Welcome to our third newsletter. It has been a little while since we wrote, but we have been busy. Dynamo graduated (barely) from his second level of obedience school and Romeo started his Tag Wagging Tutor program. For those of you who don’t know, this is when therapy dogs go to schools and read with kids. It is really neat. And now Romeo has started the Bully-nomore prevention program at a middle school. He has done two sessions and it has been really great.

Dynamo: You know Romeo, I want to do the bully program too and I bet I could be really good with helping kids read.

Romeo: Yeah, I guess. But you aren’t a Therapy dog yet and I am. And frankly, I think you might be too wild to be a therapy dog. You almost failed your class.

Dynamo: No I didn’t. I just want to give everyone a hard time. I know how to do all of the stuff-it’s just that sometimes I don’t want to do it.

Romeo: That certainly is not going to help you become a therapy dog. You have to cooperate, not dominate.

Dynamo: Yeah, yeah. I guess you are right. But tell me about the Bully class. Do you like it? What do you do?

Romeo: I do like it. It is really cool to see the kids. We get a new group each week. Mom talks about bullying, what it is, how to spot it, and how to stop it. My job is to be nice to the kids, show them how loving someone who has never been bullied can be (that’s me of course), and to learn how to do some other stuff. As I get better, mom is going to let me be more in the program.

Dynamo: Is anyone ever mean to you in the class?

Romeo: No, never. I have learned that when you are nice to someone, there is a much better chance that they will be nice to you. We always check to see if anyone is afraid of dogs before my leash comes off. After all, I am a big guy and I could scare someone.

Dynamo: What would you do if someone was scared of big guys like you?

Romeo: We would keep the leash on, I would lie down next to mom and I would let others come to me. That way they would feel safe. I would not be very happy if anyone was afraid of me. And mom explains how to deal with me. She does a pretty good job except that she doesn’t let anyone feed me-man I could get some good stuff if she would. She tells how to pet me, how to approach me, what I like and what I don’t like. And she tells the kids that all dogs can bite-just like all humans can act in mean ways. So she shows them how to be careful for themselves and how to treat me well so I will feel safe.

Dynamo: So, do the kids enjoy the program?

Romeo: They sure seem to. They talk about bullying, share stories and experiences, and how to help others. They understand that bullying is not good and that it hurts a lot of people. And hopefully, when they leave, they are willing to do something to stop bullying.

Dynamo: I can’t wait until I get to go too.

Romeo: Then I guess you better work at your lessons so you can become a therapy dog too. I’m tired now, I want to take a nap.

See you later.

Dynamo: Ok

Woof woof