Nikki - a Golden Heart

2011-12-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

Meet CAROLINE!

I am so excited to announce another Cabarrus County Schools volunteer...CAROLINE! CAROLINE is a gorgeous 3 year old Golden Retriever. She is an incredible addition to our staff and will be working with our children with disabilities throughout the county. I was lucky enough to meet her at the Women's Federal Penitentiary in Hazelton, WV and then again at Lakin Correctional Facility in Pt. Pleasant, WV last week where she has trained with a very talented trainer, Amber. She spent Christmas adjusting to her new home and met her coworker NIKKI yesterday. NIKKI was very enthusiastic upon their meeting and sang CAROLINE'S praises by barking excitedly! Once they both got over the initial excitement, they were amazing! When either Sharon or I would give a command, the two new best friends would obey in unison! It was exciting to see them both turn, wave, and speak together. Of course NIKKI is an experienced subject for pictures, but CAROLINE was intrigued by the experience and kept trying to sniff the camera. Afterwards, we went out to dinner to celebrate their new friendship and CAROLINE did great. She is very patient when it counts! She is also a great shopping buddy. She visited the Apple Store in Southpark Mall and many people commented on her beauty and sweet disposition. She loves to shop and is always excited to be on the "go". I've learned however, I need to keep treats with me to keep her attention on me instead of all the new smells!

NIKKI's Bulletin Board

2011-01-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

Does it mean you made it when you are on a school bulletin board? If that is the case then NIKKI has made it! We are on a bulletin board at the preschool where we do much of our work. This bulletin board was created by the teaching staff in one of the classes that NIKKI and I like to visit. They are always ready with questions and really love NIKKI. The bulletin board was made for the dedication ceremonies for our new preschool. I am told that all the big shots in the school district were at the dedication and many were observed checking out the NIKKI bulletin board. Here are some pictures of the bulletin board....

This is the entire bulletin board....the rest of the pictures are pieces of it so you can get a closer look.

The big sign says "Meet our favorite classroom visitors". The visitors refer only to me and NIKKI - we are the entire bulletin board!!

I know it is hard to see but the picture in the upper right is NIKKI doing her "leave it" trick...leaving fruit loops on her paws until they tell her it is "Ok" to eat them. The white paper is the questions they asked me on our last visit. I like that the class had the questions prepared ahead of time....3 and 4 year olds need a little extra time to ask good questions.

I love the "We love NIKKI" and the "NIKKI makes us smile" pictures.

I must admit I am humbled by this bulletin board. I cried the first time I saw it. Never did I think that we meant so much to this class. I love what I do with NIKKI and it is obvious that we are loved too. Thank you Mrs. Harding and staff! I am honored.

NIKKI has had a few weeks off. She has enjoyed her Christmas break. My family came for several days around Christmas and NIKKI convinced them all that she does not get any love when they are not around. She insisted on being petted and they all obliged her. She has a way of making everyone feel special.

It is back to school tomorrow. NIKKI has a light week but will get back full swing the following week. I am sure there will be more stories to tell....especially if I can convince my coworkers to blog about their work with NIKKI!
Happy New Year!
Sharon

I will see you in December

2010-12-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

I may have been neglectful in my blogging efforts but don't think that NIKKI has not been busy. She has been working at least 3 days every week and is getting quite use to the routine of going to work with me. My office was moved this year to a new building and she has adjusted quite well to this change. This building allows her a bit more freedom to roam around and my coworkers are always generous with the snacks they have hidden in their desks. (She knows exactly who keeps snacks in their desk!!) We have been doing a lot of activities to show the kids NIKKI's skills. For December we are doing the book/CD The Twelve Dogs of Christmas. If you are not familiar with this book it uses dogs instead of things... for example instead of 5 golden rings it says 5 Golden Retrievers. When we get to this part in the song NIKKI barks! Lots of fun! But instead of going on and on with words, I will let the pictures do the talking....
I don't remember what was happening here but I thought it was just such a sweet picture!
In this class we played Simon Says with NIKKI....it was a impromptu game to get the kids up and moving. NIKKI played too. This has led to the idea of incorporating gross motor skills into our group sessions. Can you imagine...Simon says sit...the kids and NIKKI sit. Simon says jump...the kids and NIKKI jump. Simon says turn....you get the idea. We are also working on an obstacle course for the kids and NIKKI. Many of the students in the classes we visit need work in all areas of motor development. These will be fun activities to get the kids moving!
Is this cute or what? This little guy was so excited to meet NIKKI. This was the first time in this classroom. Many of the students in this class have autism. The teacher reported the some of the kids participated more than they typically do in class activities. Dogs can be such motivators.
The adult in this picture is Lindsey. She is a physical therapist too. She is now one of NIKKI's new handlers. Lindsey is on NIKKI's favorite people list...she loves Lindsey. It is so awesome that NIKKI responds so well to Lindsey.
This is Nancy and Amelia. Nancy is also a physical therapist and NIKKI's other new handler. Amelia is one of our Assistive Technology (AT) specialists. Amelia has been helping Amy (our other AT specialist) develop activities for classes. We usually go in as a team to work on the activities. NIKKI also responds well to Nancy. With both Nancy and Lindsey handling NIKKI, NIKKI is able to work with so many more students. Hopefully I can convince Nancy and Lindsey to blog about their work with NIKKI. I am sure they too will have wonderful stories to tell.
You know I saved my favorite story for last....Sam. Oh how I love to visit Sam. Nancy (Sam's physical therapist) wanted Sam to work on jumping so she had him working on jumping into and out of the hoop on the floor. He decided that he wanted to teach NIKKI how to jump. So as you can see in the first picture - Sam is demonstrating for NIKKI how to jump through the hoop. And in the second picture she jumped through the hoop! Sam's excitement is the best part of this whole thing. We ended that session with Sam saying "NIKKI, I will see you in November." During our November visit we worked some on the playground equipment. He has regressed a bit on the equipment during the summer break and we are hoping that NIKKI can give him the courage to use the equipment again. At the end of the session we took Sam to the after school program to wait for his mom. Sam wanted to tell the kids in the program about NIKKI. So before a roomful of about 40 kids, Sam told his peers about NIKKI and then showed them her tricks! Oh my goodness! I cannot express to you how proud I was of him! And NIKKI followed every single one of his commands! Sam is truly my inspiration for my work with NIKKI. As Sam said goodbye to NIKKI that day he said "I will see you in December". Oh Sam, I wish you could only know how you touch my heart.
And yes, we will see you in December!
Sharon

NIKKI goes to preschool

2010-10-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

NIKKI visited the preschool this week to meet some of the kids she will be working with this year. We visited 4 classrooms for a meet and greet session. NIKKI showed off some of her tricks and gave each student a high five or a shake. It is always so neat to see the reactions of these little 3 and 4 year olds. I will let some of the pictures speak for themselves....
This little boy could not wait for NIKKI's visit. He has been asking me to bring "my puppy" for weeks. When I told him that morning that I had her with me but that she would have to wait until they had finished breakfast he immediately said "I'm done" and wrapped up his breakfast to throw away.

Such concentration...

This has got to be my favorite picture of all time! This little girl doesn't talk but she sure says a whole lot with her facial expressions.

On the calendar for the upcoming week...Sam! Sam is NIKKI's favorite playground buddy.
I will keep you posted! Sam almost always gives me something to blog about!
Sharon

Graditude and humility

2010-10-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

September has been a long and lazy month for NIKKI. Work remained scarce since the first month back to school is filled with getting the classrooms settled and routines established. There is hardly time for a visit from a dog so NIKKI's life of leisure continued. Here is what NIKKI did for the month of September....

Many days were spent having stare downs with rabbits in our backyard. If you look really closely at the top of this picture you can see a rabbit sitting on the edge of the grass. She does not chase the rabbits but will just stare at them. They must know she won't chase them as they never move when she is in the yard. It is difficult to get her attention when she is staring at a rabbit. I am the one that ends up chasing the rabbit out of the yard! She will often look at me as if to say "Hey! What did you do that for?"

NIKKI's other favorite thing is to lay on my bed. My husband, Mark, gave her permission to do this and now she thinks this is her rightful place. When we are in the room she will look forlornly up onto the bed begging to be invited up but often when we are not looking she will make her way up there without an invitation. This picture below is one of those occasions.....

NIKKI has is quite the assertive dog. She was top dog immediately (poor Watson) and she quickly moved up the status ladder in the rest of the family. She rarely takes no for an answer and usually gets what she wants. Now I must say she is very polite, sweet and gentle. You hardly realize she has manipulated you until you have done what she wants. And her persistence for petting has also payed off for her.

The good news is that NIKKI went back to school this week! We got to visit Candace's old classroom that is now Tara's classroom. She seemed at ease in the class and resumed her typical routine. And she did not forget Ms. Flossie who quietly slips her a little peanut butter every now and again!

But it is today's story that I really want to tell. Today, was our monthly visit to the hospital. I was running late and must admit that I wasn't too sure I wanted to go. But we went and I am so glad we did! We made our rounds on the pediatric wing visiting the kids. One little girl yelled "Nikki!" when her door opened for our visit. Apparently, she had been in the hospital before and saw NIKKI then. She remembered all of NIKKI's tricks and couldn't wait to put her up on the bed. NIKKI also provided some love to some weary parents who were keeping vigil at the hospital with their sick babies. It is nice when we can provide a little distraction during a rough time. And might I add that NIKKI really likes this adult attention. She typically moves herself into position to get the petting right where she wants it! (This is when that persistence for petting pays off for her!)

As we were leaving the pediatric wing we ran into a family who had just left the one of the critical care units. You could see the stress in their eyes. The mom asked if I could take NIKKI into the unit to visit her adult son who had been critically ill for several weeks. She said he had recently lost his beloved dog and knew that seeing NIKKI would make his day. Wow. What an experience. This is one of those situations that I am not sure who got more out of our visit - me or the patient! We set up a few chairs for NIKKI to get up on so she was closer to the bed. NIKKI was wonderful! She didn't hesitate one bit. She jumped up onto the chairs and stood patiently allowing all the time this family needed. She showed no sign of distress with the machines or all the people. She just amazed me. To see this very sick man smile and reach for her with such great effort just humbled me. When we left the room the mom began to cry and thanked us for our time and patience. She knew it meant so much for her son to see NIKKI. It is these opportunities that I am so grateful to the patients and the families for allowing me to share just a small piece of their lives.

Kyria sure had this right when she started p4p way back when. Visiting patients with a dog really does make a difference. I am a better person for this wonderful job that has been bestowed on me. I am so humbled by and grateful for the opportunity to work with p4p, NIKKI and so many patients and their families. I think its time for me to end this blog here....I feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes...again!
Sharon

NIKKI's reputation

2010-08-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

I am not too sure how it happened but NIKKI is getting a reputation at the hospital. It seems like we see different people every week and granted we do repeat the same tricks each time but I didn't think it would come to this. It seems she has a reputation as "the praying dog". When I go to the patient floors someone will ask "Is this the praying dog?" or I go around the corner and I hear someone whisper "that's the praying dog". But last week NIKKI's reputation finally got her an invitation to a church!! We were walking down the hallway to visit the patients and there was a group of people sitting with their pastor. NIKKI quickly won favor with all the folks as she allowed them to pet her...for those who know NIKKI this is not exactly a sacrifice for her. They all just seemed to be so impressed by her calmness and willingness to be petted. I guess I was surprised at how much they liked her for just allowing them to pet her so I said "You really haven't seen anything yet." There in the middle of the main hospital corridor NIKKI did a little demonstration of her skills - she turned, high fived, sat pretty - you know all the usual things. I pulled out her words and showed them how she can "read". By then there was a crowd gathering around us! I usually am a little cautious with her "say your prayers" trick as I don't want to offend anyone but since I did see that the pastor had a bible I figured it was safe to "pray". That is when she got the invitation to come to their church! All I envisioned was NIKKI up at the alter praying with the congregation! All kidding aside, meeting these people and having a few minutes to connect is the whole reason I take NIKKI to the hospital. Like I have said before, you never know what you will get when you go to the hospital with a dog and this day was no exception. Meeting these people warmed my heart. I have emailed the pastor and sent him NIKKI's video link. Who knows - perhaps we will visit a church one day.

Last week was my final visit to the hospital for the summer. I will resume my once per month visits starting in September. I must tell you that NIKKI does know her way around that hospital. She knows where the volunteer office is and eagerly enters the door to get attention from Beth and Katherine. She seems to know the floors we visit and she definitely knows how to get to my husband's office. Once she figures out we are done visiting patients and headed in his direction there is no stopping her. For some reason my husband Mark is her favorite. As soon as we round the corner to his office she is pulling harder than ever and doesn't stop until she has found him! From there our routine is to go to the cafeteria so that I can get a drink. Mark walks with us and waits outside of the cafeteria with her. He never fails to draw attention from the hospital staff. He is more than patient explaining NIKKI's work and always includes that "this is my wife's dog". I don't think Mark will ever admit to even liking NIKKI but - and don't tell him I said this - he really does love her - it is written all over his face! After the cafeteria, Mark will walk us to the exit and we say our goodbyes. It is at this point that NIKKI starts checking back to see if by chance Mark has changed his mind and is coming with us. So it is no wonder that on the way out she crashed into one of the pillars of the covered walkway! Yes, crashed into the pillar while leaving the hospital! I was walking and had just happened to look down at her when I notice that she is inches from the pillar and was looking back! There was nothing I could do but laugh (and send Mark a text message that NIKKI crashed into a pillar while looking for him!!). This did not stop her though she continued to look for him all the way to the car. I figured that once we were in the car she would finally get over him but - take a look at this picture....
She is sitting in the back of the car - looking in the direction of the stairs - still waiting for him! A genuine display of a loyal dog. Surely this will win Mark's heart!! (Sorry for the poor quality - I took it with my cell phone!!)

I will miss my weekly visits to the hospital. It truly is a blessing to meet so many neat people. NIKKI really does make a difference for the patients (and visitors) - sometimes more than others but none the less I believe she always touches someone's heart. I have asked them to keep my weekly spot for next summer as I am already looking forward to resuming this work with NIKKI.
I was just thinking...maybe Mark should start bringing NIKKI to the hospital??! What do you think?
It's back to the real world (work) tomorrow! : )
Sharon

Talking about NIKKI

2010-08-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

NIKKI and I had the opportunity to meet with these folks last night. We had been invited to talk about what we do as a therapy dog team in the schools and in the hospital. NIKKI absolutely loved everyone as the affection was freely flowing! We had a good discussion about NIKKI's training and she showed them many of her tricks. We also talked about why she wears her vest and how to greet a working dog. NIKKI's "reading" was a hit. Almost everyone had the opportunity to give NIKKI a command and to ask a lot of great questions too!

An Extraordinary Day

2010-07-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

I have said it before and I will say it again...I love, love, love taking NIKKI to the hospital! I can only hope that the patients get as much out of our visit as I do! Yesterday was an extraordinary day. We went a little earlier than usual so that we can go to the outpatient unit before the pediatric unit. We had been getting there later in the morning and many of the patients were gone, sleeping or just not interested in seeing the dog. But yesterday, everyone wanted to see NIKKI. The patients were very excited to see her. We spent several minutes with each patient, petting NIKKI, talking about dogs in general and talking about their beloved dogs. What I notice when people share their dog stories is their whole body language changes. They often sit up, start to smile and then start laughing as they recall dogs of past and present. Dogs seem to be so therapeutic. It is amazing some of the stories I hear. It doesn't seem to matter if the dog is an inside dog, an outside dog, a big dog or little dog. People love their dogs. We give them personalities and we are convinced that they do what they do on purpose. And they know what we need. I am sure there are studies out there about the therapeutic benefits from being loved, showing love and laughing. And if there isn't, I don't need a study to tell me that a dog's presence makes a huge difference our lives.

Speaking of research studies...I recently read an article on how service dogs assist disabled individuals become more socially accepted. The article states that when the service dog is present people are more likely to make eye contact and engage in a conversation with an individual with a disability. I can absolutely verify this study! When I am at the hospital I wear a volunteer uniform...its not the most becoming teal smock but I wear it none the less. The reason I tell you this is because I do - as least I think I do - stand out. I consider myself approachable and I do try to make eye contact with everyone I pass. Well, when I have NIKKI with me nearly everyone smiles at me or engages me in conversation. I always plan extra time to walk between units because I always get stopped. It is wonderful and people are always so nice. Yesterday was a different story. I had my daughter come get NIKKI at the end of our visit because my husband and I had an appointment and he asked me to stay to help him move into his new office. Several times that afternoon I was walking down the hall and was very much surprised at how ignored I was!! I don't mean to imply that I am something special and everyone should be looking at me but without the dog I was almost invisible! I think I got an idea of what it might be like for a individual with a disability. Wow, it was amazing. Being a physical therapist, I am not afraid to engage an individual with a disability but I will certainly be more conscientious about it from now on!!

I do like to include pictures of NIKKI in my blogs but since I can not take pictures at the hospital I will post some that my sister in law, Karen, took a few weeks ago when she and her family were visiting us.
When company arrives NIKKI somehow gets all the attention. As you can see she certainly doesn't mind three beautiful girls loving on her!
Karen was trying to capture NIKKI's personality. I think she got it perfect in these two pictures....This last one is the "I'll take that food you have in your hand" face!!

Just 2 more weeks and I will be back to work. It will be a few more weeks before NIKKI will be back in the classroom as the first weeks of school are hectic. I am sure she will not mind the down time as NIKKI's only goal in life is to be petted ....and she gets plenty of that around here! Stay cool!
Sharon

Just a quick story...

2010-07-11T02:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick story....NIKKI had the opportunity to spend some time with some folks that were in the middle of a painful and tragic situation. NIKKI - of course - not realizing the situation just was NIKKI - gladly allowing rubs and petting to any part anybody wanted to rub. I really think that petting a dog has a way of calming and relaxing people. When the moment lightened up a little bit NIKKI went through her tricks and that is when the smiles and giggles started. NIKKI is usually pretty good with her "reading" but on this particular day she was about 50% correct. On a couple of the words she went through her whole set of tricks until she got it right! It was almost like she knew these people didn't need to be impressed so much as to laugh. At the end of the session one of the girls revealed that she is terrified of dogs - normally running in the other direction at the sight of a dog. I am so glad she allowed NIKKI to visit her...I think this allowed her to forget about her situation for just a few minutes. I just wish we could have done more to change the circumstances.

Sharon

NIKKI....royalty?!

2010-06-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ah...summer vacation. Quite frankly I am not sure there is anything better than summer vacation. For me it means no place to be, no time constraints, just time to relax and do the things that I have neglected during the school year. For NIKKI, summer break means just plain relaxing. She takes this relaxing very seriously...so seriously that she doesn't even lift her head when I ask her to go for her daily walk! Her eyes shift toward me as if to say "Are you serious, its summer vacation...I am not going for a walk". But her life is not all about sleeping, chewing bones and staring down rabbits in the back yard. We have resumed our weekly work at the hospital. Forgive me for sounding like a broken record but I love, love, love taking NIKKI to the hospital. There is nothing more rewarding than to make a sick child smile or allow a cancer patient the opportunity to share a story or two about their beloved dog. Even walking down the hallways evokes smiles and positive comments. Just last Friday a man said that NIKKI looked like royalty walking down the hallway! And you know - she does. She holds her head up, her tail out and she has a little spring in her step when she is working. Dogs just have a way of drawing people in and making them smile. NIKKI even makes my husband smile. For those who don't know Mark - he is not exactly a "dog lover" but NIKKI refuses to allow this to get in her way of winning him over. Mark works at the same hospital that NIKKI and I volunteer at. As a volunteer I get a free drink each time I work. On Friday, I went to his office to ask him to keep NIKKI while I went and got my drink. He decided he would go with me and keep her in the hallway while I went into the cafeteria. When I came out he was surrounded by women and his smile was from ear to ear! All I could hear is "Is this your dog Mark?", "She is just beautiful Mark", "Does she work here Mark?"....need I say more?! Mark seemed quite proud that day holding that leash! (By the way - if you happen to see Mark - don't tell him I told you this story...he will deny, deny, deny!! Just trust me it really did happen!) It is hard to deny the therapeutic effects of a dog. I think just the sight of a dog evokes a strong emotional response. If that emotional response is coupled with an interaction with a dog I really think that all that positive energy is somehow healing. That reminds me of one more story from the hospital. I woman stopped me in the hallway and asked if I could bring NIKKI to visit her husband. "He would just love to see her" she told me. We followed her back into the room and the man's face lit up. He told me that he had been in the hospital for 84 days - 50 of them in the intensive care unit. He told me that what was keeping him going is that his wife promised him a new dog when he got out of there! He smile and just went on and on about the dogs of his past and the kind of dog he was going to get when he got discharged. If that isn't a powerful story of how therapeutic dogs can be I don't know what is!

I only have the hospital work lined up for NIKKI this summer. I am certain I will have stories to share as there is always something magical about each visit. So stay tuned....

Sharon

NIKKI the Dirty Dog

2010-06-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

The school year is finally drawing to a close. I must admit that it has been one of the best school years ever! I am so grateful to my coworkers for all their support and help to make this dream of using a dog in the classroom a dream come true. What is even better is that we are already talking about ideas for next year and ways to make what we did this year even better! I can only imagine that the sky is the limit! The NIKKI video was viewed by the administrative folks in the Exceptional Children's department and was received very favorably. Apparently there was even a few tears! I am humbled by the number of views for the video too...last I looked it was over 750 views! Not quite "viral" yet but I am happy that someone is watching it!

I now have the pictures from the Bubble Bath for NIKKI with my preschool class. I think the pictures tell the story a little better than my words...

This is me getting NIKKI ready for her bath. I am trying to make some suds so the kids can feel the bubbles.

This is little guy needs support to stand and walk. He used his gait trainer to walk over to NIKKI and help with lathering her up.

This boy is working on standing on his own....this activity was perfect for independent standing.

This little girl is blind and needs support in all positions. The teacher is helping her experience "giving a dog a bath"!

Here is a few pictures from another preschool classroom. We modified the "NIKKI Goes to School" activity to be appropriate for preschool. I love the preschool kids. They are so excited to see NIKKI and they really like to participate.

At the end of the story, NIKKI gives everyone a high five.....here she is giving a few a modified high five...more like a "give me five"!

And one of my favorite things to do is to ask the kids to get NIKKI some water. I usually have several very willing volunteers. I love these pictures of the kids carrying the water bowl. They are always so careful not too spill the water! Often, as in the picture above, the tongue is out!

NIKKI has had a super busy weekend. Yesterday she passed her CGC test with nearly flying colors! YEAH! Her sit, down, stay, come, passing the stranger and dog and her separation from me was flawless. She almost met the friendly stranger with a little too much enthusiasm and got a little distracted on the loose leash walk but came back to me before the leash got tight. Today she and I went to the hospital. As I have said before this is one of my favorite things. I love seeing the excitement on the patient's faces when they see the dog. I especially love to show the kids NIKKI's tricks. I usually can get a smile on even the sickest kids. Below is a picture of NIKKI this afternoon.....exhausted!

We have just a few classes scheduled this week and we will have wrapped it up for the school year. NIKKI and I will resume our work at the hospital every week. We will go to the hospital on Fridays so we can go back to the outpatient chemo unit and the pediatric floor. We will also go back to the outpatient pediatric PT clinic now that we can go during the day. I am really looking forward to summer!

Sharon

Best Buddies

2010-05-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

NIKKI has been doing some work in the schools but as I said in my last post it is a busy time of year in the school and squeezing NIKKI visits in is wanted but difficult. Last week NIKKI did get her bath by the 3, 4 and 5 years in one of my preschool classrooms. They had been "studying" bubbles and bathing NIKKI was the perfect activity to go along with this. As soon as I have the pictures I will post them. It was an awesome activity where the kids had do what they could do to reach NIKKI. For some that was walking up to NIKKI, others needed their gait trainers and others just needed help reaching out to touch NIKKI. I think the kids enjoyed it and I am thankful for the help of the "red room" staff who always love NIKKI's visit and are willing to do whatever to make the visit fun!

Today we got to see Sam again. I just love visiting with Sam. He always says something sweet. Today he said something about NIKKI being his "best buddy". I wish I could describe how incredibly cute NIKKI and Sam are together. I don't think my words can adequately describe his interactions with NIKKI. Unfortunately we did not get to go out to the playground because it started to rain. Nancy, his therapist, wanted to have Sam work with his new braces for his feet. She wanted to work on stooping (which is different when wearing braces) so we had Sam put NIKKI's treats onto the floor for NIKKI. He helped NIKKI work on her "leave it" command for her upcoming Canine Good Citizen test. Needless to say both did well - Sam and his stooping and NIKKI and her leaving the treat until he gave her the OK command to eat it. We also visited 2 of our regular classrooms and read the our story of NIKKI going to school. It was fun and the kids really responded well to NIKKI today.

NIKKI has also been working hard at dog class and preparing for her upcoming Canine Good Citizen test (CGC). I had my daughter come with me on Saturday to take some pictures. So below are pictures of NIKKI and I working on our skills....

NIKKI does amazingly well considering that class is right next to a very large dog park. In this picture above she is watching me. I wish I could say it is because she wants to please me so much that she is so attentive but I do have a piece of cheese in my hand and she is crazy for cheese.

Here NIKKI is working on a stay. Again very attentive because of the cheese!

NIKKI is awesome about sitting when we stop walking. She really does well in the class except.....

sometimes she gets tired of waiting for the next activity and as you can see here she starts barking! If you look closely at her she has her nose up in the air and she is barking! I am trying to give her a calming signal by turning away from her but as you can see on my face - that is not working! We have decided that the cheese might just be too high level of a treat for her since she loves it so much. When we first started class I think she needed this level of a treat in order to tune out the other dogs and the dog park and attend to me. Now that she has the routine down I think I need to lower the intensity of the treat. Next week I am going to try something bland like Cheerios!

Dog class has been really great for NIKKI and I. We have learned a lot and even earned the title of "Student of the Month"! Dog Haven (who we take class from) has created a link from the home page of their website linking to a little story about NIKKI and I and to NIKKI's video! You can check that out here. If you look around the site you can also find a little story about MaryLou and Annabel another p4p volunteer.

Thank you all for checking out NIKKI's video on Youtube....we have over 600 views!! I have gotten wonderful feedback from teachers and parents of the students in the video. Today as NIKKI and I were walking down the hall at one of the schools I can hear people behind me saying "There is that wonderful dog in the video." That just makes me smile! It makes me so incredibly happy to help others through this wonderful dog. Here is the link again to the video - please please share it!!

Sharon

NIKKI's Video

2010-05-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

This time of year is always slow for a working school dog. The kids have so many other things to occupy their time....end of grade tests, field trips, assemblies, field days, etc. And for me, I am inventorying equipment, attending what seems like endless IEP and transition meetings, planning purchases for next year and working on transitioning the kids to their new schools. When a physically disabled student moves from one school to another there is a lot of planning behind the scenes - installing equipment, modifying the learning environment, planning meetings, moving equipment and work orders, work orders and more work orders! Since all this activity doesn't leave much time for a hard working therapy dog and not much to blog about - let me show you what I have been working on! Click here to view NIKKI's video! If you are one of my blog "followers" you should recognize some familiar faces.

But before you think that NIKKI is getting too lazy relaxing at home...know that she is going to school tomorrow to get a "bubble" bath by a bunch of 3, 4 and 5 year olds! It should be fun and hopefully I will have some pictures to post!

Sharon

It was worth it...

2010-05-02T16:32:00.001-07:00

NIKKI and I went to the hospital yesterday. I went a little early as my daughter had a dance recital rehearsal and I thought if I went early I would get out early so I could get there to help set up for the reception after the recital....I thought wrong! Normally, NIKKI and I go to the adult psychiatric unit and the pediatric floor, but today we had a special request to visit a patient on the med surg floor. We stopped in to see this patient but he was still eating so we went to the psychiatric unit. Typically when we arrive on this floor the patients are by the nurses station resting - having just finishing breakfast and having their morning medication. We don't usually stay long since most are sleeping but yesterday there was a lovely lady wide awake and definitely all about dogs. We talked for a few minutes as she pet NIKKI and all of a sudden an alarm goes off! The nurses start running and the lady tells me that someone must need help in the shower. I look around, no nurse...just me and a few patients. Hmmm...a little uncomfortable but I decided I had better wait until someone got back....not that I would know what to do if something happened but I thought it would be best...just in case! What I didn't remember was I was stuck on the unit anyway as the nurses have to "buzz" me out of the unit! Fortunately for me this sweet lady told me about her 3 husbands while we waited for the nurses to get the shower situation under control! I returned back to the med surg floor and visited with the elderly gentleman who had requested a dog visit. He was very weak and his lovely wife was there taking care of him. NIKKI got up on his bed so he could pet her. It was a really sweet visit...the gentleman told me that he was married for 58 years! When I asked him what his secret to this long and happy marriage - he looked to his wife and said "Her". Very sweet. Once again I take NIKKI to the hospital to give of myself and the patients give more to me than I give them! I am always surprised how this works! On our way out of the room another lady stopped and asked if I would take NIKKI in to visit her father. She explained that her dad had had a rough night and a visit from a dog would just brighten his day. I do think it worked as he grinned (toothless) from ear to ear when NIKKI jumped up on the bed and laid her head on his lap. He told me all about his dogs. It makes people so happy to talk about their beloved dogs. I am glad I got to meet this man. I hope we made his day just a little brighter.

NIKKI is always popular in the hallways of the hospital and yesterday she was exceptionally popular! We must have stopped every five feet so someone could pet NIKKI. NIKKI loves these interactions as she lives to be petted! People are always so kind to ask if they can pet her....I always tell them that NIKKI would be disappointed if they didn't! By now we are at the hospital for about an hour and have yet to see the kids. I could still get out in time to get to the dance rehearsal but I never like to rush the kids. Off to the pediatric floor we went. Angel, the child life specialist, met us at the nurses station and we started our rounds. Mark, my sweet husband, was also at the hospital working. He has never seen us work before and wanted to see what NIKKI does with the kids. He quietly joined us on the pediatric floor. Unfortunately, Mark could not stay with us long as NIKKI adores him and when she saw him she lost her focus as to why we were at the hospital! Focus regained, we resumed our visits. There was a little 21 month old with the same color hair as NIKKI who loved giving NIKKI treats. The young man who only could lay on his side as he was in pain but could pet NIKKI at the side of the bed. And the mom who must have seen us before because she said to her son "This is the praying dog"!!! NIKKI is always quite impressive with her tricks! But the best part of yesterday was the little girl who was walking in the hallway as we were walking out of another room. She was crying and her mom and the nurse were trying to help her walk. The little girl was hanging onto her mom and her mom was sort of forcing her to walk. I always carry a few things with me just incase things like this happen so I pulled out my extra leash and offered for her to "walk" NIKKI. She took the leash, mom stepped back, the crying stopped and we made 2 more laps around the floor walking NIKKI! It is funny how something so simple could make a difference. I had to apologize to Angel for just jumping in like I did - it was sort of a reflex....it was the kind of thing I do in my real job! But all was well and everyone seemed grateful for my intervention.

By this time were were at the hospital for 2 hours. - 45 minutes longer than normal! So much for getting out a little early! I had to skip lunch to get to rehearsal but you know what...it was well worth it....making a few peoples days a little brighter is far more important. : )

Sharon

Amazing Sam

2010-04-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

This has been an exciting week. My supervisor asked me to put together a picture video of the work we (me and my coworkers) are doing with NIKKI. She wants to share it at the end of the school year luncheon that she attends with her boss and other administrative folks. I am so happy that I can showcase some of the cool things that NIKKI and some of the p4p dogs are doing in our school system. I spent all last Sunday putting it together and with the help of Amy it is coming together nicely. The video shows her work as a rehabilitative and educational assistance dog. I am hoping that I will be able to post it on the p4p youtube site. (I am verifying all my parental permissions!) And maybe I can put one of those "links" on this blog like Kyria and Karen do on their blogs.

I needed a few more pictures of Sam. Sam is the boy who has gained playground skills because of his work with NIKKI. (See some of my previous blogs for more on Sam.) I wanted to get some pictures depicting all that he can do now. So his therapist, Nancy, and I went back out to capture the things that NIKKI helped Sam do - like:

Stepping up.... and:

Stepping down...and:

Sliding down the slide.

Sam slides down the slide so well by himself now that we had a hard time capturing Sam using NIKKI's leash to do this. But the best part was when we went to the bus steps to capture how much Sam has improved going up and down steps. As you may recall from previous blogs, Sam holds one of NIKKI's treats in his hand so that he will only use one hand on the rail. Nancy usually stands at the bottom of the steps verbally giving some encouragement as NIKKI sits beside her waiting for her treat. But again we wanted to capture this for the video so I handed Sam the treat and positioned NIKKI. Nancy was working the camera and as she was getting it ready Sam went up and down the bus steps - like right now...with no verbal prompting! Nancy and I were so excited! He just went up and down - no problem. NIKKI was the only one who seemed to have the complete confidence that he could do this. (I am sure it had something to do with the treat in his hand!) And then - even better - he repeated it so we could get these pictures:

I know these pictures look like any other kid going up and down the bus steps but this was truly hard for Sam. The coolest thing about this is that Sam does not practice this skill everyday - he does not ride the bus to and from school as his mom is a teacher at his school. So practicing this with NIKKI is the key to his success!

One more funny story about NIKKI. As some of you know I have another dog and a cat. The older dog has never bothered the cat food that I keep in the laundry room. It is not that he doesn't want to eat the food - its because he is a little freaked out about walking on the tile floor in the laundry room. When I got NIKKI in June 2008, Terry told me that NIKKI was highly food motivated and that I would need to block off the room. So I put a baby gate on the laundry room doorway. Over time we all got slack on putting up the gate. Eventually, we took the gate away completely. NIKKI never bothered the cat food. After NIKKI's diagnosis of seizures and starting on medication, I brought the gate back out as one of the side effects of the medicine is increase in appetite. This side effect did not seem to be any worse then usual for NIKKI so I've kept the gate but was getting a little slack with putting it up. Well, I am not sure what happen last Friday but she decided that it was time to eat the cat food! I am sitting in my kitchen and I hear this strange noise. Initially I ignored it. But it persisted so I started looking for its source...there she was chowing down on the cat food! I mean chowing down! Later that day the cat came in, meowed and looked at me as if to say "someone has been eating my food." Lesson learned - the gate is up - sorry kitty!

Have a good week!

Sharon

A Super Smart Dog

2010-04-15T14:55:00.001-07:00

Words can hardly describe yesterday. NIKKI returned to the classroom after a long and relaxing spring break. My coworker and friend Amy planned an activity called "NIKKI Goes to School". We were visiting with a group of middle school intellectually disabled students. This is a challenging class as some of the students don't speak English, some are nonverbal and a few are just afraid of dogs. Amy - who plans most of NIKKI's academic activities - always finds a way to allow each student to participate in the activity at their own level. For example, for the nonverbal student she provides an augmentative communication device so the student can express - via the device - his thoughts and answer questions. For the 2 young men afraid we separate them from the area where we work with NIKKI but they are still present in the classroom and can hear what is going on. So let me get on with the story.....As soon as we walked in we were greeted by a sweet girl who does not usually speak and if she does speak it maybe in Spanish. She was obviously excited to see NIKKI and Amy asked her "Who is this" and she said "NIKKI"!!! Not only did she speak, she answered a question posed to her in English!! That is huge! Next we encountered one of NIKKI's biggest fans....Mikayla. Mikayla is usually very chatty and we sometimes need to pry her off of NIKKI but today she was much more subdued. (More on Mikayla later.) Amy started the activity of NIKKI going to school. We wanted to showcase some of NIKKI's tricks so we started NIKKI's school day off with a "moment of mediation". We knew we couldn't have NIKKI "say her prayers" in a public school so we went with the moment of mediation so NIKKI could do her trick of "saying her prayers"! Next was reading class. The students helped hold NIKKI's reading cards and NIKKI "read" for them. This is always impressive - even if she sometimes needs to "guess". Next, NIKKI went to Math class and we asked the students to help NIKKI do her math assignments. We had several word problems - like NIKKI had 5 bones and ate 2 how many does she have left. The students did the math on the board with the help of their teacher. Next was PE class....NIKKI chased her tail (turn), retrieved the ball, and went for a walk. After PE she needed some water so one of the students got her some water and then everyone had the opportunity to feed her "lunch". So you get the idea. The kids are engaged and interacting with NIKKI but also doing some learning. Now the cool part....The whole time Mikayla is sitting at her desk drawing a picture of a huge dog and a very small person (she said it was me and NIKKI). She was paying attention but not interacting like normal. Amy starts asking some questions about what NIKKI did at school and Mikayla blurts out "NIKKI is one super smart dog"! And the boy in the back of the room who was afraid to be near NIKKI - he was answering everyone of Amy's questions! Eventually Mikayla came around to NIKKI and laid her head on NIKKI's side and curled up into the fetal position and became totally relaxed. The teacher told us that Mikayla's mom has been diagnosed with cancer and Mikayla is very upset about it. On this day she just needed NIKKI to help soothe her. It was truly beautiful.

We allowed Mikayla to lay with NIKKI for a long time. As this was happening, the nonverbal student using the augmentative device in the back of the room started hitting the buttons on his device to let us know he wanted to talk about NIKKI. He answered several questions that the teacher assistant asked of him!! And finally the verbal student interacting from the back of the classroom because he was afraid....well let me just let his picture tell his story!

This was one of those days that makes all this worthwhile. We touched so many in such different ways. Amy said to me today that as she was reflecting on her day yesterday that she realized that what an impact that NIKKI can have on these students. It is awesome to be a part of this. I just wish I could be in more classrooms with NIKKI. Mikayla is right- NIKKI is one super smart dog!

Nikki is a crack up...

2010-03-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

NIKKI has had some fun times the last few weeks....here are some of the highlights:

Once again my wonderful coworkers have come up with some awesome activities for NIKKI and the kids. Since it is the Easter season we decided to have an Easter Egg hunt with NIKKI. We read the kids an egg story and then gave them some ideas on where to hide

the egg for NIKKI. We were working on the positional concepts...under, over, besides. The first class went really well. NIKKI obediently found the egg after it was hidden and promptly gave it directly to me without opening it. (We used one of those plastic eggs - just incase you were wondering.) I would give her a treat each time and the kids thought is was great that NIKKI could find the egg! The next class wasn't quite as successful. One of the kids opened the egg and NIKKI got a glimpse at the treat inside. I am not sure if the the egg was not put back completely but from that point on NIKKI decided she would rather the treat inside the egg then the one I gave her for giving the egg to me!! I must admit that I did have a yummy treat in the egg since I assumed she would use her nose to find the egg. She got pretty good at "cracking" the egg! Luckily I don't think the kids saw my panic each time she cracked open the egg...They seemed to enjoy it regardless! I will use the clicker next time!

We had another opportunity to visit a friend's daughter in the hospital. After getting permission to make an extra visit to the hospital and visiting all the other kids on the floor we got to spend about an hour with Ashley. Ashley has been sick for a few weeks and her mom was hoping that NIKKI could help get her mind off of being in the hospital.

I think it worked! NIKKI and Ashley had a wonderful time. Ashley helped NIKKI practice all her tricks...I think she especially liked when NIKKI "said her prayers"! They even played golf! Ashley would hit the ball and NIKKI would chase after it! It was a great set up...NIKKI is a great retriever it! I have included some pictures (and no jokes about my nifty smock I have to wear as a volunteer!) NIKKI was also there when the nurses had to take some vital signs and give Ashley her IV antibiotic. I think just having NIKKI there eased Ashley's anxiety with these not so fun things. The nurses were glad and even asked NIKKI to come back in a few hours when the process had to be repeated! I am sure they would just love to have a dog on the floor at all times for some of the not so fun things they must do to monitor the kids.

We only had one other thing happen that day at the hospital....Candace. For those of you who don't know, Candace is NIKKI's most favorite person in the whole world. Nobody can get NIKKI as excited as Candace. NIKKI and I were on our way out when we started talking to some ladies in the hallway. Just then I hear my name and look up to see Candace coming toward us. Immediately I realized what was about to happen. Candace walked up and NIKKI didn't recognize her at first. For one brief second I thought that maybe we were ok but it was only for one second and NIKKI recognized her! NIKKI escalated from level 0 to level 10! Needless to say we moved on very quickly. It took her several minutes to calm back down! Not sure what it is about Candace but NIKKI just loves her! The only other time she does this is when we have some down time at dog training class. She will start barking! At dog class I can get her back by giving her commands and treating her for correctly following through. I think I will carry with me some high value/really special/not used often treat so that when this occurs I can get NIKKI's attention back on me. Since she is so food motivated I think this should work. I am not sure there is a treat out there that would distract her from Candace though!!

NIKKI gets the next couple week off....we don't have any classes scheduled this week, our visit to the hospital next weekend is postponed and then the following week is spring break. Now that NIKKI knows how to crack open the plastic eggs....I am hoping that she doesn't steal the eggs out of my kid's Easter baskets! Happy Easter everyone!

Enjoy this beautiful spring!

Sharon

Sweet NIKKI

2010-03-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give you a quick update on NIKKI. I am happy to report that she has not had any seizures - that I have seen - since we started her on medication. All the side effects she was experiencing in the beginning have seemed to subside and she is the same old sweet girl that she has always been. She is back to work and doing very well. This past week we visited several classrooms and NIKKI did her usual great job! On Friday, she helped the kids in the preschool count - she did tricks and they counted how many times she could do them.... 5 high fives, 4 turns, 3 speaks, 2 puppy push ups and 1 rollover. Not only did they work on counting but also number recognition. And the coolest thing is - NIKKI is consistently taking commands from the kids! That makes them very happy when she listens to them! (I do have to use a few hand signals every now and then when the kids aren't too clear!) Earlier in the week she helped some special middle schoolers work on verbalizations and matching. And her usual Wednesday job of spending time in Candace's classroom is always fun....especially when Candace's assistant Flossie makes the peanut butter crackers. Today NIKKI visited the kids in the hospital. I have to admit that this still is my favorite thing to do with NIKKI. I don't know what it is but it always makes me so happy to be at the hospital. There wasn't too many kids in the hospital today (which is a good thing!) so NIKKI had an opportunity to brighten the day of a few nurses. Even the nurses can be easily impressed with just a few tricks!! NIKKI is also still going to her weekly advanced obedience class and doing well. We are working on the skills she needs to pass the Canine Good Citizen test this summer. I think at the beginning of this blog I said - just a quick note - but I seem to be rambling on! So to sum it up...I am cautiously optimistic that NIKKI's seizures are under control and that our work together can continue as we have always planned!

Sharon

Update on NIKKI

2010-02-20T03:11:00.000-08:00

The last month as been a little tough for NIKKI. I have been reluctant to blog as I have been a little sad about what has been happening. NIKKI started to have seizures in January. I have been around for 3 of them but I don't know if she has been having more when I am not around. The seizures have lasted less than 5 minutes and she has tremors. Her eyes remain open but she seems dazed and cannot move. I have consulted with my vet all along and we finally made the decision after the third one to put her on a low dose of phenobarbital once per day. While phenobarbital is a common treatment for a fairly common problem in dogs, it is the side effects of this drug that could quite possibly impact NIKKI's ability to work. Two of the most common side effects are increase in appetite and increased lethargy. Additionally, her phenobarbital levels will need to be monitored to make sure it doesn't damage her liver. My vet decided to give her half of what he would normally give a dog her size. If she continues to have seizures he will add that additional dose. He said that typical dogs spend much of their day sleeping so that is why the larger dose is ok for them. For NIKKI she needs to be alert and ready to work several days per week. She has now been on the phenobarbital for a little over a week. It takes a week or two to build up in their system. It has definitely caused some of sleepiness and at times I think she has lost her balance. It is sort of like she makes a turn and her back end keeps going! The increased appetite was the one side effect that I most worried about. The vet indicated that some dogs become so hungry that they will steal food off the table! NIKKI is already highly food motivated and to increase this could have huge consequences when working with children! All I can imagine is her grabbing the fruit loops out of some unsuspecting child! But so far she still has her manners and will wait to be told to take the food. We have taken some precautions at home - such as blocking off the cat food - but this doesn't seem to be an issue right now. The vet did say it would take about 2 weeks for NIKKI to acclimate to the medicine and perhaps the side effects will lessen or disappear. I am hopeful that all will be well.

As far as the cause of the seizures...that is not known. We did try to link the seizures but only the first two seizure had a link and the last did not share anything with the first two. The first seizure occurred after facing a smart board in a classroom and the second after facing the computer at home. The third happened in a darken room with no computer. The only other change I have noticed in her over the last few months is a slight increase in separation anxiety. I had attributed this to us working together in our weekly obedience class and on her tricks. Now, in retrospect, I wonder if she has been having these seizures, they frighten her and she wants to be near me. I am just not sure. It is frustrating that finding the root cause is not really a goal. I would rather eliminate whatever is causing the problem than to medicate it!

On the flip side, NIKKI now has a connection to many of the students that she works with. My friend Amy says that NIKKI is a special dog working with some very special kids. Seizures are common in many of the kids I work with. Maybe there is a reason for NIKKI's seizures that has yet to be seen. As for me, this gives me a different understanding of the families and students I work with. Watching NIKKI have a seizure is heart wrenching. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch your child have a seizure.

But I must, must, must end this blog on a happier note! NIKKI did work this week. As you would suspect I am watching NIKKI very closely. I don't know if she is different or if I am watching so closely that I am seeing things that have always been there and I wasn't paying attention!! After the first seizure I switched NIKKI from Fruit Loops to Cheerios. After all, I justified in my mind, I wouldn't give my children all that sugar! (We use a lot of treats when in the classroom.) What I noticed this week was that she really was not excited to do her tricks. I would have to ask her to do something twice and she really wasn't listening to the kids. Of course I immediately attributed this to the seizure medication....but then I had an idea. I did have some apple flavored treats in my pocket. Once I brought these out - there was the old NIKKI! Ears perked up, eyes widened and she was right on with her tricks. I guess the Cheerios have no value to her and quite frankly I can't blame her! Without sugar, Cheerios taste like cardboard. Lesson learned...I must use high value treats with my food motivated dog! Yesterday I let the kids give her the cereal and I gave her a really smelly dog treat and she did great!

I am now optimistic that NIKKI will adjust to the medication and she will be able to continue to work. She really does make a difference with the students and I feel we were really just getting started! I will keep you posted..... : )

Sharon

NIKKI's Magic Leash

2010-01-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

NIKKI is rapidly becoming the best physical therapist assistant around! Again today she helped a very reluctant preschooler become more proficient on the playground. The very timid 4 year old does not really care for the playground. Lindsey, her physical therapist, tells me that this little girl typically tries to find every excuse in the book as to why she can’t go on the playground. Today NIKKI was brought in to see if she could coax the 4 year old to do a little more. Lindsey used NIKKI as a motivator, asking the little girl “What do you want to show NIKKI next?” This sweet little girl climbed steps (reciprocally!), ladders and pulled up onto a very high step. Lindsey reported that the improved mobility on the playground that we saw today was not typical. Sliding down the slide was also made easier when NIKKI’s leash is available for holding (instead of a hand). When nothing else works…try the magic leash.

For NIKKI’s next act, she gets the award for the dog with the most patience. We took the NIKKI Gets Dressed activity from last week and dressed NIKKI instead. The educational activity working on concepts such as color, sequencing and the use of augmentative communication devices was a hit. Words can’t describe this activity so let me just post the picture of NIKKI “dressed” and ready to go out to play in the "snow". I know, I know, she looks like she is about to go to the Eiffel Tower instead of out to play in the snow. But she was a good sport and the kids loved it! Au Revoir! Sharon

Thanks for the Golden Retriever Day....

2010-01-20T17:14:00.001-08:00

“Thanks for the golden retriever day”…these are the words of Sam as we finished our session today. He is the little guy I wrote about in the blog titled “Golden Trader”. NIKKI and I visited Sam again today to continue work on the playground. Nancy, Sam’s physical therapist, tells me that since NIKKI’s last visit when we worked on the playground Sam has maintained the skills that he demonstrated with NIKKI. Nancy also tells me that when Sam is walking in line with his class his teacher will occasionally remind him to walk like he did when he had NIKKI and her leash. Apparently this little reminder helps him to increase his speed and keep up with the class. On the playground Sam no longer needs to hold on to Nancy or other adult to climb the ladders and slide down the slide. Nancy said that it seems that once he realized that he could do these things with just NIKKI’s leash he started to do more. So today Sam maneuvered the uneven terrain of the playground and the equipment with just a little verbal prompting. He was happy to have NIKKI watch from the bottom of the slide or ladder. Since NIKKI seems to be such a motivator for Sam, Nancy wanted to work on the bus steps again. She wanted Sam to use just one hand on the banister to come down the steps. Since holding the dog and leash are difficult in the tight space, we gave Sam one of NIKKI’s “favorite” treats to hold in his left hand while using the banister with the right. He then could give her the treat when he was off the steps. The top step was the hardest but the last 3 he did really well and with just one hand on the banister. It was really neat to see the improvement that Sam has made on the playground and with walking in line with his class. Perhaps NIKKI gave him just the little confidence he needed to be more independent.

I have to tell you that I work with some really awesome people that totally support what I am doing with NIKKI. Amy is a speech therapist and assistive technology specialist. She has created many of the educational activities that we have been using this school year. She has developed a social story to teach the students in a special education classroom how to approach a dog. She has developed several activities that focus on the educational and speech goals of the students that NIKKI visits that don’t have the need for physical therapy. Today, along with Julie, a speech therapist who is also very supportive of NIKKI, we worked on prepositional concepts – like over, under, beside and inside. Amy read a story about clothing items that we wear in the winter (in the format similar to Brown Bear Brown Bear). The kids hid the Cheerio in/under/beside the clothing item and Julie prompted the students to use an augmentative communication device or their voice to command NIKKI to “find it”. Once NIKKI found the Cheerio, Julie prompted the students to say where NIKKI had found the Cheerio (under the sweater, inside the shoe). It’s a wonderful and fun way to learn those needed concepts.

Another wonderful person that I work with is Amelia. She is a teacher of children with autism. Amelia has developed some really awesome activities for her students and NIKKI. My favorite and one I have used over and over is the Venn diagram. A Venn diagram is two large circles that intersect in the middle and is used as an educational tool to sort items (in this case what humans can do, what dogs can do and what they both can do). Amelia developed card that depicted all of these different things and the kids sort them into the appropriate circle. She even further developed this activity for the Smart Board. Today’s activity focused on winter clothing, colors and where the clothing items belongs on the body….in this case the model of NIKKI. The students listened to a story set to a familiar song. They had to find the colored clothing item and “pin” it on the dog. This activity was awesome.

So today was a “golden retriever day”. Golden because I got to use a cool dog to help kids gain needed skills. Golden because I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with such wonderful, creative people that truly love the students and their jobs. And golden because we made a lot of kids smile today. Just another golden retriever day.

Sharon

Reflections....

2010-01-01T05:26:00.001-08:00

New Years Day. Always a good day for a little reflection….and sleep. It is 6:30am. Only 6 ½ hours ago that glass ball dropped. I am certain NIKKI and Watson (my black lab) were up watching that ball drop too. I guess that ball thing means nothing to them– even when I took them outside late and gave them a small treat/bribe to let me sleep in a little longer. I think it is a conspiracy. Watson – the older dog lays there, often sighing loudly as NIKKI pokes her nose in my face. I know he wants me up as much as she does but he is going to allow her to do the dirty work. So I am awake. Why not blog…..right? And since it is New Years Day, I will reflect on the past year just a bit and declare some resolutions for the New Year.

NIKKI and I became a real team this year. She and I really learned each other. We seem to sense each others needs better. She watches me more intently and I am clued into her cues. In most ways this is wonderful. She and I know each other so well I am confident that we can work in any situation. A trust has been built. But with this, a little separation anxiety has developed. To accommodate this, I plan our visits so that she can be by my side at all times or I take her home.

We have been taking some advanced obedience classes and I really think the information gained through this class has led us to be where we are today. I learned a ton about positive dog training and how to handle NIKKI without yanking a leash and firm commands (my previous method of dog handling!) I also learned how to teach NIKKI some new tricks. Tricks are really good when working with the kid’s….and adults too. It really doesn’t take much to impress people. The kids just think it is cool and most adults are amazed by the obedience….often reflecting on their own dog’s inability to do any of the things that NIKKI can do. My intention for the New Year is to teach NIKKI a few new tricks….like playing dead (a frequent request), balance a treat on her nose (this will be a challenge – NIKKI does not like this!), to find a hidden treat and to put hand signals to her tricks. (I am sure there will be more…it is just too early to think about what else we can learn!)

And I hope to increase our work as a rehabilitative assistance dog. NIKKI has proven to be a motivator for kids during their therapy sessions. I don’t think the research can prove this but it is very obvious that kids work harder when the dog is around. Every speech or physical therapist that I work with tell me how much harder the kids work when NIKKI is around. Dogs certainly have a place in a therapist’s bag of tricks when trying to help kids learn new skills. Kids talk louder and more with NIKKI. Kids walk faster and will try more with NIKKI. Kids can learn things like positional concepts when working with NIKKI. Not so normal kids become the coolest kids in the school when they have NIKKI’s leash. If we make a difference – even a small difference -then it is worth it.

So before I mislead you into thinking NIKKI is the perfect dog….let me tell you about a few of the other things I have learned about NIKKI this year. I have learned that NIKKI loves to stare at rabbits. When there is a rabbit in the yard it is a stare down until I go and chase the rabbit away. NIKKI doesn’t like to go for her daily walk. She prefers to go back to bed when the leash comes out. I insist on these daily walks. Once I find her and get her out there she is a fabulous walking companion. NIKKI likes our cat Sammy. She loves to torment this 13 year-old cat. Sammy is usually tolerant – until the other day when she got a double swat with the clawed paw. NIKKI (and Watson) love to let us know when someone is at the door, walking by the house or if a leaf blows outside. They bark in unison and feed off of one another. Luckily NIKKI knows “quiet” but Watson has yet to master that term….he responds better to the frustrated “shut up!” NIKKI is also highly food motivated. This love for food has gotten her in trouble – twice. Let’s just say that I learned how to induce vomiting this year and I think this new skill will come in handy with NIKKI in the future.

It has been a wonderful year. NIKKI is wonderful dog and through NIKKI I can give of myself. Giving of myself to others is what I believe is my purpose in this life. Stay tuned….I will try hard this year to keep this blog updated with NIKKI’s new tricks and some of the cool things she is doing with the kids. Happy New Year!

Sharon

Golden Trader

2009-12-18T15:04:00.001-08:00

Golden Trader

Golden Trader. This is NIKKI’s breed according to Sam, a sweet 2^nd grader that NIKKI visited this week. Sam has a pretty significant medical history that causes some balance problems with gross motor skills. Sam loves NIKKI’s visits and NIKKI loves her visits with Sam. What is different about these visits is that NIKKI and Sam spend time together by walking around the school. NIKKI loves to walk and Sam loves to walk with NIKKI. Sam’s physical therapist tells me that Sam has difficulty walking in line with his class, becomes anxious on steps and curbs and needs assistance when playing on the playground equipment. On our first visit a few weeks ago, Sam held onto NIKKI’s leash and walked down the hall. To me there was nothing unusual about this walk. We walked at NIKKI’s pace and Sam walked happily beside her. When we stopped to ask which way to go, Nancy, Sam’s PT stood shaking her head. Apparently Sam had never walked that fast during their sessions. She had never seen him walk without distraction, in a straight line and at that pace. Nancy suggested that we go outside to try the curbs. Sam and NIKKI happily stepped up and down the curb without hesitation and to the surprise of Nancy. Nancy said he always needs the help of an adult when stepping down and hesitates when stepping up. The same scene occurred on the bus steps….up and down.…no problem. (NIKKI had never been on a school bus!)

This activity went so well we decided to try using NIKKI on another obstacle for Sam – the playground. The playground not only provides the uneven terrain, the variety of steps, the ladders, slides and bridges but lots of kids. Crowds pose another obstacle for Sam. He often stops and hesitates when walking among his peers. We knew that having NIKKI on the playground would draw crowds of inquisitive kids wanting to pet the dog. The session started with Sam walking in line with his class to the playground. Sam happily walked beside NIKKI and, to the surprise of his teacher, kept up with his class. On the playground, NIKKI climbed some of the steps of the playground equipment with him and watched as he slid down the lower slides. Nancy wanted to challenge Sam so we went to the ladder and the larger slide. Sam climbed the ladder under the watchful eye of NIKKI and stepped over to the platform better than he had done before. NIKKI waited at the bottom of the slide. When it became evident that Sam wanted assistance to come down the slide I handed him NIKKI’s leash and NIKKI stood with her front paws on the slide waiting for Sam. Sam slid down by himself for the first time! Nancy says he only will slide down the slide with 2 hands held. He repeated the ladder and slide several times – which is also unusual for Sam. Nancy said once is typically enough. We also walked around the playground, stepping up 6 – 12 inch steps with just a leash and close supervision. Nancy and Sam’s teacher were excited by what Sam and NIKKI did on the playground. NIKKI is his motivator to try new things and for some reason gives him confidence he did not have without her. After recess NIKKI walked Sam to his class. NIKKI gives him the confidence to walk among his peers easily and without stopping. Once we got back to his classroom, Sam leaned over, hugged NIKKI and told her “Happy holidays NIKKI.” Sweet Sam has melted my heart. Witnessing his success is a wonderful feeling. I hope that NIKKI gives Sam as much as Sam gives me. I don’t care what the AKC calls NIKKI, to me she will always be a “Golden Trader”.

Hugs to all of you and Happy Holidays!

Sharon

Say your prayers...

2009-11-22T12:01:00.001-08:00

Drum roll please....Nikki has mastered her newest trick "Say your prayers"! It took a couple of weeks but she can do it with just a little luring to put her head down. But in this picture to the left Nikki is saying a prayer of thanksgiving for all of the wonderful people we got to see last weekend at the graduation of the second class of assistance dogs in Hazelton West Virgina. Nikki and I traveled with Candace and Ashley on Friday to Alderson for the first of 3 graduation ceremonies for 3 of the 8 dogs. Nikki - as anticipated was very excited to see all the dogs and showed her enthusiasum by barking. She finally settled down when 4 of the inmates came over, greeted Nikki and said that they remembered Nikki from Hazelton. It was so awesome to see these ladies again and to share with them the wonderful things that Nikki has been doing. I hope that I expressed to them how thankful I am for all the work they are doing with the dogs. It means so much to so many people... their gift keeps on giving. From there Terry took us on the scenic tour of West Virginia. I felt every turn as did Nikki who climbed over the back seat to sit on top of me and pant continuously. At the hotel I did a little hair/fur removal and we were off to dinner with everyone who was in for the graduation. That is where I met Paul and Brandon, veterans recieving service dogs. Words cannot express how important this meeting was for me. War, for the first time was not in the newspaper or the nightly news but sitting next to me. Meeting these young men who sacrificed so much meant so much to me. I am so grateful for them , their service to this great country and can only hope that our paths cross again. I truly believe that their dogs will be their most loyal companion and help them in the next leg of their journey.

Saturday, we got up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the big graduation at Hazelton. Four women getting ready at once went off really well except for when we blew the fuse for our room ...I don't know why we couldn't run 2 hair dryers, 2 straightners, 2 phone chargers and an iron all at the same time. Gathering at the prison is a little unnerving for those of us who are rule followers. The barbed wire, the guards, the metal detectors, the questions, the invisible hand stamp and mysterious knocking of the window..... living in a place like this seems a little surreal to me. But once beyond all this you realize that you are really not that different then these ladies behind bars. They are sisters, mothers, daughters, wives and friends. They made some wrong choices but they still human beings with wishes, desires and feelings. I am so grateful that I could share this day with them. These ladies put their heart and soul into training these dogs and it truly shows. It is so obvious that these dogs are helping these ladies believe in themselves again. This program is such a win win for everyone. The inmates, the veterans, the 3 children recieving service dogs and Candace and her class have and will gain so much from these dogs.

From the ladies prison we went to a minimum security men's camp. Here we met 9 men who are also working with the dogs. Again, the reality that these men are fathers, husbands, brothers and friends hit me hard. It is obvious that these dogs are also making an impact on these men and helping them endure prison. Several of the dogs were very excited to see them and it was really neat to see the bond between the inmates and the dogs.

What an incredible weekend. I loved meeting the inmates, the families recieving dogs and most of all the Brandon, Paul and Ryan - 3 of the 4 veterans recieving dogs. I am reminded how much work and effort that goes into this program and am very thankful that I have been a very lucky recipent of a dog from p4p. I silently (because this day was not about me and Nikki) renewed my vow to work hard to make sure that Nikki fulfills her destiny to be the one of the best rehabilitative dog ever! Nikki ....take a bow!

Sharon

Trick and Treat

2009-10-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

Nikki and I have been taking an advanced dog obedience class since mid summer. It has been a really fun and good for Nikki and I as a team. I have learned a lot about positive dog training and the instructor has given me names of several “trick” books to add to Nikki’s repertoire of tricks. Tricks are good – they impress anyone from 3 to 103! We use them in every classroom and during every therapy session. They can motivate a child better than anything else I have tried!

One of the first things we have had to learn was to use a “clicker”. Clicker training is a proven method of dog training. You use a clicker with a “treat” when training a new trick. The click of the clicker marks the exact moment the dog does something right. When the dog hears the click they know they get a treat. Sounds simple, right? Well I am sure it is for some that are less sound sensitive and more coordinated. First I had to find a clicker that I wasn’t offended by the sound. The metal clickers make (in my opinion) an obnoxious sound. I tried to tell my instructor that it was Nikki who didn’t like the sound – “she seems nervous around the sound and leaves the room.” And the metal clicker, you hit this piece of metal with your thumb – how was I suppose to hold the clicker with one hand, the leash in the other, click at the exact moment and give her a treat all at the same time? It wasn’t happening. So the instructor gave me a different kind of clicker. This one has a softer sound and a raised button. I can hold treats and the clicker in one hand and the leash in the other. Oh and Nikki – she likes this clicker much better.

So we have found the right clicker. Now were starting to train with it. The book says play the “attention” game. Every time Nikki looks at me, click and treat. This is easy. Nikki has it in 3 tries. Next we try the “touch” cue. Each time she touches my hand she gets a click and treat. That is really simple too. I can put my hand any where and say touch and she touches it. Eventually I will use this to train more complicated tricks. The book also reviews the commands Nikki already knows. Since I can’t follow the training sequence – I attempt to make up my own. We work on her new commands from class – “front”, “finish”, “around”, “heel”, “side” and review many of her old commands. She is smart, smart, smart! Nikki does anything for food.

I think I am ready to step it up a bit. I am getting a little cocky with my training and think I have Nikki and this clicker all figured out. I think I am ready to teach her the trick I think the kids will love…”Say your prayers”. All she has to do is put her paws up on a chair (in sitting) and put her head through her arms and touch my hand. She bows her head to say her prayers. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. We have been working on the putting the paws on the chair for a week. It says start with one paw, click and treat. Once she has that get her to put two paws up, click and treat. Well this is where we are stuck. She’s got the one paw up but puts it down to put the other paw up. It is this constant paw up paw down routine. She is trying hard but we are just not getting it. It is almost comical to watch….she tries so hard to please. I believe I have totally confused her! I think I will try it from a stand. Maybe it will be easier since she already has an “up” command. Stay tuned….I will let you know how it goes. And if we get this trick – I will take a picture for this blog!

Nikki has also been working hard in the classrooms, the PT clinic and the Hospital. She has resumed many of the classrooms we were in last year. We have been reestablishing relationships and working on new student goals. Nikki facilitated something last week that was a total surprise to all of us involved. We went into a preschool classroom with Lindsey one of the physical therapists that I work with. Lindsey wanted to use Nikki with a 3 year old girl that had just started preschool. The girl was a little frightened of Nikki and relied on the teacher and eventually Lindsey to help her warm up to Nikki. Eventually, the little girl took Nikki for a walk and when we returned she sat next to Nikki on the floor and hugged her and even posed for pictures with her. But the neatest thing was when we were about to leave, the little girl went over to Lindsey and hugged and kissed her. Both the teacher and Lindsey were very happy about this little show of affection. I hadn’t realized it but up until Nikki’s visit, this little girl was a little afraid of Lindsey! Nikki facilitated the bond between the little girl and her PT!

Thanks Kyria for my new blog layout. It looks great!
Sharon

"Nikki your my hero"

2009-09-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - I get the award for the world's worst blogger! I certainly don't want to bore you with the details of my life but I got to tell you that Nikki is one amazing dog. As she sleeps at my feet....let me tell you about what happened today. This was our first day back in some of the classrooms we visited regularly last year. Nikki remembered which classrooms and even dragged me into our preschool classroom with the students with physical and cognitive disabilities. I am not sure what is the draw for this classroom as she often gets her hair pulled and kicked by the kids excited to see her. Brushing usually consists of tapping the brush on her side instead of strokes. But Nikki wants to be in this classroom and she will lay very still as the kids open and close their hands on her fur, pull her tail and look under those large flaps on her head. Today, she quietly laid beside a little guy who is having a lot of difficulty moving anything. It is really hard to gage his responses because they might be just a shift of his eyes or a slight squeeze of his hand. But today - today he turned his head toward Nikki as she laid there beside him! It was amazing. He also got visibly agitated once he turned his head. Now I am not saying agitated as in mad but agitated in we saw (and it wasn't just me!) facial movements, eye movements and arm movements. (Yes-Terry we took pictures!)It was amazing. Such little movements meant so much. We will definitely try that again.
Later in the day we went to another school. We visit two classrooms with students with autism. With me today - in addition to the teaching staff was the assistive technology specialist and the speech therapist. They help me since these students are not physically disabled but do have communication issues. The speech therapist is looking for improvements in the use of language when Nikki is around. In the one classroom we introduced Nikki to the students. Several of the kids were new so we talked and acted out the things that Nikki likes to do. They all gave her treats and several gave her verbal commands to sit, speak and turn. It is very cool to see how excited the kids get when she responds to their commands! (Thank goodness Nikki and I learning hand signals!) The other class has 4 or 5 boys. One of the boys has regressed in his spoken language this year. He has had a difficult first few weeks of school. Apparently he has been barely audible, not using full sentences and rarely smiling. Almost immediately when Nikki came in he approached her and started smiling and verbalizing. Last year he had to use full sentences when asking to give Nikki a treat so I prompted him to do this again today. Immediately he said "I want to give Nikki a Fruit Loop". He repeated this over and over and over. All were amazed as his verbalizations this year have been so different. He then began to throw Nikki the ball - over and over. Nikki loves retrieving (for a treat!) so she ran back and forth for this student. Several of the other boys got into the fun of throwing the ball and watching her retrieve - taking turns and sharing the ball. Finally one of the boys hugged her and said "Nikki you are my hero". That says it all. Sometimes dogs can reach where humans can't. Nikki made a difference today and I feel good about that.
Sharon

Reflections of our summer job

2009-08-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Friday was Nikki’s last regular weekly visit to the hospital. I go back to work this week and Nikki will start back too once the kids start back to school. Hopefully, we will still go to the hospital once a month on Saturdays. I have to say that volunteering at the hospital with Nikki was one of the best experiences of my life. I don’t think the people we encountered at the hospital have any idea how much our interactions meant to me. I thought I would take some time today to reflect back on some of the more memorable moments of our summer job….

First let me start with expressing my gratitude to the folks in the volunteer office. They believe wholeheartedly in the dog visitation program and the power of dogs on the wellbeing of the patients. I know there are probably many hoops they have to jump through to get dogs into the hospital environment but they willingly do this for the benefit of others. Thanks so much Katherine and Beth.

Walking down the corridors of the hospital was never dull. A dog walking down the hallway is an unusual site in the hospital and it usually evoked smiles and double takes. Nikki could draw a crowd in a minute. Once she was showing off some of her tricks to some young children who were visiting the hospital and when I turned around there was a group of at least 6 adults watching the happiness of the kids around this amazing dog! There were the hospital administrators that stopped to inquire and the medical supply sales woman that “can’t walk by a dog without petting it”. And I will never forget the look on that baby’s face when his mother thrust him into Nikki’s face. That, I must admit, made me a bit nervous! But mostly I will remember the patients. Like the lady who cried when she saw Nikki. She hadn’t seen her dog in 2 weeks and said she just needed to be around a dog. She brushed Nikki for 20 minutes. By the time we were done she was smiling. How about the man who asked “Can Nikki just sit with me for awhile?” He just wanted to pet her – and Nikki loves being petted so it worked out well. There was the lady who loved how Nikki put her paw on her lap while she petted her. Each time we saw that lovely lady she told her friend who was sitting with her that day about Nikki and how she put her paw up. On our last day we had a request to visit a very sick man. He seemed to be sleeping when we tip toed in so I whispered his name. He opened his eyes but sat up immediately and smiled when she saw Nikki at my side. He was in awe of how much she reminded him of his own dog and he couldn’t wait to tell his wife about his visitor. He asked for her to get up on the bed so he could talk and pet her some more. He was so appreciative of the few minutes he shared with Nikki.

But what I realized over the last few months is that everyone has a dog story. Everyone. Many times I heard about how their dog would make a good therapy dog too. Even the sweet lady who told me that her Rottweiler would make a great therapy dog even though she keeps him chained outside because he doesn’t like strangers! I guess our dogs – no matter what they do – are our therapy dogs. But what I recognized is that when people shared their stories with me they got a smile on their face. Talking about their beloved dog brought a flood of emotion – always happiness. It was this happiness that really was the “therapy”. Nikki just was the instigator of a few brief moments of distraction from the real reason they were at the hospital. So yes, Nikki is a “certified” therapy dog – but in reality – all our beloved dogs provide us with that unconditional love and acceptance. That’s therapy.

My first blog!

2009-08-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

So ...I am not too sure what to do here. This is a first for me. Never blogged nor read too many blogs...and not too sure who wants to read my blog! But I will give it a try because I will tell anyone who is willing to listen about my dog Nikki!

Nikki is a 2 year old golden retriever. She was raised and trained by the inmates of a Federal Penitentiary in Hazelton, WV with the paws4people organization. (Thank goodness - because I could never have done what they did!) Nikki is a certified Rehabilitative Assistance dog as well as a certified Educational Assistance dog. Basically that means she can work with me (a physical therapist) in the public school setting! Nikki has been with me a little over a year. We work in the schools with students with multiple disabilities from age 3-21. We also work in an outpatient pediatric physical therapy clinic with kids with cerebral palsy. Recently we started to work at the local hospital visiting the the outpatient chemotherapy patients and the patients on the adult psychiatric unit. Hopefully over time I will share with you our stories. But today, I just want to say that what I do with Nikki is a life long dream come true for me. I have loved dogs all of my life (I know Mom and Dad -I do remember that one time I wouldn't go to school because that dog was barking at me from his house - I didn't like that dog). I have always been intrigued by service dogs and what they could do for people. I always wanted my dogs to be so well behaved that I could take them anywhere. For those of you who know me know that my other dog (poor Watson) - well - isn't exactly anywhere near that well behaved dog. A good dog but not necessarily well behaved...maybe stubborn would describe him. Anyway, Nikki is that well behaved dog (thanks to all the p4p folks!). I love taking her places not only because she is a beautiful dog but because she always seems to know just what to do. Like recently one of the patients said to her "Nikki, you have made one cancer patient happy today". Thats what it is all about isn't it...giving to others? Nikki just does that naturally. I want to be like my dog.

Sharon