Alice’s first trip to the psychiatrist - Dr. V's Service Dog Adventures

Today was the first time I saw my psychiatric nurse practitioner since getting Alice! Last time I saw her, she told me she wanted me to start bringing Alice to our 15 min appointments right away. So bring her I did!

I decided Alice would wear her training vest, which is red, so Hestia wore her red vest to match!

We walked in, and no one noticed the little puppy in my arms at first! We found a seat across the room from where we normally sit because it was crowded (but everyone was masked!).

Picture taken from a dramatic angle, Veronica sits in the yellow waiting room with both dogs on her lap.

I put Hestia and Alice on my lap, and it was so funny how smushed little Alice was! The small chairs in the waiting room didn’t provide a lot of room for dogs on my lap. Brad got some pictures of us like that, and then after a while Hestia decided she’d rather be on the floor where it was cooler.

Hestia gives her classic googley eyes pose in Veronica’s lap, while Alice is squished!

When we went back to the room, my psych nurse was so happy to see Alice! And the chair was larger, so it was easier to fit both puppers on my lap. My psych nurse said she got her cuteness for the day with these two!

In the green office, Hestia lies on Veronica’s lap, while Alice lies on top of Hestia!

No changes in my meds, so that’s good. I go back in two months!

When I was scheduling my next appointment, Hestia was being so good on the ground without me watching her, and I was holding Alice. Brad got some pictures that are really great.

Hestia stands in front of the front desk behind Veronica

Shot through the leaves of a plant, Veronica leans over to talk with the person scheduling appointments while holding Alice.

Then he got a picture of us on our way back to the car.

Veronica carries Alice as Hestia walks next to her on the sidewalk going back to the van.

It was a busy day today—we also worked on walking on the wire grate (not a problem as long as there are treats dropped all over it!) and Alice got up on the first step of our doggy steps using a platform to raise her half way. She was so confident that she even put her paws up on the second step! So since we did all that plus the outing, we’re going to stretch grooming until tomorrow even though we like to do it every other day. Trying to keep it as low key as possible!

In the pictures, I have my hair in a ponytail and am wearing a pink bird dress and a blue and purple mask. Alice is a sable and white tiny Chin puppy wearing a red vest. Hestia is a black and white Chin wearing a red vest. Brad is wearing yellow pants, a purple shirt, a yellow tie, purple scarf, green blazer, and yellow hat. He has on the PSDP mask, which is black with the green and yellow logo in the corner.