Therapy Dog Class Week 2

So last Thursday was my second Therapy Dog Class and I was tardy.  I don't like being tardy.  I was mopey the whole car ride because I knew we were going to be late - something about too much traffic.  When we did finally get there (we carpooled with Mumble) there were only two other dogs there.  The other two were missing.  I guess everyone was having a rough day.  Those dogs were big German Shepards.  My mom insists they were there the week before but I don't remember those dogs and coupled with my distress at being late I barked at those dogs and had a general bad attitude for about five minutes.  After that I was ready to participate. 

We did some review from last week and some of the new stuff we did was a little harder.

The instructor would come over and stomp his foot near us, roll around in a wheelchair real close, talk loudly, and all sorts of things we were supposed maybe be scared of BUT the point is for us to not to react.  I didn't react - when it was happening to me.  But I'm a sensitive guy and one of those German Shepards was not fond of all of that nonsense and was trying to get away or cry - so I would bark sometimes or cry when that happened.  I don't like seeing a lady in distress.

We also worked on some stays BUT this week the instructor made our people go to the other side of the room and then RAN up and down between us and our people.  I was okay with this - twice (and so were the other dogs) but right before the third time we all had a look - the look that told him we didn't want to do it again so we stopped.

I was a little naughty at one point.  We were doing some down stays across the room and I was not paying attention to my mommy but only because Mumble's mom had some delicious treats that I wanted in my tummy.  My mom saw me looking at her and she waved and clapped her arms to get me to look at her but I wouldn't do it (although I stayed where I was supposed to) then when she said "here" I went over there instead of "here" to get some of those treats.  She was not pleased with this. 

We have a week off this week which will allow me some time to gather my thoughts.  Then I'm off to another staycation at the Kennel Club while my mom goes to Florida.  It's too hot for me there, I did't want to go (but she could have asked).

Search and Rescue Dogs of 9/11

I came across this short video today about one of the search and rescue dogs used at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11 who is still alive. The most touching part for me was the fact that the dog not only helped find those people that were lost but also helped comfort the people that were still there.

9/11 tribute clip from Explore.org on Vimeo.