Meet sweet O’Malley. He is training to be member of PAL (People Animals Love). The group is one of the hundreds in our foundation’s national listing of animal-assisted therapy groups.
His story has a very special beginning, as it starts with his dad, who in January of 2005 was an infantry company commander serving in Mosul, Iraq. He was leading a convoy of Humvees when his vehicle was struck by an IED hidden behind a guard rail alongside the road.
Our Goldens do love their people. And, we know, due to their retriever instincts, that they combine that excitement with the desire to hold things with their soft mouths. The interesting part comes in when they are talking to us at the same time, communicating their happiness at seeing us. Well, this sweet girl below is just so happy to see her human mom’s young niece. It is so incredibly sweet.
I just love when we can get dogs to mimic our behavior, or vice versa. Well, in the following video, about 1:45 minutes in, you will see the cutest trick with a Frisbee & roll-over combo.
(Thanks go to Texas Barb for this cute tale.)
An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home. He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.
The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept for an hour. This continued for several weeks.
Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: “Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.”
The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar: “He lives in a home with ten children — he’s trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?”
Now, this is way cool. There will be a World Championship Dog Duathlon next summer in New York City. It is a first and Josie and Jeff, who competes regularly in Triathions, will be competing.
“Josie and I have been training pretty much all of her life,” said Lutton, 38. “We are both pretty excited about it.”
Lutton and Josie have just started their preseason training, which consists of running about 15 miles per week. Lutton wakes up at the crack of dawn to fit in training during the week.
We will do a couple three-mile runs per week and on the weekends we usually go on a trail and hit five or six miles,” said Lutton. “We will build that up and probably get to 20-25 mile range.”
It takes a couple of minutes to coax Josie out of bed in the morning, but by the time the duo hits the pavement, it’s Josie that’s pushing her two-legged partner.
Once we get outside, she is ready to go,” said Lutton. “Usually, I can keep up with her, but the past couple of runs, she has been pulling me a little bit.”
The 20 dualthlon teams compete in a 10 kilometer run as well as a 1,500 meter swim. Partners compete in the event side-by-side.
Did you know that if you THINK better, you will FEEL better? Learn more about this REBT life adjusting attitude by clicking here.
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Longevity: When we focus on length, we often lose sight of depth and width. Maybe we live exactly as long as we are supposed to live. — Roger Hite |
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Land of PureGold Foundation 