Happy Gotcha Day!
A year ago today, a tiny, fluffy, cheeky, 5 month old Jackapoo puppy came to live with us and train as my assistance dog. Rosy is her name and looking out for me is her job which I have to say she does remarkably well. She settled in really fast and quickly made herself a much loved member of our household. She even won Matt's heart. Matt who confessed all along that he was never a doggy person, but with regular cuddles and much playing with balls in the park, they became friends and a year on, totally love one another. Rosy can be incredibly clever, you can see her thinking things through and working out puzzles. Like how to get access to the top of my desk so she can help herself to a pencil to steal and chew, or how to get the food cupboard open to help herself to a chew and then there was the time she buried her ball inside the sofa and got stuck trying to rescue it, all I could see was her bum and tail (still wagging), the rest of her inside the sofa, but when I pulled her out, she had indeed got the ball in her mouth and a smug look on her face. She can also be incredibly stubborn, single-minded and frankly, knows how to get humans to do what she wants even before they realise it. Like when she discovered the shared green space at the front of our house and demanded to go out there and play. How? By standing by the door, barking and pawing at it. Thinking she needed the loo, I clipped on her lead and walked towards the back door, where she goes out to toilet, but she just stayed sat where she was and when I called her, nothing, when I jiggled the lead, nothing. I walked back to find her in perfect 'sit' looking at the door. I tried to get her to move - nope. So I opened the door and out she wandered through the porch and onto the grass. This is a dog who knows her own mind.
Rosy spends all of her time next to me or near me. As I sit on the sofa writing this, she is fast asleep stretched out next to me, occasionally kicking my leg as she dreams. She (and I) have been to the park to play with a ball and have a run around this morning, but today is mostly down time, so she does what most dogs do, get comfy and snooze, eat and drink then repeat. To look at her all snuggled up onthe sofa, you would think she was a lapdog or a very pampered domestic pooch judging by the amount of toys and blankets available. But Rosy is also a working dog and when she works, she works hard. She is still not quite half way through her training, but she makes my life so much easier already. She can interrupt my repetitive compulsions, like tapping by putting her nose in my palm, if I get very anxious she will nose by knee repeatedly until I find somewhere to sit down and calm myself, if I pace up and down she sits facing away from me to ensure I get given space and she will circle me if we are somewhere crowded. She cuddles up to me and licks my hand if I am upset, noses me on the arm to let me know she is there when I zone out and trots along just in front of me when we are walking around to ensure that I have enough space as we walk. Rosy accompanies me pretty much everywhere. Shopping, out for coffee or food, fitness classes, library, the pub, everywhere. She goes on the bus with me quite happily, sitting on my lap so she can assist me if I need it, she has her own booster seat in the car that she treats like a throne and I confess that these days she sleeps on the bed with us, usually curled up around my feet. The crate is still there when needed, but Rosy prefers to be with her humans, something that I personally really appreciate.
In this year (2024), Rosy has helped me to do things I would never have been able to do without her or a carer's support. My best friend and I celebrated 30 years of friendship by having a spa day and Rosy came too at only 10 months old, she did everything required of her to support me. I started going to Boostfit, it's a fun exercise class based on dance moves and stress busting, Rosy comes too, she has a seat at the back of the hall where she chills out and watches my totally uncoordinated self do the moves, the whole group love her and some come for cuddles at the end. Rosy has attended therapy with me every week for 20 weeks this year, helping me to get on the bus, navigate the town centre and then sitting on her chair with a blanket, a drink and a chew while Laura and I talked. She also came with me to Iona for a week, to stay with the Iona Community who all loved her and welcomed her as much as me, even in chapel each morning and evening where I think I saw Rosy pray more than once, and she bowed her head down whenever there was time for silence. On Iona, she also got to have down time, wandering around the Island, climbing rocks on one beach and playing ball on another, but I think my favourite memory is of her doing zoomies in circles in the grounds of Iona Abbey early one morning, running around with such glee.
This November she will come with us to Whitby, for my end of MSc holiday and next year, she will walk the graduation stage with me.
Words can not express how much this dog means to me. She is my friend, supporter, helper, companion and protector. She offers me her whole self and she trusts me to love her, which I do, a lot. Don't get me wrong, training with her can be hard work and not always successful to start with, but sticking with it means she gets it eventually. And if this is where we are after one year, I have no doubt that in another 12 months, she will be even more awesome. If that is possible.