New star in the family
Jillie passed her Pet Partners therapy dog test two days ago for the fourth time. I probably wouldn't be so proud if she hadn't done so spectacularly. In the test of 21 exercises, she had a perfect score of all 2's. For the first time, she received what they call a "complex" rating, meaning my 5 1/2 pound Yorkshire terrier is approved by a national organization to handle difficult or complicated visits.
Jillie is 6, almost 7, and I can't help but think back to when she was a puppy. I found out after I got her that she had been bred to be a tiny -- a 3-pound Dad and 5-pound Mom. When I got her, even I second-guessed the thought of getting a dog so small.
I distinctly remember training her at Petco and having a woman walk by me and sniff, "That's not a dog." Even then, I knew Jillie was something special. I ignored the woman's comments and knew in my heart that Jillie would one day prove this woman, and countless others who doubted little dogs, wrong.
Flash forward to two days ago. We were being evaluated by the toughest evaluator I have ever faced. Two years ago, with Eddie, he docked me for having wrinkled pants during the evaluation. They were wrinkle-free Dockers that I'd just pulled out of the drier that morning, but it wasn't good enough. And even though I knew Eddie was amazing, his scores were lower than I thought they should have been.
But up against this evaluator that I, frankly, was intimidated by, Jillie was nearly flawless. The toughest exercise turned out to be one that I thought would be the easiest: "Out for a walk on a loose leash." Jillie has always been a great heeler. Eddie has been through three times as many obedience courses as Jillie, but she's the better heeler.
So we head out for a simple test to measure loose leash capability, and Jillie's focus was off. She had never been in the room before, and I regretted not asking the evaluator for some time beforehand for Jillie to get acclimated to the room. There was lots she wanted to explore. The first thing she saw was someone she knew -- an assistant in the evaluation process. Jillie made a beeline for her!
But I have so much confidence in Jillie that I didn't panic. I politely told her that we were not visiting with the person she knew and that we were going to go for a walk. I didn't have to bully her. I simply explained that we were going to go another direction. Thankfully, she complied. And at the end, the evaluators pointed that moment out as being significant. She wanted to do something else, but she listened to me and agreed to do what I wanted.
From there, it was all second-nature. The evaluation is set up to emulate real-life visits. And Jillie has been visiting with people for years. In the test, she was passed between three people to see how she reacted on their laps. She loved them. We also had to walk through a crowd, one person with a scary walker. No problem. At one time, someone made a loud noise as a distraction. Jillie noticed, but I was able to reassure her that it wasn't a problem.
Twenty-one stages. Five people were watching her and evaluating her and gave her a perfect rating. This 5 1/2 pound dog dazzled them. To the woman at Petco all those years ago, "Not a dog?" Screw you. This little dog has the heart of a champion. And the countless hospital patients she visits can attest to that.
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