Dear Jill,

Coleen reported that you wanted more info about Merry and the Paws for
Service organization.  We heard about Paws from a friend at church who
wanted to take her little dachshund for the classes, and it did sound good
to me, so we went also.  There were 8 weeks of one hour training per week. 6
weeks for the dogs and owners, 1 for owners only, and 1 hour for the final
testing, which was given by the board members of Paws for Service.  It was a
lot of fun - Merry aced the first part, of course, which was to be calm, not
jumpy or yippy.  She (we) learned the commands in the next weeks and she was
really good, especially considering that I did not do the amount of training
each day which was recommended.  One interesting evening we learned to
"leave it"  - this involved bits of food and candy on the floor everywhere
we were told to go throughout the building.  The purpose is to keep the dogs
from picking up potentially fatal things such as pills (and not to accept
things from people who might want to give them a treat or get rid of their
own meds).  That evening also, we visited a "Special Friends" group who were
learning to play Bingo.  They were thrilled when we came in, a couple of
dogs at a time, and they were allowed to pet, kiss and handle the dogs to
the extent the owners felt safe about it.  Part of the training is for the
owners to constantly look out for and protect their dogs.  Merry loved all
the attention!  Nothing bothered her - ear pulling (just a little), kissing,
tail handling - she took it all in stride.

Another interesting hour was spent in one room with all kinds of people in
funny costumes and noisemakers coming in and being as distracting as they
could be, while there were mechanical cars, mice and other toys on the floor
running around and making noise.  Merry was so calm!  Nothing fazed her!
Everyone was so impressed!

I want you to know again how very much we appreciate the opportunity to have
Merry in our family - you are very gracious to be willing to share your
wonderful little dog with us - she is truly a champion in every way, and now
she will have a mid-life career change to bring lots of joy to children and
adults who might be sad or depressed because of illness.  She may (at their
request) get onto the bed with them and love and be loved.  Merry is so
highly socialized that everyone feels like her new best friend - and she is
so gentle we never have to worry about a growl or a bark.  We just love her
to pieces and I often think of how I should tell you more often. Please know
every minute that she is being loved and well-cared-for.  We took her to the
Chautauqua Institute in New York this summer, with a detour on the way to
W.Va. for Joe's family reunion and a really long haul home.  She's great in
the car.  She was great in the home we rented for the week.  She was great
out in the crowds, meeting people.  Just got back from a long weekend at
South Padre with her - again, we are really enjoying her so much!

Merry will be visiting her Lab and Shih Tzu cousins
at our son's home. 

Your website is great - those silver poodles are adorable!  Three
generations.  How much fun you must be having!

Thanks again.

Regards,
Marjorie Brake