Stories of hope and recovery

Last week, on the night Nick was on his way home from CCI, Hope and I had our usual visit to Sutter Rehabilitation Institute (SRI) before we went to pick him up at our friend's house. I arrived early at SRI because it was raining and I didn't know what traffic would be like.

While I was waiting in the lobby, I saw a display board that told the stories of two patients who were treated at SRI. Not a very good picture, but I just had to get a picture of Hope by the display, because we had visited with both of these patients! In most cases, we usually see the patients only once or twice, which is good, because that means they have been discharged and have gone home. We never hear anything more about them.  So it was nice to read the stories of these two individuals, and to see how their recovery was going. In a little way, Hope (and the other WAGS dogs) played a little part in their recovery I guess.

It was special to me to read about how "C" was doing, a young man that Hope and I did a room visit with the first time we saw him. Normally, we do a group visit in the hospital's therapy gym and the patients are brought into the room to visit with the 2-4 dogs that are there that night. In some cases, some of the patients are not strong enough to leave their beds, so if the therapist thinks the patient can benefit from a visit, we will visit them in their room.

"C" was one of those patients and his story is below. He was a young man who I have now learned was in an accident and was only able to communicate by shaking his head for "no" and sticking his tongue out for "yes".  I knew he had a lot of physical injuries as he had casts on his body and was really bruised, but it was amazing to see all the injuries he had when I read it on the display. I had Hope get up on the bed with him as his parents said he loved dogs and when I asked him if he would like Hope on his bed, he stuck his tongue out at me.  (The only time I can recall liking it when somebody stuck their tongue at me!! haha) The therapist took his hand and put it on Hope and he was able to pet her. Because there was not much room on the bed for her, she was partly laying on him and we kept asking him if he was ok or if she was hurting him in any way - he answered with his tongue (yes, he was ok) and shaking his head (no, she was not hurting him). It's times like this when I'm glad she's on the smaller side as its easier for her to get on the bed with a patient as in these cases, they are unable to scoot over to give her more room and we have to be careful to position so she doesn't harm the patient, which may include IV tubes, etc. He kept sticking his tongue out at us as I asked him questions like, "Do you like dogs?", "Do you like Hope on the bed with you?",  "Is she soft?" and "Do you still want Hope on the bed with you?"

A few weeks later, we saw "C" again, but this time he was well enough to come to the therapy gym to visit with the dogs. I asked him if he remembered Hope and he stuck his tongue out at me. He remembered her! That was the last time we saw him....so, it was wonderful to read how far he's come since he was released from SRI.

Be sure to click on the picture below to read their stories!

It made my day to read these stories...especially after receiving the news earlier in the day that Nick was released from Advanced Training. It served as a good reminder for me that Nick has so much to offer and will contribute in other ways like his "sister" Hope has been doing for the past couple of years, even if its not as a service dog.

After the visit was over, Hope and I began that journey, it was time to go get Nick at our friend's house, he was on his way home....

Our first walk - together again...

Since Nick came home last Thursday, its been raining so I haven't even had time to take him and Hope for a walk. This morning, it was finally clear, although it looked like at any time the sky might open up. I would have liked to have taken the dogs on a longer walk, but decided to stick close to home.

I'm happy to say Nick still walks nicely on leash, right next to me. That was the one thing about Hope that floored me the most when she came home from Advanced Training, she was totally forging and I had to work with her on that.

We only walked about an hour and since its rained so much I was surprised at how much the ponds near my house have filled up. My guess is that a lot of the rainwater from the neighborhoods flow into this pond. The ducks were happy too.

Nick is so much bigger than Hope as you can see in this picture!

The ducks are happy to be out too!

Luckily, the rain began after we arrived back home...

A Nick reunion

I invited a few of Nick's friends over for a playdate and dinner last night. Since our co-raisers didn't get much time with him it was nice to be able to enjoy a casual visit. Nick was also reunited with his brother, Spencer the beagle, too. He was so excited to see everyone.

My videos didn't really come out very good, and this was the only picture I took. But our good friend got some awesome "Couch Potatoes" shots on "Hope's Couch" that I will post later. I didn't take any pictures when she was taking hers as I knew hers would turn out better and I didn't want to mess things up with my flash going off or anything. This was taken after the photo shoot, Hope was barely hanging on as Carlo (in the center) and Nick (to the right) were totally hogging the couch. Spencer was nowhere to be seen, but will be in the picture I'll post later.

It was a fun day!

Nick is back!

Puppy raising is certainly a roller coaster ride for sure. The past five months have been no exception while waiting to see how Nick did in Advanced Training since his turn-in last August. Well, on Thursday of this week, after 5 months, Nick was released for "fearful behavior".

Even though I've always known I wanted him back and made no secret about it, it is still a devastating feeling to get the "call". Actually, this time was a little different because I didn't actually receive the call as CCI called one of my co-raisers, who then called me. Something I was not expecting, though I don't know how one can ever "expect" something like this.

They say the pups make their own decisions, the ones that want to "work" and be a service dog will do well in the kennel environment, the ones that don't will somehow communicate this to their trainers which will end up in their release from the program. Nick has been moved to different programs (service, then hearing, then service again) and has had 3 different trainers. I guess he'd had enough and wanted to come home.

Luckily for us, he was able to come home the evening he was released as a friend was able to bring him back for us from the CCI campus in Santa Rosa. He greeted us with a wiggly butt and that same sweet personality we all knew and loved, it was soooooo good to see him again.  But with his release, comes the end of a dream, having another graduate that performs a miracle for someone with a disability. As much as I wanted him back, I know deep down I always hoped he would graduate, its all bittersweet and a mix of emotions that is hard to explain unless you've gone through it.

When we got home, Nick bounded through the house checking everything out and immediately picked up a toy in his mouth. Hope was a little indifferent to him at first like he was any other dog, much different than the reaction she had to Sierra just a few weeks before where they acted like they did when Sierra still lived here. But after a while it was like the light bulb popped off and she finally started playing with him like she used to. It was so cute as Nick totally remembered his stuffed red heart toy I had saved that he got as a present from our friend Rachel on the day he arrived as a puppy. I guess they don't forget.

His personality seems the same, that sweet, cuddly, affectionate boy is still there. He seems a little taller and maybe a little filled out than what I remember, but I don't know if I have just forgotten how big he was since Hope is so small. I have found that you often forget some of the little details about the pups you have raised when you don't see them for many months.  Hope has this one gray hair on her back that she had as a small pup, when she came home, I had forgotten that. I let Nick sleep on the bed with me on his first night home, but I had totally forgotten how LOUD he snored. Oh well, its so nice to have him back, I'll forgive him! haha

This is a picture of Nick and Hope on his first night home:

This was taken a couple of nights ago...I guess this says it all, he is home! And Hope and I love having him back in our lives.

And a video of him playing with his favorite heart toy...(sorry for the TV noise, I thought when I put the movie together I had put music in to replace the sound, guess not, and I'm too lazy to re-do it....)

Nick, although I'm disappointed you didn't graduate, I'm thrilled to have you back. The decision was all yours and we will have a wonderful life together.

I also have to throw a shout-out to my wonderful co-raisers, Kathy and Gloria. A long time ago, we made the decision that if Nick was released, he'd come live with me as they already had two dogs and didn't really have room for one more. I know Nick's release was as hard for them as it was for me, but in some ways his release was even harder for them as they had to give up Nick again. They will always be a part of Nick's life and we've always agreed that they can have "visitation" anytime they want and will watch him if I have to go out of town and can't take him with me. It was a mutual decision, but I know that Nick knows how much his "peeps" love him whether he lives with them or not! :-)

The Red Ball

I didn't get a chance to put this video together until today, but it sure brings back some good memories of Zuleika/Sierra, kind of a "Then and Now" for her. When she came for a visit a few weekends ago, she found the red ball that she had gotten her head stuck in when she was around 9 weeks old. It was like she remembered it and it obviously has not scarred her as she was happy to play with it even now as a "big" dog at 3.5 years of age.

I guess they never do forget! It was bittersweet to watch this as Molly is in a portion of the video, I still miss her...

Snow Dogs in Truckee

Hope and I drove up to Truckee for the day with some friends and their dogs on Saturday. A huge storm is expected, but Saturday was blue skies, clear and just beautiful. We hiked up a trail that was nice and packed (so we didn't need snowshoes), had a lot of people and dogs, but wasn't too crowded at all.

My pictures didn't come out very well, so its good that my friends all take better pictures than I do. Here are some pictures of Hope...

And of course, a group shot! (L to R: Hope, Brumley, Olina, Milano, Jersey)

And a video!

A fun day!

Another trip to L.A.

Last weekend, Hope and I headed to L.A. for another HOPE AACR meeting and training. I ended up driving by myself again as our other HOPE friends Mary and Mason couldn't leave until the Saturday before the meeting. I wanted to split up the driving, so I decided to go down on Friday. Luckily, the traffic wasn't too bad and I got there without having to drive through too much traffic.

Here's a picture of Hope on the hotel bed (I did bring a sheet from home for her to lay on, even though the hotel is pet friendly, I'm not that rude!). She was comfy!

On Saturday, we met our friends and dogs and took them to Huntington Dog Beach in Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City, USA. What a great beach, a full mile of off-leash heaven for the dogs. Here are some pictures from the beach, the dogs had a blast!

Hope poses for a picture:

Group shot, from left to right, Titian, Hope and Kane and a cute surfer-dude in the background!

Hope has a sandy face from rolling in the sand!

And a video...

After the beach, we went to a cool outdoor Cafe in Huntington Beach that was totally dog-friendly. They even had a menu for the dogs! The cafe was right next to a really nice park, so we spent the afternoon geocaching after that. We were then invited to Titian's house for a BBQ and more playtime. Hope was exhausted that evening, but got excited when her buddy Mason arrived that night.

We went to the HOPE meeting on Sunday, and then had the long drive home. It was a good meeting and training and its always nice to see our friends. Hope still doesn't like wearing her cape, some things never change I guess...

Hope asks, "Do I really have to wear my cape?"

Lots of driving, but its all worth it!

Sierra's visit to Folsom

Sierra came for a visit a few weekends ago. It's always fun to see her and her family. This was the first time one of my pups has ever come back home to my house, so it was fun to know she still remembered the place. Apparently, she ran right up to the front door when she got here. She and Hope immediately started chasing each other round and round the dining room table, just like they used to when she was a pup. It was fun to watch.

Sierra even found her big red ball that she got her head stuck in as a puppy. She came running down the hall after she'd found it, it was too cute, it was like she remembered that ball!

We had a great visit!