Tundie's a Star!!

So .... it is official - Thunder will be a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog. We could not be more proud of him!! (follow the link for details about the program ... it is wonderful).
Today was evaluation day. Schwen and I had to be assessed separately with Thunder as handlers - Schwen and Thunder went from 9:45 - 12:00 and I went from 12:45 - 3:00.
The dogs are really put through the paces .... how they react to all kinds of situations: wheelchairs, walkers, a crowded room, people running, things dropping - and how they react to the other dogs in the evaluation as well is taken into account. One growl or any sign of aggression they are out immediately. They are not suppose to lick, jump, bark or growl.
There were 8 dogs being evaluated in the morning and 8 in the afternoon.
In the morning class, I waited outside and thought I would read in the car. Within 5 minutes I saw a dog and his "owner" come out ... then another in the next 5 minutes. OK ... I was nervous now .. 2 were already rejected.
So time passed, 12:00 came .. and out came my boys - yes they passed. Four in the morning class passed, 2 were conditional on how they do with their supervised visits. Tundie and one other dog were without issues ... and as Schwen said when he came out ... "Thunder was perfect!!".
OK - lunch time ... who could eat.
We went to the park, walked Thunder - gave him some water and then time to get back. Even though Thunder passed with Schwen, if in the afternoon session, there were any signs of aggression - then Thunder would be out of the program. Anything else that went wrong ... I would have been turned down as a handler, but Schwen and Tundie would still have been ok.
12:45 .... we head into the room.
To sum it up - one failed on the first test ... then by the 3rd test another dog was asked to leave - another test, another dog gone. Yikes!
At the 3:00 mark ... 4 were gone, 3 passed with a probation as long as they do alright on their supervised visit .... and last .. but certainly not least ... they came to us .. and the evaluators said "try as we might, we can't find any issues with Thunder at all - he was perfect!" Tundie was the only dog in the afternoon session without any issues whatsoever!
So .. the proud little family had a great Saturday ... when we got in the house Schwen said to Thunder "I wish you drank champaign, I am so proud of you". We are both just so proud and excited!
Thunder is sleeping now .. we are going to have a nice BBQ and have a relaxing Saturday night.
Today meant a lot to Brian and I, we have wanted to be in this program since last October (there are only 2 assessments a year ... so that makes today even more special).

Mare and Schwen