Today I had the pleasure of giving the PSDP Service Dog in Training Manners Evaluation to Barbara and her pup Tripper. Tripper is a beautiful 8 month old Golden Retriever. We met outside of the TJ Maxx that we do all our PSDP testing in. Hestia was quite excited to see Tripper, and I had to walk away and refocus her a couple of times. Not great, but I’ve never said we are perfect!
We went into TJ Maxx and did the Manners Evaluation (ME). It was a lot of fun to get to know Barbara and Tripper (and their friend Mick!) and watch them experience a new type of store.
Normally when I give the ME or do other testing, I pouch Hestia for the majority of the test. But normally I’m testing about five teams at once. Since it was just Barbara and Tripper, I was able to have Hestia out on the floor working with me while I gave the test. She did a great job! I was very proud of her.
Tripper passed the ME! He is doing great for an 8 month old pup! He will make a great service dog I think. His only issues are that he is a friendly love and very interested in things. But these are not hard problems to tackle.
After TJ Maxx we went to Panera to go over the ME. This was Tripper’s first time in a restaurant and he did very well! I think everyone involved had fun, and we are looking forward to meeting next month.
Brad got some pictures, as is to be expected 🙂 I have long brown curly hair, and am wearing a peacock-patterned dress. Hestia has on her red mesh vest. Barbara is in a wheelchair with a pink and blue cast, and has a pink dress on. Tripper has a blue vest with a sheepskin handle on the top. Mick is wearing a black t-shirt. You don’t get to see Brad, since he was taking the pictures, but he had on a mint green shirt, red blazer, and white hat and is in a power chair.
Veronica stands outside of TJ Maxx holding her clipboard, while Hestia sits on the ground next to her, looking up at Veronica’s face.Veronica’s new service dog bracelet! It is black leather with many bands of leather going across– some are twisted, some are wide, and some are narrow. At the top of the bracelet is a silver charm with an infinity loop with “love” on it. The middle of the bracelet says “service dog” in silver. At the bottom, a silver dog bone charm hangs down.Barbara sits outside of TJ Maxx and looks down at Tripper, who is lying down and panting. It was hot!A black and white picture showing the front half of Tripper. He has his tongue out.Barbara’s hand giving Tripper a treat. There is a tiny bit of drool on the side of Tripper’s mouth!Tripper smiles and looks past the camera. His royal blue vest is striking against his cream coat.Inside of TJ Maxx, Hestia lies next to a table in the foreground. A few feet away you can see Barbara’s wheelchair and Tripper lying on the ground next to her.Tripper holds his down while someone approaches him with a shopping cart!Barbara smiles up at Veronica while giving Tripper a treat.This picture shows the bond between Barbara and Tripper. He has his head on her lap, and she is petting his ears and talking to him in this tender moment.The next three pictures were taken in quick succession using the sports setting on the camera. In this picture, Barbara and Tripper are near some handbags, and Hestia is approximately five feet in front of them in a down. I have just dropped the clipboard and you see it in midair. At this point, both dogs are happy and smiling.This picture was taken the moment the clipboard hit the ground. Both dogs are still in their downs, and are now looking at the place where the clipboard hit.The next picture in the series shows Tripper still in his down and looking at the clipboard, while Hestia has returned her attention to me.Mick is pushing Barbara down the main aisle of TJ Maxx. Barbara is happily talking to Tripper, who is just slightly askew but looking at Barbara.Brad found this skeleton man interesting! He is wearing a purple suit and turquoise shoes!In profile, Mick is pushing Barbara past an aisle and Barbara is looking ahead. Tripper is looking down the aisle at Brad.Barbara is practicing throwing a party when Tripper returns focus to her after being distracted. She is looking happy and feeding Tripper a treat. Tripper’s tail is in the middle of a long wag.In this black and white photo, Mick pushes Barbara down an aisle towards the camera. Tripper walks alongside.Barbara gives Tripper a treat as she is pushed down the main aisle. Veronica walks close behind them and Hestia is sitting at Veronica’s side.Mick, Barbara, and Tripper come out the door of TJ Maxx.Mick, Barbara, and Tripper go back in the door. You can see that Veronica and Hestia are waiting for them on the inside of the store.Hestia and Tripper are both lying at their owners’ feet, about four feet away from each other.One of Brad’s strange shots of Tripper partially in a mirror. You can see Tripper’s front half in the mirror on the right. The left side of the picture shows just his tail, coming from the other way!Barbara and Veronica are talking about the test as Tripper lies down and Hestia sits and watches Veronica.A shot of Veronica from the side, with her hair covering her face. Veronica is holding a clipboard, and Hestia is sitting next to her, looking up at her face.At Panera, this shot is from above. Veronica gestures while talking, and Mick and Barbara listen. Hestia is on Veronica’s lap, and you can just see the corner of Tripper’s head next to Barbara on the floor. On the table sit the restaurant pagers, papers, and a clipboard.
