Four visits in Three Days, written after the fact

Tuesday - Schreiber Pediatric - PT visit with Pink Girl, she most enjoyed holding the hula hoop for him to jump while she worked at standing up straight.

Wednesday - Acadia Rehab with Ump followed by home visit to MIL, both preceded by River's agility lesson with Karen that morning equals one very tired dog.

Thursday - New visit for a reading program at Wickersham Elementary School. we were in an auditorium seated on the edge of the stage, with another team on the opposite side. I had brought along a blanket as asked, to have specific spot for us to sit. The school was extremely warm. River needed a water break and he wanted to lie on the cooler floor of the auditorium rather than the blanket by the end of our hour. The response to the dog varied; one boy who approached him eagerly had a large dog at home. One girl was utterly terrified of him. I sat between them( instead of River int he middle as usual), she still startled if he even shifted position. She watched his tricks from a distance, took the card we gave her and all but bolted out of there. Most were somewhere in between, fascinated but a little cautious. I think we saw about 5 students. They had short books, read pretty quickly and didn't want to linger. The other team with older class, longer books, I think had 3 students. We will be going weekly, but they will be rotating through different classes, so no one will be returning. From what I've read, most reading to dog programs see a benefit to encouraging readers because the dog is unconditionally accepting. These kids seemed to be adequate readers, perhaps this was a reward, for the novelty? I am even more interested in learning about the READ program now. It seems to be that seeing the same kids would be more helpful to them and even more of an incentive, and more effective as we build rapport with them.

Busy dog week - Sunday was intro to agility with Wendy, Monday - rally class with Wendy; Saturday we'll be at the Gifts That Give Hope Fair stumping for KPETS - he gets Friday off.

The following week is Thanksgiving week, so we had no visits planned. As it turned out, we did end up going to see MIL, who is now in a hospital bed ( she was in a wheel chair our previous visit, had been managing with a cane before that, and walked freely at our first encounter). Amanda came along this time and we brought Noche as well. Both dogs behaved amazingly well; at one point we had them on either side of her in her bed and she had a hand in each one's fur. That was really what she wanted and it brings tears to my eyes recalling it. I am so glad we could provide that simple gift.