A new girl has joined the pack here at Bridgvale Farm. Lily is a 2 year old blue belton English Setter and is related to Annabelle (4 yrs) and Trudi (16 yrs, 2 mos!). James is the only boy in the bunch (makes him feel extra special!). It’s quite a spectacle to watch the four of them running out in the back field – James, an orange belton English amongst the bevy of blue girls. I must work on doing up a video of this and post it here on sayhellospot.
Lily is from my dear friend Judi Hunter. Judi lives in Wisconsin and breeds beautiful English Setters. They are both gorgeous in appearance and sweet and affectionate in personality. When Judi emailed me about taking Lily, she said she was certain Lily would make a wonderful therapy dog. Since it was Judi who gave us James and Julia, I was sure Lily would be just that. And – James needs a buddy to help out with his therapy dog visits. He’s been doing double duty since his sister Julia died last October.
I must admit, even though I trust Judi’s judgment, I got very little sleep the night before I was scheduled to pick Lily up at the airport. Worrying… Would she get along with the other three dogs? Toss – turn… Would she really work out as a therapy dog? More tossing and turning… I couldn’t envision myself putting her back in her airline crate for a return trip back to Wisconsin. Once a dog comes to Bridgvale Farm, it never leaves. They have a forever home.
Well – so far so good! The flight went smoothly. Lily arrived on time. I opened the crate and she came out tail wagging and planted a big kiss on my face (Oh, the folks in the nursing home love those kisses!). She stretched out in the back seat of the car for the trip home – sleeping soundly most of the way. Judi had suggested that I just put all the dogs out in the backyard for their meet and greet. Minus Trudi, I did just that. Gosh, it was instant connection! Another English Setter! Yippee! The running and playing began – and kept on going for about 2 hours! James, Annie, and Lily then came into the porch and collapsed on the cool slate floor, tongues hanging out. Trudi slowly meandered out to greet everybody… she was totally nonplused by it all. After all, this is the 5th new dog to join our household during her tenure here (plus our 2 Irish Setters who were here when she arrived at the age of 7 yrs.). Trudi simply took it all in her stride. Perhaps that’s why she’s lived a good long life!
I lightened my schedule for the week to work on establishing household routines with Lily and start with a little training. She definitely has the makings of a good therapy dog – what a terrific personality she has. And, she’s a quick learner – so training should move along well. I’ll be posting her progress on a regular basis.
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