Life is Ruff

Hello!

Life has been ruff for Frax's 'Grandmother's' this past month. Bill's mother is in rehab on one side of town after breaking a hip. My Mom is in a nearby town in rehab after breaking her back! Each of them has had surgery.

Mom decided the last few days she wasn't going to eat or drink, and has been steadily going downhill. They put an IV in her today and gave her the electrolytes she needed, and she was much clearer. So much so, that she called me and asked me to bring some items for her to eat and drink! I can't tell you how relieved Bill and I were to hear that!

This is a picture during the holidays of Frax

and I visiting with my Mom at my brother's home during the holidays. Frax is so out of focus because he is wiggling so hard! He really loves Mom, and is likely her best therapy right now. Frax and I visit as often as we can, so she can get some of that pet therapy she needs too!

Hard to believe that in a few months Mom will turn 92! Amazing!

We had a interesting moment at the rehab facility while visiting Mom the other day. I walked to the nurses station with Frax, and coming from an adjoining hallway was a mother with her teenage daughter, holding on to a leash attached to a barking and growling Westie! The little dog was very upset that Frax was there. Before Frax could get upset, we did a 180 and went back down the hallway reassuring him that 'it's no big deal'. Meanwhile the owners 'football carried' the still yipping and growling Westie out of the facility.

Other dogs do sometimes freak out when they see a service dog. The vest and harness really set them off! It's fear growling nine times out of ten. There's several things to do: remove yourself and your service dog from the situation, which is what we did. Make your dog's profile lower and non-threatening by turning his attention to you and if you are in your wheelchair, give him the 'lap' command, where he places his front end in your lap, and you are looking directly in his face to give him verbal reassurance. Speak in low and cheerful tones, reassuring your dog and the problem dog at the same time. If you are not in a wheelchair, turn your dog towards you, bend down, and get on his level, again, looking him in the face, perhaps distracting him with a toy or treat. Lastly, don't raise your voice, and do not make eye contact with the offending dog. These tricks defuse the situation nine times out of ten. By doing these things you've made yourself and your dog non-threatening to the other dog. Normally the other dog will calm down and leave if off leash, if on leash the owners either walk him the opposite way or go on the way they were going, getting him away from us.

The Westie was still upset with the situation, but he was calm enough to be picked up and taken out of the facility by the owners. I hope they didn't punish the fellow for doing what came naturally to him. He was just overwhelmed by seeing such a big fellow like Frax in all his harness and such.

This was a potentially dangerous situation where Frax and I both could have been injured. Canine Assistants has taught it's recipients well in their classes how to deal with these situations. The first time this happened with Jet it occured with an off leash dog and scared both of us to death. We followed what we had been taught and it worked. Since then we've been challenged numerous times by confused dogs either off or on leash. Applying Canine Assistant's recommendations has kept us safe.

Frax had a wonderful visit with Mom, and she is looking forward to another visit from him and us tomorrow, so I'm gonna sign off here and toddle to bed. Good sleep and dreams to all of you!

Later...

LV, FX & JT

#dogschallengeserviceanimals #safetywithservicedogs #pettherapy