desiderata310
VIP Member
After all the craziness involved with greyhounds and my really deep bad stint last week I really wasn't actively looking for a dog for service work.
I wound up taking Monday off from work because I wasn't quite back up to snuff. One of the last things my therapist said to me was that he had a light day and might go look for a dog FOR me. He didn't actually get the chance to do it.
I was feeling... pretty isolated so I decided to go, just for funzies, and take a look at the shelter to see who they had there. I knew that animals for service work at a shelter was a SERIOUS long shot but I figure it would be at least amusing and better than being cooped up in my house all day.
When I got there it was REALLY the nicest shelter I have ever been in. It didn't smell and in the face of everything I knew and was mentally prepared for it was QUIET. Like REALLY quiet. I walked through the dog section and was only mildly interested in what I saw. No one looked like they would even been someone I could consider for service work. I stopped to ask about one female on the way out and the lady looked at me rather quizzically and said what are you wanting in a dog. I blushed, looked down, and admitted that I was looking for a dog that MIGHT accidentally be a candidate for service work. She perked up and said, wait. I might know THE dog. She explained that he had not been in the general population because he still had a cone on because he'd just been neutered but she thought I should meet him.
Out came this big pretty guy with a wagging body. We went into a room to get aquainted. Through the next hour, I discovered- by accident- that this dog had a great deal of training under his belt. He knew all sorts of simple commands: sit, stay, come, (lie)down, leave it, and release. hmmmm... and he was attentive.
So...I sent a text to my therapist and the trainer and said 'hey guess what I found' as I was leaving. Before I could get in my car I had texts from both saying they would come over to meet the dog asap. ummm... what? ook...
The dog trainer got there first. She assessed him and said, undoubtly I had found an excellent candidate. My therapist came with HIS dog and sure enough, the two play VERY welll together. Four hours later, it was a bit too late in the day to adopt and walk away but I had a dog the next day who was about to be taken home to assess whether he could make it through to service dog status.
Considering my week the week before, I might have spent a little too much time at the shelter. I stood outside that first night after the trainer left just bawling while my therapist stood there kind of laughing and saying that I had found a "Buddy" clone.
This week has been just a roller coaster of a ride. I now have a SDiT name Rory (double points if you can guess the reference) I've not spent a great deal of time with him because the trainer has him and is getting him ready for CGC testing which she feels he will be able to do in a few weeks. We've found a couple of niggling things that she feels confident she can train out. I've had some alone time with him just hanging out, once during a nap, ending in a nightmare with him waking me up. I've walked around downtown and pushed my envelope a bit too much (and his training) but the trainer feels confident that this none of this is insurmountable.
I'm kind of blown away.
I'm very intimidated.
I'm very overwhelmed in both a good and bad way. The difference he made today when we were walking around! The way he helped me ground when I got in a really bad spot! No training on what to do there. Maybe all dogs are face lickers when their owners become distraught or have nightmares ....or maybe not. The trainer said that he doesn't lick anyone else's face- just mine.
The way I am just overcome when I have to take him back to the trainer and leave is unexpected. I have wept more about this DOG in the last week than most anything else. My therapist is overjoyed, amused and very supportive about all of this. I don't understand this. I love my cat but I've never shed tears like this over my cat- even when faced with having to find him a home when I moved. It's all very confusing.
I've had plenty of pets in the past all of whom I loved dearly. I've never gotten so emotional over any of them.
But then, I suppose he's not a pet, is he? Someone called him my battle buddy. No, I'm not a vet but still fought battles of my own.
I'm holding on pretty hard to what happened today and the feeling I had for a bit: feeling... NORMAL while I was walking down the street. I've not felt NORMAL in a while. Normalacy has been very fleeting and had been replaced with a (7 on a 10 pt scale) constant anxiety. For a while today my anxiety coasted down to a 2-3 with Rory at my side. It wasn't that I felt protected or more confident because of the dog. I can't explain it. Wish I could.
Strange days indeed.
I wound up taking Monday off from work because I wasn't quite back up to snuff. One of the last things my therapist said to me was that he had a light day and might go look for a dog FOR me. He didn't actually get the chance to do it.
I was feeling... pretty isolated so I decided to go, just for funzies, and take a look at the shelter to see who they had there. I knew that animals for service work at a shelter was a SERIOUS long shot but I figure it would be at least amusing and better than being cooped up in my house all day.
When I got there it was REALLY the nicest shelter I have ever been in. It didn't smell and in the face of everything I knew and was mentally prepared for it was QUIET. Like REALLY quiet. I walked through the dog section and was only mildly interested in what I saw. No one looked like they would even been someone I could consider for service work. I stopped to ask about one female on the way out and the lady looked at me rather quizzically and said what are you wanting in a dog. I blushed, looked down, and admitted that I was looking for a dog that MIGHT accidentally be a candidate for service work. She perked up and said, wait. I might know THE dog. She explained that he had not been in the general population because he still had a cone on because he'd just been neutered but she thought I should meet him.
Out came this big pretty guy with a wagging body. We went into a room to get aquainted. Through the next hour, I discovered- by accident- that this dog had a great deal of training under his belt. He knew all sorts of simple commands: sit, stay, come, (lie)down, leave it, and release. hmmmm... and he was attentive.
So...I sent a text to my therapist and the trainer and said 'hey guess what I found' as I was leaving. Before I could get in my car I had texts from both saying they would come over to meet the dog asap. ummm... what? ook...
The dog trainer got there first. She assessed him and said, undoubtly I had found an excellent candidate. My therapist came with HIS dog and sure enough, the two play VERY welll together. Four hours later, it was a bit too late in the day to adopt and walk away but I had a dog the next day who was about to be taken home to assess whether he could make it through to service dog status.
Considering my week the week before, I might have spent a little too much time at the shelter. I stood outside that first night after the trainer left just bawling while my therapist stood there kind of laughing and saying that I had found a "Buddy" clone.
This week has been just a roller coaster of a ride. I now have a SDiT name Rory (double points if you can guess the reference) I've not spent a great deal of time with him because the trainer has him and is getting him ready for CGC testing which she feels he will be able to do in a few weeks. We've found a couple of niggling things that she feels confident she can train out. I've had some alone time with him just hanging out, once during a nap, ending in a nightmare with him waking me up. I've walked around downtown and pushed my envelope a bit too much (and his training) but the trainer feels confident that this none of this is insurmountable.
I'm kind of blown away.
I'm very intimidated.
I'm very overwhelmed in both a good and bad way. The difference he made today when we were walking around! The way he helped me ground when I got in a really bad spot! No training on what to do there. Maybe all dogs are face lickers when their owners become distraught or have nightmares ....or maybe not. The trainer said that he doesn't lick anyone else's face- just mine.
The way I am just overcome when I have to take him back to the trainer and leave is unexpected. I have wept more about this DOG in the last week than most anything else. My therapist is overjoyed, amused and very supportive about all of this. I don't understand this. I love my cat but I've never shed tears like this over my cat- even when faced with having to find him a home when I moved. It's all very confusing.
I've had plenty of pets in the past all of whom I loved dearly. I've never gotten so emotional over any of them.
But then, I suppose he's not a pet, is he? Someone called him my battle buddy. No, I'm not a vet but still fought battles of my own.
I'm holding on pretty hard to what happened today and the feeling I had for a bit: feeling... NORMAL while I was walking down the street. I've not felt NORMAL in a while. Normalacy has been very fleeting and had been replaced with a (7 on a 10 pt scale) constant anxiety. For a while today my anxiety coasted down to a 2-3 with Rory at my side. It wasn't that I felt protected or more confident because of the dog. I can't explain it. Wish I could.
Strange days indeed.
