[Dailydrool] Dexter made the centerfold!

[LOIS LEMA]

Dexter want's everyone to know that he is now world famous (ok maybe just the US & Canada) because he has landed in the centerfold of the alliance of therapy dogs bi-annual magazine's centerfold!  
He has decided that this achievement leads to many entitlements:  larger meals, more toys, additional visits to all his elementary school friends and nursing home ones, more snacks, a new bed (actually he just got one as I tossed out the crappy futon he was using in my guest room and bought him a brand new bed), more trips to the dog park, additional visits to play with his friends, more treats (notice a pattern?) and so on....
He loves doing the visits.  This fall we became the therapy dog for the local school.  Dex has made friends with all the school kids and staff...with Kindergarten being his favorite.  He has started a "reading" program with most of the lower grades and now all the kids sit and read to each other.  Even though, most don't really read yet..they consider it an honor to "read" (describe the page details) to each other & him).  my home is covered with drawings ...which I love.  
Here is the article:
Dexter arrived as a 4 month old puppy, with huge feet and ears.  Those feet stepped on those ears.  Frequently.  He has grown into a 60 pound  goofball.  He still steps on those ears.  During one of the practical tests in therapy class, at a Tractor Supply store, he suddenly screamed.  Everybody froze!  Everyone rushed over to us  thinking he was hurt.   Nope! He stepped on his ears.    
As a puppy, Dexter would approach wheelchair users and slide his head under their hands.  Special need kids are his people!  If he saw someone crying, our walks would have to wait. If your kid was upset because they couldn't get ice cream, Dexter had their back..   I  knew he had the makings of a therapy dog.  Despite what is always said about bassets being stubborn,  Dexter did well in obedience, earning his CGC.  He even helped calm another dog in class who was anxious.
We have visited many facilities in our area, from hospitals, to schools and nursing homes.  His favorites are Glencliffe Sr. Home and the Lafayette Center in Franconia, NH.  His visits are full of fun.  Toe nails are painted during manicure day!  The boy has his own bottle of blue  polish.   He has shared watermelon, cupcakes, ice cream,  cookies and popcorn with his friends. Dexter enjoys kickball and other sports too.   In the summer we all sit outside and spit watermelon seeds.
He attends Mass with the residents at one facility.  During one service, the priest said "Let us pray" and Dexter bayed his response.  I went to leave thinking we were disturbing people but he said to stay.  Since then Dexter has responded on cue a few times.  The priest has given him holiday gifts and fist bumps his nose during the sign of peace.  At Glencliffe, Dexter has been known to plant himself on the couch and watch movies or sports with the guys.  For 30 minutes.  For a while, we did enrichment with the residents on the locked floor.  Using a double leash system, I let them "walk" him.  They also got to brush him too.  All the residents worry about him and let me know that he is obviously underfed..
There is one resident at the Lafayette Center who is a basset lover.  He arrived after suffering a severe stroke.  His speech was very garbled and his movement limited.  When he saw Dexter he began to cry.  He motioned for me to take a folder from his nightstand.  Inside was a photo album which included shots of his basset!  He cried  as he shared the shots.  It was obvious the love between his and his basset (can you blame him?).  Each time Dexter and I have visited him, his movement and speech have improved.  He tells me he works hard so he can share stories of his basset and to be able to hug Dexter.  We do  share hugs with him, and we both cry.  He now has a big photo of Dex is his collection.
Dexter and I are members of the New Hampshire DBART Team.  It is the state emergency disaster emotional response team   We respond when there is a death in a school, community incident, etc..  He have responded to 4 such incidents.  We are the only dog team that responds.  We went  to an  elementary school where astudent suicided  and his school was devastated.  Dexter walked in and we visited every classroom and just worked our magic.  Dexter sings to his favorite song which was a crowd pleaser!  When we left, other responding agencies and staff said that Dexter was a hero for the work he did in turning the attitude around in the school.
Recently, we responded to another school.  One child found Dexter and just sat and chatted.  And then chatted some more.  Told me some but Dexter lots.  Dexter placed his head on his lap and fell asleep.  The boy was stroking his back and if he stopped, well you know, that big huge paw gently reminded him that he was still there listening and a back rub was a good thing.
He is known far and wide.  He is "Mr. September runner up" on the Union Bank 2019 bank calendar.  Dexter also likes riding ski gondolas and old scenic railways.  He has friends everywhere it seems.  He "sings."  Yup.  Play is favorite song and his eyes sparkle, head tilts and he bays along with it...even changes tone for the chorus.  He is a basset.  They just make you smile, but he is a basset with a mission, which is even better.  
The work he does takes my breath away.  I have seen this dog work miracles with people in hospice, grieving children, and the elderly.  I have watched him become  emotionally upset because he was unable to gain access to a room where someone was getting ready to pass.  Upset where he wouldn't visit anyone else, and cry, and turn down his applesauce shooter that he always gets from the nurses (and if you bassets when they don't want food that is a serious thing!).  He makes himself small to be with little tiny children.  
Dexter is my first therapy dog.  I am in awe of him.  Most times it feels like I am just along for the ride.  People are always amazed that a basset hound is a therapy dog.  I don't know why.   They are happy, approachable dogs that bring a smile to your face,  Goofballs.    People always ask if I take him hunting (which is what their breed is supposed to do) I reply no.  Dexter is afraid of outdoors.  Chickens, squirrels, bears, frighten him.  He is not brave.  But put the boy in a room full of  older people or kids and he is a shining star...with huge ears and feet!

   
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