Today marks a big step in Zinnia’s first steps towards therapy work. We’re going to Albany.

I’ve worked out a Therapy Dog training and education program for Zinnia and Bishop Maginn High School. I’ve asked Maria to come with me this morning to the school, and she has graciously agreed (she hates giving up art production time, as I hate to give up writing time).

I’ve also worked out an educational/training program for Zinnia and Sue Silverstein’s class, which is going mad, waiting to meet this puppy.

Our vet agrees that Zinnia is more than ready for this venture.

She is outgoing, resilient, and calm. And I am mindful of our breeder’s appeal to be thoughtful of Zinnia’s age.  I will also follow my instincts, which have proven to be mostly accurate over time.

First off, Zinnia will be contained in a large pen; she won’t be touched by the students this week. We are asking for five volunteers to be Zinnia’s Therapy Dog Coaches at Bishop Maginn.

They will work to see that rules and guidelines are enforced to help her therapy dog training and also to help educate the students into the proper care of dogs, and the possibilities for learning about training.

I want to make it an educational experience, not just a love fest. So they’ll be helping me, and I’ll be teaching them. Zinnia will not only be a therapy dog at the school, but she will also be a learning opportunity.

Sue Silverstein loves the idea. I’m excited, also a bit anxious.

I want our visits to enhance the therapy dog training, not undermine it. When we arrive, I’m going to talk to the class and tell them how they can help and what they need to know.

– First off, no food. A therapy dog should enter a school or facility looking for people, not food. Connection and attention are rewards, not biscuits. No food for Zinnia at Bishop Maginn except perhaps at the end of work. I have had this problem at the Mansion; the residents all want to feed the dogs. It is not suitable for a therapy dog to be thinking of food treats.

-Secondly, dogs are cute and sometimes look like stuffed animals, but they are not stuffed animals, they are real animals. Puppies and most adult dogs do not like to be grabbed, squeezed, and hugged.

Dogs don’t like to have people stick their faces into theirs. They don’t want to be held so tightly that they can’t move.

-Don’t train my dogs. I notice that strangers are always giving my dogs commands and instructions. This is confusing to the dog and annoying for me. This habit strikes me as an obnoxious but common habit. People don’t need to dominate my dog, just let him or her say hello.

And please don’t kiss them on the nose, Zinnia won’t mind, but it’s an excellent way to lose a piece of your nose.

Let me do the training.

Zinnia is a grounded and social dog, but she is nine weeks old, and it’s crucial she not be unnerved or intimidated by having a horde of people grab her and shout and squeeze her at once.

That would be the wrong introduction to this work.

So Sue and Maria and I have choreographed an appropriate entry: Zinnia will be in an empty classroom, Sue will bring a few students at a time in to see her and meet her.

People who want closer contact with her – not today – should get down on the floor and let the puppy come to them, she should always have some freedom of movement, some choice, just like us.

She will see and sniff who she wants to see, rather than squeezed or grabbed.

The scolds and busybodies who criticize me for doing too much with Zinnia at this age are correct in cautioning against overload or overstimulation for young puppies.

I understand that many people out there honestly believe they love my dogs more than I do, but that is not the truth or reality.

Some of you would do well to do some learning also, perhaps about how to mind your own business. This is a valuable if dying art.

These people are wrong in arguing that puppies should be isolated from other people and quarantined, that is about the worst thing one can do to puppies that urgently need to be socialized by as many people as possible and introduced to the diversity of life. It’s especially counterproductive for therapy dogs.

We want to help all kinds of people, not just people who are like us.

The challenge is to do acclimation thoughtfully and carefully.

In my small town, almost everyone is white, and therapy work often takes us into much more diverse environments.

One great thing about Bishop Maginn is how diverse it is, and many of these kids have never seen a dog like Zinnia, few refugee families can afford to buy dogs or feed them or pay for veterinary care.

Over these next weeks, I want her to see as many people of color as I can find, she needs to see people as they are, not only as they are seen on our farm.

Bishop Maginn is the perfect place to do that.

I’m going to ask Sue Silverstein’s help in choose several student volunteers to work with me in my training for Zinnia, to make sure these rules and guidelines are followed if I am not there or busy (I don’t intend to leave her with anyone for weeks or months.)

But I do want to use this as a learning experience for the students as well as for Zinnia.

Many of these children have been frightened by dogs, having only seen police or Army dogs in their own countries, and not in a good way.  Few of them see dogs as affectionate pets.

A dog like Zinnia can show them the brighter and more loving promise of animals, and also help them heal.

That the point of therapy dog work, and I realize this is a golden opportunity for me to train her and help these often traumatized kids get stronger.

I’ll let you know how it goes.