SHOOTING STAR
“I’m sorry, Amy, but Sunbeam just doesn’t have the right kind of personality to be a therapy dog.”
Amy picked Sunbeam up. “But he loves people so much!” Sunbeam licked Amy’s chin and wriggled in
her arms, trying to reach Pam, the therapy dog lady, to give her a kiss too.
“I know,” Pam said and rubbed the base of one of his pointed ears, but he’s so excitable. A therapy dog
can’t jump on everyone and bark constantly. Maybe you should try something else where his energy
would be useful – like agility.”
Amy gave Sunbeam a hug and set him back on the floor. “I know you’ve done everything you can. Thank
you for trying so hard with my little guy.”
“He’s a sweetheart.” Pam smiled down at him. “But a therapy dog had to be a rock and he’s a shooting
star.”
Outside the dog training center, Sunbeam could feel that Amy was sad. He hung his head and his tail
drooped. He hated when Amy was sad, and it seemed like she was always sad when they went to classes
with Pam.
Amy led him to a bench, sat down and patted the space beside her. Sunbeam jumped up and she ruffled
the long hair around his neck. “I’m sorry, Sunny,” she said. “I know you could help a lot of people and
have fun doing it. What should we do?”
Sunbeam wagged his tail. The white fur on the tip made bright swishes in the sunlight. He wasn’t sure
what was wrong, but he had to make Amy feel better. He moved closer, put a paw on her lap and…
Three children came out of a house across the street.
Sunbeam barked “Children! Children! Let’s Play!”
“Sunny!” Amy grabbed his leash with both hands as he jumped from the bench and almost ran into the
street.
At home, after Amy and Sunbeam had dinner, Amy called her best friend Kathy.
“I’m still shaking a little from this afternoon. Sunny almost ran into traffic. He loves people so much he
stops thinking. I don’t know what I’m going to do, Kath. I think he would love being a therapy dog, but
now I’m just worried about keeping him safe!”
Kathy said, “I saw a dog trainer give a demonstration a little while ago. She has a really good reputation
for working with excitable dogs.”
“Really good?”
“The best. I have her card somewhere. I’ll find it and text you the number.”
“Thanks, Kathy.”
“No problem. Anything for Sunny.”
Amy seemed happier after she signed him up for a new class the next week, and that made Sunbeam
happier.
But he couldn’t figure out why she always held onto his leash with two hands.
When it was finally time to go to the new school, Amy kept telling him that he was going to do super
well, but she didn’t really sound sure about that.
He knew he was going to try.
They walked in the door. It was so quiet it sounded more like a library than a dog school. A lady with a
nice smile introduced herself.
“I’m Sonja,” she said.
Sunbeam spun in a circle and barked.
And barked,
And barked.
“Hold on, Sunbeam,” Sonja said. “I can see that you need to meet Bear.” She whistled softly. “Come
here, please, Bear.”
Around the corner came the biggest dog Sunbeam had ever seen. Bigger even than Max, the Saint
Bernard who lived on Amy’s street. He was so big and so funny looking that Sunbeam stopped barking
and stared.
“Oh my,” Amy said, “Bear is a good name for him.”
“He’s my right-hand dog, aren’t you, Bear?” Sonja used both arms to give him a hug. “He works with all
of our hyper-active club members.”
“Club members?”
“We call it the puppy club,” Sonja said. “We like to be more than a training center; we also like to have
dogs visit just to have fun. Why don’t we sit over here and talk about what you hope Sunbeam can
accomplish while he and Bear get acquainted.”
Amy looked worried. “He’s so big…”
“Don’t worry, Bear won’t hurt your boy; he’s an expert.”
Amy and Sonja sat at a table.
Sunbeam was still staring at Bear.
“See?” Bear said in dog-thoughts, “You can be quiet.”
“I, I…” Sunbeam sniffed politely. “Are you really a dog?”
“Yes, but if you’re going to ask what kind, don’t. Lots of kinds, I guess. Sonja rescued me when I was a
puppy. Someone left me by the side of the road in a cardboard box.”
“That’s awful! I mean the box part, not the Sonja part. That’s wonderful! I think I’m a Sheltie, but I’m not
sure if I’m all Sheltie. Amy found me at a shelter adoption day and they weren’t sure because-
Bear woofed. “You talk a lot even when you’re not making any noise.”
“Sorry.”
“That’s all right. You seem like a nice kid, but you’ll need to work hard. I’ll be watching you.” Bear
padded away, his big, hairy paws making little plopping noises on the polished floor
Sunbeam swallowed. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Bear watching him, but he was going to work hard to
make Amy happy.
Four weeks, five, six. Sunbeam and Amy worked on good-dog skills. He really tried to concentrate, but
then a new dog would join the group and he would bark or even jump on someone.
All the time, Bear was watching.
Week seven was extra bad. Two new dogs and their people joined Sunbeam’s class. They were more
advanced than he was and did everything right. He could tell Amy was unhappy that he had acted silly
again.
He sat by the wall with his head hanging.
“Problem, Kid?” It was Bear.
“Maybe Amy shouldn’t have rescued me.”
Bear growled. “NEVER think that. Every dog deserves a home.”
“But I can’t do anything right. I wanted to be a therapy dog, but I can’t even do a sit and stay. Especially
the stay part.”
“Therapy dog, huh?” Bear sat next to him. “I think you’d be a great therapy dog.”
“You do?”
“If I help. I have what you might call a talent. It was really a gift from another dog ,named Nicki, when I
was a puppy. I help a lot of the dogs who come here. Mostly it’s because they’re frightened, but
sometimes it’s because they’re like you.”
“Me?”
“Big hearts and so happy they practically burst with wanting to make everyone else happy too.” He
pushed hair out of his eyes with a big paw. “Trouble is, they can’t measure it out. It’s like if you wanted a
treat and someone dumped a whole bag of dog food on you.”
“Oh… Not good.”
“So, kid, do you want help? You have to be sure.”
“I’m sure! I’m sure!” Sunbeam barked
Bear sighed. “Follow me.” He led Sunbeam to the puppy party room, which no one was using. “Lie down
there.”
Sunbeam settled to the floor. Bear was being so serious it was making him nervous.
“This is going to feel funny,” Bear said, “but it won’t hurt, I promise. I’m going to give you the same gift
that Nicki gave me. Okay?”
“O-okay.” Sunbeam closed his eyes.
Bear put a paw on Sunbeam’s head. A tingle ran all the way down to Sunbeam’s toes. He could feel his
fur standing out straight. He opened his eyes once. There were sparkly lights all around him. It was so
pretty he forgot to be frightened.
Bear took his paw away. “How do you feel now?”
Sunbeam’s legs were wobbly when he stood up. “All right, I guess. Can I be a therapy dog now?”
Bear chuckled. “One thing at a time. Do you feel different?
Sunbeam shook his fur back into place. “I don’t think so? Should I? Didn’t it work?”
“It didn’t really change you, it just gave you a tool to use. As soon as you feel even a little excited, think –
“I am calm.”
“Oh.” Sunbeam was disappointed. “I’ve tried stuff like that before. It didn’t work.”
“It will now. You needed a new way to use your energy.” He gave Sunbeam a push toward the door with
his nose. “Take Amy home now. Practice. I’ll see you next week.”
The next week, Sunbeam told Bear about all the times he had practiced and he didn’t bark once during class.
Soon, Sonja was so happy with his progress that she said he could start working toward his Canine Good Citizen award, and after that, start training for his therapy dog certificate.
Finally, it was graduation day.
The man from the therapy dog association who had done the testing was ready to give special medals to Sunbeam and two other dogs from his class.
Bear watched from the audience until the ceremony was over, then congratulated all three dogs. He took Sunbeam aside. “I knew you could do it. You’re part of a special, secret group of dogs now. Someday, when you’re older, you’ll be able to pass along the gift to other dogs who need it, so you’ll be a sort of double therapy dog.”
Amy and Sonja watched them sitting together. “I can’t believe how much Bear has helped Sunbeam,” Amy said. “He really is an amazing dog!”
Sonja laughed. “Yes, he is. It’s almost like magic.”
Bear nudged Sunbeam with his paw. “Did you hear that?” he said. “Sometimes humans are pretty smart!”
