Pigs are Flying, Dogs Reading

The Assistance Dog Institute will clearly stop at nothing to showcase the unyielding intelligence of our four legged friends. After lectures on service animals for mobility impairments, guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs, search and rescue dogs, disaster relief dogs, critical care therapy dogs, specialty facility therapy dogs, and even courtroom therapy dogs, somehow we transitioned into what is known as the Reading Dog. Now some of you may think of a Reading Dog as I did: a therapy dog that visits with various libraries and schools to assist children with reading by creating a non-intimidating environment in which the child can relax, unencumbered by the pressure of peers. You and I would be about half correct on our assumptions. As you can see in the above picture, Noah is actually sitting based on the written (and NON-verbal) command that Bonnie, my classmate, is displaying. I'll be the first to admit to a blatant amount of skepticism; in fact, I'll even admit to having a bit of an out-of-body experience when the "Reading Dog" lecture began. It was one of those rare, extremely poignant times in life when one observes the space around himself and thinks, "just what in the hell is going on here!? Why does no one else seem to think this is odd!?" Fortunately, my twilight zone moment was fleeting as I began to listen to the instructor and understand that as with verbal commanding, the dogs can easily decipher patterns and thus associate letter patterns with standard commands that they already know. While I do find that to be fascinating, I couldn't help but to question the practical application of these skills. Would Will be able to check our emails at the office? Could he read a quick post-it on the door and know that Cyndee is in a meeting? Heehee. Well as it turns out, ADI is doing research on canine "reading" (if you're interested Dr. Bergin has published a book about it) but the cards that we were using are typically used on the library/school therapy visits so that the child reading can see that the dog also can read--helps to strengthen the bond between the two, often creating a more trustful environment and "two-way dialogue" if you will, for the session. Take it or leave it; I'm just passing it along!
I cannot believe that we are already in Week 4. The pace is truly reaching a crescendo as we begin to prepare for the Client Training next week. Dr. Bergin distributed the schedule today and we each have been assigned to team as well as individual tasks throughout the camp. In case I haven't been clear on what is happening, the final two weeks of our seminar involve the actual placement of service dog to client. At this point, it looks like we will be placing two service dogs, Kate and Noah, along with three social/therapy dogs. Clients will be arriving on Monday morning and will be starting an intensive two week boot camp leading up to graduation on Saturday 7/28. The boot camp will follow the exact format of our first two weeks at ADI: lectures, dog training, field trips, and of course umbilical cording! The only difference is that instead of the ADI staff and trainers running the show, we, the students, are responsible for each part of the two week itinerary. As you can imagine, we are all in extreme panic mode.
Now not to toot my own horn but I have to let you all in on a little secret, just because I know that a) you will be crossing your fingers for me and b) you will be so proud! The ADI staff selected each of our roles in the two week itinerary and I (along with many smaller tasks) have been chosen to lead our two biggest assignments: the Welcome Orientation Dinner on the first night of class (guess they've got a good eye for Southern hospitality) AND the Graduation ceremony's certificate presentation! Though I am a little nervous, I am really flattered and am glad to have the chance to put a little of my personal touch on things. Hands on experience is certainly the best way to learn so I'm excited to bring all of this back to Chattanooga in just two more weeks!
Hope that you all are well and not yet melting in the July heat.
Stay tuned...
~Sarah