Since having Teasle something had to give and one of those things was doing PAT work with Barney. As she is currently still in her foster home I decided it was overdue for some special me and Barney time and booked us back at our favourite care home. I just got back and I'm still very emotional. All the staff and most of the residents were so thrilled to see us. They remembered him and couldn't wait for fuss. As for Barney, he knew where he was as soon as we got to the end of the lane where we turn in and was very excited. There were a lot of new faces and inevitably some familiar ones weren't there. Sadly one of Barney's favourite ladies Valerie passed away in December. The staff are still quite upset she was very popular. Some of you might remember last Christmas when Barney really cheered her up as her mother had just died. What has really saddened me is that Valerie was asking when Barney was coming back. The manager who knew my details had left and PAT wouldn't give them my number so I had no idea. Had I known I could have squeezed a visit in. The good thing is I was able to squeeze a few hands today. Spend some time with Hugh (98) who lost his wife in the Summer, he was so grateful that I talked about her and make some new friends. Barney really took to a new lady called Irene and she was thrilled with all the attention he gave her.
Re: barney's latest PAT visit What a lovely but sad post Carole , its so good to know that our lovely dogs can give such comfort and no doubt Barney enjoys the fuss too, bless him . Very sad about Valerie but not forgotten and Barney can now pass his loving care to others in need , so lovely . I sent off for the forms for Sam to become a PAT dog just after Christmas so fingers crossed xx
Re: barney's latest PAT visit A bittersweet post :'( Our neighbour is recovering from a stroke and the place she's in is most welcoming to dogs which is lovely, we're heading down next week hopefully Riley can take a leaf out of Barney's book and bring some joy!
Re: barney's latest PAT visit Ah Carole, what a wonderful thing you are doing with Barney, bringing comfort and love to those people...
Re: barney's latest PAT visit Carole & Barney, what a magical thing you both do and obviously greatly appreciated by all the happiness you both bring. Helen xx
Re: barney's latest PAT visit It's good to hear that Barney is 'back in action' bringing pleasure and comfort to people in need. I was reading this story this morning. Aren't therapy dogs great.
Re: barney's latest PAT visit Yes they are great listeners and they dont ask a whole heap of questions either, or try to fix stuff. I often talk to Lady on our walks. Subject not important.
Re: barney's latest PAT visit [quote author=David link=topic=1075.msg6231#msg6231 date=1357393607] Yes they are great listeners and they dont ask a whole heap of questions either, or try to fix stuff. I often talk to Lady on our walks. Subject not important. [/quote] Glad its not just me
Re: barney's latest PAT visit There had been an interesting side effect of our visit last Friday. Teasle is still at her foster home and has been since Christmas Eve. So she's been gone a long time in dog time. Somehow after that visit Barney seemed to suddenly realise it was fine to come and ask me for fuss. Teasle was so attention hungry which made Rusty even more attention hungry that Barney didn't get a look in. Although I always made a point of giving him some fuss each time he didn't seek it out. All weekend it's been amazing to watch how he's been so keen to come for cuddles. Today Rusty is at the vet so he is for a few hours an only dog. He's at my feet in my office right now just like the old days when it was just me and him. I can't let Rusty in the office he's such a fidget. I really feel like I've got my boy back. For this reason I've decided to tell MDD that I won't be fostering again apart from maybe an occasional short term holiday cover. I can still help the charity in other ways, Barney & I can do our PAT work (and sometimes Rusty I've just had him assessed too) I miss Teasle she is an adorable dog but she's not mine and she will be very easy for them to place. The PAT work is incredibly rewarding and even if you can manage only an hour once in a while - (like me right now!) it can make a HUGE difference and would urge everyone who has a friendly dog to give it a go. ;D
Re: barney's latest PAT visit Everything has happened for a reason and now you have been able to make the right decision for you and your boys. Great news for you all. You did an amazing job with Teasle and that's what counts. I have thought about using Hattie as a PAT dog, she is 5 years old now and friendly and calm ish, the only thing is she still jumps up but really only when people visit us but everything I have tried has failed to sort this one issue out with her, would that be a problem? I suspect it would. Although when I take her to visit a lovely 93 year old lady that lives in our village she never jumps just lays at her side enjoying the fuss. What do you think? Helen x
Re: barney's latest PAT visit LOL David I sit out in the yard talking to Mcqueen as though he understands every word I say. I think my neighbours are concluding I've kinda lost the plot to be honest. Perhaps telling a pup exactly why they shouldn't do their business ALL over the place and point, thoroughly explaining in detail is not a good thing afteral. It's a shame we don't have a PAT set up here in Greece. Obviously with all happening at the moment there are many that would highly benefit in more ways than one.
Re: barney's latest PAT visit Hi Helen I would definitely give it a go! Barney is by no means a model citizen - I had to haul his nose out of every bin on Friday! Barney occasionally jumps up mainly at men but never at my 82 yr old Mum which gave me confidence to give him a try. Remember this is on lead. I wouldn't take barney to a special needs school for example - too noisy and full of excitement but the care home is fine. It costs nothing to get the dog assessed and while the assessor doesn't say yes or no they'll give you a good idea if they think she won't be suitable. I also pick carefully where we visit so there are no cats and no long windows for barney to spy wildlife from or it would get noisy so hopefully you'll realise you don't need perfection just a reasonably well behaved dog. barney will climb if they are a bit slow handing over a biscuit so i have to watch that. On his first visit he put his paws on the knees of an old lady in a wheelchair and reached up so he could lick her cheek - luckily she was thrilled. I was horrified - completely against the rules but the staff thought it was sweet and nobody grassed me up to PAT ;D ;D he hasn't done that since - I think Phyllis was in need of a kiss and so he obliged
Re: barney's latest PAT visit Thanks for the PAT information Carole, I am giving it some serious thought. Hope Rusty has recovered. Helen x
