Bob, Carole and Bru live in Simi Valley, CA.  They consider themselves newlyweds of 43 years.  They have three grown children – Denise, Mark and Steven who no longer live at home.

After the passing of their 16 year old beagle Logun in 2008, they     

decided to wait before getting another dog.  A week later a family  

friend, who owns two Norwich, encouraged them to consider the

Norwich breed noting their great personalities and what wonderful

pets they make. A few phone calls later, fate led them to Bruno 
and ........... so began their Norwich journey related here by Carole.

Bruno was born June 7, 2008.  Bru as he is affectionately called became part of our family in October of 2008.  Bru is a “fluff” Norwich, and in the world of show dogs, a single coat is a disqualification but we loved his soft coat and couldn’t have been happier.  He was just what we wanted.


  When Bru was 7 months old I was walking and socializing him at a local outdoor mall when an elderly couple walked by.  The woman was using a walker and I thought it would be interesting to see if the squeaky wheels and noise would bother Bru but he didn’t flinch.  We all sat down and the husband asked if he could hold Bru.  Of course Bru wiggled and squirmed as most pups would react.  The wife turned and asked if she could hold Bru, to my surprise, Bru purposely leaned into her chest and gently licked her chin.  The more he licked, the more she would giggle and say how good it felt and how she loved it.

 We parted ways, but 10 minutes later the husband found me and tapped me on the shoulder, as I turned, I noticed that he was in tears.  At first, I thought something had happened to his wife, but he said no.  He wanted me to know he thought Bru ‘was worth a million dollars’.  I thought he was just saying Bru was cute.   “No”, he said, “you don’t understand, my wife had a stroke a year ago and she hasn’t talked since. Your dog did that. Bless you for helping my wife find her voice.”

This was my red flag that Bruno was more than ‘just a pet’.  I called Delta Society and had him evaluated.  He was found to have the right (inborn traits) temperament and disposition to start training as a Therapy Dog.”

 

He eagerly mastered all that was required for Certification over the next 5 months and at one year of age he and I passed the testing with high marks and earned our Certification as Pet Partners with Delta Society.  A few weeks later, we started volunteering one day a week at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA.   A therapy dog brings smiles, unforeseen responsiveness and joy to patients and loved ones by giving unconditional love. This helps distract the patient’s attention and mindset away from pain, fear, distress and anxiety.

Bru gets to eat Cheerios while he is with the patients. They love feeding him one Cheerio at a time and after about 15 Cheerios or so, he will let out a belch that comes all the way from his toes.  Surgery or feeling blue, his belches bring belly laughs from everybody around.

Bruno will talk to the          patients in his Norwich guttural sound.  He can “whisper” to them on command.  Everybody loves to hear him whisper.

                                                                                      

We also volunteer at a facility for children with autism and chronic health problems.  Bru made a connection with a 12 year old autistic boy and within minutes the boy relaxed his body as he sat next to Bru petting and kissing him.  His mother watched in amazement. The boy turned to his mother and said “Doggie”.  This was his very first word.  The entire room was in tears.

 

In the year we have been at Kaiser, I have seen Bru work his magic on patients, visitors, children, Doctors and Nurses.  These visits with patients are joyful and full of laughter.  In addition, Bru has been the Safety and Breast Cancer Awareness mascot for Kaiser.  The staff at Kaiser lovingly nicknamed Bru “Ocito Gordito” which means: Chubby little bear.

 

Sometimes the visits are emotionally hard.  Bru and I were asked to come into a room where a patient

  was near death.  She was asleep and looked very peaceful.

 

 The patient’s husband said that Bru reminded him of a dog they    had years ago.  He was hoping his wife could see him. The entire family was by her side as I placed Bru on the bed next to the patient. He sniffed her and crawled up on her and snuggled in on her chest and licked her chin over and over again. 

 

 She opened her eyes, looked at him, petted him and repeatedly thanked her husband for bringing ‘their’ dog.  She held onto Bru tightly and with a grin she took her last breath and passed away. 

 

Once she passed, Bru stopped licking her and wanted off the bed.  I could hardly move. The family kept thanking us because she got to leave this world with a smile on her face and a happy memory to take with her.

Bru is also a registered Medical Alert Service Dog.  He has repeatedly signaled me when my blood sugar has fallen to low levels.  He showed this inborn ability at about 19 months old.  He has also identified and signaled patients in the hospital with low blood sugar.  Bru was never trained for this; he just has an innate ability for detection.

 

Recently, I felt Bru and I needed to find an outlet to unwind and play. I decided to enroll us in Agility Training.  Bru took to agility like a duck to water; he loves it!  Sometimes after class he will run the course all on his own, just for the fun of it. 

 

Even with all his activities and therapy work to tire him out, at the end of everyday he waits patiently at the front door for ‘daddy’ to come home and hold him.  

 

He gives his ‘dad’ just enough time to change his clothes and eat a quick dinner, before that “after dinner walk and romp on the parkway” together.

 

Bruno may not be a show dog, but he has earned more than a Blue Ribbon for all he does to comfort so many.  He is currently in training for certification with the National R.E.A.D. program. 

 

If you own a terrier you know you live with the attitude of “You are not the boss of me.”  You have got to love those terriers.