Yup, herding baby!!!!

Wow, three whole days with ducks and sheep! Did I die and go to heaven????

Through the GDF mom met a Aussie breeder named Georgene who teaches herding and she held a very special 3-day clinic at her farm last week. Mom was able to make arrangements to take me and WE HAD A BLAST. Well, at least I did. Jan Wesen (who came here from the west coast to teach the clinic and judge at the herding nationals in NJ this past weekend) got me right into the pen and away I went after those sheep. Mom however was knocked off her feet by the sheep the first time she got in the pen with them. Now she knows that she has to keep her knees soft! She wanted to work only with the ducks after that...what a city girl! (and a big chicken)

Jan and the other teams at the clinic encouraged mom to keep me in herding and said I have lots of talent for it. Mom says I looked very natural with the stock and on the farm. Almost makes her want to move out of "suburbia land"... almost. Well, at least if we want to go herding again we can always go to Georgene's farm.
WHAT FUN

Labor Day '07 in New York City

Mom and dad took me to NY City today. Mom shared her breakfast with me – cappuccino, ricotta cheese & spinach omelet, toast & butter, and Italian cheese cake! I just loved it.
At the dog park I was a bit nervous - there aren't any near my home so I am not used to them – but after a short time I became friendly with a few dogs there and we started playing with the tennis balls together.
We then went to Ground Zero and took a walk around the site. Six years, where did it go? We didn’t stay long – mom just wanted to see the beginning of the new buildings. The old empty pit only symbolized the hole in the hearts of so many – seeing something new take shape on the site is good. Yes, very good mom says.
I can tell this place put mom in deep silent thought so I stayed close by her on the way home. Always doing my “therapy” thing you know – especially for mom today.
It was a great day – great weather, great food, great fun at the park. Oh yes, and a silent reminder to great each day with thankfulness and a humble heart.

I love little humans

Today we went to the pediatric floor to visit with some of the little humans that weren't feeling well. This was our second time on that floor; the 1st time we went we only visited briefly with 2 patients. However this time was much different.
We met a very nice young man being wheeled to surgery as we walked into the unit. The mom and dad walking along side had long faces and didn't speak but I wouldn't let this opportunity go by without doing some of my magic. I pulled my mom up to the young man (she has a hard time keeping up with me) and I went right between the bars on the stretcher and jumped up to lick this sick fellow on the cheek. I guess my actions broke the ice because everyone started laughing and talking; so much so that they held off wheeling this kid into surgery a few minutes so we could all talk together.
In our first room we met a cute young boy who had mono and was soooo happy that I was there to visit; his mom is allergic to dogs and he can't have one at home so boy was he happy to see me! He asked me to jump up on his bed (which I did without hesitation) and he petted me for quite a while and I just stayed nice and still so we could be together.
In the next room were two, approximately 12 yr old boys that were both having tests done at that moment. One lad was very friendly and was telling me and mom about his dog and the agility classes they attend together. When I turned to visit with the other lad, I could tell right away that he was much different. He didn't say more than one short, quiet sentence in answer to a question mom asked him but there was a strong silence about him. I just stayed there to let him gently pet me as they made marks on his head to place the electrodes. We think we saw a brief, faint smile cross his lips as we were leaving but that was much more than I could ever have hoped for.
On the way out the door we were stopped by a pretty woman who asked if we could make one last visit to her sick dad. Mom asked me if it was OK and I told her I was good to go for one more. We haven't received permission before to go on the cardiac floor so we headed back to the volunteer office for approval (and of course they said yes). The moment we stepped onto the floor it was buzzing - the doctors and nurses were petting me and loving me up too. And not only did I seem to bring some joy to this man, his wife and his daughter, but the gentleman in the bed next to him and his wife asked if I could visit with them as well! I did a few tricks for them all - Whew! What a busy day! We stopped at the drink counter near the front door where mom got her to go coffee and I got a big glass of water (I was so thirsty - hospital air is very dry) and then off we went. I slept in the car on the way home ....another day of hard work done!
Love ~ Leilu

WE DID IT!

Last Monday we took the hospital tour with our trainer and the hospital staff. We got our volunteer badges and met a whole bunch of cool people but...we never got to actually do our stuff.

However, T'ODAY, June 18th was our very 1st, ALL BY OURSELVES, dog therapy visit to the hospital!

We went to the infusion center to visit with patients who were receiving cancer treatments and dialysis. We also saw my favorite security guard Kerry (we have a special thing you know) and all our new friends. This was a truly wonderful day.

On the way out of the building I saw this older woman crying on a bench. Even though mom wanted to leave, I would not take no for an answer. I had to make one more visit. I pulled mom up to this woman and just sat next to her so she could pet me. She started sobbing a bit harder so I gave mom the "can I please?" look and she said OK. I then gently climbed up onto her lap to give her a big hug. She cried in my arms. I felt her tears on my nose and I licked one off of hers. She then hugged me tighter and just sobbed. By now her daughter who was sitting next to her started to cry as well. Mom hated to pull me away but I knew there wasn't much else to do. I gave her one last chance to pet my head and then we left without a word said. There was no words. My work was done.

After we arrived home I took a nap. Mom says she hasn't seen me in that deep of a sleep in a long time. I was tired but I enjoyed my work today. I hope that this is the beginning of a wonderful new relationship for me and the patients of Vasser Hospital.

Love ~ Leilu

My tail just won't stop wagging!

We are sooooo happy to announce that we graduated on Monday, May 18, 2007 from our class. We are now a certified dog-therapy team! Mom has to meet with the hospital volunteer orientation coordinator this week, get a few more shots and tests (yuck), and we start work (probably) next week! I can't wait to be able to share some of my new adventures with my 4 legged friends. I wish every dog could have the opportunity to do this work - the rewards are going to be endless.

It's been great fun and a lot of really hard work but it was so worth it. I love to visit with people that I meet in front of the local stores and down by the lake when we go for walks. I am so well behaved (no jumping anymore) and heal on command better than ever. Mom just loves to take me everywhere!

This dogs life is good - very very good!

Leilu

PS (from mom) We've been so busy training and practicing that we haven't been in contact with our friends as well as we (I) could have. Thanks to everyone for being so understanding....

Just a few weeks left to go and we GRADUATE!

This is mom typing today. I want to let everyone know that Leilu and I have completed the 1st round of therapy training and we have now graduated into the final half of our course.
This part is actually more for me than Leilu - its involves protocal in hospitals and with patients. Most of it is common sense and not really new - after working with human resource departments over the years, much of the information is pretty standard.
This week I contacted the hospital volunteer coordinator for my orientation and blood work. Manditory here in NY, don't know about other states. I may even have to get a few shots! Either way, we are within just a few more weeks of graduation and then we will be a certified therapy dog team.
I want to thank the Good Dog Foundation for the wonderful training and time they invested in us. Thank you Susan our trainer! You have done a superb job training the untrainable (I am talking about me!).
I also want to thank Leilu for her patience with me, her loving nature despite my lack of doggie training knowledge, and all the long hours of practice and hard work. She is really the star!!!! I can't wait to post some reports and photos for everyone to see how good she is!
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU LEILU!

Humble beginnings but something to celebrate

After waiting a long time to find the right organization to which we could apply, today I was approved to start training with The Good Dog Foundation as a therapy dog! Trainer Susan Fireman determined that I have the perfect temperament for this kind of work (momma already knew that!). I will begin my 10-week training in the first week of February with mom and 5 other teams. (Information about The Good Dog Foundation can be found on the Internet at http://www.thegooddogfoundation.org).

We live in an area where a variety of hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes are located. This gives “our team” an opportunity to promote further understanding of the animal-human bond and how it can effect healing in the sick. In simpler terms, it will be a nice way to give of ourselves to others. Mom spent much of her career making the people she worked for very rich materially. This is one way she can refocus herself (the fog is just now starting to lift out of her brain since going into semi-retirement last year) on REALLY enriching the lives of others. Me, I like people. And as a team we can just have some fun together doing something worthwhile!

Of course this is only the beginning and momma said we should do our best to remain humble; after all we haven't even started the training yet! Still we have so much to look forward to and today we celebrate…even if it’s just a little celebration!

Poop and a Frisbee do NOT mix

The weather has been unseasonably warm here in NY, around 60 to 70 degrees the past few days, and both mom and I were getting itchy to take our favorite walk down by the lake to play a bit in the warm sunshine. We got into the car with my brand new frisbee for the quick ride down to a spot to break my new toy in.

This is how it went:
1. Mom throws frisbee, Leilu catches it and brings it back
2. Repeat
3. Repeat
4. Repeat
5. Repeat
6. Mom throws frisbee, wind takes frisbee, frisbee lands in huge pile of some other dogs poop, Leilu picks up frisbee and gets poop on her mouth, paws and chest, brings dirty frisbee and poop covered self back to mom
7. Mom screams

It had started out as a really good idea. Of course, momma was prepared with an old blanket in the trunk that she absolutely would not let me move off of in the car as we sped back to the house. And double of course, I landed up in the tub for a bath I didn't count on.

So, I guest the moral of this story is this....look before you leap to grab what you have your eye on. You may land up with or land on more than you bargained for!

What WII did today!

WII got a new game to play called Zelda.
I just love to watch they action and I am really getting into it. WII especially love to fish at the lake! After the line is cast, the lures bob up and down and so does my head while I keep an eye on them! When they start making loud noises as they are reeled in I try to bite them! One time a really big fish was giving mom lots of trouble so I helped her catch it by barking at it and running in circles! WII really are having a whole lot of fun with Zelda!

I LOVE NY City!

My family decided to take me to the city on Sunday. It was a fun ride down as I got to hang my head out of the car window wag my tail and look and bark at everything I saw. I was so excited I couldn't sit still in the back seat!
Mom was scared that the noise of the city would be too much for me since I am a surburban girl but I did really really good. We took a long stroll through Central Park where I got to meet many friendly people (don't believe what they say about New Yorkers they are wonderful!) and some very cute little kids. Of course they wanted to pet me, shake my paw and let me give them kisses. I also was able to play ball and run around chasing birds and squirrels. It was GREAT!
The best part was when we went to an outdoor cafe and I got to sit next to mom who gave me lots of goodies when noone was looking. I also seemed to be quite an attraction: so many people stopped to talk to my humans about me and about their dogs.
On the way home I got to sit in the car and take a long nap on mom's lap.
What a perfect day!