And Now, Back to Cabana

Poor Cabana, this is supposed to be her blog, but somehow, her air time got usurped by a lot of other doggy activities! Even though I've been busy at the animal shelter, I make sure Cabana never gets short shrift in real life, although she might sometimes get left out on her blog.

Cabana still enjoys her daily morning walk to the dog park fields, about 3 miles round trip, plus whatever running Cabana does at the park. Now that school is out, we leave the house around 7am. The streets and paths are quiet, so Cabana gets to walk off-leash most of the time. There are still a few spots where I have to leash her because of the lure of cat poop, but other than that, Cabana has earned the privilege of freedom. If we cross paths with other people, with or without dogs, I always call Cabana over to me, and she walks alongside me until the people pass, after which she's free to meander.

On our morning walks, we often see the former trainer for Guide Dogs for the Blind who lives in our neighborhood (he recently retired after 27 years there), along with his wife (also a former dog trainer) and their German shepherd, Dillon. Last week, they both commented on how much Cabana has matured and has become such a well-mannered and wonderful dog. They had witnessed firsthand how much I struggled with Cabana when she was a puppy in training, since Cabana always seemed to be extra uncontrollable around them. So it was a proud moment for me.

A less-than-proud moment was when, later that morning, Cabana found a mud hole at the dog park. It seems there is a faulty sprinkler head in the middle of the field, and it forms a puddle that never dries out.

Cabana decided that the puddle was an invitation to dig her way to China. Cat poop ingesting is not the only cause for leashing, as Cabana learned that day. Getting to be off-leash is a privilege, even at the off-leash dog park.

Cabana's therapy work has had a few hiccups. We stopped going to the Alzheimer's residence for a number of reasons, but mostly because they had us scheduled to come during their social hour, which is when all the residents are eating snacks. It was just too challenging to keep Cabana from becoming a vacuum cleaner every time. Plus, the therapy dog organization was dealing with internal political junk. The organization splintered into three different groups, then two of the groups joined back together again. They assigned us to a library for a reading dog program, so we got mentored there, only to have them take the post away from us before we could actually begin, because one of the splintered-off groups took over that location.

Long story short, we have now started volunteering at our local Boys & Girls Club. Today was Cabana's first day as a reading buddy! She did a fabulous job. The kids loved her, and she loved them. She curled right up on their green naugahyde couch, and kids ranging from 6 to 16 took turns reading to her. They each gave her a treat after saying, "the end". I think that might become her favorite phrase.

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Checking Things Out

This morning, I had to drop my car off for its 90K service. Whenever I take my car to the shop, which is just under 2 miles away, Cabana and I walk back home. It's much easier than trying to coordinate with someone for a ride or wait around for their shuttle service. It's not a very pretty route, though, and we have to walk along a freeway overpass. The cars race by us and under us, but Cabana doesn't seem to mind the traffic at all.

Today, with just a slight detour, we walked past the Alzheimer's facility where we might volunteer. I just wanted to see the facility up close and give Cabana a chance to sniff around the grounds, so that if we come back to work there, she'll be a bit familiar and hopefully, a little less excitable.

The building and grounds, pictured above, are beautiful. I can tell this is a top-of-the-line facility. When we were walking by, there was a big truck out front, delivering tons of brand new plastic-wrapped furniture for their common area. Everything looked really gorgeous.

I could see the reception desk through the glass front doors. Off to the side, there was a dog bed with a Basset hound sleeping there. The therapy dog mentor had told me that there was a resident Basset hound there and had asked me if Cabana was dog-friendly. I said, oh yes, she'll probably want to play with the Basset hound. But it looks like this Basset is an old-timer (but maybe that's how all Basset hounds look?), which is probably best for our situation, since Cabana will be respectful of his likely lack of desire to frolic.

Thank you for your input on my Tuesday Topic yesterday. It was a pretty mixed bag, no consensus! But that's okay, it mirrored exactly how I feel, too. There are benefits to both. I appreciated readers sharing about their own relatives who have struggled with Alzheimer's--even though I have yet to meet the residents, it gave them a face and a context. It personalized the idea of them for me, reminding me that these people are someone's mother or aunt or brother or grandfather.

I haven't made a decision yet on whether to do the school or the Alzheimer's residence. I wish I could do both, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. The mentor is going to call me later this week and let me know if the school needs another reading dog team there. If not, then the decision will be made for me. We'll wait and see.

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Cabana is a CAT Dog!

Hooray, I'm pleased to announce that Cabana passed her Canine Assisted Therapy evaluation with flying colors! (You were right, Nicole!)

This morning, I woke with a start at 7am. ACK, I NEVER sleep that late! I always wake up around 6:30am, whether I want to or not, so I didn't bother to set an alarm clock.

After much rushing around, I was still able to make it to the class on time. My goal was to be one of the first to arrive, since Cabana can still be quite dog distracted. I knew that sitting for 3+ hours in a room full of dogs that Cabana wasn't allowed to play with would be a challenge. We were the second ones there, and we nabbed a spot in the corner, where Cabana got comfy on her go-to-bed mat.

There were a lot of other beautiful dogs there. This dog is a big sheltie or small collie. I can't remember which.

This doberman was such a majestic creature, very calm and graceful--but HUGE! I don't think he'll be getting up on too many hospital beds (which isn't really allowed anyway).

This English Springer Spaniel is 10-years old. Surprisingly, most of the dogs were on the younger side, about 2-3 years old, like Cabana.

Cabana and this German shepherd were very interested in each other from opposite ends of the room. The German shepherd made lots of wistful noises at not being allowed to come introduce himself. Then later in the day, he walked by us, and Cabana stood up and let out a LOUD single bark, trying to get his attention, I guess. When I shushed her, she turned to me, sat her bottom down on her mat, and offered me each of her front paws in quick succession. I think they were gestures of apology, like, "Look, Mom, I'm done being naughty. Now I'm doing all kinds of things I think you might want me to do."

There was a separate room for the actual evaluation, where each handler and dog team took turns being tested. We entered the room, where lots of cheetos or cheesy popcorn (it was hard to tell exactly what they were) had been strewn on the floor. I had Cabana sit next to me while I filled out a form. Later, the evaluator commended me for taking the time to make sure I had placed Cabana where I could be aware of her actions before turning to fill out the paperwork. But at the time, all the volunteers laughed at Cabana's silly sit, as her legs continued to sprawl out further on the slippery floor!

The evaluators handled Cabana all over--her paws, her belly, they checked out her ears and her teeth. Although Cabana was a bit resistant to them opening her mouth to look at her teeth, she didn't react negatively to any of it. Then, we weaved through an obstacle course of orange cones, and Cabana didn't go for the cheetos on the floor even once! (Actually, I think the cheetos were really old and stale, maybe even recycled for each session, so that they didn't have much food value left to them, not that they have much food value even when fresh--but anyway, I'm not complaining.) We also had to walk by opening umbrellas, people making loud and erratic noises, a person with a walker, and another in a wheelchair. Finally, we navigated through a narrow space between a hospital bed and the wall, took a seat, and role played introducing ourselves and interacting with a patient lying in the bed.

Cabana handled everything perfectly, and the volunteers in the room all commented about her happy prancing walk. It seemed like Cabana knew she had done a good job and was proud of herself! I was extremely proud of her, too.

So next week, the humans go back for a day-long orientation, where they will go over protocols, choice of facilities, and such. We can choose to volunteer at a hospital, convalescent home, or Cabana can be a reading dog at a library or school. Or we can do some of both. There is an assisted care center on their list of facilities that is walking distance from my house, so I'm slightly leaning toward that one. It would be convenient to be able to walk there, and I also like the idea of being in my own community.

But I'm open to whatever needs there may be. And mostly, I'm relieved that Cabana passed!

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