The Cat That Went to Homecoming Read Online Free PDF

looked at her hand, but he would not take
the treat.
    “I never give him treats from my hand,” I
explained to her. “He has never taken food from my hand.”
    Jane rubbed his head and smiled at me. “Well,
that’s one thing you will need to work on. It is important that a
cat be trained to take a treat out of the hand. People love to give
the animals a treat, and they will expect them to take it out of
their hand.”
    She went on to explain to me that cats cannot
see beneath their noses, their “blind spot.” When a treat is
offered to a cat open handed, the cat uses his nose to root around,
searching for the treat by scent. The sensation of the nose bumping
into a person’s hand brings pleasure to the person offering the
treat. Often people that are being visited by animal-human teams
are lonely, and experience very little touching. Just that little
bumping of the nose into their hand brings a smile to their faces.
It feels as if they are being petted by the animal.
    Hershey squirmed in my arms to be released,
so I put him on the floor and allowed him to walk around. He
immediately went to a small hole in the floorboard and peeked into
it in fascination. Jane chuckled. Hershey looked up at Jane, and
then walked over to her and rubbed up against her legs.
    She squatted to his level and rubbed his
chin, his face aiming skyward and lids closed. He loved getting his
chin rubbed.
    “Hershey is definitely a friendly cat who
will socialize well with people. I have no doubt about that,” Jane
said. “But, Ellen, let’s talk about you.”
    Gulp! Oh no! Here it comes; I’m not fit
for the position physically. I wanted to leave before she could
say this to me.
    She motioned for me to sit at the table with
her. I picked Hershey up and carried him with me. I sat him on my
lap and stroked his coat, heart pounding and eyes wide because I
was so nervous.
    “Ellen, I can see that you and Hershey have
an inseparable bond. Hershey has complete trust in you, and this is
so important. Animals are naturally unpredictable, so anything can
happen during a visitation. If the animal and the human handler
work well together, the chances of problems arising lessen.
    “But, Ellen, you seem to be very insecure.
You interact with Hershey and keep him calm and reassured, but you
never made eye contact with me during the role playing
exercises.”
    I swallowed hard and looked right into her
eyes. I was terrified, but her eyes were so kind and gentle that I
almost melted.
    “If I could make a suggestion, it would be
that you work on conversation starters. When you hand Hershey off
into someone’s lap, you want to squat down to his level and
converse with the client. He can hear your voice, which will keep
him at ease, and the client will enjoy the human interaction.”
    She suggested I start out by making a list of
interesting cat facts to share with the client. “For instance, you
could ask the client if they know what a cat’s whiskers are used
for.”
    She placed a hand over one of mine, her eyes
locked on mine, and said, “You are a beautiful person with a
God-given gift. Open yourself up and allow that gift to shine.”
    I heard my mom sniffle. I had almost
forgotten she was there! I glanced at her and she was crying.
    Jane looked over at my mom and smiled at her.
“I am so glad to have met your daughter and Hershey today; you have
raised a very special young lady here.”
    I had to swipe away a tear myself. I was so
moved by Jane and suddenly very inspired.
    “Ladies, I think we should wrap this up. Each
assignment in the field is two hours or less for the sake of the
animal. We never want to overwhelm the animal; he is your first
priority. When he seems to be uncomfortable, you, as his support,
must remove him from the situation. Never be afraid of hurting
someone’s feelings if you have to do this, it is for the safety of
Hershey.”
    She shared some last minute information with
us. I was going to need to be registered with Pet