Funny Animal Pictures

Some funny pet pictures that I thought I'd share...

This is my kitty Sebastian on TOP of our kitchen cabinets. There is only a few inches between the top of the molding and the ceiling. Cats are so funny sometimes!!

Here's Booker in his typical sleeping position. Oh, to have the life of a dog....

Lucy playing cars with my son. He gave her the red one to play with, LOL.



A pretty pic of Lucy that my hubby took

Catching Up

Lucy and I did our visit in oncology at the hospital on July 2nd. She got to wear her sparkly 4th of July hairbow on her collar, so she looked really pretty. We spent a little extra time there visiting a patient that was getting his treatments. Lucy LOVED laying in the bed with him. He sat there and brushed her forever, which she really enjoyed. It was interesting though, because there was a baby crying in the next room and she really wanted to go see if he/she was okay. She kept looking up at me as if to say, "why aren't we over there???" We also had a pretty special moment in the waiting room. (This is where we usually are during this visit. The kids are there checking in and waiting until they are called to go to the treatment rooms.) A family brought in this little girl who was so weak, her mom was carrying her like a rag doll. It just broke my heart. They sat down on the other side of the room from where we were set up. After a few minutes, the mom caught my eye and asked if I could bring Lucy over to see her. We immediately headed that way and the little girl perked up quite a bit. She pet Lucy on the head and smiled really big. I showed her how silly Lucy loves to eat Cheerios (she does!) and how she shakes. Her mom said that this was the most active and excited she had seen her in a week.

Last night was our monthly ABLE meeting. We're still such a new organization, that we're working through a lot of membership and policy and procedure issues. It's always good for me to get together with these women though. We've become pretty close over the last year and it's wonderful to have the special bond and support system that we have. I was nominated to be VP of the group which is a huge honor!!! And, I really think we're making headway in getting more pet partner teams out there and visiting.

TB test

So, last Monday (a week ago) should have been our normal playroom visit at the hospital. But, I got an email letting me know that I was due for my annual TB test and that I couldn't volunteer again until it was done. So, we had to skip that visit. I went today to get the test, should have it read by Thursday and will be able to do our normal oncology clinic visit next week. Whew!

On June 13th we had a very successful dog evaluation-5 teams out of 7 passed! Woo hoo! ABLE also had a fun meeting last week so everyone got to meet some of the new teams. I'm also still working on the new location out by me. It sounds like it might work out, so that will be great! It looks like Lucy and I might get up above 4 visits per month if all works out....

June Visits...so far

I always do the hospital the first Thursday of the month, and that went well last week! We tried putting Lucy in the crate by the front door of the hospital and that didn't go over very well. She seems to like her quiet corner to hop in and out of it. Once we moved it over there, it took a little encouraging--but she did get in. Her visit went wonderful. The kids just love her and climb all over her. One of the moms set a 7 month old baby right in front of her on the floor and she (the baby) and Lucy had a blast! She would jingle Lucy's leash and collar and pet her face. Lucy just kissed her! Adorable! One of my favorite patients thanked me for bringing her in that day. He said that it makes it much easier for him to go in to have painful procedures done after he has a visit with a dog. (On this day we're in the oncology clinic so the kids are waiting their turns to get their chemo injections or treatments.) Comments like that just make it all worth it!!

On Saturday, we went to M. to see the "at-risk" teens and had another great visit there. The girls were super excited to see her and enjoyed hugging and laying on her.

This weekend is another dog evaluation which will probably be the last one until Sept. They are such a great experience to organize, but a lot of work. Although, I have a good system down now, so that is making things much easier. And, I'm soooo thankful that another member of the group has stepped up to help me with the organizing volunteers portion of the evaluations. (Thanks, Amy!!!) Now, I'm able to focus on the scheduling and handler issues that come up. I have met some WONDERFUL people doing this and really love it. Fingers crossed that some teams pass the evaluation this weekend! We need to get more teams out there visiting!!!

Grief Camp

Last weekend Lucy and I got to do something a little bit different then our "normal" visits. We went to the Healing Hearts Grief Camp for children who have lost one or both parents--most of which to long term illness. They had several teams come in and we were lucky enough to get to hang out with the kids for a few hours. Lucy did great, but she was not happy with me that I forgot her special mat. (She has 2 mats which I usually bring to her visits. One is a normal bath mat and the other is a lambswool mat. These create her "safe place" during visits and a soft place to lay down on hospital floors. They're also wonderful for putting in the bottom of the crate and I believe, were instrumental in helping her to feel comfortable getting in and out of the crate at the hospital.) We spent some time near the ropes course and then down where the kids were fishing. Lucy let out one small whine when she saw the lake since she LOVES to swim. But, then was totally fine with her hugs and lovin' from the kids instead of her usual lake swimming.

Monday night was our normal night at the hospital in the playroom. Again, I was so proud of her getting in and out of the crate! They brought out the wrong crate and I immediately asked them to switch it for her normal, open one. I've learned the that I have to be her advocate and not to push her out of her comfort zone. I always give her a "good" treat when she gets in and out and then feed her Cheerios during the elevator ride. (We watch her weight really closely so they are the perfect healthy training snack for her.)

We have successfully done 4 visits in May already which is great for us. It has always been my goal to maintain this schedule and hopefully, we can keep it up!

One big decision in the land of us and our animals....I've decided not to attempt to train or work towards getting Booker (my male lab) registered to do animal assisted activites. I have gone back and forth over this for the last few years, so this has been a long time coming. He's a wonderful dog and we love him to pieces, but....at the end of the day I do not trust him 150% like I do Lucy. There would always be a fear or uneasiness about it in the back of my mind, and that is not right. In general, I trust him and do not think he would ever do anything intentionally to hurt anyone, but I don't know how he would react in every situation. He has fear and skitishness that she has never exibited. It takes a very special dog to do this kind of work and there are only a few that have the temperament for it. We're so lucky (and have worked hard!) to have 2 well trained dogs. Booker can do many other things and brings so much joy into our lives in other ways. In fact, I just taught him a great new trick last week. I'll have to get that video on here soon.

Busy Girl!

Lucy had her first visit back at the hospital yesterday and she did WONDERFUL! I'm so so proud of her. She hopped right in the crate going up and down. We were in the oncology clinic and she got lots of loving! We sat in the waiting room where the kids hang out before they go back to get their treatments. After a little while, we went back and walked through some of the treatment rooms to say hello.

Today we did the Therapeutic Recreation Arts Festival all morning. This is an annual event here for kids with disabilities. There were school buses from all over! ABLE had a booth there which was right next to the rock climbing wall! Every time the kids climbed all the way up to the top a really loud siren went off. The dogs didn't quite know what to think about that! But, all of the kids were really sweet and everyone seemed really happy to have the dogs there.

This s a group picture of some of the dogs who were there today. I'm not sure what the dogs where all looking at, but there must of been something interesting on the ground! LOL

She did GREAT!

I'm so proud of Lucy girl. She did great today with the crate at the hospital! We drove her all around and she hopped in and out. Woo hoo!! She seemed excited and happy and only a little stressed. I think that the more we go and visit there, the more comfortable she will become. Whew! What a relief! We worked so hard....sometimes being stubborn really pays off!!!