Happy Halloween!!!!
Yesterday afternoon Georgia and I drove to a church on the northside of town to be tested by a Delta Society Evaluator on our Delta Society Pet Partners Skills & Aptitude test & WE PASSED!!!!! We are approved to work in predictable environments. This means places like schools, libraries, hospitals and nursing homes. Basically it means we couldn't work in a prison, psych/dementia unit or things similar to that as they are unpredictable. I'm fine with this as I would prefer predictable environments.
If you spoke to me in the days leading up to the test you knew how extremely nervous I was! Saturday night we went to a costume party and Georgia was invited as well (she was the black swan), this helped to really tire her out for Sunday afternoon so she was a little calmer for our test. However, she wasn't as tired as I thought she'd be. She slept all morning, but when we got to the church to test she was wide awake mostly because there were several other dogs there to be tested and a dog that was part of the test. We went inside and I had to fill out a few forms - my hands were shaking! We were in a kind of holding room while another dog was testing, but we could hear them and Georgia started to whine because she wanted to see what was going on out there. I didn't want to distract the team testing so we waited outside until it was our turn. This worked out well, we got a chance to practice a few things and get her calmed down...maybe helped calm me too.
Next thing I knew it was our turn. I was nervous to say the least, but the evaluator and the volunteers that helped with the test were so very nice to me and Georgia. Georgia wanted to smell the room, take it all in and then we were ready to begin. She did so well when I told her to "sit", "lay down" and "stay", which were all things I felt sure she would do just fine on. I was really worried about the part where she had to walk at my side without having a tight leash, but she did perfectly! Seriously it was the best "heal" she'd ever done! I was also a little concerned about the part where we had to greet a person with a dog and Georgia couldn't go towards the other dog or handler, she either had to stand still or sit still at my side. We had to try it 3 times, but the 3rd time was perfect and we passed that part! I was worried we would get a 'not ready' mark on that one. Then one of the last things to do was the 'leave it' which is something that Georgia does really well, I wasn't worried at all. The evaluator put a dog toy on the ground and we had to walk right by it with me telling her to 'leave it', she didn't try to pick it up but did touch it with her nose so we got a 'not ready'. I really was surprised, normally she's so good at 'leave it'. But it all worked out because we only got one 'not ready' which means that's good enough to pass! It's just funny that the things I worried about went well and the one I didn't we had a problem with - odd! Georgia did SO well with all the parts where she had to deal with people directly and it involved being petted roughly by 4 people at once, being very close to two people that were yelling at each other, a person making loud sounds near her, a person staggering around & a person bumping her from behind. While all of these things were happening I was right there telling her it was ok and petting her. The evaluator commented that I was very supportive of her and we made a good team. That's something they look for, to see if I interact with her and support her during stressful situations.
After we passed I felt so relieved and excited. Georgia wasn't sure what was going on, but I think she knew she did something really good. So, people have already started asking me, "Can you start visiting now?", and the answer is not yet. The hard part is over. What's next is for me to fill out some paper work, have our vet fill out some paper work and then I send it in to the Delta Society along with a the test form signed by our evaluator & registration fee. Once Delta Society processes all that we'll get our badge and then it's up to me to contact places to see if they accept visits from Delta Society Pet Partner teams. I think I want to try a library and a nursing home. I could do schools, but I'm not sure how that would work and what their needs would be or if they would even need a visit from a Pet Partners team. Nathan was so proud of us and one of his questions was, "So she's already a Canine Good Citizen, what is her new title?" I wouldn't really call it a title, but I guess she'd be called a Pet Partner as would I. So, that's where it stands!
Even though I'm stressed a bit with our up coming move I plan to get on working with the vet to get his portion filled out this week. The rest is just stuff I fill out at home and send in. Thanks to everyone who wished us well this weekend on our test - we appreciate it! I've included a picture of Georgia as a bee from last Halloween. I have a picture of her as the black swan, but she was on the move so it's blurry. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!!!
