Meet Newberry! A truly special pooch! Tino thinks he's the BEST!
HERE IS HIS STORY told by his owner and handler Nancy.
One morning in March 2009, I was in my kitchen doing dishes while listening to my small radio. My radio station suddenly changed on its own to a country and western radio station. Immediately the announcer, Heather, at KFROG, was asking “do you need a vacation? Have you had a bad year?” My ears perked up and I yelled out loud at the radio, “yes, yes I do need a vacation; I have had a bad year!” Heather announced her e-mail address and I ran into my office and immediately e-mailed her and told her my about my bad year. Heather immediately replied with a short e-mail back “Oh my, Nancy, listen tomorrow at 9:30 when we announce a winner.” When I returned to my kitchen my original radio station was playing again. So strange I had thought.
I anxiously listened the next day to KFROG at 9:30 and Heather called my name. I had won an all expense paid get away for two to Laughlin Nevada at the Avi Resort and Casino. I was delighted and excited to get away and called my husband crying with joy at the coincidence.
We were not able to take the vacation until November of that year. My husband, a motorcycle rider and a fan of Huell Howser, had seen an episode of Huell at at the Bagdad café just outside of Barstow, California. Since this was on our way, he advised me not to cook breakfast and we would stop there, as this was a place he wanted to stake out for one of his upcoming motorcycle trips.
The morning of our trip we found ourselves at the Bagdad Café in Newberry Springs, Ca just off old Route 66. As we ate our breakfast a little brown dog was looking at us through the window. We didn’t think anything of it until we were leaving and the small brown poodle jumped up into my arms and put both his front paws around my neck. The café manager said that someone had stopped the night before and dumped him out of a car and they were afraid he would get hit on the busy Route 66 highway. One pathetic look from me to my husband as this little brown fur ball clung to me tightly, and he shook his head yes. We paid the restaurant manager to take care of him until our return from Laughlin 2 days later.
On the way to Laughlin, I called a vet that all of my neighbors use and told the receptionist my story of finding a stray and she said the first visit would cost $96.00. I scheduled the visit for 4 days later. We had a fabulous time in Laughlin and this was our first vacation in over a year and a half and the best part of it was that it was free! One evening after dinner, I wanted to play the nickel slots and put in $5.00. I started wining and encouraged my husband to play the machine next to me. We had a blast winning and loosing on these 2 machines for three hours working on my $5.00 investment. We decided to cash in our buckets full of nickels and we had won a total of $96.00, not $96.20, or $96.05, but $96.00 exactly. We grinned and commented on the coincidence.
On our way back home and to pick up our new dog, our emotions ran high. What if the dog was not there upon our return? What if the dog was ill? What if the dog was mean tempered? Was this dog going to tear up our home? Since we had never had a dog, how were we going to incorporate the dog into our schedule? All of these thoughts were buzzing in our heads as we drove up to the café. We went inside and the manager brought out this sweet little brown poodle and when she gave him to me, Steve and I both just melted. I looked at Steve and he grinned from ear to ear, a very happy and emotional grin that I had not seen in a very long time. As the restaurant crew walked us out to the car they asked us if we were going to name him Bagdad and I said no, his name is Newberry. I thought Baghdad did not quite capture this sweet little brown bundle of fur that lay content in my arms. Newberry of Newberry Springs CA. was his name I announced loudly without previous thought and with a glee in my voice.
This little brown poodle sat in my lap the entire trip home. He smelled like a pig that had happily rolled in muck. The smell was so bad I had the air on high and the windows rolled down trying very hard not to throw up. It would be a long 2 hours home I thought, but we were in love with this stinky little creature of the unknown. As I stared deep into Newberry’s beautiful brown eyes, I told my husband that it was very strange; I thought Newberry had his Mother’s eyes. My husband never took his eyes off the road and casually said, “yea, I know.” You know I exclaimed, what do you mean you know? He sad that was the first thing he noticed. He asked if I remembered what his Mom always said about poodles. Oh my gosh I thought, his Mom, Rita, had always said she wanted to be re-incarnated as a poodle because poodle owners take the best care of their dogs. Several more miles of silence and he said to me, do you remember what happened to Mom in the hospital? By this time my mind was on over load and I was in disbelief. One night in the hospital before Rita passed; the hospital had called us early in the morning to inform us she had fallen out of bed. When we went to the hospital to check on her she said she had a nightmare and fell out of bed. I couldn’t believe her frail little black and blue body. I asked her what had happened in her nightmare to cause her such terror and she said she dreamed that someone had dumped her off in the middle of the dessert near Barstow.
I kid you not, on that highway, 40 and I 15, just out of Barstow, our years’ worth of stress, tragedy, and uncertainty quickly turned into spiritual believers. Could this be a twist of fate for us? The change of the radio station. The coincidence of winning the $96.00, the amount of the first vet payment? The vision of his Mom being dumped in the dessert near Barstow? Her thoughts and wishes of being reincarnated as a poodle? Was our life being turned around? Was this dog a blessing for our sadness and our recent disappointments? I remember looking into Newberry’s eyes thinking it seemed there was an excitement from all three of us, an excitement that life was going to change.
Since we did not know anything about dogs, we enrolled in a dog training class. We quickly learned the ropes and responsibilities of dog ownership. Potty outside and leave it was our tasks for the next 6 weeks. It was about this time that we noticed Newberry would lay flat on his belly with all four legs stretched out whining like a toddler in a toy aisle if we would not let him go visit kids and other dogs during our walks. We discovered Newberry loved and licked anyone in sight, rolling over on his back to get petted in just the right spot. He would stop dead in his tracks, whine, and would not move until we let him visit other people. He especially loved children. I mentioned this to our trainer one day in class and asked him what we should do. He said Newberry has a need to be around people and told us about therapy dog training and said we should enroll Newberry in a class, as we needed to “feed” his need to be around other people.
Newberry and I earned our certificate in pet therapy and stared a new life of visiting seniors at nursing homes. He would hop up on the bed and look lovingly into the eyes of a nursing home patient and lay down on their bed while his new friend cooed, petted, and admired him. Newberry always brought a smile to the patients as they started telling stories of their past pets or the pets at their home that they could not be with.
Newberry had become a big part of our family. He visited often with Steve’s Father, Charley who had 24 hour care at his home after Rita passed. He was not able to walk and was wheel chair and bed bound from his stroke in 08. Newberry was great company for him and they quickly became best buddies. Newberry was always excited to jump in the car when he knew he was going to visit Charley. Once in his home, he would run down the hall and pounce on his bed. Our entire visits would consist of Newberry and Charley sitting in his chair or laying in his bed.
In November of 2010 after a brief hospital stay, Charley was brought back home with hospice. On that day, Newberry ran into the house and jumped on his bed as he did all of the other times. But on this occasion, Charley was unable to open his eyes or move his hands. When Newberry saw him, he immediately started licking his eyes, when we made him stop; he started licking Charley's hands and fingers. How did Newberry know we all asked? Right away Newberry sat upon Charley's bed and stayed there for 3 days, moving from his side to his feet, always touching him, but never jumping on him or disturbing him as he always used to do. We literally had to pick him up and take him outside to potty, as he never wanted to leave Charley's bedside. Different nurses would come and go and were so shocked to see this little dedicated dog sitting and watching over Charley. The conversations were sometimes more about Newberry than Charley.
We thought Charley took his last breath at 8:30 am on November 14th and before we knew it, Newberry immediately started licking his hands and fingers and Charley started breathing again. We continued to give Charley permission to leave us and then decided that we needed to be quiet and not talk to him anymore, as we felt our voices may be disturbing him. Newberry then jumped off the bed and did not get back on until he passed at 11:30am. After he passed, Newberry jumped back up on the bed and stayed with him until he was transported out of the house.
We knew we made the perfect choice for Newberry to be a therapy dog, but we are all amazed by his ability to give so much. Who knew this little brown poodle could give us so much love and comfort after being dumped in the dessert? We now know it was an intervention.
Newberry and I continue to work as a therapy team. We have been accepted to Kaiser Hospital in Anaheim. When I get ready and put our badges on and ask him if he wants to go to Kaiser, he starts running around and following me from my bathroom and closet trying to hurry me. He gets so excited, his personality changes and his eyes light up and mouth opens excitedly as if he is smiling. Once we park the car he practically chokes himself on his leash while dragging me in the front door and has a very difficult time waiting patiently for me to sign in. As we move from pediatrics oncology to the pediatrics departments, Newberry tugs and pulls at his leash just waiting to visit someone in need of a hug or distraction from anxiety or isolation. Newberry continues to make kids and adults smile and forget life’s struggles as he looks loving into their eyes while they are petting him and telling us their animal stories. Often a nurse or doctor will walk in and ask about the patients pain and we have yet to encounter anyone needing a pain shot during our visit.
We are truly blessed to be able to share him and bring so much joy to others just as he has done for us. As a side note, we gave Newberry Rita’s birthday, as the vet determined his age was about the same time she had passed.
I anxiously listened the next day to KFROG at 9:30 and Heather called my name. I had won an all expense paid get away for two to Laughlin Nevada at the Avi Resort and Casino. I was delighted and excited to get away and called my husband crying with joy at the coincidence.
We were not able to take the vacation until November of that year. My husband, a motorcycle rider and a fan of Huell Howser, had seen an episode of Huell at at the Bagdad café just outside of Barstow, California. Since this was on our way, he advised me not to cook breakfast and we would stop there, as this was a place he wanted to stake out for one of his upcoming motorcycle trips.
The morning of our trip we found ourselves at the Bagdad Café in Newberry Springs, Ca just off old Route 66. As we ate our breakfast a little brown dog was looking at us through the window. We didn’t think anything of it until we were leaving and the small brown poodle jumped up into my arms and put both his front paws around my neck. The café manager said that someone had stopped the night before and dumped him out of a car and they were afraid he would get hit on the busy Route 66 highway. One pathetic look from me to my husband as this little brown fur ball clung to me tightly, and he shook his head yes. We paid the restaurant manager to take care of him until our return from Laughlin 2 days later.
On the way to Laughlin, I called a vet that all of my neighbors use and told the receptionist my story of finding a stray and she said the first visit would cost $96.00. I scheduled the visit for 4 days later. We had a fabulous time in Laughlin and this was our first vacation in over a year and a half and the best part of it was that it was free! One evening after dinner, I wanted to play the nickel slots and put in $5.00. I started wining and encouraged my husband to play the machine next to me. We had a blast winning and loosing on these 2 machines for three hours working on my $5.00 investment. We decided to cash in our buckets full of nickels and we had won a total of $96.00, not $96.20, or $96.05, but $96.00 exactly. We grinned and commented on the coincidence.
On our way back home and to pick up our new dog, our emotions ran high. What if the dog was not there upon our return? What if the dog was ill? What if the dog was mean tempered? Was this dog going to tear up our home? Since we had never had a dog, how were we going to incorporate the dog into our schedule? All of these thoughts were buzzing in our heads as we drove up to the café. We went inside and the manager brought out this sweet little brown poodle and when she gave him to me, Steve and I both just melted. I looked at Steve and he grinned from ear to ear, a very happy and emotional grin that I had not seen in a very long time. As the restaurant crew walked us out to the car they asked us if we were going to name him Bagdad and I said no, his name is Newberry. I thought Baghdad did not quite capture this sweet little brown bundle of fur that lay content in my arms. Newberry of Newberry Springs CA. was his name I announced loudly without previous thought and with a glee in my voice.
This little brown poodle sat in my lap the entire trip home. He smelled like a pig that had happily rolled in muck. The smell was so bad I had the air on high and the windows rolled down trying very hard not to throw up. It would be a long 2 hours home I thought, but we were in love with this stinky little creature of the unknown. As I stared deep into Newberry’s beautiful brown eyes, I told my husband that it was very strange; I thought Newberry had his Mother’s eyes. My husband never took his eyes off the road and casually said, “yea, I know.” You know I exclaimed, what do you mean you know? He sad that was the first thing he noticed. He asked if I remembered what his Mom always said about poodles. Oh my gosh I thought, his Mom, Rita, had always said she wanted to be re-incarnated as a poodle because poodle owners take the best care of their dogs. Several more miles of silence and he said to me, do you remember what happened to Mom in the hospital? By this time my mind was on over load and I was in disbelief. One night in the hospital before Rita passed; the hospital had called us early in the morning to inform us she had fallen out of bed. When we went to the hospital to check on her she said she had a nightmare and fell out of bed. I couldn’t believe her frail little black and blue body. I asked her what had happened in her nightmare to cause her such terror and she said she dreamed that someone had dumped her off in the middle of the dessert near Barstow.
I kid you not, on that highway, 40 and I 15, just out of Barstow, our years’ worth of stress, tragedy, and uncertainty quickly turned into spiritual believers. Could this be a twist of fate for us? The change of the radio station. The coincidence of winning the $96.00, the amount of the first vet payment? The vision of his Mom being dumped in the dessert near Barstow? Her thoughts and wishes of being reincarnated as a poodle? Was our life being turned around? Was this dog a blessing for our sadness and our recent disappointments? I remember looking into Newberry’s eyes thinking it seemed there was an excitement from all three of us, an excitement that life was going to change.
Since we did not know anything about dogs, we enrolled in a dog training class. We quickly learned the ropes and responsibilities of dog ownership. Potty outside and leave it was our tasks for the next 6 weeks. It was about this time that we noticed Newberry would lay flat on his belly with all four legs stretched out whining like a toddler in a toy aisle if we would not let him go visit kids and other dogs during our walks. We discovered Newberry loved and licked anyone in sight, rolling over on his back to get petted in just the right spot. He would stop dead in his tracks, whine, and would not move until we let him visit other people. He especially loved children. I mentioned this to our trainer one day in class and asked him what we should do. He said Newberry has a need to be around people and told us about therapy dog training and said we should enroll Newberry in a class, as we needed to “feed” his need to be around other people.
Newberry and I earned our certificate in pet therapy and stared a new life of visiting seniors at nursing homes. He would hop up on the bed and look lovingly into the eyes of a nursing home patient and lay down on their bed while his new friend cooed, petted, and admired him. Newberry always brought a smile to the patients as they started telling stories of their past pets or the pets at their home that they could not be with.
Newberry had become a big part of our family. He visited often with Steve’s Father, Charley who had 24 hour care at his home after Rita passed. He was not able to walk and was wheel chair and bed bound from his stroke in 08. Newberry was great company for him and they quickly became best buddies. Newberry was always excited to jump in the car when he knew he was going to visit Charley. Once in his home, he would run down the hall and pounce on his bed. Our entire visits would consist of Newberry and Charley sitting in his chair or laying in his bed.
In November of 2010 after a brief hospital stay, Charley was brought back home with hospice. On that day, Newberry ran into the house and jumped on his bed as he did all of the other times. But on this occasion, Charley was unable to open his eyes or move his hands. When Newberry saw him, he immediately started licking his eyes, when we made him stop; he started licking Charley's hands and fingers. How did Newberry know we all asked? Right away Newberry sat upon Charley's bed and stayed there for 3 days, moving from his side to his feet, always touching him, but never jumping on him or disturbing him as he always used to do. We literally had to pick him up and take him outside to potty, as he never wanted to leave Charley's bedside. Different nurses would come and go and were so shocked to see this little dedicated dog sitting and watching over Charley. The conversations were sometimes more about Newberry than Charley.
We thought Charley took his last breath at 8:30 am on November 14th and before we knew it, Newberry immediately started licking his hands and fingers and Charley started breathing again. We continued to give Charley permission to leave us and then decided that we needed to be quiet and not talk to him anymore, as we felt our voices may be disturbing him. Newberry then jumped off the bed and did not get back on until he passed at 11:30am. After he passed, Newberry jumped back up on the bed and stayed with him until he was transported out of the house.
We knew we made the perfect choice for Newberry to be a therapy dog, but we are all amazed by his ability to give so much. Who knew this little brown poodle could give us so much love and comfort after being dumped in the dessert? We now know it was an intervention.
Newberry and I continue to work as a therapy team. We have been accepted to Kaiser Hospital in Anaheim. When I get ready and put our badges on and ask him if he wants to go to Kaiser, he starts running around and following me from my bathroom and closet trying to hurry me. He gets so excited, his personality changes and his eyes light up and mouth opens excitedly as if he is smiling. Once we park the car he practically chokes himself on his leash while dragging me in the front door and has a very difficult time waiting patiently for me to sign in. As we move from pediatrics oncology to the pediatrics departments, Newberry tugs and pulls at his leash just waiting to visit someone in need of a hug or distraction from anxiety or isolation. Newberry continues to make kids and adults smile and forget life’s struggles as he looks loving into their eyes while they are petting him and telling us their animal stories. Often a nurse or doctor will walk in and ask about the patients pain and we have yet to encounter anyone needing a pain shot during our visit.
We are truly blessed to be able to share him and bring so much joy to others just as he has done for us. As a side note, we gave Newberry Rita’s birthday, as the vet determined his age was about the same time she had passed.
