Today Brutus and I met my friend Laura and two of her little dogs at the Friends for Life “Festival of Friends” in Canal Winchester.  This is an annual fundraiser event Friends For Life holds in June.  I try and go every year to support the group.  This is the group Eris came from and I have met some wonderful people associated with them.  It was so nice to see Gene again.  He was Eris’s first foster home before she came to me.  I wanted to take her, but she doesn’t “do” the heat so I opted to leave her at home.  I regret not taking her though, it turned out to be an overcast and cool day.  She would have really enjoyed it and I would have loved for Gene to see her and how far she has come.

This year’s event was REALLY small, I think it was a last minute decision to hold it.  Several local rescues showed up with adoptable dogs and there were some silent auction items – no, I didnt win anything .  A representative for Therapy Dogs Inc was there and we got some information on their organization.  Brutus, Rufus, Apollo and Zeus all have their CGC and TDI designations, but I have not kept up with their testing since we moved and have all expired so I need to have them tested again.  I really enjoyed doing therapy work with the Saints and Rufus absolutely loves going on visits and being loved on.  I think its time to get their certifications current so we can go on visits again.

Here are some really old pictures of Brutus on a therapy visit in a nursing home.

Therapy visits were always so relaxing for the boys and rewarding for me.  I felt like we made a difference to the residents as well as the staff.  I look forward to getting involved again and finding a nursing home closer to home.