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| Name: |
Shadow
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Age: |
Four years old
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| Gender: |
Male |
Breed: |
Miniature Poodle |
| Home: |
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA |
Shadow
is a Miniature Poodle. We got him when he was seven weeks old, and
he weighed all of 2 1/2 pounds. He was a little black fluff ball that was
full of energy. Shadow was given his name due to the fact that he is: dark
as a shadow, silent as a shadow (he doesn't bark unless playing!) and of
course, he quickly became my little shadow. We intended from the start to
train Shadow as a therapy dog to visit with sick people and make them
smile and feel better. He is a great hit. He will be-bop down the hall at
the local nursing homes, without a leash, and stick his head into the
individual rooms. If he hears "Oh, a puppy!" he goes in the room, hops on
the bed and proceeds to administer some "fuzz therapy."
When Shadow was about a year and a half old, I noticed that he became very
upset shortly before I had an asthma attack. After this happened about
eight to ten times, I called Service Dogs of America and told them I thought my
poodle was alerting on my asthma. To my surprise, they replied, "It
happens!" When I asked what to do about it, they told me to keep him with
me 24/7, and if he did it consistently, I had myself a good service dog.
When asked about necessary training and certification, they told me he had
to have at least one certified obedience school, and his good citizenship to
be "socially acceptable" as a service dog.
Shadow is now four years old, and has never been wrong when it comes to my
asthma. He has saved me a lot of medications and several trips to the
emergency room due to his advance warning. He is more than my little baby,
he is my hero as well.
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