Goldendoodle Cover Boy

[Richard Crowe]

Mr. Gibbs is a goldendoodle service dog who carries little Alida's heavy oxygen tanks in a special harness.  Alida needs oxygen to breath and Mr. Gibbs follows her everywhere carrying her tanks.  I am so proud of this brave little girl and her doodle hero companion...

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

This is my wish too!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

While I hated everything about the way this was handled from the beginning, when I watched the episode on the Drs it did seem like Mr. Gibbs had bonded some with the little girl somewhat.  Although it may have been edited very carefully, I'm not sure, Mr. Gibbs did seem much more relaxed in this episode as he layed quietly on the little girls lap.  There was no more tugging and pulling etc., with him trying to get away like in the first episode.  The guy on the Drs didn't even give me the impression he was aware this had ever been on TV before.  I just want to hope for Mr. Gibbs sake that they learned some things from the outcry after the first episode and that they have gotten some help that is maybe making Mr. Gibbs life a little easier.  Hopefully the little girls issues get better and Mr. Gibbs can then just be a dog.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The thing is, kids outgrow this, usually by the time they are six. What kind of independence can a three year old have, anyway? They can't go anywhere by themselves, a parent has to be there all the time anyway, so why can't a parent carry the oxygen? Wouldn't it make more sense if a child is in a playground with swings and slides for the parent to be holding the oxygen tank instead of the dog?
This dog was not trained for service. The "trainer" the father refers to is a very young girl who took a seminar in dog training. She is not part of any service dog organization or even an employee of an established training business. She is "independent" and does this on her own. Mr. Gibbs was barely trained in basic obedience when they gave him to this three year old.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

This family was just on THE DR.'s show again this past week. It did seem a little better for Mr. Gibbs as the girl gets a bit older.

I hope they took heed to all the negative remarks that were posted on line after the original post though Facebook\ and this is not just a ploy to "clean it up" for the camera. They did not mention any negativity towards them which makes me wonder.

I wish I knew how to post the video, I found it but have no idea how to copy it. Somebody else could do it I suppose, here is the link:

http://www.recapo.com/the-doctors/the-doctors-kids/the-drs-alida-mr...

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Ha!   OMD, I, Ms. Optimistic,  agree and it is making me laugh!  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

With my cynical nature,I believe that the family makes money from the publicity. Perhaps they hope to have a reality show.

[cheryl & oliver]

I thought that was the story we had talked about before here.  I believe they had the family on the Today show several months ago...I definately think this is cruelty to the doodle....A three year old is not capable of taking care of a dog, and I feel for the child, as we all do, but I don't think that a dog is for her at this age....I am very surprized that they are still doing this story...I was hoping that with all the controversy, another solution was found for this little girl....So sad for this doodle.....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sadly, there are photos on-line of Mr. Gibbs now wearing a shock collar, too. I wonder if the three year old who enjoyed whacking him in the head a few months ago now enjoys shocking him, as well.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I'm sorry to see this making a cover, not a good story and one that is etched deeply in my mind.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is not what it seems, and not a good situation for the doodle. There has been great controversy over this story since it first appeared months ago.