A Good Bye

As Ross and I walked across the parking lot this morning to the office, I heard a honking from behind me. I turned around to see one of Ross' kids in his dad's truck, waving excitedly. The boy was discharging and heading home.

Knowing he would want to say good-bye to Ross, I turned around and headed to the truck. Unable to reach Ross from the window, I had him open the truck door so he could say good-bye to Ross. As soon as the door opened, Ross stepped up into the truck, his hind feet remaining on the sidewalk, his front paws in the boy's lap. Ross gave the boy big kisses across his face, then, as quickly as he had climbed up, he climbed down and turned towards the office, as if to say, "My work here is done. Good Bye my friend."

Rossy!!!!!

1/21/09

As we were headed out of the office for the night, Ross and I stopped by one of the units to drop some papers off. When we arrived on the unit, the girl who is largely non-verbal immediately came over to pet Ross. She was quickly surrounded by other kids, all of them petting Ross and leaning in for kisses. After a few minutes, two of the kids ran across the unit, calling for Ross' biggest fan, exclaiming, "Ross is here! Ross is here!" His friend came out of his room and joined the group. Ross immediately covered his face and head in big sloppy kisses. As the kids swarmed around Ross, lavishing him with love, the girl (now sitting on the floor) pulled him into her lap and wrapped her arms around him. Ross took the opportunity to stand in her lap, his paws on her chest, covering her face in kisses as she slid to the floor laughing.

As we left the building, we were greeted just outside by the little kids, walking back to the building in a nice single-file row. Shouts of joy filled the cold night air as they sang Ross' name, one little guy exclaiming, "Rossy!!!!" Ross greeted each child as they passed, and when he reached the young boy, hardly taller than he, he slapped a big wet kiss right across the boy's face!

Project Replicate Ross

Last night, I sent the following email to friends and family: 

Many of you have either heard me tell stories, or have read Ross' blog,

about the amazing effect that Ross has on the kids at my work. Today, I was thinking about how much even the stuffed "Fake Ross" helps the the kids at work when he's not available. Currently, we have an entire unit of little kids who use "Fake Ross" to calm them or to help them fall asleep at night. It got me thinking: wouldn't it be wonderful if we had more than one stuffed Ross to go around?

We typically have about 50-60 kids in our residential and day treatment programs. The residential kids live there. Away from their homes and families, and even their own pets.

Unfortunately, as a non-profit organization, our funds are limited for buying "extras" such as stuffed animals for the kids. It got me thinking about how I might be able to get more stuffed Black Labs donated for the kids, and I finally thought to start with the people who I know, and who

know Ross :)

So, I'm dubbing it "Project Replicate Ross." I would LOVE to fill our attic (where we store donated supplies) with stuffed Black Labs of varying sizes for any kid who wants one. Then, those children will have their own stuffed dog that can go with them when they discharge.

The responses were overwhelming! Friends have searched their own homes, stores, and websites looking for Ross replicates, as well as spreading the word with others. I am so excited about the possibilities of donations we may receive. It is truly incredible the effect that Ross has had on the kids, so much so that even a stuffed look-alike makes them feel better!

If you would like to participate in Project Replicate Ross, please contact me privately. All donations are tax deductible.

Happy New Year

1/2/09

I decided Ross needed to start the new year off doing something other than sleeping, so we decided to head to the little kids' unit to visit. When we entered the building, Ross was immediately greeted by the girl who rarely speaks. She stroked Ross, then wrapped her arms around his belly and picked him up (one of her favorite tricks). Ross hung limply, just waiting patiently. She set him down when reminded that he's too big for that now :) Ross laid down on the floor, and she sat down with him, gently stroking him most of the time, and every once in a while tugging on his fur. Ross laid motionless, unbothered by her investigation. She spit on the floor (her meds make her over-salivate). I gave her a paper towel, and she wiped up her spit on the floor, then gently wiped Ross' leg, making sure he didn't have any spit on him.

We then entered the little kid's unit, and Ross was loved on by one of the older girls on the unit. The rest of the group then transitioned back inside from playing. Each little kid sat in front of his/her bedroom door, and waited patiently for Ross to visit. Ross and I walked around the unit, greeting each kid individually. Ross sat for each kid, washing their hands and covering their faces with kisses until they laughed so hard they could barely squeak out, "Enough!"

Christmas Kisses

12/25/08

I received a page on Christmas night that one of the kids at work had been in a restraint. She was upset that she was unable to visit with her family on Christmas as scheduled, and escalated to the point of endangering others.

When Ross and I entered the building, we were immediately greeted by a staff member. I then heard the familiar, "Buddy!" as one of Ross' biggest fans realized he was there. Kids poured out of every room, huddling around Ross, preventing either of us from being able to move from the entry. Ross covered the kids' faces with kisses, making them laugh and smile on Christmas night, despite being separated from their families.

Even the young girl who rarely speaks stood over Ross, gently stroking him, and stated, "He's sweet."  It was the first time I had ever heard her verbalize emotion regarding him.

As we entered the unit, Ross came upon a quiet girl sitting on the couch. They hadn't met before. Ross immediately walked over to her, sat at her feet, and rested his head in her lap. She asked questions about him while gently stroking his head. It didn't take long for Ross to start licking her hands and face, and a smile to appear.

Ross reluctantly left his new friend to visit the girl I had received the page for. She was sitting in front of her bedroom door, trying not to think about the things that had gone wrong that day. Ross gently stepped into her lap and covered her face with kisses. He sat with her, gently licking her, as she told me about how she missed her family, what had happened that day, and all the things she was worried about.

Pocket Ross

One of Ross' kids responds so well to him, that we have a plan for staff to call or page me when he is escalated, to see if Ross (and I) are available. When we have been, this plan has worked incredibly! Unfortunately, we aren't always available, so the team was brainstorming back-up plans. Since Ross' Double is pretty much life size, his accessibility is limited by the activity, and we really needed something that this boy might be able to implement at school, etc. We decided to get a pocket sized version of Ross, and I later remembered that Guide Dogs sells them with jackets! So, along came Pocket Ross.

The other day, the boy and his parents stopped by my office, and the boy asked to come in and visit Ross. As he was visiting, I noticed that he had Pocket Ross with him. He set the stuffed dog on a chair, where Ross rested his head and gazed at the miniature version of himself, as if he were coaching Pocket Ross as to how to care for this boy.

Ross' Double Takes the Swing Shift

Unfortunately, the child we purchased Ross' stunt double for did not take to the stuffed dog as we had hoped. The double has since been moved from space to space, startling staff along the way ;)

Fortunately, the double has found a new purpose: A young boy on one of the units has difficulties falling asleep. (This isn't uncommon, as our kids are away from their families and homes, living in a facility without parents. Additionally, some of our children have experienced abuse and neglect, and bedtime can be very anxiety provoking for kids who have nightmares and other sleep difficulties.) Each evening, staff take this boy out to a quiet spot in the entry with Ross' double and a blanket. The boy cuddles up with the double and falls sound asleep, as staff read him a story then safely take him to bed.

Crisis Diverted

12/9/08

I received a call in my office from staff on the unit, asking if Ross was available. One of his kids was having a rough time, and they hoped Ross could prevent further escalation. I assured staff we would be over in a few minutes. 

When we arrived in the building, the door to one of our friend's office was open. Ross immediately stepped inside to say hello. Just as my coworker began to excitedly greet Ross, Ross instantly turned and left the office, guiding me around the corner. As I followed at the end of the leash, I saw a child step from behind the corner and exclaim, "Buddy!" Ross had somehow known he was there, and his mission was to see the child, not his adult friend.

As the boy began to pet and coo at Ross, another boy approached Ross as well. The second boy had never shown an interest in Ross before, but suddenly was drawn to Ross. The boys sat on the floor, where Ross covered their faces, ears, necks, heads, and hands in kisses. They laughed as his tongue tickled them, only encouraging Ross more. The boys rolled on the floor, petting and talking to Ross, and laughing uncontrollably. Crisis diverted.

As the clock neared 5:00pm, Ross began to disengage. Staff cued the boys that it was time to move on to dinner, and Ross began moving towards the outer door. He had done his job, and it was time for everyone to move on. Ross gave each boy one last kiss, and each boy gave me a side hug, as we said goodbye for the day.

Radio Ross

Every December, a local radio station hosts a fundraiser for our agency, called "Rock-a-Thon." Employees record heartwarming tidbits about the services we provide, to air during the show. This year, when members of our marketing department met with the radio station employees to arrange the show, they told stories about Ross. The radio employees were so impacted by Ross, without having even met him, that we decided to include Ross in the show. 

Today we took him to the radio station to record our bit. As we walked through the building, people exclaimed, "Ross!" Ross too was excited, as there were many dog smells. As we were led to the recording studio, a tiny four-legged hairball chased Ross down the hall. Ross turned to see what was chasing him, never quite catching the little guy who was nearly too small to see!

Being as Ross doesn't speak, I had to represent him on the radio. Confident in my abilities to share his stories once again, I decided to do it improv style. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for the emotion that overcame me as I thought of all the stories I could tell, and feared that I wouldn't be able to capture the magnitude of his effect in one short sound byte. Fortunately, it wasn't a live show, and technology allowed for fixing my many mishaps. In an effort to prove Ross' presence, we shook his collar, recording the jingling of his rabies tag.

On 12/12/08, thousands of people will hear about the wonderful work that Ross does, in his moonlighting job of "therapy dog."

Not Just for Kids

Ross isn't just "therapy" for kids, but for adults too! He has many regular visitors to the office - hard working adults who just need some puppy kisses to get through the day :)