RocDog

The comments are open and we want to see them. Any dog, any age, any level of good behaviour. Rescues, seniors, puppies, the one who has never once come when called. Post a photo below and tell us their name. We will be down there looking at every single one, because that is the best possible use of a Saturday morning.

The music on November 7 is not background.

The Caring Music Group plays original work, and they built this whole evening around the idea that a room listening together will give more generously than a room being talked at.

So: real songs, played live, by people who wrote them, in a room raising money for six families.

Come hear it. https://caring-music-group-event.cheddarup.com

Senior living is where most of our visits happen — thirty-eight of our ninety-one active facilities. Here is the shape of an hour there. You sign in at the desk. The activities director tells you who is having a good day and which rooms to skip. You work the common area first, where the dog gets passed hand to hand and the conversation turns to dogs people had forty years ago. Then room visits for anyone who cannot come out. Then you leave, and somebody asks when you are coming back. That is the whole job, and it is enough.

One month from today: “with LOVE,” Saturday, November 7, 5–9 PM, Sweet Briar Lodge.

Dinner, live original music from the Caring Music Group, silent auction, raffles, 50/50.

$30,000. Six dogs. Six families off the waiting list.

If you have been meaning to get a ticket, this is the reminder. https://caring-music-group-event.cheddarup.com

The most common thing we hear is “my dog is so friendly, he would be perfect.” Friendly is a start. What we are really looking for is a dog who stays settled when a walker clatters past, who does not flinch at an oxygen machine, who can be hugged awkwardly by someone who does not know how to hug a dog — and who can do all of that for an hour and then go home relaxed. Temperament over tricks. Calm over clever. If that sounds like your dog, we would love to meet you both. Start at rocdog.org.

Most pulling is accidentally trained. The dog pulls, the walk continues, and the lesson lands: pulling works. The fix is dull and effective. The moment the leash goes tight, stop walking. Not a correction, not a word — just stop. When the leash softens, walk on. You will cover about forty feet in the first ten minutes and feel ridiculous, and within a week the dog will have worked out that a loose leash is the thing that makes the world move. Short sessions. Every walk. No equipment required.

Today is World Animal Day and the feast of St. Francis, patron saint of animals.

Every dog in the PAWS for Hearts Project started as a rescue. Not bred for this, not selected from a program — found, assessed, fostered, and then trained into the most important job in someone's household.

There is something worth sitting with in that: the dog nobody wanted becomes the one a family cannot do without.

Six more of those on November 7.

The Caring Music Group 'With Love' Event benefiting RocDog - Cheddar Up The Caring Music Group 'With Love' Event benefiting RocDog - Lorrie Gibbons @ RocDog, Inc. - Cheddar Up. Collect online payments for events and fundraisers with Cheddar Up.

They do not know they are volunteering. They do not know the woman they are leaning against has not spoken all week, or that the man scratching their ears is having the worst day of his year. They just know they are being petted, and that this is a good arrangement. That is exactly why it works — there is no performance in it. A dog cannot fake being pleased to see you. Thank you to every one of them, and to the people who noticed they had it in them.

Five weeks out. Saturday assignment, should you accept it:

Think of one person who would love a night of live music, dinner, and rescue dogs. Tag them below.

That is it. No pitch from us. Half of every event that works is somebody telling somebody else.

The Caring Music Group 'With Love' Event benefiting RocDog - Cheddar Up The Caring Music Group 'With Love' Event benefiting RocDog - Lorrie Gibbons @ RocDog, Inc. - Cheddar Up. Collect online payments for events and fundraisers with Cheddar Up.

It is the first Saturday of the month, which means the DogHouse is open. 1505 North Goodman Street. Dogs, handlers, coffee, and absolutely no pressure. Curious about the programme? Ask anyone in the room. Wondering whether your dog might have the temperament for this? Bring them and let us take a look. Just want to pet a lot of dogs on a Saturday? Also a completely acceptable reason. Details at rocdog.org.