Allow me to introduce to you my dog-ter...
Giavanna Dora Rich Spingola
She's the apple of her daddy's eye and has mom wrapped around her finger. Yes, my dog is like my own child and I don't know what I'd do without her.
When I first moved here in the summer of 2008, Brandon promised me he would buy me a dog at some point. My parents have always had at least two dogs ever since I was little, so being without one was going to be an adjustment for me. So, our agreement was that within a year or so, I could get a dog and I was ok with that.
Two days of living in Nebraska, and I came across this lil pumpkin's face. She was born the day I moved here and took it as a sign that she needed to be mine. She was a maltipoo, a dog I've wanted forever, and was the only white female; another must have for me. I begged Brandon for a few days to go look at her....after many no's, he gave in. A month later we visited her, fell in love and couldn't say no. On September 8, 2008, I brought her home and can't imagine life without my lil furball of a princess.
Giavanna, or Gia as we like to call her (her daddy picked her name), is the most loveable lil dog ever. At just 5 lbs, she fits perfectly in your lap and is quite the snuggle bear. We bring Gia with us when we travel to pageants and all the lil girls love to come see our lil pageant mascot. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body.
Because Gia is so sweet and loves to be petted and be around everyone, it got me to thinking that she would be the perfect therapy dog. Late fall last year, I found a local organization called Domesti-Pups that trains owners and dogs to become therapy dogs and handlers.
Back in January we began our classes. 14 weeks of classes with a test that we must pass at the end (the canine good citizen test)...then 3 months of "training" visits at nursing homes, hospitals etc followed by our graduation.
We are about three weeks away from our test...let's just say Gia will be doing some "cramming" before it. She can be a bit stubborn when we work on commands with her but we're both confident she'll pass with flying colors. We're really counting on her having my looks but Brandon's brains :)
Until then...cross your paws for us!