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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Greetings to you all!! I am a lurker on the daily
drool. My name is DeAnn and my beloved basset is Gracie Mae. Gracie
is a rescue that we got approximately 5 years ago and we estimate her age to be
around 10 now. A few years back I was a regular participant on the drool but
due to life changes, I’m lucky to read a few postings a week. I’m
never completely caught up. Anyway, let me share one of Gracie’s
most recent adventures….</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>A month or so ago my daughter and I took two of our dogs in
for the Canine Good Citizen testing and Therapy Dog testing. Unbeknownst to us,
our dogs should have had obedience classes prior to the testing.
There were approximately 30 dogs that were to be tested and since we were almost
last to arrive we were at the end of the line. As I watched the many
beautiful and obedient dogs being tested I began to sink lower and lower in my
chair. All I knew (before coming to the testing) was that the dogs had to
be kind and gentle and enjoy being with people, not jumpy etc.
OBEDIENT?? My Gracie Mae?? Sheesh! You have no idea how many times I
wanted to get up and just walk out the door. We couldn’t, we would
have had to cross the testing space and it would have been painfully obvious
that we had ‘naughty’ dogs. (By the way, my daughter is 12
and has an adorable rat terrier that she was having tested as well.)</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Finally, it was our turn. We’re walking up to
the ‘starting spot’ and I’m thinking to myself….’I
can’t believe we’re doing this. This is going to be bad, so very,
very bad. Can I crawl into a hole?’ Before we even start we have to
announce our names, the dogs name and breed, age and where we got them. Gracie
was the only rescue in the entire pack and once I said she was a rescue the
small crowd burst into applause. So we had a few brownie points before we
even got started. Gracie has never had a day of professional type
training in her life. She is a tugger on a leash, sniffs everything she can,
picks up anything she can munch on (edible or not) and really doesn’t
care where I want to go. She has mind of her own. That night, during
testing, she walked beside me like a pro, the leash was loose, she turned when
I turned, she stopped when I stopped, and it was AMAZING!!! Then came the
testing with the crowd. Would she be spooked by people with crutches, walkers and
wheel chairs? Would she jump on someone? How well would she greet the other
dogs? Would she leave the piece of chocolate on the floor and simply walk by it
and ignore it? SHE PASSED! SHE PASSED! SHE PASSED AND SHE PASSED! By
this time I was on cloud 9. Could it really happen? Could we get certified to
be a Therapy Dog? Gracie was being a perfect dog (for a moment I thought
she had been possessed by a well trained retriever) That left us with one final
test to pass. I had to put Gracie into a sitting position and walk 20
feet away from her and then back to her and she had to say put. Then I had to
walk 40 feet away from her, turn around and call her to me and she was supposed
to come. All I have to say at this point is ‘uh-oh’.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Gracie has never been taught to sit. Gracie has two
speeds….run and lay down. So I kneel down and tell Gracie to sit….blink
blink blink<i><span style='font-style:italic'> </span></i>is all I get back. “Gracie
Sit!” Blank stare. Oh boy….So I put my hand on her
haunches and gently push and tell her “Gracie Sit!” Gracie
promptly moves into a slow motion roll and turns her belly up for a belly rub.
I sit her back up again, she rolls over again, I sit her back up again, she
rolls over again…and on and on and on….. I finally looked at
the trainer and asked her if I can walk away from Gracie while she is lying
down. The instructor/trainer/tester with a grin says…no ma’am.
By now I’m breaking into a sweat. Once again I pick Gracie up and
put her into a sit position, she rolls, sit, roll, sit, roll. Finally,
finally she sits but she’s facing the wrong direction. I slowly and gently
go to spin her around, she rolls. I get her up again, she sits the wrong
direction. I spin, she rolls. Where’s that hole I was looking for
earlier??? I look up at the instructor/trainer/tester and she is laughing
so hard she has tears rolling down her face. I hadn’t even noticed
but most of the crowd was laughing by now. At long last, the tester says
I can walk away and call her. I go my 40 feet, “Come Gracie…come
on…come” She’s still in her “I’m waiting
for my belly rub, four paws up in the air position.” Up side down
head, ears flopped out side ways….blink, blink, blink. By now even
you know the routine…come Gracie…. blink blink….Gracie Come!....
Blink Blink. Finally, I sit down on the floor 40 feet away from
Gracie and whisper, Psst. Gracie, wanna treat? Before I knew it she was sitting
in my lap.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>WE PASSED!!!! The tester loved Gracie so much she
realized that Gracie was not going to be a threat to anyone, unless she
happened to lay down on their foot. LOL </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>PS – My daughter and her rat terrier also
passed. Whew! </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:purple'>DeAnn M. Krutsinger</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:purple'>Asst. Director of Financial Aid</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=3 color=purple face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:purple'>Waldorf College</span></font></b></strong></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:purple'>641-585-8122</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=4 color=purple face="Comic Sans MS"><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:purple'>Live Purple</span></font></b></strong><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><strong><b><font
size=4 color=green face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:green'>~ Go Green</span></font></b></strong></p>
<p class=quotetext><font size=3 color=maroon face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:maroon'>"...Happiness is
the choice of living every moment with love, grace and
gratitude."</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
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