pet connection

My mom, Joanne Stout, and her dog, Ginger, graduated from the Kindred Spirits’ therapy dog class this past Saturday. They both did a very good job throughout the class  — which I think surprised my mom a little.

Regular readers may remember that my dad passed away about a year and a half ago, preceded in death by his dog Rusty, who passed away two months before Dad did.  Their remaining dog, Cosmo, a Shih Tzu, was 14 at the time and Mom was worried about being left totally alone should Cosmo pass away. As it turned out, Cosmo decided to hang around for another year and a half; my sister and I took Cosmo in to join Dad a couple of weeks ago.

However, to make a long rambling story somewhat shorter, three months after dad passed away, Mom got a puppy. Ginger, a Cocker Spaniel and (probably) Poodle mix, was a spunky puppy. (Other words could describe her better, but let’s just say “spunky.”)

Ginger was active, curious, way too smart, and probably not the right puppy for Mom, but she did keep Mom active in life and that’s what Mom needed.

Ginger is growing up nicely, though, and she’s a wonderful companion for Mom, especially as now there is just the two of them in the house. Ginger needs walks so they go for walks. Ginger also likes to play ball, and she’ll bring Mom the ball to throw several times a day. Being young, active, healthy and full of life, Ginger isn’t about to let Mom stagnate!

During puppyhood, Ginger had some training challenges, but she and I had some discussions about those. When Mom had her knee replaced and Ginger stayed with me, we had some talks about household rules — especially dashing out through the open front door– and I will say our discussions worked and she no longer does that.

I suggested to Mom that she and Ginger might want to do therapy dog volunteer work and she agreed. When Cosmo was a much younger dog, before Dad’s health failed and mom became a full-time care-giver, she and Cosmo were a certified team and they enjoyed their therapy dog visits.

When the class began, I think Mom was a little concerned about Ginger’s behavior, but she did just fine. She learned how to go say “hi” and position herself so people in wheelchairs could easily reach her. She learned to place her front paws on the crossbar of a walker so people could pet her. There was no problem with strange sights or sounds. Wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes, tubes making hissing sounds –  she was great with all of it.

So this past Saturday Mom and Ginger graduated from class and will begin their probationary visits soon. Mom likes to visit retirement facilities, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation nursing homes so will be setting up some visits in those types of facilities. She mentioned in class how much the visits meant to her when she had her knee replaced last fall. I brought my boys in to see her but other members of the Love on a Leash group visited her also. Now she’s going to be visiting with some of those same people; what goes around comes around, I guess.

I am proud of both of them –  Mom and Ginger. Good job, you two!

Photo: Mom and Ginger.

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