Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Gabor! He comes from behind and finishes first!
Well. He's doing very, very well. In fact, one could argue that he's doing fantastic!
Service Dog Gabor was a handful in the beginning (and the middle and the end.) He was vocal, he was demanding, he was energetic. He was a whole lot for one family to handle. And I speak from experience, he was mine for the first ten weeks. However, each of those traits, those difficult-to-manage features has made for a very, very successful placement.
Gabor now resides with a Navy veteran. After handing him over, Gabor only wavered once. The day after placement Gabor expressed his excitement in seeing me at a local coffee shop and then nearly immediately settled in to work. No divided loyalty there, a surprising fact considering his fondness for me.
What defines success? On Day One, Gabor was excellent about keeping an eye on the man he now lives with. Up at 1? So was Gabor. 1:15? Yup, Gabor was up. 1:30? No problem at all. The best part? Gabor woke his handler at 6 to remind him to take his meds (oh, and to put food in the dog bowl as well....) Day Two, Gabor escorted us to get frozen fruit drinks at the local base. The key: in order to get the drinks, you have to tolerate the sounds of the bowling alley, sounds that eerily replicate what one might hear in battle. No problem for handler and dog. In fact, handler was beaming with excitement! He'd been wanting one of those fancy frozen drinks for years....but couldn't tolerate those bowling alley sounds. Day Three: to the vet to get a clean bill of health. And a hosted steak dinner at his new home, where Gabor promptly ignored me (good, good dog!) Day Four, off to the VA and the Exchange and good-byes.
We continue to hear from the man who received Gabor. Gabor's energy level, consistency, manners and nature have made a for a near perfect placement!
Job well done! And a HUGE, HUGE thanks to each of you who contributed to this success.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Gobblins, Witches and stuff
Why do we get our service dogs out in public? You never know what might be lurking just around the corner or on the end isle at the department store!
This is a good example of exposure to those very weird and scary things. I personally can't handle flying monkeys quite yet.
Best be getting myself to the store for some desensitization.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
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