The SF SPCA embroiders Therapy Dogs names on their capes. Jacee’s cape is in production and won’t be available for a while. For the interim, we borrowed a cape formerly used by an inactive dog named “Glicka”, and Valerie volunteered to remove the name from the cape. After removing the “G” and “a”, we realized we had a cape that described Jacee’s biggest problem working as a therapy dog.
Jacee had her first Therapy Dog job today at the On Loc senior day center in the Outer Mission district. She had a great time.
On Loc is a facility for people who need nursing-home type care during the day, but are able to sleep in their homes at night. The patients are transported between the center and their homes.
It is a small facility, so we got to meet all of the patients and staff. Almost everyone there loves dogs, so Jacee was in heaven. Much to my surprise, she was very calm, and didn’t maul any of the patients.
This was a “mentored” visit, which means an experienced Therapy Dog handler was watching to make sure we didn’t get into trouble. If there are no complaints from the mentor or facility, from now on, we will be sent out alone.
Jacee is now an official AKC Canine Good Citizen 🙂 In order to help her pass the test, I borrowed a vest from the SPCA (her own vest is being custom embroidered with her name and won’t be ready for a few more weeks). We arrived 1/2 hour early, and we practiced commands until the test started. She had no problems with any of the test elements. However, as soon as the test was over and I took the vest off, she went wild!
Jacee 