Therapy Dog in Training…

Tad relaxing on his Bean Bags.

Today was Taddington's second Vet visit.  He is a grand total of 3.71 pounds and they felt like he was done growing.    We searched for an extended time to find a Maltese that would be small enough for me to hold on my lap with my neuropathy.  I can't take much weight or it gets painful so the search was extensive to find little Taddington.  A Maltese is suppose to be between 4 to 7 pounds to stay within breed specifications so he is only slightly below but is still very healthy.  The vet says he strong and we already know he is an intelligent little guy.

Tad plotting amid my
Yarn Stash.

He is already primarily potty trained, although we are still working on it a bit.  He can fetch a ball, or a ball of my yarn which I am trying to break him of since I am an avid knitter and there are lots of balls of yarn around our house.  He is also very quick to find special places to hide all his toys so Sebbie can't get to them as he and Sebbie have a war of the toys going on.  Each one loves to sneak into the others stash and take it back to his own.  No wars have broken out, just the sneaking back and forth of each others toys.  

We also have a little ritual at our house with our dogs since they spend time on our beds and couches.  Each time they go to the restroom they are wiped with a wet one for sanitary purposes.  Tad has already learned that each time he goes potty, he must be wiped.  Since we have been consistent, he does not feel right unless this ritual is preformed.  At night, he won't even get on the bed unless he is cleaned so he sits beside my side of the bed barking at me until I sit up, or wake-up if I'm sleeping sitting-up, and clean him.  Once cleaned, he bounces up his little stairs and lays on my pillow.  We thought it was amazing he already knows what is expected at his young age.  It also makes it very easy to keep him clean.

Josh and his doggie boys, Sebbie
and Taddington.

Josh bought him for me to help me through those painful and lonely nights and he has been doing and excellent job.  When I am really hurting I can look into those black eyes and somehow, he seems to know.  He snuggles in close to me and gives me something to focus on until it is time for the rest of my family to wake-up.  He is such a comfort to me, we decided to go through the process of registering him as a Therapy Dog.  

Samuel and Taddington.

As a Therapy Dog, he will go into Nursing Homes, Hospital's, Children's Wards, etc  We want Samuel to become his handler so Samuel will learn some fabulous lessons in the process.  Taddington already meets more than half of the requirements and we have until he is one year to work on the rest of his training since he has to be a one year old to test.  We are excited about Taddington being able to make others feel as good as he makes me feel.  Being such a small size, he will be perfect for the Children's wards at hospitals.  He is just a handful of pure comfort and joy to love.  So, Samuel is going to be working hard this year finish Taddington's training.  We'll keep you up-to-date on how it is going.  My only real concern with the requirements is the need for him to sit with a stranger while Sam and I walk out of the room.  Being a Maltese and very attached to his people, that is the requirement area we are concerned about him being able to preform.  The nice thing is we are training him at our church so we have lots of opportunities to work on short separations.

Lynne and Taddington on the move.

Taddington already knows how to comfort and be with people when they are in pain and having difficulties.  He claimed the place right behind me when I am on the Wheelchair so that whenever I go anywhere, he must be behind me, peaking around the corner to see where we are going.  If for some reason, I am on the chair and he hasn't made it to his place yet, he sits and barks until someone puts him at his post.  Tad also stays with me through all my cancer treatments making what can sometimes be a painful hour much easier holding four pounds of warm fur.  We have a routine for those too and he know exactly when it is his time to climb up beside me.  On bad days, I even get kisses :-)

 Isn't it amazing how God can send along something so cute.  I always think of Lazarus at the gate and the dogs that God sent to minister to him.  I know the Bible doesn't say anything about a dog in the Garden but somehow I can see in my minds eye, Adam walking around fulfilling his command of taking care of the earth and following him around would be his canine friend.  I like to think it was a Bernese Mountain Dog because our Sebbie is on equal footing as Taddington, he's just a little too big for my lap.  Okay, I know the Bernese breed didn't actually exist in the garden but it's the picture in my mind and it makes me happy. 

Taddington doing his job.

Here's a funny thing, I used to dislike being around animals of any kind.  Then, I married my husband and we started slowly growing our hobby farm.  I went from hating anything to be out of place and thinking animals were dirty messy creatures to having baby ducks and chickens brood in my living room and tiny kid goats wearing diapers and jumping onto my lap and my computer keyboard as I type.  I even milked our Alpines twice a day.  I learned a whole new love of animals.  After I got sick, we have to disband our little farm and now we live in the city with our two friends, Sebastian, a 118 lbs Bernese Mountain Dog and, of course our new adventure, Taddington, our tiny Maltese weighing in a 3.71 lbs.  I can say, the animals changed me for good and I am so glad we were able to give the time on the farm to the children.

Taddington fast asleep.

So, we have 7 months of training with Little Taddington before his evaluation.  I am so glad we are going to be able to share his gentle nature and caring disposition with others.  We look forward to our first visit.  I am so hoping our first assignment will be a children's ward in a hospital because I can just imagine how much the children will love holding this little guy.  It's a matter of blessing others with what God has blessed me.

May God Bless and Keep You in His Grace,

Lynne