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Not the best photo but the best I could do holding her leash and trying to be quiet. Izzy did great on her first official therapy visit! We met Tanja, who is a tester/observer for Alliance of Therapy Dogs and a member of FETCH Therapy Dogs, and her dog Rocco in the front lobby. I could tell Izzy wondered why she and Rocco weren't going to play but she got past that fairly quickly. We took the dogs to two nurses' stations and into several patient rooms. She also got to meet a

Had to get some action shots of Izzy at the beach. She was so excited and rarely stopped moving.

Had so much fun photographing Izzy at the coast. This first set are stills taken at morning golden light. The light was just perfect. Izzy letting us know it was early for all the photographs. We got more sun as we got to the beach. The beach is definitely this girl's happy place!

Izzy's new favorite place. We just got back from a 5-day camping trip at Harbor Vista in Florence. We all had an amazing time and Izzy found her happy place. We weren't in a site that would work with Izzy's x-pen, so we used her overhead pully. She adjusted quickly. She learned what fire was and respected it. The only problem was that she thought her job was to prune and excavate the site. We ended up using her x-pen to block the places she wanted to prune. By day 3, she had

We did it!! We had our Therapy Dog Certification Handling Assessment this morning. I was so nervous but tried not to send that energy down the leash. I think I have just been working so hard towards this and am so eager to start therapy work again, I got myself worked up. Even if she hadn't passed, she would have had 2 more tries. We did it though! Neither of us was perfect but it's not so much about perfection as being able to work together as a team. She wanted to play with

Izzy decided this week she didn't want to get into the van to go on her play adventure with Lucky Dog. This was something they had to work on with her when she started and they got her past it. She decided this week, she wasn't comfortable getting in the crate again. We tried Tuesday and Friday so we've decided to give her a couple of weeks off and see if that helps. With that change, it was great to have our new mini pack walk and a play date with Juno this week, to give Izz

Mini pack walk with Erin and Maeve and Wendy and Elisha. It's been a busy week and we have exciting news! Izzy is scheduled for her Therapy Dog Certification Test on July 19! I really didn't think we would be testing when she was this young, but I think she is ready. We can retake it and it will give us good feedback so it will be helpful even if she doesn't pass. I am nervous though! The timing is really something and makes me think Emmi is guiding us. We are doing the test

This may not look like much but it is actually amazing. I am holding a leash with some slack and my coffee cup on our walk and I was able to take a picture. Izzy graduated from Dog 4. Our last class was held in a park. There were lots of distractions including other dogs, bikes, and children. Izzy did great and was able to walk on a fairly loose leash and follow commands even with all the activity. A few days later, I was walking Izzy and realized how far we have come. I was

Izzy LOVED camping. Just got back from an amazing camping trip at the Metolius River. This was Izzy's second camping trip. She went on one last summer. I really think that early experience made this trip go smoother. This girl loves camping! We took a long hike every morning along the river and then a shorter hike in the evening. She was a bit hesitant as a puppy in water, but she has definitely decided water is the best thing ever now. So much so, that is is difficult to get

Playing with a wide-angle lens in the field. Izzy is one year old today! This girl has totally changed our life in so many ways and was just what we needed! We love her so much! I can't believe she is already a year old. This year went so fast and wow, we have done a lot! Putting the video together really brought home to me how much she has grown and how much we have done. Today she got to unwrap her present, go for a walk, and then Iylah came over and they had a great play s

Izzy watching her favorite TV show: Lucky Dog. Izzy is making incredible progress! I am now positive that I have a therapy dog. She is doing great with meeting people. No jumping. Mostly waits for me to tell her it's OK to say "Hi". She loves to see people and loves the attention. She had a recheck with her vet and look at her settling and patiently waiting. You can also tell the vet clinic is one of her happy places. Taking her in for lots of visits when she was a puppy sure

Keeping with our flower theme, Izzy in the daisies. A busy week with Izzy. She had her advanced training class on Wednesday. We worked a lot on loose leash walking and being calm around the other dogs around the other people and dogs and paying attention to us. Izzy did great! A playdate with her bff, Juno on Wednesday afternoon. She loves her playdates and seems to know when someone is coming to visit. Thursday, we had a professional photographer out, Salty Pet Portraits. Gr

Izzy and I before the walk. Izzy has to think today was the best day ever. I know I think it was amazing. We got to the event early. She first got to see her friends from Training Spot (our team for the event). After that, we started walking by the vendor booths. All of a sudden, I heard "Izzy". We both looked up and it was LuckyDog Day and Night Care's booth. I wondered what does a dog think. Going someplace and running into all these people from different parts of her life?

Emmi When I took Izzy over to the booth F.E.T.C.H. Therapy Dogs had at Bark in the Park, one of the people I had worked with at the Airport shared a story with me. A woman had come by not long before we got there. She wanted to let the teams there know about a therapy dog who had touched her life at the Airport. She said her plane had been delayed 5 hours and she was just having a really hard time when she was approached by a handler with a golden retriever. She said that gol

A friend of mine had a photo session with her dogs and shared the photos with me. They were taken in a field among Camas flowers and were beautiful. Every day I admire some of the fields in our area that have Camas and wondered if anyone would let me do a photoshoot on their property. So, I posted in our neighborhood Facebook group and two neighbors responded and offered me their fields for a photoshoot. I love where we live. So many good people out here! Saturday morning the

Izzy in a camas field. A peak at her most recent photo shoot. I can't believe Izzy is already 11 months old! This time last year, we were waiting eagerly for her to be born. She is an amazing young dog. I love that she loves all people and animals. I find it amazing how she modifies her playstyle to fit whoever she is playing with. Izzy and Iylah. I love how curious she is about everything around her. Her joy and exuberance makes me smile. Check out how happy she is to go to

Watching kids at the park. I reflected on Izzy's progress this week and realized it really takes a village to raise a puppy to be well-socialized and to be able to become a therapy dog. This week Izzy saw her vet on Monday. He and the staff at our vet clinic have been such a big part of Izzy's journey. She is totally comfortable going into the vet's office and being examined. We have her on a diet that includes fresh-cooked food and also several supplements that her vet has w

So many people don't really understand what a therapy dog is. I've had many people think I am training an ESA or Service Dog. When I explain that a therapy dog provides comfort to others, one person actually said, "Oh good. I thought you were making one of those fake service dogs". A friend sent me this beautiful video that demonstrates perfectly what a Therapy Dog is: https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/therapy-dog-surprises-a-brave-boy-fighting-leukemia/vi-AA20RCic?oci

Always watching us. Izzy turned 10 months on April 8th. She got to spend some time at her birthplace, and I don't think she missed us at all. She had two other young goldens to play with and a puppy. Check out the video. It's so cute the way she plays with Riley, the puppy. Izzy with Maeve and Pink. Izzy playing with Pink and Riley Izzy will be starting Dog 3 this week. She is really doing great with her obedience. She learns so quickly. Walking on a loose leash is still our

Izzy at the Airport. April 11th is National Dog Therapy Appreciation Day! This day honors therapy dogs, their handlers, and their contributions in providing comfort, emotional support, and healing to people in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. Izzy and I have more work to do before she will be ready but hopefully, we will be celebrating together next year. In the meantime, I put together a slide show of Emmi working. She was so good at her work. Music Credit: Warm Light