[Dailydrool] dexter the therapy dog does good

[LOIS LEMA]

Dexter my almost 4 year old basset is a therapy dog.  We routinely visit nursing homes, care facilities, and schools.  Next week we are doing national night out, in one of the local communities.
Dex and I are part of the NHDBART team ..a group of specially trained grief counselors and mental health professionals.  If there is a crisis in the community or school, this team is activated upon the request of such and we respond to provide much needed professional support. Currently,  Dexter and I are the only dog team responding in NH.
We were asked to respond to a school in southern NH in early spring as a result of an elementary school student's suicide.  Needless to say, the student's, staff, and community were in total shock.  Dexter and I entered the school and the sadness just enveloped us.
The students fell in love with Dexter.  They sat on the floor with him, surrounded him and just loved on him.  Dexter "sings" to certain songs...well he sang his way thru that school...in every class.  He sat on laps...laps of students, and teachers.  Kindergarten kids read him a story.  Kids found him in corners of the library and just shared kind stories.  It was a long, hard and special day.
When the day was over, the attitude had changed in the school...kids were laughing, and joking and telling Dexter stories.  The staff told us Dexter was a hero.
I say all of this because we are retaking therapy dog class.  Not a requirement, but as just a refresher to keep both our minds active.  Tonight there was a new member in class with her dog.  
It was a counselor from that school.  Her principal was so impressed by Dexter's work that he said they MUST have a therapy dog in the school.  MUST.  And he is paying for theschool counselor to train her dog.  
I have such pride in the work of this dog...he has skills I did not teach him...that he was born with.  He just knows...knows who needs the time, the love, the attention.  I am in awe of him.  I have seen him with special needs kids and adults, hospice, the elderly, children, the ill...ok kids crying in the ice cream line (sometimes he is hard to convince that not everyone is in severe need of help  ) 
I just wanted to share ...if someone tells you your basset is too stupid or stubborn to do anything...tell them no & just try!  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.dailydrool.org/pipermail/dailydrool-dailydrool.org/attachments/20190803/df58da97/attachment-0002.html>