I was waiting for dawn at Lulu’s Crossing this morning, stand out there in my slippers and bathrobe, up to my knees in mud. Was worth it, for sure. Red had a great test in Vermont, he passed, working alongside five other great dogs. He sat, stayed, lay down, walked by my side. He handled people rushing at him, crowding him, grabbing every party of his body, toys and rattles and walkers banging all around him.. I completely trusted him and he grasped the spirit of the moment, as always and took the first step towards becoming a certified therapy dog.

There are three more. We will be evaluated over three different visits in the next few weeks, all of them at nursing homes. The Vermont Therapy Dog program was thorough and experienced. All of the things they tested Red for happened to Izzy a dozen times in hospice work. For me, it always feels good for the dog to be evaluated as thoroughly as possible. The evaluators had two concerns about Red: one that he is almost never on a leash (that will be simple to work on, as he will have to be leased at all times in nursing home and hospital visits) and two, that he sometimes had his tail between his legs. They knew this was a border collie working position, but wondered if some patients might be intimidated by it. I don’t think anyone has ever been intimidated by Red, but we’ll see over the next three visits.

He is a wonderful dog, and I was immensely proud of him. He has come further than they could have imagined.