Obnoxious visit

I really don't have much to say about today's visit to the hospital, other than people are uneducated and arrogant. Let see, where do I begin. I got four offers from backyard breeders about Boxer puppies they have, NO thanks! A nurse gave me a hard time because Samson is fixed, really?? A guy was going around telling people in his department that Samson was a pitbull and he was mean before he even talked to us. I explained to him he is a Boxer puppy and we do not allow aggressive dogs into this program. I also told him pitbulls are excellent dogs, when they are in the right hands. Then he goes onto say that he saw Boxers on the news awhile back for killing their owner. For one thing, those were Mastiffs, not Boxers(not even going to get into that story). Then we went to visit a patient and her husband. Her husband told us he bought his dog a service dog vest just so he could take him places and to hotels and not have to pay the fee for animals. I cannot stand when people do that, to me it shows a lack of respect for people who actually need a service animal. Ok, so that's my vent for the day!

Samson actually had a off day today. He was dragging me though the hospital, not wanting to visit with people and whining! This facility is a little hard for us because Samson is a food hound and we visit around lunch time, so lunch trays are still out and he would rather pay attention to the herb chicken and jello than the patient. But, everyone gets a off day right?

I did get to visit with a very nice elderly man who had two Boxers(not a BYB, that I know of). He was so excited to see Samson and said what a beautiful coat he has. He spoke very little English, so it was a little hard to understand him. But, Samson did his job and bought a huge smile to his face. There was also a little boy who was mentally challenged and paralyzed, his mom took a picture of Samson standing next to him. It was really sweet.

We also picked up another facility to visit, the abused women and children shelter. We start that one next week! Another great high energy place for him to visit.

Crowd pleaser

Yesterday was our visit to the mentally challenged campus, defiantly our favorite place to "work" at! There was quite a few people this visit, I would say he visited almost 25 people. He gave each and everyone of them buttwiggles and kisses. One of the rules is no licking faces, so he is slowly learning to lick hands instead. But, all the patients try to sneak in face licks from time to time, can you blame them?! I brought pictures for everybody, which they were very thrilled about. I have to brag about how nicely he walks when the patients walk him around, its like he knows some of them have a hard time walking around, so he walks very patient and slow.

When our time was up and the patients were being called to dinner the women kept asking me they could keep him! I had to explain to them he is a very precious boy, but Boxers are a lot of work! They need daily walks, play time and socialization. The staff members are just amazed that these are ours own personal dogs and how much time we devote to training and socializing, they are especially grateful we bring them to visit. They said the patients really look forward to our visits, too bad we couldn't visit more often!

Samson was extremely exhausted after our visit :)

(Photos are being blocked to protect patients identity.)

A little late on this one

Last Wednesday(5/5/2010) Samson and I went to do Therapy work at the hospital. We got to do that visit with a very sweet 12yr old Golden. She is getting ready to retire from the hospital this summer, its getting to be too much walking for her. Our visit was short because there wasn't very many people admitted(which was a good thing, according to the nurses). Pediatrics is seems to be Samsons favorite stop. We got to visit with three children who were very sick and crying in bed. It's so sweet when they instantly stop when the dogs come in and their faces just light up with joy. One little girl gave the dogs a hug goodbye and thanked them for coming to see her.

Our next stop was the ICU(intensive care unit). There was a elderly man who had been at the hospital for quite sometime and he was very sad he had to leave his dogs at home. He was just fascinated with Samson coat color and how mellow he was. We visited with him for awhile and listened to him talk about his dogs and how he can't wait to get home to them. I hope he gets home to them soon, I could not imagine leaving Samson for that long!

Tomorrow we visit the mental health campus! Defiantly my favorite place for Samson because its a high energy environment. I promised the patients I would print pictures for them, better get on that before I forget!

Samson visits the hospital

We got to visit the hospital today. This was a 2 hour long visit, we walked around the entire hospital and visited almost every room. Samson was a big hit with the staff members. One of the nurses has two Boxers, so she was just loving Samson! People are so amazed at that a mellow boy he is.

When we went to visit the pediatrics there was a little girl screaming crying, we asked her mom if she would like to visit the dogs, and right when the little girl saw the dogs her crying stopped and her mouth dropped, she was in love! She kept patting them on the head calling them puppies. It was a really cute moment. Her momma told us they have two pits at home, so she is used to bing around bigger dogs and getting lots of licks.

It was a long day for Samson. The second we got home, he jumped on the couch and went to sleep!

Samsons first day out!

Today was Samsons first day visiting the clients at the mentally challenged campus. He had a great time, he was super excited to meet everyone. His nub was wiggling the whole time! I would say he met about 20 people, maybe more. One of the guys there, we'll call him J, liked Samson a lot! He sat with him the whole time. Samson was taking all the belly rubs he could get, and he sat on everyone who came to visit! Boxers sure do love to sit in your lap, don't they? He was such a good boy when they would walk him around the gym, walking nice and calm in a heel.

When we were getting ready to leave, and a man in a wheelchair came in and Samson went right up to him as if the wheelchair wasn't even there. When he was a puppy, he was very fearful of thing like wheelchairs and walkers. Agility training has really helped him overcome his fears! One of the girls was scared he was going to bite her because he is a dark colored dog. I told her he was a very nice boy and he wanted to sniff her hand. So one of the staff members said they would hold her hand and Samson could sniff both their hands. Well, he sniffed, gave them a couple licks, then came the butt wiggles and kidney bean dance. She petted him a little, but was still a little nervous, so she left. He was a big hit today, and we are both looking forward to our next visit.

Samson is exhausted, happily sleeping on the couch! Tomorrow we go visit the Hospital.

Fresh meat!

Today was my first experience with the therapy dog group at the mentally challenged campus. Samson stayed home this round because his vest is not done, and I wanted to see if this is something he would like. I defiantly think he would like working there! Its high energy and the patients are so sweet and nice.

The first half hour we hung out with the men. One guy in particular was just a total sweetheart. He loved walking the standard poodle around the gym. He kept asking me to bring pictures of Samson for him to keep, how sweet is that?!

The last half hour was with the women. They came rushing over to me to ask me 100 questions! I was fresh meat and their new best friend! They really didn't pay much attention to the dogs, they just kept asking me question after question, and asking for hugs. They also kept asking me for pictures! I am going to print a bunch of wallet size pictures out for them. Hopefully I can bring my camera to take pictures of them and Samson.

I really enjoyed working with them. Maybe I'll find my calling in life doing this program?! I cannot wait till I can take Samson!

He got his vest!

Yesterday Samson got fitted for his Therapy Dog vest. I also got two shirts and my name tag. Everything was free too!(except, I paid $10 for a extra shirt and made a $10 donation). I took the vest to the mentally challenged campus because they do embroidery there, take 1-2 weeks to have it done. So Samson also got to have his first therapy dog experience! It was fun walking him around and all the people knew he was a Boxer and kept saying how handsome he was. One guy was pushing a cart next to Samson while he was laying down next to my chair, Samson jumped up and the guy yelled he doesnt like dogs, so I put Sam back into a down-stay.

Tomorrow I have a walk through at the mental hospital with the therapy dog group(going without samson) to see if I think that is something Samson will like.