Zinnia’s Epic Socialization Period ended Monday afternoon at  4:45 p.m. at the town’s liquor store on Main Street. I put her through her paces, sitting and lying down and being still while I bought a bottle of wine for Maria.

She lay down and waited patiently for release. This is the behavior that will get her a therapy dog certificate this year. I don’t care if she does tricks.

I think I’m a dog snob in some ways, people are always sticking food in Zinnia’s face and demanding that she “shake,” that is, offer her paws. I don’t ever ask my dog to do tricks for people or for me, it seems undignified. Working dogs are not trained circus animals, they are entitled to their dignity.

Perhaps that is snob-like. I always say “no, she doesn’t do tricks, but she will lie down if you ask her to and be still.” Nobody wants to see that. I sound like a grump.

But I’d rather that they see a dog that can lie down and be still when she needs to be. I loved Rose every time she growled at someone who talked baby talk to her or demanded her paw. When she didn’t offer one, they just kept demanding it, sometimes grabbing one of her legs.

They didn’t do it twice. Red was also frequently asked to “shake” and he had way too much pride for that, he just looked them in the eye and sat there.

I think Zinnia is fully socialized now. This morning she hopped into the U.S. Postal carrier’s truck and was ready to go for a ride. The carrier was startled but delighted.

Zinnia has seen way more than the 200 people therapy dogs are supposed to see before they are 16 weeks old and been to a dozen places.

This afternoon, we went to the Mansion to bring Nancy hair conditioner, Claudia shampoo, one of the aides a Leggo for her son. The aides are very happy with their new break room and they keep asking me to thank you for your help. It makes a huge difference to them.

And we put enough coffee creamers in there to take care of a Lion’s convention.

Zinnia has seen white people, black people, brown people, yellow people, old people, young people, loud people, shy people, young people, old people, nice people, nasty people, emotionally disturbed people and schizophrenic people.

She’s met dog lovers and dog haters, and even a few dogs. She barks when she sees a dog, but then settles down.

Nothing really surprises her when it comes to people. She isn’t bothered by thunder, gunshots, rumbling trucks or sudden noises.

So I don’t think we need to socialize her any longer, a lot of trucks – USPS, FedEx, UPS – come into the driveway each week, and I remember that Lenore, a Lab in my past, hopped into a UPS truck and went for a long drive happily until the driver spotted her in his rearview mirror and came rushing back to the farmhouse.

Most Labs are friendly, but therapy dogs need to be ready for anything. Zinnia and I worked hard socializing her, but I don’t think I need to do it anymore. She’s 90 percent under my control at all times, just got to work on the final ten percent.

In her work, the first mistake is her last. No more therapy work after that.

She’s socialized. I think I’ll have her certified in a few months.