Red has been doing therapy work for some time, yet today feels like a big day for him. We are going to an assisted care facility nearby to explore the idea of visiting the people there regularly, I think this would be a great place for us to focus Red’s work. This comes at a time when I am scaling back on Red’s active work sheepherding, he seems to be slowing down, perhaps because of his arthritis.

He can still come out into the pasture and move a bit, but no more  hard running. I am ramping up his therapy work, as he loves to work and is a remarkable and intuitive therapy dog. The work we have done with veterans – I decided to keep this work private – has been deeply moving and helpful.

We will continue to work with returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq as requested.

So a new chapter for Red, and Maria and I took him out into the yard to give him a good brushing. It feels like a big day for Red, I said to Maria this morning.  Yes, she said, it is. We’ll see how it goes.