Rocky to the rescue

If you ever met Rocky, you know that he is a kind, gentle soul. Rocky was in terrible pain for a very long time because of his ears but he always maintained the sweetest disposition. I don't know how he did it. I'm not half as nice even when I feel good.

Shayna thought that he would be good at therapy work, and I'm sure he will be. He will sit for attention and petting and he isn't too particular about how he gets it. He has an extremely high tolerance for pain or anything unpleasant and even then he has never had a bad reaction to the people who are causing it. All the vets who examined and treated him when his ears were at their worst were amazed how easy and cooperative he was with them.

The other good thing I would think about Rocky and therapy work is that he has his own handicap and tales of pain, suffering, and medical procedures that could hold their own with most anyone he's likely to encounter. A good way to distract people from their own problems is to get them to focus on someone else's. The fact that Rocky's story is one of success and triumph over adversity has an inspirational element as well.

I don't know that Shayna had all that in mind, but she did take Rocky for certification testing with the Delta Society, a nationwide service and animal therapy organization. He didn't pass, but only because of the "stay" and I love the reason that he failed. Apparently he had to stay in a square box marked on the floor while she walked to the other side of the room. He didn't stay, but he didn't wander off either. All he wanted to do was follow Shayna wherever she went. I just can't fault a dog for that.

He passed all the other tests with flying colors, everyone loved him, and they really encouraged her to bring him back again for re-testing after they work on the stay. Once he passes it, I doubt he will ever need it again, but a good solid stay is always a good thing to have (none of my dogs have it).

You can read Shayna's blog post about the certification first hand.