Pet Sitting, Dog Walking, Scottsdale, AZ

Our first meeting…

So our very first meeting, I was a ball of nerves.

Is this what the parent of a human child feels like when their kid tries out for tee ball for the first time? I was wondering all sorts of things like “Is he has great as everyone says he is for this program?”

We met Laura, our evaluator and trainer at the Arizona State Veteran Home. Rocco burst out of the car and was full force on the leash dragging me behind him. I was so embarrassed. Laura met us out front and I know she was already taking it all in. We greeted each other at the front door and she was one of the most pleasant, calming, and positive people I have met. We checked in at the front desk and went into a room in the building with Rocco. Within moments he was sitting next to her, licking her occasionally, and of course getting up every few minutes to make sure the perimeter of the room was still secure. (smile) Laura seemed very pleased.

She explained the program for that day to me. That we would walk the hallways, do some figure eights, walk fast, walk slow, walk while bumping Rocco, and a few other things to see his personality. Then we would take a walk around the premises to visit with some of the Veteran’s who were “hanging out” and see if they wanted a visit from Rocco.

Here we go, the evaluation:

Well we did the walk, and Rocco was pulling  the whole way because he was so excited to explore this new place. He did obey me ad stop and sit when I stopped walking, which was great, but overall he was a handful. Even for me. He was just so excited!

I was so discouraged when we returned to the room. I wanted this so bad, and I wanted Rocco to do well, and I just for sure thought he failed. As we sat down, Laura assured me that Rome wasn’t built in a day and that Rocco had a amazing temperament and that he just needs some structure. She continued saying that she knows he and I will be a great team and affect many lives, it is just that he is only one and a half years old and it is okay! We narrowed down our homework for the week. Work on healing, no licking, and no talking… which admittedly I am 100% responsible for. Turns out Rocco “talking” to me isn’t a good thing WHILE he is “working” so I need to break him of that. The rule against licking surprised me, but made a lot of sense after Laura explained that we don’t want him getting sick or ingesting something he shouldn’t, especially in hospitals.I also need to work on passing calm energy down to him.

The proud Mama…

Laura continued to explain that we will work with Rocco until he can pass the tests because she knows how much I will work with him and she know sees much potential he has. She said he is very gentle and sweet with people and that is a huge positive.

Now, can I just explain how much of a proud Mom I turned into at this moment? It was the equivalent of my little boy was just picked for tee ball! I am so excited to continue this journey and hope that our story inspires you to explore this possibility with your fur kid too!

Stay tuned for more!

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