All my life I have been a lousy test-taker, say the word "test" and my stomach immediately gets tied up in knots. On Sunday, Hope and I were scheduled to do our evaluation for Lend a Heart, a pet therapy organization based in Sacramento. I had found out about the organization from a gal who Hope and I do a couple of reading programs with. So last month after attending an Orientation, today was the day for us to test.
You would think that I would have nothing to be worried about, Hope is solid on her obedience and is an experienced therapy dog now. But I still worry, I still get stressed, I still have anxiety. I had the last appointment in the evening and had all day to get nervous! Well, we passed the test and after all was said and done, it wasn't so bad after all. The other cool thing is that Hope's mom, Toddy, is joining the organization, so I'm hoping we will get to do a few things together.
I was originally scheduled to take my Delta re-test next week as my registration expires in June, but they did everything last night. So not only did I pass the Lend A Heart evaluation, I also got my Delta test done too and don't have to go back next week. Now I have to fill out all the paperwork for both organizations.
Once I get the Health form filled out from my vet, I can begin my visits for LAH. I will be on "probation" for four months and must complete 6 visits to become a registered team with the organization. Each visit is evaluated by a Team Leader, so its possible that some teams have to repeat their probation if there are things to work on.
I'm looking forward to figuring out the best places for Hope and I to visit. I will probably sign up for a reading program and am going to do a couple of "shadow" (ie, without Hope) visits over the next few weeks to check out the various facilities. Tomorrow I am going to Sacramento County Mental Health for a shadow visit, one of the ladies who was testing thought it might be a good fit for Hope because she is so interactive and attentive to the person she is visiting with. Last week I did a shadow visit at a Rehab Center in Roseville, it was mostly older people, I think Hope will do well in that facility too.
Hope is going to have one busy calendar this week. We have the reading program tomorrow, a visit at Sutter Rehab on Thursday, and maybe a hospital visit as well. I'm just glad that we passed. Busy girl that Hope, but she loves it...and I'm so proud of her.
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