Rutland Manor Australian Labradoodles  Born to Serve - It's In The Blood

Joyce Bristow with Amber and Bella in California Joyce has been a committed Therapy Dog trainer for years and she is a true animal lover. and ceaseless giver.  Joyce operates a cat and kitten rescue at her home in Sacramento and gives generously of her time to a number of   community projects.  In October 2006 Joyce and Amber participated in the pilot program of the 'Reading to the Dogs'  for Schools and were featured on TV.   The R.E.A.D. program has since become extremely successful and has spread to other parts of the country and the world.

RUTLANDS LIL AMBER. Born 12th Oct 2003. CANINE GOOD CITIZEN AT 6 MTHS OLD CERTIFIED THERAPY DOG AT 9 MTHS OLD

Joyce says: Amber is a non shedding Australian Labradoodle born in Victoria, Australia at Rutland Manor Breeding and Research Center.   She arrived here in California on December 20, 2003 and was the best Christmas present anyone ever received.   From the first day I picked her up she was the most outgoing, self-assured dog I have ever owned.  Even after her long flight from Melbourne Australia she was not afraid or timid in any way.  She simply wanted out of her crate to say hello to everyone she encountered.  Amber found her place, as leader of the pack, in my animal family after a remarkably short time.

Joyce Continues:

Amber began her formal training at the American Canine Institute in Dixon, California in February 2004.  The puppy class there under the direction of Mr. Robert Vance featured socialization and also beginning obedience concepts.  Mr. Vance was also tremendously helpful in giving me pointers as to what Amber would need to know to enable us to do therapy work.  He suggested among other things that I take her to a wide variety of places to practice our obedience lessons, expose her to different flooring, different noise levels etc.  While Ambers natural friendliness was never in doubt teaching her to curb her enthusiasm was a definite goal.

In April I signed Amber and I up for an orientation and testing session with the local therapy dog organization – PAWS for Healing in Napa, Californina.  At this point Amber was only six months old and I had no expectation that she would pass the testing.  However I wanted to know more about what I needed to be teaching so I thought the day would be valuable for that reason.  To my considerable amazement, Amber passed all of the tests with flying colors!  Mr. Vance had prepared us better than I knew.  I also passed the written test after the class so by the end of the day we were accepted as a Canine Therapy Team in training.  The next step of our training was to work with a mentor.  At first I went with him and his dog; followed them, observing closely what they did.  Later we began visiting with Amber while the mentor assisted us.  Once he was satisfied that we were performing correctly, he signed off on us and certified us as a working team.

I have chosen to work with seniors, Alzheimer patients and a local hospital which is in my neighborhood.  Each facility where we visit has its own requirements which have to be met in addition to the PAWS certification.  For the hospital for example, we had 8 more hours of orientation, several blood tests to verify immunity, TB tests, etc.  Amber and I now visit one of our facilities on each day of the week.  We usually work approximately two hours each time so as not to overly tire little Amber.  Some of the seniors that we work with are in rehabilitation for various injuries, stroke, etc.  Letting them throw the ball for her or brush her hair are actually good exercise for them and Amber loves the extra attention.

So many of our seniors get no visitors whatsoever and are doomed to a life of loneliness and depression.  Many of them have told me that they so look forward to our visits that it gives them a reason to get up in the morning.  Helping these people even one day a week is something that is rewarding beyond my ability to express.  Little Amber brings joy to all of these people and  enriches my life every day of the week.   I thank God for bringing her to me.

Joyce Bristow  Vacaville, California

RUTLANDS LIL JACQUI - BELLA. CERTIFIED THERAPY DOG AT FIVE MONTHS OF AGE!

Miniature  Born 25 October 2005 Certified Therapy Dog at 5 mths  ! " Bella passed the testing with nearly perfect scores. She lost points for not wanting her mouth handled, but for the parts where she had to deal with patient situations she was absolutely flawless. I was so proud of her!! She even ignored all the treats on the floor during the obedience part. What a good girl."   Joyce.

Amber and Bella We have been busy doing what we love - our therapy work. Here is a photo that was sent to us and we wanted to share with everyone. This was taken at an elementary school in Napa, California during their annual Read-A-Thon. We spent 3 hours there and our "audience" changed every half hour.