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Meet Kermit the Newf And Fozzie Bear
Hi, I’m Kermit the Newf. Thanks for stopping by my website. Inside you will find lots of interesting and fun articles and photos of my active life and career, but first let me tell you a little about myself.
I am a black and white Landseer Newfoundland dog. I know, most Newfs you see are all black but there are also all Brown and all Grey ones. The black and whites are called Landseers because a famous British artist named Sir Edwin Landseer painted portraits of many of these dogs and from then on the name stuck.
My official AKC registered name is Rockbottom’s Color Me Bad at Shagannappi THDX, CD, RN, DD5, CGC. Can you imagine trying to tell me to sit or come with that mouthful? Me either, so Kermit it is. I have these initials after my name that I earned through various training programs and tests. They are THDX (Therapy Dog Excellent Title), CD (Companion Dog – obedience), DD5 (Draft Dog with 5 re-qualifications) RN, Rally Novice, and CGC (Canine Good Citizen).
I’m ten years old now (about 75 in human years) and yes I really do have a career. Qualifying for these titles has helped to prepare me for my most important job. Service Dog for my favorite person in whole world, Bonnie. In future columns I’ll be writing about what I do for her and why she needs me and I’ll also tell you about some important things for you to know about Service Dogs in general. Keep checking back here.
In my capacity as a Therapy Dog I work at the Mandel Public Library Of West Palm Beach in the Dog Tales program. I work on the third floor in the children’s section where I have my own space to meet with the kids and have them read to me. It helps them to improve their reading skills, be less shy about reading out loud, and be more confident. Some even overcome their fear of dogs because I am so gentle even if I am big.
I have worked at the Renaissance Learning Center, a public charter school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, where I visit the classrooms and work with the kids. This helps them learn how to connect socially and to start to understand how to read social cues. It also helps the teachers by lifting their spirits and helping them connect to their students. Between you and me, I don’t consider this work because I get more pleasure out of this than anyone and I love these kids so much. I’ll tell you more about this in future columns.
I currently travel around the country with my nephew and best buddy, Fozzie Bear, to schools with my humans. We do programs for elementary age children and special needs classes all around the country, though we mostly concentrate in Florida and Michigan.
Another major activity of mine is professional acting. I have acted in more than a twodozen TV commercials, numerous print ads and as a celebrity at corporate meetings. I even appear in a photo book by world famous photographer Bruce Weber that he did for Dedon Furniture, entitled Coming Home. I have also done an editorial photo shoot for Terra Nova Style which is an Italian fashion line. By the way, Newfoundlands in Italy are called Terra Nova, which translates roughly as New Land. In a future column I’ll give links to my commercials on YouTube.
I have a few hobbies too. One of them is pulling my cart. Newfoundland Dogs were used by fisherman in Newfoundland, Canada to haul purse seine nets and to rescue anything that fell overboard. In addition, they would pull a cart with the day’s catch to market and haul the fisherman’s equipment to and from the docks. I pull my cart to the grocery store with Bonnie and walk up and down the isles with her and guide her home with all the packages.
Another hobby of mine is travel. I have ridden in most types of transportation including motorhomes, elevators, escalators, buses, trolleys and even on airplanes in the cabin with all the other passengers.
Dogs may not speak the same language as you but we do communicate through body language and vocal cues. So my human interpreters will be translating for me to assist with this blog.
Activities
Kermit's Therapy Dog Activities
One of my favorite jobs is doing the dog tales program at the Mandel Public Library Of West Palm Beach. I get to hang out with the children while they read out loud to me. Even the shy kids enjoy reading to me because I don’t laugh at or criticize them if they make a mistake. I make it fun for them when I roll over on my back or snore. Now my nephew Fozzie Bear has qualified as a therapy dog and works with me so we can help a lot more kids. I also enjoy working at a school for autistic spectrum students. I visit all the classrooms and try to help the children learn to connect and interact with me and Bonnie. We have had some breakthroughs that are very satisfying. The teachers love us because we help them connect with their students and make their job easier and calmer.
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