First Night w/ Gretzki

As written in an email to SSD's director and Gretel's trainer;

March 5th, 2008

"In the days since Winston has passed I have gone through moments of fear, panic, grief, and complete and utter sickness. He was incomparable to any dog that i've ever worked with, unexplainable to me (especially scientifically). Since Lucy's discharge I had felt uncertain about moving forward with my next match. There was no "real" reason, other than something felt off. Steele is an incredibly charming dog with nice work ethics, but I felt no spark. At first, I tried to sum it up to my reserves and fears of a new dog, but in the week since Winston's death, I was beginnig to feel stronger that it was something else. Little did I know, what that something else was.
I had no inclination that a tiny yellow female had crossed our path. While Cindi spoke to me today about my options, I started to feel the constant heart ache of losing Winston ease up. At one point I felt tears coming and before they could fall, there were her big brown eyes gazing up at me in my lap. Gretel had something to say to me, and was sure i'd listen.
I have been reliving the moments of first walking beside Winston almost 7 years ago and looking into his eyes. It was not like training in public with any number of the dog's that i've worked with in the past year or so. I was terrified, until today, that I would never feel that bond with another dog again.
I made a stop at Target on the way home from the kennel with Miss Gretel. She seemed so confident and at ease that I honestly laughed and smiled thinking that she just fell into my life today! While we were checking out she curled into a down between my wheels and the isle. Just yesterday I shopped alone and had a small panic attack when I noticed someone stairing me down in the check out line. I dropped my purse and there I was again, lacking independence. Today, I sat there smiling at her until an employee said "Wow, your service dog is great. How long have you had her!!" I smiled and said "about an hour." She gazed up at me as if to say "Everything is okay now".
She loaded into and out of my car as if she had been raised in a home with a loud clanky ramp. She immediately picked the closest point to lay beside me, but not too close so that she could still see me while the car went over a bump or stopped.
After a few minutes of being in the house and meeting lots of people and dogs (nephews, cats, you name it) she found a bone and curled up directly beside me.
As I type, I am sitting in my bed. Gretel has curled herself on my feet, placing her weight evenly and laying her face as far to the side so that she can see me. Her tiny snore and big breaths can convey nothing but the feeling of being home.
Gretel is truly an angel.

Sincerely,
Linzey Zoccola
Puppy Program Coordinator, but first a foremost, a client."


Laying patiently in an isle @ target!

Meeting Miss Gretel

As SSD Winston aged, I knew his working days were near an end. I began to accept that soon, I would have a new partner by my side in public. The search for a successor SSD was off to a rocky start.
The beautiful and noble SSD Lucinda was my first match, back in late May of 2007. She was a wonderful and hard working girl, but had severe alarm barking (and lunging at times). When the decision to discharge her was made, I was offered my 2nd in the running, match, SSD Steele.
We trained together for about two months. He was an intense and again, hard working dog. During this period of time though, SSD purchased a discharged dog from Guiding Eyes For The Blind. Upon meeting her, the training staff now recalls thinking that she was "perfect" for me. I had not met her because I had been battling pneumonia and was hospitalized for a significant amount of time. Before returning back to work full time, my faithful and loyal boy, Winston passed away. It was an unbearable time in my life, and I wasn't sure i'd ever love another dog as wholly as I did him.
Upon my return after the hospitalization, I was confronted with a choice from the training staff. Before I had a chance to listen to their proposition, a gorgeous, lively, yellow girl bounced across the training room and tossed a tennis ball directly into my lap. As it landed, she focused her eyes on me, and cocked her head to the side. For the first time in weeks, I felt something that was honest and beautiful. As I played with her, she was introduced as GEB Gretel. As the trainer spoke, she explained that they decided that Steele was probably not likely to be a good forever match with me, and that she wanted me to meet Gretel. She immidately offered for me to leave that day with her, to see how we meshed.
I went into work, thinking about the interaction with little Gretel. I thought about how she looked at me, and seemed to talk to me in her own way. I knew at once, that she was trying to say something important.