Living

This magnificent autumn weather we are experiencing in western Massachusetts is doing wonders for my beloved senior dog James.  The temperature is just right for him.  Not the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter.  It’s just to his liking.

I get such a thrill taking this boy for his morning walk.  This morning, he was actually running ahead of me at a full gallop.  I let him go out way ahead of me, his head held high, a huge smile on his face.  I started running, too.  Let’s go boy! I said.  And, off we went, running together, full speed ahead.  Pure joy for both of us.  I love this dog!  He’d go even further, but two miles really is enough.  He does slow down part way home, takes a rest, then starts up again in a trot.

Whatever is ailing him…  arthritis in his rear legs, his drooping right eye a possible sign of brain cancer, or simply old age (he’ll be 13 on 12/17/13), he’s making the most of his days.  And, I am enjoying every precious moment I share with this very special dog.

King has been with us here on Bridgvale Farm for six weeks now.  After a quick settling in period (he really made himself at home the first day!), we began working on his therapy dog training skills together.  We headed to public places, like our town library and Dave’s pet food store to socialize with lots of people and go into unfamiliar places.  We are attending therapy dog training classes together to familiarize King with the skills and techniques we will be using while visiting.  And, we have made several appearances to the nursing home I have visited weekly for over twenty years.

Every step of the way, King’s gentle, loving  spirit shines through.  King simply wants to please.  He’s in sync with me and seems to read my mind.  The residents at the nursing home love King.  I knew they would.  Each time we go, I remind the folks that King is in training to be a therapy dog.  I point out his yellow training vest and explain to them that when King passes his evaluation and is certified, he will start wearing the blue Bright Spot therapy dog vest that they have seen my other dogs wearing.  Well, said one resident, I say he passes!  He’s a wonderful therapy dog!  Another resident chimed in, Me, too!  He’s a great therapy dog!  We love seeing him.  

In my experience, the residents are usually right.  They know what they like.  If King passes their approval, he’s in!  I can’t wait to make it official.  This sweet, gentle boy is going to have an amazing therapy dog career ahead of him.

Lily had a bath, trim, and blow dry so that she’s looking extra special for our Bright Spot Stress-Relief Event this Thursday at Bay Path College in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.  Lily will be joined by 12 other Bright Spot Therapy Dogs and their teammates to hang out with students as they prepare for mid-term exams.

Our therapy dog visits to college campuses during exam periods help to relieve the stress brought on by studying and the actual anxiety of sitting down to take the test.  Today, college students are faced with mounting college loans and the uncertainty of finding a job when they graduate.  Stress is high.  Many students have commented that having the therapy dogs on campus during exams is extremely relaxing and provides a pleasant break from studies.  “This is the best thing the college has ever done for us,” one student remarked, as he sat stroking one of our therapy dogs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Big Chill event last May.

The event at Bay Path College is one of several Bright Spot Stress-Relief events planned for area colleges this year.  Stay tuned for photos and story coming up after Thursday’s event.

Wearing his training vest, King heads into the nursing home.

It’s pouring rain today, but I didn’t want to let that stop King & I from making a visit to our nursing home together.  Since James retired from his career as a Therapy Dog, my regular visits to the nursing home had stopped.  I have gone only on occasion to evaluate a new volunteer or to give a private lesson.  I miss these folks – and they miss seeing my wonderful English Setters.

Our visit was planned to be brief.  King & I arrived one-half-hour prior to lunchtime.  A dog cannot visit during times food is served, so that kept us on schedule.  King was well-received.  Several of the  old-time residents thought he was James.  Correction was made – with an explanation that James had retired and King (related to James) would be making regular visits once be becomes certified through Bright Spot Therapy Dogs.  Oh – were they thrilled to hear that!

King sat right in close to each person he met in a wheelchair.  In a few cases, he placed his head on residents’ laps.  Those who bent down close were given a kiss.  One woman, who was in the rehab wing, told me that she had a dog and a cat at home and she missed them so much.  As she pet King’s head, she leaned down and whispered in his ear.  Tears were welling in her eyes.  I’m whispering a special message to King.  Just for King.  Then she thanked me for bringing King in to see her.

Reluctantly, King does a long Sit.

This first visit offered me an opportunity to observe King to see how he reacted in the health care environment, how well he interacted with residents and rehab patients, and how he performed his obedience commands.  He certainly did well in the environment and with the people, but his Sit command was none existent.  When I asked him to Sit, he simply looked up at me with his sweet, expressive eyes.  He naturally sat himself, however, when interacting with folks.  I was pleased to see that his Heeling was fine…  certainly needs more work, but quite acceptable.

Bottom line, in 30 minutes, King engaged with a lot more people than I had expected.  Many family members were there to have lunch with their loved ones.  So, in a short time, he succeeded in making many, many people happy on an otherwise rainy, dreary day.  Good job, King!

Training my dogs is just part of my daily routine, just like waking up, reading a book, taking walks, writing about therapy dogs…  all the activities that go into making my day of Living and Working with Therapy Dogs.  When I get a new dog, though, training goes to a higher level.  The new dog is not building and maintaining skills, he’s learning them for the first time.

Today, King made a trip with me to buy groceries and dog food.  While I picked up a few provisions at the market for our weekend meals, King sat patiently in the car gazing out the window.  When I headed into Dave’s for the dog food, King walked by my side into the store.  One can expect to be met by other canines in Dave’s.  Dogs are most welcome in this pet food establishment.  Right away, King spotted a lovely white standard Poodle in the distance.  No problem…  I gave him the Leave It command, and on we went.  We were in Dave’s to practice his skills.  Not to play with the other dogs.   Along with Leave It – for the Poodle and for the large, open bin of dog biscuits, we practiced his Heel command up and down the aisles as I pushed the shopping cart, and the Sit/Stay commands.  Standing in the check-out line, King had a chance to introduce himself to the Poodle who waited patiently with her owner behind us in line.  The experience at Dave’s, lasting about 15 minutes, is a good example of the type of training and socialization one needs to do with dogs learning to become therapy dogs.

Over the weekend, I hope to take King over to the nursing home I visit.  This will be his first time at a nursing home.  I will take him over about 10:00 on Sunday morning, a very quiet time at the facility.  I need to make this a brief visit, just to check out his response to  being there and interacting with a couple of residents who are out-and-about in their wheelchairs and walkers.  I have a practice training vest for my new dogs in training.  It’s just like our regular Bright Spot Therapy Dog vests, but it’s yellow in color, not the Bright Spot blue.  I make it clear to those folks we meet that I’m working with a therapy-dog-in-training.  The people at the nursing home welcome dogs with open arms.  I can’t wait to see how King reacts!

Socialization is the key to developing a well-rounded dog.  It is critical in training dogs for therapy dog work.  Socialization doesn’t just happen.  The handler must continually create situations where his or her dog will meet and greet new people – and dogs – of all ages.  Socialization doesn’t stop once a puppy has hit a year old.  Or, when a dog has become certified as a therapy dog.  Socialization is on-going.

Once again, I bring up our recently certified Bright Spot Therapy Dog Rowan.  I have known Rowan since he was eight weeks old.  I recently wrote a post on all the training and socialization his teammate Diane did with him prior to getting him certified.  Now, I bring Rowan up again to illustrate my point about making socialization an ongoing priority.

Last weekend, Diane took Rowan to the Great Northeast Poodle Party /Reunion held at Crabapple Downs Kennels in Colebrook, NH.  Arlene Mills, the owner of the kennel, is Rowan’s breeder.  She holds this extravaganza event for her poodles and their companions each year (this was the 13th Party/Reunion).  The event provides socialization of all types for both dogs and their people.

Diane tells me that there were about 80 people and 80 poodles at the three day event. They came from all over New England, New Jersey , and Canada. The youngest poodle was 5 months old and the oldest 16 years.  Diane described the scene as follows:

Arlene Mills has a large number of fenced acres  on top of what is fondly called Poodle Mountain. The fenced area includes fields, woods, and two large ponds that are ideal for the poodles who love to swim. After passing through the gate almost every poodle was off leash. They were able to meet, greet, and check each other out on their own terms.  Some of the mature poodles were happy to mingle and hang out near their owners. Rowan and his 5 month old buddy, Finlay, quickly made friends with two other young, energetic poodles named Zephyr, 6 months, and Sabrina, 7 months. These four raced around, wrestled , and ran in and out of the water for hours, only occasionally taking a rest break near their owners. Rowan was in seventh heaven, since he loves other dogs and wants to play with every one he meets. Every now and then we took a break to go for a short hike around the pond. The poodles were happy to leave the crowd and accompany us.  Saturday activities included a grooming workshop and an agility demonstration,  followed by the chance for any poodle to try the obstacles.  Imagine 50-60 people and poodles in a dining hall for dinner Friday and Saturday nights! No problem. Some poodles sat by their owners, others cruised the aisles, and then there were the totally tired members of the Puppy Pack who curled up under the table for a snooze. The highlight of  Sunday activities was the costume contest. Rowan and Finlay surprisingly kept their Scotch/Irish costumes on for nearly 15 minutes. The event concluded Sunday afternoon with the Blessing of the Poodles at the outdoor shrine in Colebrook.

Diane tells me that Rowan and his buddy Finlay slept all the way home to western Massachusetts.  The weekend provided a wonderful opportunity for socialization, for the dogs to thoroughly enjoy being dogs, and for their owners to share poodle stories.  A tired, contented dog is a well-exercised, well-socialized dog.  Diane looks forward to returning to Poodle Mountain next year.  Until then, she will work on other special activities to provide socialization for her young, active Rowan.  Thank you, Diane, for providing these great photos of the Poodle Party.

I have learned that life with a senior dog is like riding on a roller-coaster.  Just as I experienced most recently with my senior dog Trudi, who lived to be over sixteen years old, James is having his good days and his bad days.  We go up and down, up-and-down.  Sometimes this roller-coaster has steep downs…

Last Sunday and Monday were very bad days.  James was having great difficulty walking.  I first noticed this on our early morning walk together.  We had walked just a short distance when he elected to turn around.  I always let him make the call.  We headed back. It was hard for him to climb the slight incline to our front door.  Once he would lie down, he could rise up on his front legs, but the back end didn’t want to follow.  By the second day of this, I was convinced his time was coming to an end.

Then, when Tuesday morning came, James rose all wide-eyed and bushy tailed.  He came over to where I sat having morning coffee, and started nudging my arm.  He seemed to be saying, Grab my leash and let’s head out!  And, so we did. What a delightful walk we had.  James in the lead, actually an entire 6 foot length ahead of me.  He was in full trot, his head held high, his tail out straight and wagging.  He was breathing in the crisp, fresh morning air, a smile on his face.  I just kept following him.

He led me down past the Straw Bale Cafe, a mile down the road.  He wanted to keep going.  And, so we did.  Along the way, he checked on the six barn cats who seem to appear out of nowhere when James stops by.  They have become quite accustomed to his morning appearance, and come closer and closer each day.  Once we made an about turn, we headed down the gravel road leading to the farmers pasture.  Here, James made his usual stop at the barn gate hoping the three cows would come over to say hello.  Two are quite sociable and came right over.  A third, far out in the pasture, slowly meandered over for a quick sniff of James through the wooden slats.  A little further on down the gravel road, James spotted a porcupine waddling through the just-mowed hayfield.  Ooops!  time to head on home.

It’s Friday now, and for the rest of James’ week he’s been riding high.  I know we’ll he heading into more bad days, but, for now,  I stick close to home, cherish each good day, and every precious walk we have together.

King is fitting right in – like he’s been here all along.  He has managed to get a spot on the couch.  It’s usually a race between Annie, Lily, and James as to who gets the coveted spot. All, however, relinquished it to King.  Most of the time, though, while I’m at my table writing on my laptop, King is lying at my feet, in relaxed pose – belly-up, all four paws in the air.  I love to reach down and give him a tummy rub.  I have now received several of his loving hugs.  I’m hoping to teach him to do hugs on command so he can offer patients a hug when he’s visiting as a Bright Spot Therapy Dog.

King has already started making rounds about town.  He’s been over to our wonderful Westhampton Public Library to meet the librarian and assistant librarian.  In true King form, he stretched out on the floor in front of the circulation desk, receiving lots of petting and admiring compliments.  After leaving the library, we strolled a bit along South Road.  What a gorgeous mover he is.  I wish I had seen him in the show ring, gliding gracefully around.  Judi emailed another photo of his days in the show ring.  Here it is for you to enjoy, too.   He is as sweet as he is gorgeous looking!

King with Judi

We are very excited to welcome King into our home as one of the Setter Gang.  King is four years old and has been living with his breeder Judi Hunter in Wisconsin.  He is a big, orange boy with a magnificent silky coat.  I love to run my fingers through his long feathering.  Judi sent along a bottle of the special conditioner she uses to keep his coat so silky.  I will do my best to maintain his gorgeous coat, but Judi is such a pro at grooming, it won’t be nearly the same.  With Judi, King had an extensive show career and is an AKC Grand Champion.  Now retired from the show ring, King will go on to become a certified Bright Spot Therapy Dog and work toward earning his AKC Therapy Dog title.

We owe a huge Thank You to Judi’s best friend Jan and her husband John for kindly offering to transport King with them in their RV – along with their own three English Setters – as they travel from Wisconsin to Acadia National Park in Maine for a vacation.  I met the traveling ensemble in Brattleboro on Rte. 9.  It was a smooth connection, right off Rte. 91, exit 2.  We talked a few minutes about their travel route and what it was like traveling with four dogs in their new RV ( I would love to do that!).  Not wanting to detain them any longer, we transferred King into my car, along with King’s goodie bag Judi had packed up for him, we said our good-byes, and King and I hit the road.  I was anxious to get King to his new home to play out in the back hayfield with Annie, Lily, and James.

What a magnificent sight it was to watch the foursome play together – the two blue Belton girls and the orange Belton boys, their flag-like Setter tails waving in the breeze.  To me, watching a group of Setters in the field is breathtaking.  They had a ball.  Lily reunited with her brother after a two year separation, and James – my dear senior boy – started playing with King like a puppy.  Annabelle is convinced she has a boyfriend.  King is very interested in her (because she’s so cute – she says!).  In true English Setter fashion, they played hard for about an hour, then all came into the house and flopped down on the floor, stretched out in various spots throughout the kitchen and sitting room…  so catlike.

Puppy King at 8 weeks

King had won me over the moment I laid eyes on him.  But, to secure the deal, while I was kneeling on the floor and petting his fur as he lay stretched out, he sat up in front of me, placed his front paws – one on each side of my neck, leaned his head on my shoulder and gave me a hug.  YOW!  This affectionate boy was born to be a Therapy Dog!  Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for Judi’s kindness in giving me her wonderful dogs, James, Julia, Lily, and now King – and for Eileen who started it all with Beatrice, then Trudi, Phoebe (breeders Judi & Eileen), and Annie.  These dogs have brought boundless comfort and companionship to thousands of people in need…  the best reason for breeding these gentle, sweet dogs.

I have long thought of Labor Day as marking the end of summer and the start of school.  Leaves are starting to change color, marking fewer hours of daylight and the anticipation of crisp autumn days, hills ablaze with hues of red, orange, and gold.  It’s a beautiful time to be in New England.

For James, he’s happy to have these cooler days coming on.  The humidity of the summer has been tough on him as a senior dog.  Tough on Annie and Lily, too.  Although, today’s Labor Day is overcast and rainy, James was ready bright and early for his morning walk with me.  Something we both cherish.  It is such a delight to watch him trot out ahead of me on his lead, his head held high, tail wagging, a smile on his face.

For me, on this Labor Day, I am thankful that James, almost 13 years old, is at my side, nudging my arm to hurry up and get going, while I sip my morning coffee and read my latest book in the wee hours of the morning.  We don’t miss a day, James and I – rain or shine.  As long as he wants to keep going, I will be there with him for our special early morning walks together.