Albert the Therapy Dog

21/08/2019

03/08/2019

The Oath of a Hound

I promise to smell the ground and the trees at every opportunity

I promise to run like the wind, even when I am tired

I promise to give you adventure

I promise to make you laugh at least 7 times a day

I promise to always listen... to my nose

I promise to listen to you. .. when you have food.

I promise that I will be your best friend.

I promise that you will never meet a more sensitive being. I will know when you are sick, or sad, or angry.

And I promise to try and make you feel better.

I promise to have the best singing voice in your neighborhood

I promise that even when you think I'm being stubborn, I'm just doing things in my own language. And once you learn my language, we will talk without words or sentences.

I promise that the one thing I want more than anything, is your love and approval.

I promise that even if people have been mean to me, or if I've never been pet before, deep down in my heart I forgive. I just need some time to forget.

I promise to tear the stuffing out of every toy you give me.

I promise you a richer life, in brighter colors, than you'd have had without me.

I promise to show you that life is better when you have a hound.

29/06/2019

Missing you more than ever on your birthday my short man!

26/03/2019

Something wonderful happened yesterday! We welcomed 1 year old Augustus, aka Gus, into our home from Mid-Atlantic Basset Hound Rescue. He is a handful, a furball of energy and ornery as sin, but is extremely smart and sweet. I have a lot of work to do with him, but he WILL carry on Albert's work.
25-30% of my vocabulary over the past day has consisted of "Stop, Drop It, Leave It, No, Easy, Enough and Get Down!" ❤I love him so much already!

21/03/2019

We lost another therapy dog recently. We only met Robbie a handful of times, but he was a cool little dude! Robbie, give our love to Albert and you boys enjoy yourselves up there!

We have more sad news to pass along. One of our pet therapy animals, Robbie, has passed away. Robbie began volunteering at Bayhealth with his loyal owner Terry in 2015. We want to thank Robbie and Terry for their service to Bayhealth.

09/03/2019

14/02/2019

I still miss you so much Albert. You left quite an impression on so many with your goofy ways.

From Bayhealth Medical Center Page:
We wanted to share some sad news with our Facebook family. Our beloved pet therapy dog, Albert, passed away at time ago. Albert started volunteering in 2016 and gave over 100 hours to Bayhealth, mostly during the evening after his faithful owner Mary was home from work. Please join us in thanking Mary for her service with Albert.

Learn more about how pet therapy teams like Albert Einstein and his handler Mary Stewart benefit patients at Bayhealth.

10/12/2018

While Lacie isn't destined to be a certified Therapy dog the way our Albert was, I must say her goofy ways have helped me through the past several weeks. Wouldn't have wanted to go through this without her! She has been tuned in to my emotional roller coaster ride and has been therapy for me. I love this crazy girl!

21/11/2018

To Albert's beloved friends.
Tonight I had to say goodbye to my best friend, my road dog, my goofy and happy ball of sunshine, and the best damn therapy dog that ever was. He went peacefully and surrounded by love in my arms.
Albert, we fought with everything we had to get you well, and even though you didn't want to leave me, your poor little body just couldn't any longer. I will eventually be okay my sweet boy, but I will always love you. The past 7 1/2 years wasn't enough time, but I understand that you were called elsewhere. Once your eyes told me that your body was ready to go, I had no choice but to keep my promise not to keep you here for myself.
Some day there will be another Basset in this house that will pick up your torch and carry on your therapy work. Until the day I see you again my sweet boy, you have fun on the other side of the bridge.
While we will all mourn the loss of this amazing boy, he is in a much better place.
The picture is how we spent the entire day today. Snuggling on the couch and watching movies together.

09/11/2018

Another update on yours truly!
Mama spoke to our regular vet last night - she was off when we went in Wednesday. She doesn't agree with her coworker that I am in renal failure! My kidney levels are down since spring and she is happy with that. She says that while I is in a state of chronic renal difficulty - that is not the reason behind this illness. Instead she believes, and Mama is inclined to agree, that we are dealing with a pancreas flare up due to the severe UTI that I had. Mama says we can fight a pancreas flare up - been there done that!
Mama has to leave tomorrow for a week long conference, but I told hers not to feels bad, and that I wills try and be a good boy and get better
I still needs all of the healing drool from my fellow pups and positive energy you can spare, but what you have sent so far has helped so much! I wuvs you guys and all the support you has given me this far!
Stay tuned for more updates! Paw bumps, tail wags & snooter kisses to everyone! Albert the Miracle Dog (as Mama calls me) signing off!

08/11/2018

Health update on yours truly and pretty cool news!

It's official, my kidneys are not good, and this recent bout of infections didn't help at all. They aren't processing stuff right. Stupid kidneys. My mama continues to search and find tasty treats that I not only love, but will keep down. I'm still running the yard with crazy Lacie, barking at the mailman, and happy to receive visitors.

Mama says as long as I continue to show s***k she will fight with everything she can to keep me as healthy as possible.
I still snuggle wif Mama at every opportunity and wipe her tears with my velvety ears when she is feeling down about my health, especially at night.

That being said, there is really great news in this post! Mama and I were interviewed the last time we went volunteering, which was back in September, by some lovely ladies in Bayhealth Hospital! It is official- I is a celebrity! I can't wait to get better and get back to work!!

Learn more about how pet therapy teams like Albert Einstein and his handler Mary Stewart benefit patients at Bayhealth.

29/10/2018

I did it again fwends... Mama took me to the doctor today and found out that not only am I suffering from a pancreas flair up, but also a UTI, and I am down another 6 pounds because I haven't wanted to eat. Good news is my kidney numbers have decreased since Mama started making my food earlier this year.
I has a great nurse though... even if she is stubborn and won't let me say no to ice cubes.

26/10/2018

A couple of weeks ago we hads a picnic for my therapy dog friends. We hads a great time, played games, and watched our parents eats lotsa yummy food! I even won some rosettes in the games! We had a photo lady there who took the picture of me in front of the barn. Will post and share more pictures as they come in!

06/10/2018

My sister Lacie and I gots so spoileds today! A couple days late for Lacie's barkday, but it still counts! We just wuvs our new sweaters, coats and treats Momma got for us! Tanks Fur Baby Boutique, Daycare & Spa - we just wuvs you and all of our grrreat stuffs!

28/09/2018

Went on a family adventure today! I gots to show my sister Lacie where they make the bestest dog cookies in the world! We toured the factory, got to eat broken cookies, got lotsa luvs, picked up a donation for our upcoming volunteer picnic and they even surprised us with our own cookies! I positively wuvs Tail Bangers Dog Cookies!