I am sorry to hear about this Drift sounds absolutely amazing...a one of a kind...she certainly didn't deserve this. I hope you are able to find a solution that will work well for everyone.

Aw Kelly. I’m sorry to hear this too.

Two qualities that I think make up the best therapy dogs are a courageous confidence to face all the walks of life we expose them to and a resilience to remain unshakable regardless of what gets thrown at them.

Drift is one of these dogs. She’s shown you her courage time and time again. The resilience is part and parcel of that.

It sounds like she took a pretty hard blow that no one was expecting. And although her nose may hurt for a bit, I believe it stops there. As she showed the little boy and she’s telling you, this will not set her back. Her heart was not damaged.

My hope would be that the lunch girl is also able to understand the compassion and courage Drift shared with her and is hungry for her return as well.

A soft kiss to Drifty on that precious nose and hugs to you.

 Quote: CJ Barrett

As she showed the little boy and she’s telling you, this will not set her back. Her heart was not damaged.

My hope would be that the lunch girl is also able to understand the compassion and courage Drift shared with her and is hungry for her return as well.

A soft kiss to Drifty on that precious nose and hugs to you.

I'm choking up as I am reading all these posts. Kelly, this was an awful thing to have happened, but I think CJ summed it up well. Hopefully this event will be a turning point for that young girl...

I agree with everything that's been said--and would encourage you and Drift to return to the therapy work.

Even though the incident with the kid today was upsetting to you, I think Drift considers it "part of the job." Being a therapy dog means having the ability to go with the flow, no matter what the human subjects might do. Having a bad day is part of the gig, and I think therapy dogs know that. I'd take this as a wonderful "test" that Drift is perfectly suited to do this work.

And for everyone involved, it makes a good "teaching moment" about trust, broken trust, and trust regained.

 Quote: Kelly Byrd

Yeah. I rambled.

Oh no, that's not what I meant! The part I quoted just put to words what I was feeling so well!

Going back to my corner now......

Can I just say that you guys are SOOOOO Awesome?? I hope that someday, you all get to meet Drift since you have been such an influence to me. When I am confused about what to do, you give me solid, honest answers and insights. That's been absolutely invaluable to me as Drift and I go through this journey.

Drift stayed home today, and I talked with the rest of the staff about how to proceed. They agreed that I needed to take it to the kids, and see just how they feel about the incident, as well as how they feel about Drift.

Turns out, I didn't need to because the kids brought it to me. When they came into the building this morning for Check-in, they noticed that I was Drift-less. They ate their breakfast in unusual silence and we went to the group room together.

One of the kids said that he understands why Drift was gone today, but he hopes that she comes back. I took that opportunity to ask the kids what Drift means to them.

The boy that was so upset yesterday said "Because she doesn't care about what we've done to get here. She doesn't care if we don't do our homework. She doesn't care if we got into a fight with our brother last night. She wants to be our friend even if we've been bad." I asked him if Drift was his friend, and he nodded. I asked the other kids if Drift was their friend too, and they all nodded. One boy, who rarely ever says anything, said "She's my Best Friend."

That is when I realized that this is much bigger than a "ME" issue. Drift is part of these kids' lives. She may be the one single thing that they KNOW they can turn to when they feel bad.. the one single thing that is stable and won't leave them.

As if THAT wasn't enough...

I had an intake interview with a new kid entering the program. He came last week to meet the staff and see what we were all about, and of course, he gravitated to Drift. The kid came into the meeting today with a toy for Drift... he couldn't remember my name or anyone else's, but he remembered HER'S. And he bought a toy with his very own money just for her. His mother said he must have taken half an hour to pick the PERFECT toy for her. He was very disappointed that she wasn't there today, but I promised she would be tomorrow, and his face lit up.

I also got a FB message from a very special person that gave me a different perspective.. that of a parent. How would I feel if my special needs child had bonded with this marvelous dog, and that relationship was broken over one incident?

How can I take her away from them? How can I take them away from her?

She will be returning to work with me tomorrow. There will be some new rules in place to help keep her safe. The kids actually came up with the new rules

I think this is the way to go. I may worry about her, but she needs to be able to do her thing. It's what she was born to do, and it's what she lives for.

Thanks to you all!!!

--Kel and Drifty Dog

Ok...after reading this...the waterworks are running full speed ahead!

Yep, that's why I had asked you in my first post: is the gain of her being there greater then the loss of her not being there.

The kids answered that for you....with a resounding YES!

What a great team you both make for those 'special' kids. Glad that Drifty gets to do what she does best, with the special gift that she has, with your help,to give the kids.

Love & hugs to you both for all that you do.

Anne you aren't the only one - I read this with tears in my eyes.

Kelly you should be really proud that your baby has made kids' lives better, she's doing a wonderful thing.

I can honestly tell you, I knew from the bottom of my heart this would be the resolution. Drift has too much important work to do to sit home and worry about a boo boo on her nose!!!

Way to go Kelly.

I'm crying too. Geeze, THANKS, Kel. :P