So, ok ... this is more shameless brag than anything -- I'm so proud of her I could BURST! This is long but hopefully entertaining as well as the true story of this morning.
We do pet therapy with all our dogs - it ranges from going to an alzheimer's home, a home for developmentally disabled children, nursing home work, hospitals, and our favorite place on the planet is Give Kids the World. (wish-granting organization for critically ill children based here in Orlando, FL htt://www.gktw.org )
We do GKTW the first Saturday so today was Luna's morning there (she's the one who goes there currently). BUSY morning there --lots of people and activity. And lots of "dog lovers" to Luna's delight.
Luna thinks it's the "if I sit, I will get PETTED" place. First time she went there, 'sit' was still a tough one for her, particularly when she wanted something ... but at the very instant David finally got her butt to meet concrete, a sweet little Wish Child came up and planted this huge KISS on Luna's nose and petted her .... best 'postive reinforcement" on the planet and at that moment, in Luna's mind she decided "sit = PETS".
It was the end of the morning and along came this woman with this truely pretty little blonde girl with huge sunglasses on (maybe about 4 or so).
The mother introduced her by saying "... sees with her hands". The little girl was VERY reluctant to touch Luna ... but I saw an incredible opportunity for dog AND child.
"Luna won't come to you ... because she doesn't want to scare you. She is sitting ... and she will sit right here until you come to her and touch her. Luna thinks this is the 'Sit and you will get petted' Place."
Mom convinced her to reach out and just touch Luna "she's very soft and this is her head". The briefest touch ... and when Luna didn't lunge at her (RAH Luna!) but instead my girl stayed exactly where she was.
(Luna seems to have an inate gift -- she senses tension in children and will sit totally motionless until they approach her and is very careful not to move to spook them -- this 'sense' is something we encourage but it's Luna's gift to these kids.)
The mother kept talking and was guiding the girl's hand to Luna's ears telling her they were soft.
I said, "Luna's ears are SO soft ... they are my favorite part!!" AHA ... 'soft' was the key ... and the little girl grinned. Luna is very carefully sniffing in the direction of her eyes. Luna was mystified ... she could tell there was something 'wrong' with the eyes ... and I'd give a week's pay to understand what went thru her mind.
The little girl was ready to give up at that point -- not truly comfortable with this thing that *might* jump when she couldn't see her. I couldn't let it end ... Luna needed the intense hands-on socialization this could give her (and I MEAN **hands on** -- this child was blind!) and this little girl needed to experience a dog that wouldn't jump ... to feel this shape and it breathe under her hands. WE could give her this gift!
I said (yeah, me who is never at a loss for words ... *sigh*)
"You know .. you've barely begun ... Luna is very very VERY looooong!! You are only at her shoulders ... keep touching her and see how long she really truly is!!"
Mom took the hint and encouraged the hands to move ... and they did. And as she passed her hands down Luna's body ... the wonder on her face was awesome. "Wowwwwwwwwwwww!!!!"
She got (finally!) to Luna's butt and by then she wasn't gonna stop ... because Luna was in such a lovely 'sit' her tail was straight out behind her ... and this little girl just kept on going and felt of Luna's tail allllllllll the way to the end!
By this time she was totally full of giggles What an experience. Then we shared the joke that my husband often "plays" Luna's spine like a piano (she's like a suspension bridge on legs ... so envisioning her as a piano is really not a stretch -- and Luna loves the sensation of David travelling up and down her spine with his fingers).
David took the girl's hand then and showed her how bumpy Luna's spine was. This little girl was LOVING this.
Luna was marvelous -- this is a real stretch folks -- it's one thing to ask a dog to get "petted" ... but to have this child's hands memorize her body when the child is a stranger ... that's a stretch. But Luna did SO well.
Luna began to get a bit tense (simply from fatigue ... this was a long time and she was trying SO hard not to 'move' and not to do anything that might spook this little girl) so we brought it to an end and the little girl's Mom took her certificate and they went on to Breakfast and we packed up since it was past our time to leave.
We give all the kids certificates that we print and bring with us (I put their name on them .... it has Luna's picture and her email and is generally a colorful memento for the kids that has their name on it "___________ is really cooooool and good at spending special time with me!! Love Luna".) For the first time I wished like heck I had them in Braille!
Luna had the MOST excellent training experience there ... she's never (to my knowledge) met a blind person before ... so the idea of "seeing with her hands" wasn't something she was prepared for. But now she has a better idea. She allowed the touching and not only was praised and encouraged for it -- she enjoyed it. She was strongly rewarded for her patient intuition to exercise special care with this child. I am SO proud of her I could just burst.
I'm so glad this mother was looking for experiences that would benefit her child -- not every parent would have allowed/encouraged this. It was WONDERFUL.
I am humbled ... it is just such an awesome thing to be 'used' this way and know you touched a child's life that way. She will never forget 'seeing' Luna.
What a magical place!!
My girl is growing up SO well.
