Jeepers Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Yesterday a senior citizen bus asked if they could stop by and see the Great Dane dogs. Everyone is welcome to stop by and the ones who couldn't get out of the bus got a special treat thanks to some of the volunteers.Pic 1. Charlie the dog gives smiles and hugs. Tanner (the boy) volunteers at the farm and his dad Steve (not pictured) who is a disabled vet, is Charlie's person.Pic. 2. Okay, I'll admit it. This one brought tears to my eyes.I wonder how long it has been since some seniors have felt the joy of a warm dog or smelled sweet puppy breath. 2 Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted August 8, 2016 Author Share Posted August 8, 2016 Opal is ready to deliver any day now. I predicted 10 puppies on the 10th. but I'm ALWAYS wrong. Quote Link to comment
Twilight Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 In nursing homes the residents have had to give up their pets. After I was given permission to bring Joy into the assisted living home....the joy was boundless as people reached out to pet her. The result ....... they murmured and complained until the home brought in a dog. It made so much difference. The residents became calmer, why should anyone be surprised? As we become older we do not become another species, we are still human and have the same likes and dislikes!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 Beautifully said Twilight. Quote Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 In nursing homes the residents have had to give up their pets. After I was given permission to bring Joy into the assisted living home....the joy was boundless as people reached out to pet her. The result ....... they murmured and complained until the home brought in a dog. It made so much difference. The residents became calmer, why should anyone be surprised? As we become older we do not become another species, we are still human and have the same likes and dislikes!!!!!! Good for you, Twilight! I used to bring my dog to a state mental health facility where I worked decades ago. The results were mesmerizing. I brought my trustworthy dog who only whined and rolled her eyes towards me when a resident pulled her sore ear too hard. I rescued her quickly....didn't know she had a sore ear that day, actually. 'Course there was one dog-LOVING resident who was allergic and broke out in fantastic rash after hugging the dog. Uh...oops. She wanted SO badly to hug her the next times I came but ....ah, no. Pets wouldn't be quite safe at that facility unless directly supervised. So I brought mine over when I could. MtRider Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 SDP takes dogs to the nursing homes regularly. It's part of their training. Win/win situation. Sometimes they take the puppies depending on if they have had their shots, weather etc. They have a cute puppy wagon that they haul them around in. So far today Opal has had 8 puppies born. I think she is done. Little service dogs in the making...hope. Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 I got this in an email today and thought I'd share. It's written by Megan the head trainer. You know how much I love the work Service Dog Project (SDP) dogs are doing. I added the parenthesis where Finn and Charlie are dogs as not to be confused with people. Charlie Annenberg was also there so I just added his last name so as not to be confused with Charlie the dog. Don’t know Charlie Annenberg? He’s a huge $$$ supporter of SDP and Googleable.Our NY adventureCharlie and Finn (dogs) were amazing! They handled the city traffic and sounds like champions! Finn (dog) even had no problem peeing on tiny patches of mulch when I would ask him to! All the people in the city were very educated about service dogs and no place we went to gave us a hard time. Everyone just talked about how beautiful the dogs were and how well behaved they were for being so large.We went to get some dinner after we watched a rehearsal and Q&A about the performance. We made sure to arrive back at the Duke Theater early so we could find Ann and figure out where the best place to sit with the dogs would be. So we got front row, dogs yet again we're great. Charlie (Annenberg) commented that he enjoyed watching the Danes expressions during the show as they sat and watched the actors on stage portraying soldiers dealing with PTSD. At one point there was a lot of commotion on stage followed by a gun shot and Finn (dog) made it clear he needed to try and check on the solider in front of us acting. He quickly returned back into his down stay half tucked under my chair.We sat next to the founder of warrior canine connection during the performance and met his service dog (11 year old golden). After the show Finn (dog) and I quickly found the bathroom where he tucked in nicely. Leaving the bathroom we came across a veteran in the hallway having a really difficult time after watching the show. He sat with his head in his hands trying to slow his breathing. Finn (dog) saw him and I told him it was okay and he walked right over to him and put his head in the guy’s lap. Instantly calmed him and put a big smile on his face, a beautiful thing to watch. I called Finn (dog) back and he pranced back over and we waiting for Charlie (dog) and Ann. We then loaded up on a giant charter bus. It was packed with people and we squeezed on with the Danes. Charlie (Annenberg) boarded last and couldn't stop smiling and said he loved seeing the Danes in the sea of people and everyone was so happy to have the dogs around.We arrived at the after party where we were greeting by Charlie (Annenberg) and explore staff and cast members of the show. It was an excellent opportunity to talk with Charlie (Annenberg) one on one. He had nothing but nice things to say about what we are doing at Service Dog Project. He even really enjoys the mail calls/trainer talks !! He got up on stage and specifically mentioned SDP and how we are doing such wonderful things, by helping so many veterans. There was a photographer there that got a lot of nice images he is going to email them to me. Overall it was a great experience for us and the dogs, we appreciate you allowing us to go and represent SDP. Quote Link to comment
The WE2's Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 In nursing homes the residents have had to give up their pets. After I was given permission to bring Joy into the assisted living home....the joy was boundless as people reached out to pet her. The result ....... they murmured and complained until the home brought in a dog. It made so much difference. The residents became calmer, why should anyone be surprised? As we become older we do not become another species, we are still human and have the same likes and dislikes!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
The WE2's Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 My late husband and I owned a lovely cocker and he'd walk her over to a nursing home a few blocks from us and they adored her. She's in doggie heaven now :-( When MrWE2 and I adopted our Abby-girl that's what we had hoped she could settle into...a therapy dog. She's settled "some" but way to eager to be around someone she might injure :-( So...we just let her be our "therapy" and when we take her to pet-friendly places (every time we can) they enjoy her. Quote Link to comment
Daylily Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Love this thread! Precious. Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) Here is Charlie and Finn on their night out in New York City at Time Square. Someone in the background is taking a picture of their butt. The other one isn't very clear butt if you look closely you can see Charlie trying to sit on that guys lap. They do that all the time. Edited because I found a clearer picture of the "lapdog". By the way, that is Steve who is Charlie's person. He is a disabled vet and has made soooo much progress thanks to Charlie...the dog. Now he even volunteers as one of SDP's very gifted trainers. His son Tanner (13 yrs. old) volunteers all summer and is a great kid who really looks after Carlene. Edited November 22, 2016 by Jeepers 1 Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Well, Mrs. Gussie had her babies while I was gone. She had 9 live and one stillborn. That was a wonderful turnout. There is usually a couple "born sleeping" babies in litters. So...YEA! Gussie was actually born Gus. To put it gently, an extra long slightly lower umbilical cord gave a false impression. So Mr. Gus became Miss Gussie who married Mr. Wilbur a couple of months ago and became Mrs. Gussie. They had their reception out back on honeymoon hill and now we have 9 potential 'little' service dogs or some Perfect Pets. Either way, much loved and definitely wanted. Here is a pic of one of the puppies resting it's head between mom's front legs. There are a couple of little gray pups in the background. And Lainie is due to deliver Christmas Day...give or take a day. Quote Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 And mommy knows exactly where that little bugger is at! Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) She sure does. They have volunteers with them 24/7 so mom doesn't accidently sit or step on one. One volunteer wasn't so welcomed the other day so she is sitting/sleeping with the mom-to-be. Butt then again she came toward Gussie a thermometer so.... One of the volunteers with mom-to-be Lainie One of the volunteers with mom Gussie Edited December 19, 2016 by Jeepers 1 Quote Link to comment
sassenach Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Jeepers, where does the gray and white coloring on some pups come from? Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 The gray color (called Merle) is in some of their genes due to backyard breeders who didn't know what they were doing. Not too many years ago (as in less than a decade) when a gray one was born breeders would kill them at birth. The American Kennel Club still considers them as "junk" dogs and will not allow them in their club. Within the last 2 years the AKC have started to reconsider their opinion and are thinking about letting them enter their club now. The reasoning behind the thinking was a gray (Merle) parent can often have a white Dane. Most white Danes are deaf and can have eye problems so they should never be bred on purpose. All of the Dane pictures I've posted are all from European stock. Mostly from Denmark and Netherlands area. They have a slightly different body shape. That is also why there are no tan or brindle colored dogs in the pics I've posted. Most European Danes are black or black and white and are a lot more stockier. American Great Danes are taller and leaner. I think the Merle color is really beautiful and they make loving pets and even better service dogs. Little Maroon pictured below is a Merle and went through his service dog training and is now a fantastic service dog for a veteran. We get updates on him often and his person is a new man thanks to "Roo". Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 I should add that some breeders still kill a gray puppy at birth. Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Ethel and Julia STANDING at the beach. Julia said Ethel walked her down to the beach. I'm not sure exactly what that means but any chance to show off Ethel and I'm all for it! Love that blue eyed beauty. Ethel playing in the snow. Those eyes! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.