Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Back at Berry - Viking Venture & Involvement Fair

Oliver the Therapy Rat

Last month, we got back in the hang of things by going back to our favorite place ever: Berry College! It's not just my favorite place because I am an alumnus, but Oliver loves his Berry kids too!


Oliver the therapy rat

First off was Viking Venture which is a program for Berry Freshmen. They always have a tour of the library, and we got to be a little surprise part of it. 

Oliver the therapy rat

I'm not sure how many people we met, but probably the whole freshman class!

Oliver the therapy rat

We were kinda rushed when we got there (like literally), but we did get a few moments where we could breathe a little. Oliver did wonderfully and I really saw him enjoy his work.

Oliver the therapy rat

He relaxed, bruxed and boggled, and generally was very content. We had a lot of interactions over the summer with little kids, and I think visiting his Berry students made him very happy. 

Oliver the therapy rat

Seeing him so happy made me almost cry. I know, it's silly, but I love seeing him enjoying his work.

Oliver the therapy rat

We brought out the "I Pet a Therapy Rat" buttons and now we only have like 2 left! I ordered some more, and these are bigger so you won't have to squint! 

Oliver the therapy rat

But we will have buttons available at future events. If it is a kid-centered event we might have stickers instead. Don't want any kid to poke themselves with a button!

Oliver the therapy rat

So yeah, Viking Venture was a big hit! About an hour and 30 minutes in, Oliver started to get cranky and was telling me he was done. We have been training for a year and I finally have a signal he is done working!

Oliver the therapy rat
Thanks for the different pose! Haha.
So Oliver's signal is that he nuzzles in my arms. Kinda like he wants to hide. He doesn't wanna go in the basket, doesn't wanna go in the towel, he wants to go in my arms. It's adorable, and we waited it out cause the crowds were getting sparse, and he made it for 2 hours. 

Oliver the therapy rat

It's super important as a therapy animal handler that you are in tune with your pet and know their limits! 

Oliver the therapy rat

The Involvement Fair is where students go to learn about extra activities, volunteer work, or clubs. We were inside, which is great, but it was unusually hot in the building. I think I suffered more than Oliver.

Oliver the therapy rat
I'm a ratatta!
We met a lot of new friends and saw some old friends too which is always really awesome. 

Oliver the therapy rat

I'm so proud of Oliver! A year ago he was just starting with some serious training and now he brings smiles to people all over the place!

Oliver the therapy rat

How long have you been following our adventures?
Let us know in the comments below!





2 comments:

  1. Oliver is so cute! And I can tell he was smiling in most of these photos!

    I'm very good at giving out signals when I'm done. If we are at a cat show, where I'm a Pet Me Cat, I just go into my enclosure. At facilities, I make it clear I want to go home because I stop wanting to visit people. But that rarely happens now (it did at the beginning a few times). Our visits are 90 minutes, which is a good time frame for me.

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  2. Abby, I was advised of your name and organisation by Lorie Lewis who is on BlogPaws, and we would like to interview you about your work for Lorie's online free mag, Kings River Life. If you would like to do an interview with us, and provide some photos of your lovely animals, could you please email me on cadfael88@gmail.com ?

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