A good friend of mine got involved with an organization called, HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (www.hopeaacr.org) about a year ago with her dog Mason. I thought this was something I would try with Hope after we met the requirements and had the opportunity to pass the screening and certification workshop this year. After all, how could I not try something with the name HOPE? ;-)
This organization provides comfort and support to people who have been affected by disasters using teams of dogs/handlers. The "people" might include not only victims, but also responders (relief workers, firefighers, etc.) who are impacted by disasters which might include natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, but also disasters such as acts of violence, school shootings etc. The dog/handler teams are required to be registered with a pet therapy organization (which Hope and I have through Delta Society) and must have experience in therapy work (which we met this year by having a minimum of 12 therapy visits).
On Friday, Hope and I headed down to Costa Mesa in So. California with Mason's handler Mary, who was helping out this weekend as a Hope member at the screening and certification workshop. That evening, Hope and I were evaluated with another dog to see if we qualified to attend the certification workshop which was being held Saturday through Monday. We had a 30 minute interview with two HOPE members who were assigned to Hope and I as evaluators for the duration of the screening. Most of the interview was straightforward, although there were several situational type questions thrown in at the end to see how you would handle you and your dog in a crisis response call. I almost felt like I was interviewing for a job! After the interview, we were put through obedience tests similar to the Delta or Canine Good Citizen tests. Hope did great on all the obedience tests. At the end of that I had to crate Hope and leave the room for 10 minutes. We were allowed to give our dog a toy/bone in the crate so I left Hope with a stuffed sterilized bone; the evaluators came into the room that I had disappeared to and were joking with me that she could have stayed in the crate all night because she was so happy with her bone. The other dog started screaming within a few minutes so they let her out and did some sort of separation anxiety test. The last section was a "mock" Red Cross Shelter set-up where we were tested to see how we would handle a situation similar to what you would face on a real call-out. The HOPE people were all assigned to role play victims in various stages of distress as a result of a disaster. In addition to the people, there were lots of loud noises and distractions, people yelling, chaos, etc. Although it didn't last that long, maybe 15 minutes or so if I had to guess, it was a bit intense. Hope did awesome! She was not bothered by the chaotic environment, noises, and crazy people who were upset and crying or yelling. She interacted with the victims who we were asked to visit with by the mock Red Cross Shelter manager.
After that we had a break as they tallied our scores then Hope and I met with our two evaluators to go over our test results. We passed and got high scores from both evaluators. I didn't notice it while we were in the shelter simulation because I was concentrating so hard, but they said Hope was very relaxed and her tail was wagging as she interacted with anybody even when they were visibly upset. Since we passed the evaluation, we were invited to attend the certification workshop.
We were dubbed the "HOPEfuls" by the HOPE members at the workshop; there were a total of 9 dog/handler teams going through the workshop, plus one individual certifying as a Team Leader (without a dog). We had a variety of dogs, 5 labs (1 released Guide Dog, and Hope a released CCI dog), 1 golden, 2 small "pocket" dogs, 1 huge (140 lbs.) black Newfie (who Hope was scared of!). I think three of the nine dogs were rescue dogs. What an experience...3 days of lectures, lots of role playing, and field trips. I must admit I shed some tears throughout the weekend hearing some of the stories of the Hope members and what impact the Hope teams had during their call-outs. The lectures were great, we learned about dog theory, people skills, communication, stress, etc. and got to put the stuff we learned into practice doing a lot of role playing. I usually can't stand to do the role playing stuff, but in this case it was really helpful and we used actual scenarios of issues faced by some of the Hope members. So the debriefs were amazing to discuss how we handled the situations during the role play and to hear how the Hope member dealt with the situation for real when it happened to them.
I have to say my bond with Hope is even stronger as a result of this weekend and I learned several things that I can do with her to help her succeed even more. Mostly that she has a natual ability for therapy work and doesn't need a lot of direction from me, she instinctively knows what she needs to do. In addition, we took a field trip to the airport, passed through security, and boarded a plane on one day. On the last day, we took another field trip to a fire station.
The interesting thing is that we were being evaluated the whole time not just in class, but outside of class as well. A group of dogs was assigned to a Team Leader who was responsible for us (which is what would happen on a real call-out); they were watching us in class and even on "hurry" breaks to see how we were interacting with other people in the group and how our dogs were getting along with the other dogs. It wasn't until later that I realized we were even evaluated on how our dogs travelled with other dogs on the field trip. Hope and another lab named Lexie were the class clowns on the breaks wanting to play, so our Team Leader had us drive with her on the field trip with the two girls in the back of her vehicle, even though I had offered to drive myself. They used the excuse that they didn't want me to drive so I could concentrate on my dog, but I really think they wanted to see how the dogs travelled together as that is what would happen on an actual call-out. Hope and Lexie were PERFECT, they just laid down in the back of our Team Leader's SUV on both field trips, phew! I could be totally wrong about this, but it just seems like it was a set-up and when one of the HOPE members said they were happy the dogs all travelled well together it dawned on me it was probably a test as in a real situation the dogs will need to be able to travel together to a disaster. We were often asked by some of the Hope members to hand over our dogs to them during breaks and meals as I think they wanted to make sure our dogs were comfortable being left with other people. The HOPE members made us feel really welcome and wanted everyone to succeed, I just felt like we were constantly being watched.
I really felt like this was a mini-version of what a CCI team training might be like. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to everyone after the workshop was completed, we really bonded with our classmates and dogs and the HOPE staff we had spent the weekend with. On Monday, after lunch and individual feedback on how we did, all 9 teams were told that they passed the certification. Yipppie!
The ironic thing is that a big wildfire had broken out while we were there and the HOPE teams were put on standby for a possible call-out as people were being evacuated and relief might be needed. Mary, Hope and I got on the road right away to make the long drive home after the little graduation event, I got home after 11pm, totally exhausted but with a sense of renewal and exhilaration of what Hope and I have ahead of us.
Here's a picture of Hope in the HOPE scarf they gave us to wear on our field trips. Cool thing is that her name is all over everything. Unfortunately for her, she will have to wear a cape when she is working; this is the dog who absolutely HATES wearing a cape. Sorry Hope, some things come with a price...
So I guess we are no longer "HOPE-fuls" but are a certified HOPE team, well, once we get registered, pay all our fees, buy our uniform/supplies. Sometime during the next year we are also required to get certified in First Aid and CPR, and pet First Aid.
Several times during the year, we will also head down to L.A. for more training, workshops, and meetings with Mary & Mason, so hopefully we'll have the opportunity to be reunited with our classmates and the Hope members we met during the workshop.
I'm looking forward to the next part of this adventure with Hope...
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