Helper Visits Me in the Hospital

On February 6th I had both of my knees replaced!  While I was in the hospital Helper stayed with her friend Nessie at Aunt Marsha's house.  On February 7th Marsha brought Helper to the hospital to visit me!  I found out how comforting it is to have a wonderful puppy cheer you up when you are in the hospital.  Look how cute she is with her head on the bed.  :-)

The two pictures below were taken on February 8th.  Both Nessie and Helper visited me in the hospital!!!   The hospital staff loved it!!!  They were both very well behaved.  Helper was so calm that she took a nap...under Nessie's head!

These hospital visits were great experiences for Helper and Nessie.  Service dogs often times must go to medical appointments with their partners.  Having had the chance to visit the hospital gives them both exposure to the sights, sounds and smells of this unique environment.

Play date with Greta and Nessie

One of my jobs as Helper's Puppy Raiser is to socialize her with various dogs.  This is important because a service dog must be calm at all times around other dogs.  My good friend and fellow Puppy Raiser Marsha brought Nessie (on the right) and Greta (the Golden Doodle on the left) over to have a play date with Helper.  In this picture Marsha has given the command for all of the dogs to go "down" and they are intently watching for her next command.