Cole slept in the kids room last night in his kennel. He had a little whimpering at first, but the kids just talked to him and he was off to sleep in no time.
6:45am he was up and wagging his tail to go out. No accidents! Yea!
8:30am Matthew, his mom Erin, and his German Shepherd Cocoa met us to go on a walk. It was below 32 Degrees, snowing and blowing wind. COLD! The children had fun walking their dog with their friends dog and then we let them play at the school BOY that was FUN to watch! The boys ran around, the dogs ran around and everyone had FUN laughing at their antics!
The boys played with Cole most of the day, and allowed him to sleep a little. All the neighborhood boys came over to meet Cole too! I swear our door bell rang every 30 minutes or so today. Cole was a trooper and never even rushed the front door. He just sat back and watched until he was called. GOOD DOG!
About 5:30pm tonight we decided to take Cole on some field trips so he could get used to the car some more. Brandon and Tyler talked to him while we drove to the dog park, and he seemed to do pretty good....no FARTING this time!
The dog park was a hoot. Brandon and Tyler read all the rules posted, then let Cole into the first enclosure gate. All the dogs came over and sniffed through the gate, then after a few minutes I let Cole in on-leash. He was submissive and interested in the other dogs, but no adverse behavior so I let him off leash. POW! He was off like lightning! I swear he must have some Greyhound in him! I have ONLY seen racing dogs run that fast, he was in heaven! The other dogs tried to keep up, but he literally ran circles around them and then picked up a large stick. From then on out, it was the stick-game. First with the other dogs, then Tyler got in on the action when the other dogs went home. Little Tyler tried to keep up, but Cole was just WAY faster!
Being the Mom that I am, I periodically called Cole to me and took the stick for the children to throw again. Cole was great and came when he was called, then delighted as the boys threw it again. GOOD DOG! He drank like a gallon of water before we got back in the car. All that running had made him thirsty.
6:30pm we got back in the car and went over to PetSmart to let Cole pick out some toys, and to get dog-tags with his name and address on them in case all that running got him into trouble one day. The boys led him through isle after isle of toys and treats trying to entice Cole to THIER favorites. Meanwhile Children as young as 18 months kept coming up and wanting to pet Cole. I told them to ask their parents, then Brandon and Tyler taught each child how to approach Cole. It was so sweet. The random children were delighted because Cole has such a soft coat, and Cole was patient and submissive to even the littlest baby who pulled his hair. He never even flinched! GOOD DOG!
About 5:30pm tonight we decided to take Cole on some field trips so he could get used to the car some more. Brandon and Tyler talked to him while we drove to the dog park, and he seemed to do pretty good....no FARTING this time!
The dog park was a hoot. Brandon and Tyler read all the rules posted, then let Cole into the first enclosure gate. All the dogs came over and sniffed through the gate, then after a few minutes I let Cole in on-leash. He was submissive and interested in the other dogs, but no adverse behavior so I let him off leash. POW! He was off like lightning! I swear he must have some Greyhound in him! I have ONLY seen racing dogs run that fast, he was in heaven! The other dogs tried to keep up, but he literally ran circles around them and then picked up a large stick. From then on out, it was the stick-game. First with the other dogs, then Tyler got in on the action when the other dogs went home. Little Tyler tried to keep up, but Cole was just WAY faster!
Being the Mom that I am, I periodically called Cole to me and took the stick for the children to throw again. Cole was great and came when he was called, then delighted as the boys threw it again. GOOD DOG! He drank like a gallon of water before we got back in the car. All that running had made him thirsty.
6:30pm we got back in the car and went over to PetSmart to let Cole pick out some toys, and to get dog-tags with his name and address on them in case all that running got him into trouble one day. The boys led him through isle after isle of toys and treats trying to entice Cole to THIER favorites. Meanwhile Children as young as 18 months kept coming up and wanting to pet Cole. I told them to ask their parents, then Brandon and Tyler taught each child how to approach Cole. It was so sweet. The random children were delighted because Cole has such a soft coat, and Cole was patient and submissive to even the littlest baby who pulled his hair. He never even flinched! GOOD DOG!
We decided to take Cole around the store and see how he did with other animals. He just sniffed curiously, but stayed right by our side. The cats didn’t even seem to notice his presence, and he was very good with them. Just looking, but not TOO much!
We checked out of PetSmart and the boys conversation lead to their delight in seeing their new dog do so well in all the different situations.
We checked out of PetSmart and the boys conversation lead to their delight in seeing their new dog do so well in all the different situations.
Anyway, I had called her earlier to see if there was anything we could do to HELP Loua succeed as a life-long therapy dog and she said, ‘No - she will make someone a really great rescue-pet!’
Then I talked to her about the dog we just rescued, Cole and his wonderful disposition with different situations, noises, distractions, dogs, and people. She was very interested to meet Cole and US, and perhaps teach him and US to work as a therapy team in hospitals, group homes, and nursing homes in Fargo.
The animals are taught basic obedience, and then skills to help them interact with people in appropriate ways. They are exposed to lots of different smells, sounds, people, and medical equipment before they are sent into ‘interaction’ situations so that they react appropriately and have good manners.
The graduation for the current therapy dog enrollees is May 17th if anyone wants to go with us! This graduation is for shelter dogs who have been trained by prison inmates and at-risk youth. By pairing these groups of people with shelter-dogs, they are able to evoke kindness and healing. What a neat program! This is a news story from the local TV station on the TriPAWd program:
Man's Best Friend
Jennifer Hoff
KTTC TV
ROCHESTER, MN -- It's a story of at-risk teens trying to turn their lives around by saving abandoned animals.
Jennifer Hoff introduces us to the power of this four-legged friendship.
The dogs - Pepsi, Riley, and others, visited the residents at Madonna Towers Thursday afternoon.
They are friendly, lovable, and well-trained.
Allison Sullivan of TriPAWd says, "They are shelter dogs and hopefully through some obedience training they can go back to the shelter and be adopted quickly."
The training comes from detainees from Olmsted's county jail.
And they're part of a new program called TriPAWd.
Allison says, "It has potential to not just strengthen the community, but change it. You have detainees that in learning to train a dog are learning employable skills and parenting techniques and not to mention giving back to the community."
Hank Pernu, detainee says, "I've learned a lot of knowledge on dogs; it even helps with parenting I believe."
Allison Sullivan, the founder of TriPAWd, says, it's helping at-risk kids learn the power of unconditional love and responsibility.
Not to mention commitment; for seven weeks, boy and dog train for two hours, three times a week.
As a working team, they visit nursing homes and hospitals.
Hank says, "These dogs remind them of their own dogs, of other pets they've had, some of them just like the companionship."
Together, bringing man's best friend, leaving laughter, happiness, and smiles behind.
Research has found, along with other therapy, animal assisted therapy can increase social and verbal interactions and decrease loneliness and depression.
--------
That about sums it up. What a good DOG!
The graduation for the current therapy dog enrollees is May 17th if anyone wants to go with us! This graduation is for shelter dogs who have been trained by prison inmates and at-risk youth. By pairing these groups of people with shelter-dogs, they are able to evoke kindness and healing. What a neat program! This is a news story from the local TV station on the TriPAWd program:
Man's Best FriendJennifer Hoff
KTTC TV
ROCHESTER, MN -- It's a story of at-risk teens trying to turn their lives around by saving abandoned animals.
Jennifer Hoff introduces us to the power of this four-legged friendship.
The dogs - Pepsi, Riley, and others, visited the residents at Madonna Towers Thursday afternoon.
They are friendly, lovable, and well-trained.
Allison Sullivan of TriPAWd says, "They are shelter dogs and hopefully through some obedience training they can go back to the shelter and be adopted quickly."
The training comes from detainees from Olmsted's county jail.
And they're part of a new program called TriPAWd.
Allison says, "It has potential to not just strengthen the community, but change it. You have detainees that in learning to train a dog are learning employable skills and parenting techniques and not to mention giving back to the community."
Hank Pernu, detainee says, "I've learned a lot of knowledge on dogs; it even helps with parenting I believe."
Allison Sullivan, the founder of TriPAWd, says, it's helping at-risk kids learn the power of unconditional love and responsibility.
Not to mention commitment; for seven weeks, boy and dog train for two hours, three times a week.
As a working team, they visit nursing homes and hospitals.
Hank says, "These dogs remind them of their own dogs, of other pets they've had, some of them just like the companionship."
Together, bringing man's best friend, leaving laughter, happiness, and smiles behind.
Research has found, along with other therapy, animal assisted therapy can increase social and verbal interactions and decrease loneliness and depression.
--------
That about sums it up. What a good DOG!
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