Harley's Hi-Lites - A Day in the life of a therapy dog

Mom and I go to visit the momma's that are on long term bed rest waiting to have their babies. We have been visiting one lady who is going to have triplets and has been on bed rest for a very long time. Well today I got in bed with her and all of a sudden I rested my head on one side of her tummy with my ear. I listened and listened and I could hear a heart beat! Then I changed position and moved to the middle of her tummy and put my ear next to her tummy and I listened and listened again and you know what? That baby boy kicked me! Mom and the lady laughed and laughed and they told me I better check cause there was another girl in there but I didn't, cause I didn't wanna get kicked again! That was the coolest thing ever!

Harley's Hi-Lites - What a busy day

Well mom got me up this morning and right off the bat I got a bath! Today is our day to go work with our autistic kids at school and mom said I had to look good cause a TV station was coming to video our session. Well, Sunshine, Abby and me gots to school with our handlers and went to the classroom. The kids all came in to say hi to us and give us out pets and then were introduced to the lady doing the filming. Our project for today was to hook two crepe leashes to each of our collars and then a student would get on each side and lead us to a certain spot, turn and then take us back to the beginning. Guess what? My kids were the only ones that didn't break their leashes! We had a great time and the parents have asked us to come back for second semester because they see a big difference in their kids. Well then we finished and mom put me in the car and said now we are off to the hospital to visit a little girl in pediatrics. I was pretty pooped but when we got to the hospital I was ready to visit. Well the little girl was sleeping and mom said we are not gonna wake her up but lets head to ICU and see who we can visit with. I got to get in bed with 2 different ladies and one showed me a picture of her pup and it was a white Schnauzer and her name is Muffin. We had a great visit and then I was getting really tired and mom said to me, HD, I think you have given everything you have in your little body today and its time to take you home. I will let you know when its gonna be on TV and hopefully a link so you can see us dogs working! I gonna go take a nap now.

Harley's Hi-Lites - Photo Shoot

Well first of all momma won a prize basket at Pets and People Humane Society's Dog Wash and in that was a 30 minute photo shoot. So this morning it was really cold and I wanted to sleep after breakfast but momma said to me "HD wake up, I need to comb and brush you. Well I gots up on the bed and momma gave me the once over and then she gots my favorite treats and my red collar and leash and said go get in the car. We went to this park with lots of trees and a pond with ducks in it. She walked me around for awhile and let me sniff all over. Then the photographer got there and we met and then mom took me off leash and she took all kinds of pictures of me and I did whatever she told me to do. I will let you know when we get the pics.

P.S. Momma here. I wanted to let you know that Sophie Claire had already had a photo shoot and you all have seen her head shot so it was HD's turn this time. He was so good and ignored all the ducks in the pond.

Harley's Hi-Lites -I helped to stretch momma!

We made our rounds at the hospital this morning and then mmomma said we have to make one more stop Harley. She pulled up the the Stretchy place and in the door we go. I of course stopped so Kyle to pet me and then momma goes and gets on this table and I'm sitting on the floor watching them and Kyle is doing weird things to momma, so I jumped right up there and sat on momma's tummy while she got stretched. Then Kyle started working on her arms and I got right in there and I was helping him! Kyle started laughing and so did mom. He finally finished and mom asked Kyle if he wanted me to stay and help with the rest of the clients, he said I did a good job and to come back anytime.

Harley's Hi-Lites - My new pal!

Last week at the hospital one of the nurses in ReHab said they had a young patient they would like me to visit. He is a teenager who suffered some type of brain injury and was sitting in a wheel chair with braces on both hands. Well, mom took my vest off of me and put me in his lap. They took a brace off of one hand and they helped him pet me. Then they took his other brace off and he used his other hand. When it was time for me to leave mom told him goodbye and would he like to see me again. Well he was able to say yes and said Bye Harley! Today we went back and he was on a therapy table and mom again took my vest off and I got right up there with him. No braces today folks! He was able to say more words today and I got to spend 15 minutes with him. He told me he has a doggy at home. I will be making weekly visits to my new pal and know I will see more improvements as the weeks pass. This makes my job so wonderful!

Harley's Hi-Lites - My Wonderful Day - June 5, 2012-Continued

I gots to say some more Thank You to my pals...

Keeko
Cailey Mae and Kolbe

HD *grins*

Harley's Hi-Lites - My Wonderful Day - June 5, 2012

Hi Pals,

Momma woke me up singing Happy Birthday and Sophie Claire and I got up and went outside, did our business and then had breakfast. Momma opened her puter and she got real excited and said Oh My God HD, you are Dogster of the Week! What a great birthday present for you!!! Well, she got some pictures of me in a dumb hat, brushed me, sprayed me with lavender goop and off we went to the hospital to make our visits. All the people were wishing me Happy Birthday and then mom said lets go home and you and Sophie can have birthday cake. Mom is gonna have to say thank you to all of my pals here in my diary for all the great pictures, pawmails and emails that I got for my birthday and Dogster of the Week.

Flicka - picture
Cooper - picture
Harley Diva Girl - picture
Buddy, Maggie, Peanut
Petey
Buttercup
Riley and Caileigh
Zoe
Tessa and Fitzcairn
Tate, Tonka, Officer Bumble, Wilma
Sebastian and Cash - my delicious birthday cake
Uno, Mickey, Reece
Ciao Li, Jean Louise Weezer, Sheba, Katie
Sophie Bean
Sammie
Bella
Toby Jo, Sammy, Cory, JoJo, Sarge
Krickette
Georgie & Merrybelle
Onyx
Sabrina
Abby
Little Women,
Austin and Doo
Skipper
Hershey and Van Winkle
Zaidie
Millie and Simon
Bailey
Charlie, Abbie, Teddie, Maggie
Pepper
Auntie Jolanda
Dallas, Sassy Girl, Critter Alley Crew
Bush Furs
Tessa
Lexi
Cosmo
Luigi
Chloe
Cisco Chief Rudy, Izzy, Angel Ben
Fizzy
Duncan Fife, Hamish McDuff
Buster
Pepper Love & Family
Drei Skarky Schnauzers
Frearless Four
Coty, Riley and Izzy
Sassy Seven Pack
Miss Madhi, Lucy Pretty Girl, Lil' Angel, Hambone, Cory
Barking Machine
Buster, Brandy, Babe and Brea
Darby
Lexi, Monnie, Roscoe

I hope we haven't forgotten anyone! This Dogster place has become a big part of our lives and without it we certainly would not have made so many wonderful furiends from all over this planet. We play, laugh, cry, worry and enjoy with each and everyone of you and even though alot of us have never met, we are family. May God Bless each and everyone of you and your great families. We cherish you!

Harley's Hi-Lites - Adapted Super Kids Day

Well last night mom picks me up and sits me in the sink for a bath! I say to her, momma, I don't get a bath until Sunday night! She smiles and as she soaps me up she tells me a story. Harley, tomorrow you are going to a special celebration for some children who have profound disabilities. The school decided to have a special day to celebrate what wonderful and special children they are. So, we gets up real early and mom gets my stuff together, brushes me, sprays me with stinky stuff and puts my vest on. It seems we were in the car a day or a week or something like that and then finally we were there. Three of my other therapy dog buddies came too and we were taken into the classroom to meet the kids. They all have multiple disabilities so mom would hold me or I could put my paws on the knees cause they couldn't see very well and she would take their hands and then they could feel my fur. There were all kinds of wheelchairs and walkers and they had the gym and 3 classrooms set up so the kids could do different activities. I went in the gym and there was this little toot on the floor and I went right up to him and gave him a good ol' sniff and he got to laughing and he made funny sounds. At first it kind of scared me but mom kept telling me, its OK Harley and you know what? It was! I would sniff him and then he would pet me and laugh. Later on they had him in a little walker and he didn't want to walk but when he saw me, he started using his walker. It was a good morning for everyone and everyfurry. The pups made the little ones smile and they would stretch their little arms out to pet all of us. I got a Certificate and a bag of dog cookies too! The teachers want to have us back on a regular basis as they could see what a difference Animal Assisted Therapy can do. Well, I slept all the way home and mom said she was real proud of me today and you know, I was real proud of me too!

Harley's Hi-Lites -

Well yesterday morning momma took me to the barbershop and I told her we were just there two weeks ago! She told me I had to have a "touch up", don't know what that means, and she said you got a TV interview tonight little guy.

Well mom and I take off for the TV station and she tells me that I am going to be "Dog of the Week" on the show called "Dog Talk". They film 3 shows at a time and when we got there we went to the green room, It wasn't green at all, HD shakes his head, peoples sometimes don't make any sense. Anyhow, pretty soon they put a mic on mom and we got to meet Pat Becker the host of the show. We also got to meet the chef who was going to cook some "chucker" for dogs. I sat on mom's lap as they talked and then Miss Becker gave mom a big bag of goodies and a $100.00 gift certificate for me to spend at A-1 Pet Emporium! She asked us to stay around for a little bit and we sat and watched her interview some other peoples. Then she said, come on Harley, lets go help the Chef! THEY SAT ME ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER! I never been on a kitchen counter my whole life. Well I got to watch the Chef as he was cooking this Chucker stuff and it had venison, broccoli, cauliflower and brown rice, and my nose was twitching and I was sniffing, it smell delicious and all of a sudden Chef Bill fills a little bowl, sits it in front of me and said "there you go Harley". Let me tell you, it was delicious and I cleaned my bowl and everyone laughed and said it must be good! I will see if I can get a link when it comes on. It is scheduled for June 16 at 10:00 am. For my Okie furiends it is KSBI-TV in Oklahoma City. I slept all the way home and if Sophie Claire plays her cards right, I might just share my toys and treats that I got!!!! Thats all for now folks.

Harley's Hi-Lites- Animal Assisted Therapy at Northwood

When Terri first approached me about working with 4 students with emotional disabilities, I was not really sure if this would be a good fit for myself and Harley Davidson. Terri said, just give it a try and it doesn’t work than you can drop out. Today was the last visit for myself and Harley as we have been alternating with Derald and Sunshine. The students were able to have their time on “stage” as the rest of us watched them. One little girl was truly having a struggle and when she called Harley over and he responded you could absolutely see her face change and she felt confident and she told us she felt safe with Harley. From our first visit to today, the change in the behavior of these children has been a real eye-opener for me personally to see what animal assisted therapy can accomplish. They each took their turn in saying goodbye to Harley and to see them hug and kiss him and then tell him that he will be in their hearts was just so emotional for me. All 4 children led him out of the room together and then said their final farewells. A big thank you to Terri for taking us out of our comfort zone and having the foresight and trust that Harley and I would find another avenue for us to pursue on the road of animal assisted therapy.