made chocolate chip cookies. They were a big hit. Cookies are always a big hit.  

Cooper had a very busy day. Total, 28 kids came to read. Did they come just to read or did they hear that there was homemade cookies. The little preschoolers little ver everything about reading to the dogs. So far they are not very good at telling the stories so we are working on sequencing. They can't read, so they need to tell a story based on the pictures. Some are better than others. Some just want to sit and hug the dogs. Some will talk their ears off. 

Sadie's day was more calm. 100 visits is a lot!  Especially considering she has only gone during the summer reading program. So, 8 weeks during the summer months would take her over 12 years!  Luckily, she has been able to make visits on other days and this year she started working year round. 

So, she actually made her 100th visit before she turned 12. 

Read With Me

Pet Partners has a new program called "Read With Me". It is for those therapy animals that work with reading programs. Perfect for Sadie and Cooper, right?  So, I contacted them as soon as I heard about the program and signed up!  So, now one of them gets to wear a different bandana when they go to the library. Why only one, you ask?  Well, it came as a kit.  There is a book about the program, a bag with the logo to carry everything you might need and a bandana. I really don't need two of the books and I have more bags than I know what to do with. So, I just ordered one, and hope that at some point you can get just the bandana. 

Right now, the dogs are working mostly with preschoolers.  After school some of the older kids come as well.  The preschoolers can't read, so I am working with them using wordless picture books and encouraging them to tell the story. Being able to tell a story is a great pre-reading skill. Sequencing is an important ongoing skill.  This week, I am going to introduce the terms "first" and "next" in our story telling. This will help them to keep the story in a coherent order. 

Next week will be a milestone (more about that later) so I think the preschoolers should get to help celebrate. I will get something for the dogs from their favorite bakery, No Bones About It http://www.nobonesbakery.com/home/ and I will make cookies or something for the kids. 

This is one of the older kids explaining gravity to Cooper. 

Cooper's Birthday at the Library.

Poor Cooper had to work on his birthday.  He didn't seem to mind.  He was so excited to go to the library for "Read to a Dog" day.  Between Cooper and Sadie, about 21 kids came to visit today.  We were there for two hours.  So, a little less than 15 minutes each.  Not too bad.  Some of them read really short books with lots of pictures and a few read a whole chapter from bigger books.

A couple just wanted to snuggle after reading so came back.  The bond that is made between these kids and the dogs is amazing.  For some, it is what motivates them to come back to the library every summer.  One that was there today was 13.  She has been reading to Sadie since she was 7.  She is an accomplished reader and really doesn't need the practice.  She just likes to read and pet the dogs.  

Some of the kids prefer to sit in the chair and just read.  Others want to sit on the floor so the dogs can see the pictures.  I had to explain to some that Sadie doesn't see as well as she used to when she was younger.  Neither the kids nor Sadie seemed to care.  All that was important was the togetherness.

After about an hour and a half, Cooper decided that it was easier to just lay flat and just listen.  It was hard to tell if he was listening or napping.  

It was bitter-sweet comparing photos of Sadie from when she started to now.  While she still has the same spark in her eyes, it is very obvious that she is getting up there in age.  Luckily they have an elevator so she doesn't have to walk up and down the stairs every time we go.

Sadie when she started.

Sadie today.  Not sure why she has her tongue out, but it was the best picture I got of her today.

We will get birthday cookies for them tomorrow.  

 

Pet Partners Testing

Every two years, my dogs renew their Therapy Dog certification.  First, they get a health check up and shots. I was pleased that Cooper has finally gained some weight. At 28.7 pounds, he is still a bit thin, but at least he is gaining. Maybe if he wasn't so "busy" he could gain more. The next step is the Team Evaluation.  For this, we went to El Paso, TX. The test involved some basic obedience-type components, some temperament components and some aptitude components. 

Sadie was first. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous going in. Sadie has decided she doesn't  want to "sit". Ever.  It started a couple of months ago. We believe it is due to arthritis. She is, after all, a senior citizen. We practiced some in the past few weeks with mixed results. Sometimes she would, and other times she would not. I wasn't sure how she would react to the test. I took her into the building and she had some problems walking on the slick floor.  We practiced a couple of times and went in the room for the test. We walked around a bit while the evaluator got the paperwork ready. Everyone else in the room told her how pretty she is. Sadie ate that up!  I told the tester that she might not sit on the slick floor and she sat down!  So we went on from there. Her down was rock solid as was her stay. One of the stay exercises had me go out about 20 feet and then go back. The next one I was supposed go out the 20 feet and call her to me. She took at least a minute and a half to get up from her down position. Then she very slowly came to me. That got lots of sympathetic ohs and ahs. I could tell she did it all for effect and totally enjoyed the attention.  The aptitude and temperament tests went well. She acted like she didn't even hear the loud clanging sound when they dropped a large pan lid. She engaged the "crowd" of people with medical devices and generally loved all the attention. She passed with a complex situations score meaning that she can handle anything. 

Cooper went next. He was the last dog of the day. I am fortunate that they schedule me late enough so that I don't have to leave at the crack of dawn and early enough so I can get home at a decent time. Even though we got there fairly early and had enough time to walk around a bit, Cooper was more than a little excited. In hindsight, it might have been better if he had gone first. He was so happy to see all the people. He just loves to spread his keesieness to new people. He was great at the obedience part until it came to the recall. The tester (different one than with Sadie) pointed at me and said "call him". So he came to me without me having to say a word. So I put him back and called him. He shot towards me like a rocket. He couldn't stop on the slick floor so slammed into my shins and almost took both of us down. (Everyone laughed). He automatically assumes that people will love him so the temperament tests were easy. His favorite part was the group petting. He just couldn't help himself and tried to climb up into laps. So not acceptable. (Everyone laughed). He passed, but got marked down due to his exuberance. 

Sadie got a perfect score. Cooper was perfectly entertaining. Either way, they can continue to do what they love. They will be working at the library this summer and maybe continue after that since I am going to retire again. They love their jobs. 

New addition!

On May 30th, we left the house at 5:30 am. Why so early you ask?  It is a 12 hour drive to Westville. A few weeks earlier Tiffany received a phone call asking if she wanted to co-own a retired champion. It seems he would do better in a home without other dogs. She jumped at the chance and we planned to go as soon as she could arrange some time off. She drove here after work on Thursday (4 hours).  We left really early and started the really long drive. We stopped in Portales and bought peanuts and stopped in Clovis so she could say hi to a friend. The only other time we stopped except for gas was in Amarillo to eat. It was raining really hard most of the way so it took way longer than we expected. We didn't get there until 10:00. We spent the night, got up early and went to the kennel to meet this very handsome young man. There was an immediate reaction to Tiffany. They were both smitten. The drive back didn't take quite as long and it was still light out when we got here. We were able to introduce the dogs to each other briefly before falling into bed. 

We were exhausted!  The trip is 744 miles each way. We drove a total of 1488 miles in two days. Then Tiffany added another 229 miles each way from her house. So, she went a grand total of 1946 miles just for a dog!  Are we crazy?  Maybe.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely!  I won't get into the horrors of puppy mills and the consequences of purchasing pet store puppies. However, before you get a dog, you should at least do as much research as you would when buying a car.  I prefer pure bred dogs. I like knowing what they are going to look like, how big they will be and if they will have good temperament. This is where the research comes into play.  You need to find a breeder that produces healthy dogs that match what you expect. You probably wouldn't "settle" for a mini van if you really wanted a red convertible. You shouldn't settle for a dog either. Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to wait for a while. It took 10 weeks for me to get my Jeep from the factory. There was about a month of research before that.  I love it. It is perfect for me. I waited about 6 months for Cooper. He is perfect for me, too. Tiffany's new dog, Hunter, is perfect for her. Sometimes peace of mind comes in the form of a good breeder.

Hunter didn't seem to mind the long trip with people he had just met. He took it in stride as a new adventure. 

There was so much water everywhere. We were lucky we didn't get stranded by flooding. They even have a road named for the water!