In November of 2014, Kody, along with another KPETS dog were chosen to play "Sandy" in the show "Annie" at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center. The show ran until 12/20/14.
Here are some highlights from the show:
Here's a video clip commercial for the show
Here's a link to a review:
Here's an editorial response.
Still another Review: In the realm of "never work with children or animals" if you don't want to be upstaged, mention must be made of Genevieve Gagnon, a totally darling Molly (her stuck-in-the-bucket moment is worth the price of admission), and of Kody and Aili, the revolving Sandy cast. The dogs are bound to become divas demanding their own dressing rooms and bowls of treats. Yes, this crowd is stiff competition for the main cast. Fortunately, the rest of the ensemble, from orphans to Hooverville residents to Cabinet members and Warbucks staff members, manage to hold their own perfectly against a strong set of leads and the adorability factor of Gagnon and the Sandys.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
ANOTHER PUPPY!
Just when you think life is all calming down and you're getting into a new groove as the youngest (Kody) matures to an awesome young 'man'........
Introducing KYLEE! ! !
DVGRR posted a tripod puppy in late July and I had to respond! Ever since losing Podley 4.5 years ago, we've always wanted another special puppy. I had my name in as a potential adopter with three golden rescues in the surrounding areas. So when little "Gracie" popped up in my email, I contact them immediately.
Bill was in New York for three days but I had forward "Gracie's" info to him and he had seen her picture and video. He was ok with the idea! Imagine that?!
BUT someone had beaten me to it! We were devastated! How could this be! We would be the perfect home, she'd be a therapy dog, we had a fence, dogs to play with, etc. Bill was upset too. Negative feeling consumed me- sleepless nights. But then I came to accept this. God had other things in mind. I repented, prayed she'd go to a very good home, etc. I emailed the rescue to see if another tripod was still available.
As I pulled up to a red light in my car, I popped open my email just to see if there were a response. As I scanned for an email from Sara, I saw her response: "Before I tell you about Angel, are you still interested in Gracie?"
My heart pounded, my hands shook! The light turned green! NOOOOOO! So I used google on my phone to "Call DVGRR" and it did! I spoke with Sara telling her I was driving and could not read her whole email. What was up? The other family had emailed her the night before stating a puppy at this time just would not work for them. OMG - does God work in mysterious ways. He had a lesson for me to learn. I get it. Wow, I"m trainable, even at this antique age!
Long story short....."Gracie" is now Kylee (meaning victorious) Lu (as in Cinda Lu, our first golden's middle name.
Introducing KYLEE! ! !
DVGRR posted a tripod puppy in late July and I had to respond! Ever since losing Podley 4.5 years ago, we've always wanted another special puppy. I had my name in as a potential adopter with three golden rescues in the surrounding areas. So when little "Gracie" popped up in my email, I contact them immediately.
Bill was in New York for three days but I had forward "Gracie's" info to him and he had seen her picture and video. He was ok with the idea! Imagine that?!
BUT someone had beaten me to it! We were devastated! How could this be! We would be the perfect home, she'd be a therapy dog, we had a fence, dogs to play with, etc. Bill was upset too. Negative feeling consumed me- sleepless nights. But then I came to accept this. God had other things in mind. I repented, prayed she'd go to a very good home, etc. I emailed the rescue to see if another tripod was still available.
As I pulled up to a red light in my car, I popped open my email just to see if there were a response. As I scanned for an email from Sara, I saw her response: "Before I tell you about Angel, are you still interested in Gracie?"My heart pounded, my hands shook! The light turned green! NOOOOOO! So I used google on my phone to "Call DVGRR" and it did! I spoke with Sara telling her I was driving and could not read her whole email. What was up? The other family had emailed her the night before stating a puppy at this time just would not work for them. OMG - does God work in mysterious ways. He had a lesson for me to learn. I get it. Wow, I"m trainable, even at this antique age!
Long story short....."Gracie" is now Kylee (meaning victorious) Lu (as in Cinda Lu, our first golden's middle name.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
They Grow SOOO Quickly
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Monday, July 14, 2014
Party Time - GOLDEN STYLE (4th of July)
Kody's First Swim!
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| We learned goldens do NOT need life-vests to learn to swim! |
Short story: First time - he fell in once. I put him in twice and the rest of the time, he played "Lifeguard".
Second time we went, we got cut short due to the weather and it's just as well. No luck that time either.
BUT the third time's the charm or maybe it has to do with Vic coming out and giving us a hand. With Vic 'encouraging' Kody at one end of the pool, and me at the other, we had one little 11 month old puppy swim the length of the pool!
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| Life guard Kody on duty Day one at Sun Hill |
We worked with him until finally, Kody actually scooped up the tennis ball floating in the pool and swam around in a circle to turn around and bring it to me.
He went in one end and would follow me as I walked around the pool, doing big cirles. This showed him HE COULD SWIM!
By the time our time was up, Kody was SOOO close to going in on his own. He's whimper and step in and whimper some more, but just couldn't take that one last step to get all the way in.
Next time big boy! You can do it!
Thank you, God!
Kody fills in for Zeke at LRH
This is a totally new setting for 10 month old Kody but that did not phase him. We entered the lobby and he cried his usual cry for someone to pet him. We eventually made our way back to the PT gym to 'work' with the patients.
Our first patients took Kody for walk. They were holding the long leash and I had total control of Kody holding on to the shorter leash. That went well for both patients - one slower and one at a normal pace. I did have to hold him back a bit, but he cooperated perfectly.
We did a few games of fetch with two patients. I did have to hang to the leash as he'd go get his ball and want to show it to everyone else in the gym. He'll learn. I'll have to take better treats so he knows to bring it back to me!
We also helped a lady work on her grip by holding a brush to groom Kody. He jumped right up on the mat table! I had to re-position him for her comfort and ease of reach, but for a ten month old puppy, this pooch did great! He eventually laid there perfectly still while she brushed him all over. ( I say eventually because he wanted to play with the brush when she first started!)
After all this, it was time to leave but one of the therapists came to find us and asked us to come back to the day-room at the end of the one wing. She told me a patients whole family was there and felt Kody would be a fun addition to their visit. I agreed to go back for a few minutes.
We ventured down the hall and as we rounded the corner we say the room - with people over-flowing it's walls. When she said whole family, she wasn't kidding! BUT, I had my concerns.... They were a plain family, not usually know for the love of dogs INDOORS! Kody was soooo excited to see everyone's focus on him. He cried and tugged to get all the pets he could! I held on tight and the 'mother' of the group shirked back and cried "Get him outta here!"
The therapist ignored the statement and spoke directly to the patient, most likely "Dad". I could not hear nor understand what he said to her, but her reply was "No, he doesn't bite. He's a puppy and he's just happy te be here. He wants you to pet him". With that he reached out his hand and slowly lead Kody over to he outstretched hand. Upon that move, everyone else seemed to want to pet Kody too.
One by one, the children (and there were a lot of them) came out from their seats to pet Kody, too. The therapist asked if the patient would like to play fetch with Kody. I'm thinking, are you kidding me. He's never going to work with so many distractions!
We gave it a shot. "Dad" tossed the ball over to the nurses station. Oh boy! Now they all wanted to pet him. He cried with glee! Now all the parents of the younger kids came out to watch the fun too!
We never really did fetch a whole lot - or should I say Kody didn't (but I did). But that's ok. We made the whole family laugh and brightened their afternoon.
Kody will learn. I'm just elated he LOVES everyone and is not afraid of anything.
Thank you, God!
Kody's first visit
"Once upon a time, there was a little puppy named Kody". This is how the story starts everytime I hold that little puppy since day one. "Kody grew up to be the best therapy dog ever. He loved everybody and everybody loved him ...."Kody's very first visit to Maple Farms Nursing Home right up the street from us was a perfect start and I pray an indication of how wonderful a therapy dog Kody is going to be!
We visit in a group setting and since they permit unregistered dogs in to visit, I took our little puppy in to see our regulars. Kody was five months old. We went over to a lady in a wheel chair, and he laid his little head right on her knee. No prompting from me! He just did it.
Thank you, God for this precious little boy!
Dakota Michael - KODY!
This is very hard for me to do as I've always felt each and everyone of my goldens deserved a book written about their lives....
But now with a totally new controlled start with a new puppy, I'm going to try my best to document his travels and experiences in life as our pet and as a KPETS registered therapy dog!
- Cinda's story of failing as an assistance dog and becoming KPETS very first therapy dog
- Podley's story with his all too short life with his disability, but the amazing effect he had on people when he met them
- And precious Sammy, the co-founder of KPETS who was with me from the first filing of legal documents for the organization to our 10 year anniversary. By my side, every step of the way!
- And then there's dear little Max, whose love of life is enthusiastic and contagious but his therapy career cut short due to the dang c-word!
- And our Zekey Zekey Zoo - chicken man himself - afraid of kids but what a superstar at the rehab hospital. He knows his job and does it amazingly well! AND he actually comes when we call him!
But now with a totally new controlled start with a new puppy, I'm going to try my best to document his travels and experiences in life as our pet and as a KPETS registered therapy dog!
Dakota Michael, you were needed in the Gerth family when you arrived!
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| Jane and blue boy |
From the very first time I picked you up, you nestled your little (big) head on my chest and stayed there and my heart just melted.
But the final decision to actually add you to our family was Daddy's. Mommy was grieving the loss of Sammy in August and Daddy was grieving the loss of his brother, Mike. But Mommy told Daddy that she would be ok either way - that she'd be ok if he said ''yes" or if he said "no". But it didn't take Daddy long to tell Mommy "Go get him". As so she did. Jane went along to get you. What a wonderful day!
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| Lambert - looks just like his brother Sammy! |
It was even made better because Gramma Janet was taking care of Lambert, Sammy's litter mate - 12 years old. It was unreal how much he looked like Sammy. What a bitter-sweet experience that was. And he was a little pistol, just like Sam. I would have taken him home too, but Janet wouldn't let me.
But our new life together was something Mommy & Daddy were very excited to start!
Naming you was a real challenge. Mommy wanted to name you Mason (kinda like Samson, but backwards). She wanted to name you Scampz (S- for Sammy, C-for Cinda, M-for Max, P-for Podley and Z-for Zeke. The only name we could agree on was Kody - Dakota. And we both agreed on your middle name - Michael. Michael was Sammy's middle name and it was Daddy's brothers name. You're middle name was a comfort and remembrance to two very special loved ones we had both just recently lost.
Another chapter has begun....I pray it will be a long healthy meaningful one for everyone!
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Max's Journey
As our precious 11 yr old Sammy was battling his two kinds of cancer and degenerative disk disease, I had been saying, " If I weren't so wrapped up in Sammy's health, I'd have a real concern for Max.".
But when I noticed Max looked a bit thinner, I headed to the vet. I mentioned his breathing again, something I had always mentioned - that he pants so long after strenuous exercise. And now his weight loss really had me concerned.
The vet did a complete exam and noticed the lymph nodes in his neck were enlarged. I couldn't bare the thought of two dogs with cancer and the vet did tell me it could be he's fighting something else. So we did the antibiotics - no change. Blood work, x-rays, etc - he looks ok. Fine needle aspirate - still looked somewhat ok. Forgive me I'm doing this from memory. We did the tick born testing to see if that could be causing it. Nothing! The next step he recommended was a biopsy of a lymph node.
We set up that appointment and this experience could be a story in itself, but we're not going to go there. We got the results back and still not really sure what was going on. I was going crazy! Hide sight, I should have gone to an internist sooner but I didn't even know there was such a specialist.
I went to a heart/eye clinic and had Max's heart check. I explained to the vet why I was there. After checking Max out and finding he's fine, we chatted. I asked her, where to I go. Someone has to KNOW what is going on. That was when she told me to go see a internal medicine specialist.
We set up the appointment the following week and had all Max's records sent to him. After the exam, and I think an ultasound, we were told it's time to see the oncologist.
This was amaing: The place I went for this appointment was the Pet Emergency Clinic is my town. But weekdays, it is all specialist that some in. Wednesday just happened to be the day for the internist. When our appointment was over I went to pay my bill and set up my appointment with the oncologist who comes in each week. I thought we'll get is next week and figure this out. BUT lucky for Max and I, his day is Wednesday! And even luckier for us, he had an opening in 15 minutes! We saw both of them that morning!
The oncolgist looked at all Max's records and tests. One thing he said would have really helped is if the vet would have taken a whole lymph node instead of just a part. I THOUGHT that was what he was doing, but that was not the case. So we had to do several other tests and send them all over the place to eventually find out Max has indolent T-Zone lymphoma.
We had started all this on August 27, 2013. And that same week, Sammy lost his battle to cancer on
August 30 and then the diagnosis for Max came on September 15.
What was really odd was, back in July I signed up and attended a "Cancer 101" seminar sponsored by the local golden rescue. I remember it well. The speaker had said: If your dog has to get the diagnosis of cancer, this is the one you want." The other thing is: that speaker was the oncologist Max saw that first day after the internist appointment.
I do feel we are in good hands. I've seen this oncologists name mentioned in one of the canine cancer books I read. When I contacted CSU, they seemed to recognize his name and stated what he is doing for Max is what they would do.
So, the treatment for Max was to not treatment until clinical. We were doing great but then in April I noticed Max would cough, not a lot, but still a cough. At his next oncologist check-up, he did an x-ray and noticed Max nodes were larger and causing the problem. The nodes in his neck had been consistently getting larger but very slowly. But now it was time to treat.
April 23, 2014 we started Prednisone (30 mg) and Chlorambucil (4.2). After two months of Pred at 30 mg we are now reducing. We went to 20 mg for 2 weeks and now down to 10 mg once a day for two weeks. We have a check-up on June 18. The doctor said he hopes Max will be on the chemo for a finite period of time but his finite meant months.
Max's nodes are definitely smaller and no more coughing! He seems to be losing weight so I've upped his food quantity. We're hoping for good test results on our next visit.
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| Max! |
The vet did a complete exam and noticed the lymph nodes in his neck were enlarged. I couldn't bare the thought of two dogs with cancer and the vet did tell me it could be he's fighting something else. So we did the antibiotics - no change. Blood work, x-rays, etc - he looks ok. Fine needle aspirate - still looked somewhat ok. Forgive me I'm doing this from memory. We did the tick born testing to see if that could be causing it. Nothing! The next step he recommended was a biopsy of a lymph node.
We set up that appointment and this experience could be a story in itself, but we're not going to go there. We got the results back and still not really sure what was going on. I was going crazy! Hide sight, I should have gone to an internist sooner but I didn't even know there was such a specialist.
I went to a heart/eye clinic and had Max's heart check. I explained to the vet why I was there. After checking Max out and finding he's fine, we chatted. I asked her, where to I go. Someone has to KNOW what is going on. That was when she told me to go see a internal medicine specialist.
We set up the appointment the following week and had all Max's records sent to him. After the exam, and I think an ultasound, we were told it's time to see the oncologist.
This was amaing: The place I went for this appointment was the Pet Emergency Clinic is my town. But weekdays, it is all specialist that some in. Wednesday just happened to be the day for the internist. When our appointment was over I went to pay my bill and set up my appointment with the oncologist who comes in each week. I thought we'll get is next week and figure this out. BUT lucky for Max and I, his day is Wednesday! And even luckier for us, he had an opening in 15 minutes! We saw both of them that morning!
The oncolgist looked at all Max's records and tests. One thing he said would have really helped is if the vet would have taken a whole lymph node instead of just a part. I THOUGHT that was what he was doing, but that was not the case. So we had to do several other tests and send them all over the place to eventually find out Max has indolent T-Zone lymphoma.
We had started all this on August 27, 2013. And that same week, Sammy lost his battle to cancer on
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| Sammy at his oncologist appointment in July |
What was really odd was, back in July I signed up and attended a "Cancer 101" seminar sponsored by the local golden rescue. I remember it well. The speaker had said: If your dog has to get the diagnosis of cancer, this is the one you want." The other thing is: that speaker was the oncologist Max saw that first day after the internist appointment.
I do feel we are in good hands. I've seen this oncologists name mentioned in one of the canine cancer books I read. When I contacted CSU, they seemed to recognize his name and stated what he is doing for Max is what they would do.
So, the treatment for Max was to not treatment until clinical. We were doing great but then in April I noticed Max would cough, not a lot, but still a cough. At his next oncologist check-up, he did an x-ray and noticed Max nodes were larger and causing the problem. The nodes in his neck had been consistently getting larger but very slowly. But now it was time to treat.
April 23, 2014 we started Prednisone (30 mg) and Chlorambucil (4.2). After two months of Pred at 30 mg we are now reducing. We went to 20 mg for 2 weeks and now down to 10 mg once a day for two weeks. We have a check-up on June 18. The doctor said he hopes Max will be on the chemo for a finite period of time but his finite meant months.
Max's nodes are definitely smaller and no more coughing! He seems to be losing weight so I've upped his food quantity. We're hoping for good test results on our next visit.
Sammy - In my heart and soul forever!
I have not been able to keep up with this blog, but everyday I think: Each of may pups deserves this way of remembering them. I hope someday to do them justice for all they have done for me in my life. Here is a tribute to dear Sammy:( He deserves so much more!
http://www.kpets.org/salute-to-sammys-legacy/
http://www.kpets.org/salute-to-sammys-legacy/
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