Pet Therapy hurdle #1 - PASSED!

Last night Baylie and I ventured all the way to Shriner's Hospital for Children for the much anticipated evaluation to see if we would be good candidates in the Delta Society's Pet Partners program. This has been a months-long process as I had to go to an orientation, then I brought Baylie in for an informal evaluation and then we waited a few months for the real evaluation.

What a wreck I was. Life has been stressful lately and having this looming over me just added to the pile-o-crap.

Thankfully, it's over. Baylie did great and I did ok. I was more worried about Baylie goofing up that a few times I forgot I was being evaluated too. Luckily, the pup was my saving grace and held it together for me - she didn't even budge when I forgot to say "stay" and walked away. *phew*

This could be Baylie soon! Brings tears to my eyes...

For those interested in the program, Delta Society has a website that gives you a ton of information, including what your dog must be okay with and reliable with training-wise. It's definitely a lot more than most people think, as evidenced by the 10 or so people who got up and walked out during the middle of the orientation meeting.

So now I just wait, wait and wait some more. Have to send all the stuff into Delta Society, have to apply to be a volunteer at Shriner's and go through their background and drug check and then have to get oriented with the whole process. I definitely didn't think it would take this long, but I've been wanting to do this for years and I am so grateful I have a dog who is well-suited for this line of work!