Banjo Nichols, CGC, TDI

Banjo officially has the most graduate degrees in the family!

Over the past few months, I've been thinking that Banjo would make a really nice therapy dog. He's amazingly mellow (especially for a two-year-old male), likes to be petted by anyone, and doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. I think volunteering at a hospice or assisted-living home would be great fun for both of us - good for him to meet new people and see the world, and fun for me to interact with a cross-section of society (elderly people) I don't get to talk to very often.

So today I took the little fellow to a dog show in Pleasanton, where a Mastiff breeder was administering CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and TDI (Therapy Dog International) tests in between her stints in the show ring. I wasn't entirely sure Banjo would pass, since there are actually entire 6-week classes designed to help dogs pass the CGC test, which Banjo hasn't taken. But I had read up on the "elements" which included items like: dog must not startle when medical equipment is used nearby, dog must successfully "leave" a food or treat on the ground, dog must stay, sit, lay, and come, dog must tolerate "rough petting", dog must not react to other dogs, etc. and it sounded like they were all items he could handle. And he did! He kept his cool, even when the judge accidentally whacked him in the face with a pill bottle that she was trying to throw in front of him.

We celebrated by sharing a teriyaki chicken sandwich and snickering at all the pooches who were dolled-up for the dog show. Pictured below are some Salukis and a whole lineup of Bulldogs. They didn't have a "best mutt" category, so Banjo will just have to be happy with his CGC.