working poodles, obedience, therapy etc.
It is with great pleasure that on the following 6 pages I present to you some of the Poodles we have bred here at Casa La Strega that have earned obedience titles and/or are working therapy dogs.
The therapy dogs are working in clinics, visiting hospitals, nursing homes and schools with the Paws for reading program.
I wish every one with a canine would train them so they are obedient and well socialized and seriously consider working with them with therapy or PAWS as this is a rewarding and useful partnership between you, your dog & those in need.
For information about training & certification for therapy work
Paws for reading program has numerous sites.
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Casa Strega's Adobe Surprise (Garfield)
I don't have my title yet, but I'm working just the same.
Here is the long letter mommy sent so you know how & what I'm doing.
Hi Joy and all of you at Casa la Strega,
I don’t know how to thank you enough for Garfield. You may have heard through my neighborhood grapevine that he’s the most adorable, beautiful, loving, irresistible friendly, and delicious puppy anyone has ever seen. Well, all those things are true. My son Jake gets annoyed because a walk around the block with Garfield takes an hour while he stops for all of his admirers. But even Jake forgives Garfield because he’s decided that he’s really part human and is a genius and his last name should be Einstein! Jake, who thought he wanted a cat, carries Garfield close to him, snuggles with him, makes sure that I always hold his paws when I’m carrying him, “so he won’t feel insecure,” and agrees that having Garfield has been one of the best things that ever happened in his life.
Ironically, I always knew Jesse needed to have a therapeutic relationship with a dog, but Jesse has been away at school much of the time and Jake has benefited most. With Jesse, it’s more complicated always and he and Garfield and I hang out together and try to get comfortable on the weekends and holidays, but Jesse’s more interested in TV and movies these days. But It looks like he’s doing better now and I’m hopeful that he and Garfield will be closer before long.
As far as Garfield and I are concerned, it’s a match made in heaven! I have had dogs before who I loved and were constant companions. But I never had a poodle and I never had any idea what poodles were like, except that they were intelligent. Well Garfield is the love of my life! He’s been a wonderful consolation for me at a difficult time, since Jesse had to go to a therapeutic school a week after Garfield arrived. Not only that, since I’m a therapist working at home, and I couldn’t bear to have him crying alone while I saw my patients, he sat in with me during sessions. I have patients now who are disappointed if Garfield doesn’t come to their sessions. For some patients, his presence is extremely soothing. One woman, who suffers terribly from loneliness within a long marriage, feels Garfield’s intense excitement toward her, so that in one part of her life at least she feels wanted, even though she wishes she was wanted by her husband.
I don’t have the words to convey how loveable Garfield is, but I guess you know how it is...
As far as his statistics are, this is what I’ve been able to figure out. It’s a bit tricky, since Garfield is kind of squirmy. He does not accept annoying things like measurements, but when he was sleeping about a month ago, I took a tape measure and while his legs were totally stretched out, I measured him from the top of his shoulder to the bottom of his paw and I got just 15”. I’ll keep working on this. I know it’s important to know. I run into people with large miniatures and they confirm that he seems to be or is on his way to being a large miniature. But I don’t know for sure. What I do know is that when he was about 5 or 6 months old he weighed 11 pounds. With all of his beautiful hair, he looks much more substantial.
Anyway, as soon as I figure out how to download pictures from my new camera, I’ll be sending them to you. I can’t wait to show you how wonderful Garfield is.
Well, have a very happy Thanksgiving.
Leslie, Jesse, Jake & Garfield.
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