Kermit's Happy Story!

Hi, Rick!

I have a Happy Story for the blog that is long overdue. Mick and I adopted Kermit (Jenny when she was in the shelter) on October 4, 2008. We saw Kermit's picture on Petfinder and were captivated with one of the pictures in which she was smiling with her mouth open, much in the way a Kermit the Frog puppet might look, and we kept referring to her picture as "Kermit the Dog." We went to the shelter to meet her. We didn't exactly hit it off with Kermit on our first visit. She was a handful on a leash-jumping, pulling, and scratching with her claws. And we weren't sure we were ready for a younger dog (she was around 4-5 months old and full of jump and bounce). But after discussing, we decided I should go back for a second visit to see Kermit, and on that second visit, we connected. After a third visit to make sure Kermit and our Husky would get along, we made it official and brought Kermit into our family.

But that's not the end of the story...We enrolled Kermit in a basic clicker training class, and we might as well have saved the enrollment fee. Kermit was a superstar! And she did so well socializing with the people and children accompanying their parents to the class that I decided to enroll Kermit for a Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog preparation course. On June 7, just a few weeks past what we would estimate to be her first birthday, Kermit and I drove to Indianapolis to take a shot at the obedience exams and passed the combined CGC/Therapy Dogs International exam together! She has a fancy certificate from the AKC recognizing her Canine Good Citizen achievement. And today, we received notice in the mail that Therapy Dogs International accepted her application to become an associate member. Kermit has her own photo ID badge, bandana, and collar tag identifying her as TDI therapy dog. We will be able to share her calming, loving influence with children and adults who need her special gift, and I'm looking forward to scheduling our first volunteer visit!

Kermit has been an amazing treasure. We're so thankful that we gave Kermit a second chance. And we hope that other potential adopters will realize that not every dog puts their best paw forward on the initial visit, and will consider returning for a second visit if they don't find what they expected the first time.

I'm attaching a couple pictures of Kermit. Some of the blog followers might recognize Bozeman, being walked by Mick's mom, and Kermit's foster brother, Dyno.

Kendra