Got 4 More Just Like Her Back Home!

   
   

     To say the least, Roz is a show stopper...
     Take a big white dog sporting a bright pink vest down any hallway and in no time she's holding court, working to both protect total strangers (who don't know they're being herded) while learning to allow them to mussy-up her face in her "Pet Me I'm A Therapy Dog" career move...

     But the funniest (and most consistent) response is when we pull out the phone to start bragging on the others...

     Number 1 question asked:
     "What kind of dog IS she?"
    (Answer: Great Pyrenees)
     Second question: "How much does she weigh?" (Answer: 75 pounds as of her last vet visit; she's gained at least 5 since we've been here...)

     But the eyes really pop open when I say "But she's just a puppy...Just 8 months old...she's FAR from full grown~"

     And in our never-ending efforts to educate the world on matters of Pyrenees dogs with goat-herding talents while introducing one that leapt off the farm to start her own career as a therapy dog, we can't help but laugh
                                                     ..........at Hix's big head!

(Seen here the day I left...Don't you KNOW these Shepherd people are grateful I didn't tote him in for training!)

     Nope. Some things are best left alone...
     Like Hix...back on the farm with the kids ...
     (After all, somebody's gotta watch out for those wiley coyotes!)

The Quieter Goals of My Life

involve lavender...

                    Here's thanking God for making lavender the new steel magnolia . . .

A Different Kind of Summer

   

      So the garden's not going to be what it was last year...But I'm happy to report I did make it back in time to enjoy my first fried green tomato of the season. On top of this my lavender (started last year) is triple what it was and the babies back home welcomed Roz and me with slurps and wags for our brief visit home. (They were a bit jealous of Roz at first, but she has now acclimated quite nicely and is enjoying just being a puppy for a few days. Everybody needs a breather...)
     My brother's progress is steady...No doubt, a long road ahead... But with each passing day we count our blessings and marvel at the new places, people and experiences that life's little curveballs have brought into our world ...
     Speaking of which, amidst walking the halls of Shepherd and meeting new people as she sports her classy pink therapy vest, Roz has become my focus, not only as we learn the ropes of therapy training, but as we talk with others likewise interested in knowing more about the benefits of therapy dogs (such as soldiers returning with PTSD, our new area of intense interest).

     In addition to the amazing folks at Shepherd Center, we have also met trainers and researchers alike in areas of both service and therapy training and are scarfing up every informational/educational morsel we can to continue not only training Roz in this field, but other dogs as well.

     As an aside, I just finished reading (and highly recommend) How Dogs Love Us by neuroscientist Gregory Berns (at Emory, no less...what are the odds?) His research of the canine brain is a must read for anyone who loves dogs...That he did it using a functioning MRI, (which is to say, he trained his dog to lie perfectly still in that tube of a machine long enough to photograph her brain) was as impressive as the research itself. (Roz hopes to meet Callie someday...She's our hero.)