Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Dog Dancing

There is a special bond between pets and humans. For some with physical, emotional or mental handicaps, a pet can help a person find a reason for getting up in the morning. After all, everyone needs to feel needed and essential. Friends and even family might forget you, but a pet never does. He might let you sleep in occasionally, but feed me, walk me, scoop my litter will get you out of bed and moving on even the worst of days.

And he'll make you smile - even laugh - when you don't think laughter is possible in your circumstances. He can be a dog, a cat, a guinea pig or another type of furball. He's your friend, your companion, and/or your exercise partner throughout his lifetime. At times he might be your patient, needing special care, as he ages or goes through an injury or illness.

Those who don't have pets don't understand this and they miss a lot of happiness.

Carolyn Scott not only knows about this bond, she exemplifies it. For a number of years, Carolyn danced in competitions with Rookie, her Golden Retriever. To watch one of their numbers is to marvel at the way they work together, Rookie's eyes continually on her as he leaps, wriggles and prances through their routines. His enthusiasm and love for what they are sharing is obvious. It's more than a well-trained dog performing. They are both having fun!

To watch them together, one would never guess Carolyn was paralyzed with childhood polio when she was four years old. Today, Rookie is 15 years old, retired from competition and battling cancer. Carolyn is no longer able to compete at the level she did with Rookie, due to aftereffects of the polio and its treatments. Post polio sequelae (or the late effects of polio) has left her with diminished balance, which could cause her to fall.

Land of PureGold Foundation posted this video clip of Carolyn and Rookie in action on YouTube. In late 2008 they hope to have the full video "Gotta Dance" available. It will feature Carolyn's story in her own words, dance routines and commentary on what these two have accomplished. If you haven't seen them dance before, you are in for a treat.



Here are a couple of links for Carolyn and Rookie. Land of PureGold Foundation and Canine Freestyle. (link no good now)

And don't forget to drop by and check on Tia. She's still at the vet's.

11 comments:

  1. wow -- that was OUTSTANDING!!
    what a pair, people cant do that good!
    thank u for that post!
    kc

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  2. Jan
    That is pawsome..what a gweat bond they have.

    Thank you fow youw infowmation..I went to visit Tia, she's doing a little bettew Cwoss paws!

    Can you tell me how to get that button that you have on the side that allows people to donate by pwessing it?
    thank you
    smoochie kisses,Asta

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  3. Thanks for sharing this wonderful video! They do it great!
    Kisses and hugs
    Lorenza

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  4. Hi Jan,

    Thanks for sharing the lovely video! It is a joy watching carolyn and rookie dance. :) You can really see great love and bond between rookie and carolyn from the way rookie look at carolyn, his bouncy steps and the constant wagging of his tail! It is truly an inspiring video.

    p/s: thanks for the well wishes to shushu too!

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  5. That is an amazing video. KC's right. I have seen people who don't dance that well together. It is easy to tell that they are having so much fun together, too.

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  6. Hi Jan
    I posted this video on my blog last year. We didn't know that Carolyn had polio as a child though.
    Mum loves to watch hoomans and animals dancing together, and just plain having fun. Beau used to dance with mum and Misty Blue and mum used to ride to music.
    Love from Hammer
    PS We've been trying to comment on Maya and Kena's blog for more than a week now and we can't do it. Can you leave them a message for us. For some reason we've been having more probs than usual with Blogger.

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  7. Truly amazing!! Rookie is obviously extremely intelligent and well trained, but more important is the great bond between them.

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  8. I have seen that before. What a great example of the beautiful bond between person and animal.

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  9. Jan thank you for your visit today and for showing me this beautiful dance of life between two loving friends. It is an a mazing tribute to friendship and trust and overcoming...
    Love Miss Peach

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  10. Great work.

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