Well, I’ve been terrible about blogging about Gabby’s job in Animal Assisted Therapy.  Especially today, I regret I didn’t write more often.  We’ve been thoroughly enjoying each and every visit and came to the point of being fairly consistent with 2-3 different elderly care facilities here in San Francisco.  But today I had to send the following email to the SPCA Program Gabby has diligently worked for the past 4 ½ years:

Good Morning,

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write to you this morning. Gabby has not been well for the past 2 weeks. We've had to cancel her last appointment due to a condition that recently came about....long story short, she has hip dysplacia and has had a bad flare up. Currently she is on cage rest, wearing a diaper and feeling pretty miserable. At this time as we look at our course of action, I'll have to remove her from active duty until further notice. 

I apologize for the inconvenience and I'll keep you posted on Gabby's progress.

Thank you!

The first signs of trouble began when she refused to jump on the furniture and would paw at us to pick her up to place her on it.  Next came refusing to go up the stairs in our house and uncontrollable shaking of her back and hind area.  We took her to her vet when she refused to even go on a walk and would not squat to urinate or defecate.  It was determined she had ‘degenerative disc disease’ and a possible prolapsed disc, which is highly prevalent in the Lhasa Apso breed.  Since she has been 2 years old, she’s been taking a veterinarian prescribed anti-inflammatory for hip dysplasia and knee joint issues.  We came home and the following day was back at the vet because her legs were worse.  They kept her for 2 nights on cage rest and observation to determine the next step.  They gave her extra doses and an injection of the anti-inflammatory meds to aid in the flare up.  When I picked her up she lost all control and began randomly defecating diarrhea and urinating.  Big problem, to say the least.

We bought baby diapers and cut a hole out for the tail but the sizing was all wrong.  We finally made a trip to the Pet Store for the official dog diapers and they are still not quite right but better.  Of course she hates to wear them.  Our first night home was pathetic.  She just looked at us and whimpered in a way we’d never heard before.

Today is Saturday and thankfully the diarrhea medication worked and she isn’t having that issue anymore.  She’s had a healthy appetite and hasn’t been whimpering anymore either.  An issue that seems to be getting worse is when she makes the attempt to twirl in order to potty, her legs drop from underneath her body and then she stops and just stares at us.  This leads to major lack of bladder control.  Also, she has always had a beautiful fluffy tail and unfortunately I just had to trim it down to the bare tail due to matting and getting in the way.

Medically speaking, her vet is presenting a few options at this time.  She is only turning 7 years old in April so she is still very youthful! Her x-rays were sent to a surgeon and they will be getting back to us this next week.  There is a procedure called a Femoral head ostectomy or Girdlestone’s Operation.  They pretty much remove the ball of the femor, and a ‘ghost like’ one is formed and the muscles in the hip mold and shape to assist the dog in walking and living a normal life.  The degenerative disc issue is non-operable.

We are trying to keep her comfortable and waiting to see the surgeon for our options.  It would be wonderful to wake up and all of this will be gone but I don’t see that happening.

Background/History

While picking my stepson Taylor up from school in the Fall of 2008, we met 'Lucy the Therapy Dog'.  I was intrigued by this title and asked more questions.  Come to find out, the San Francisco SPCA visits up to 100 different locations, providing 40,000 visits to patients in hospitals, convalescent homes, retirement homes, psychiatric wards and children's hospitals.  I thought, "When we move to SF, this would be something I could look into.

Well, we made the transition and now I was ready to look into this further. We learned that we needed to go through four 'Training Classes' (and spend $150) to determine if Gabby had what it took to become an Animal Assisted Therapy Dog - AAT. On September 16, 2009 we began our training classes with the SF SPCA. 

First Class - We discussed the job, personality of the dog required, and the first command needed - LEAVE IT.  This is the most important command in case food or medication drops on the floor, our animal cannot pick it up.  We were to practice this for the big test next week.

Second Class - Had to pass the 'Leave It' Command and pass the 'Man Handling'.  This was when the trainer took each dog, one-on-one and grabbed, tugged, manipulated the dog to see if it had any quirks. 

Third Class - Introducing wheel chairs, canes and walkers to see if the dog reacts negatively. Some dogs FREAK when these items approach.

Fourth Class - Gabby passed all of the requirements so we had GRADUATION!  We went to an upscale home for the elderly - and our dogs were able to interact for the first time with men and women in wheel chairs.

In the end, there wasn't a lot of 'Training' as I had assumed.  If the dog enjoys being around others, and doesn't have any 'hang ups', it can be a Therapy Dog.  Gabby is very loving, gentle and enjoys people sooooo much, we knew she was right for the job.

 On Graduation Day!