He's a Good Dog,
Fantastic Dancer
By
Sherry Stripling, Special to The Seattle Times, May 12, 2005
People who see the Internet clip of Texas-born Carolyn Scott performing a
song from "Grease" with her golden retriever Rookie are riveted
to the screen. Thousands have sent her e-mails, many saying they cried with
joy. They know they're seeing something special between this woman and this dog
as Rookie spins and grins at Scott in the relatively new sport of canine
freestyle dance, but they can't quite put their finger on it.
 "They look at that capacity for love and they want it," says Rochelle
Lesser, a school psychologist who is making a documentary film on Scott and
Rookie. "They can't comprehend anything that pure."
Scott, 58, and Rookie, 12, are making their first appearance together in the
Northwest this weekend in Woodinville, where they will demonstrate and teach
their technical skills for canine freestyle, which uses choreographed
musical routines.
But their lessons in life are even more powerful.
Scott was scarred by polio that weakened her right side and damaged her
self-confidence. She was shunned from people's houses out of fear when she
was 4 years old. As an adult, she grew too
afraid to leave her house without the support of her husband, her
high-school sweetheart.
Then she got Rookie, a submissive puppy who was fearful of people and tight
places. He collapsed when confronted with anything new.
Their journey is a lesson in reading each other's strengths and the trust
that comes from consistent, positive reinforcement.
"Through the process of working on his fears, I started addressing some of
mine," said Scott, in a warm and moderated Texas accent by phone from her
home in Houston.
Seeing the limits fear placed on Rookie's life allowed Scott to see how she
limited her own life.
Today she and Rookie appear all over the country and on television, though
Scott still has to talk herself through her nervousness.
She says she owes it all to that "little yellow dog." Though she worries
about what will happen when Rookie grows too old to accompany her, she's
made successful trips on her own for workshops in Japan and Australia.
Norway is next.
"My husband is totally in shock, and so are my kids," Scott said. "I'm
getting over the hump."
"You must do what
you find hardest to do." — Eleanor Roosevelt
The journey for Scott began
in 1950 when she contracted polio at age 4, just two years before the
terrible disease reached its peak, afflicting 21,000 people in the U.S.
By the time she was released from a hospital for "crippled children" near
Gonzales, Texas, her right leg was an inch and a half smaller than her left
and the muscles had atrophied.
She hid her limp, just as President Roosevelt hid his paralysis after
contracting the disease in 1921. FDR used arm strength and braces to appear
in public as if he were standing.
"Most of us polio survivors did overcompensate," Scott says. "We worked hard
and just focused on achieving. I didn't start talking about it until the
last few years." Much of her hard work as a child to rebuild her mobility has come back to
haunt her. She wore her leg out, she says. She suffers continued
deterioration on her ride side. Her left leg is starting to give from
carrying the load. Scott's first bond outside her family was with a collie. As an adult, she
trained dogs for obedience.
But the handler must confine movement in obedience and Scott "wavered in the
wind." She was afraid of falling and embarrassing herself. And when she got
Rookie, she could see that obedience was too rigid for his fragile nature.
In 1996, when he was 3, she
introduced him to the new sport of canine freestyle dance, a natural for him
and for her. They won — or, as she says, "he" won — the first national
competition in the off-leash division, a highlight of her life.
"It was a process of discovery," Scott says. "I had no idea how much talent
he had. I started watching him closely to see what he enjoyed doing."
She built his confidence by using a "clicker" device that signals to the dog
immediately that he's doing the right thing and reward is on its way.
She taught him spins but he added throwing his feet in the air and other
moves that give him such verve. Though she's trying to keep her balance, she
lets him improvise. "Then I reward him like crazy. He loves doing it."
Lesser, who's making the documentary, says she also has a fearful dog but
she accepts the dog's limitations because she can't or won't put the hours
in that Scott did with Rookie.
"Trust, me, when Carolyn had this fearful dog, this was her life; she was
devoted to overcoming this," Lesser says. "The amount of hours she put into
this would just amaze people. They just see the end product."
As a consequence, there is no other team like them, Lesser believes. No team
that moves so much as one.
She's hoping her documentary, "Gotta Dance," will show that connection,
raise money for canine oncology and deliver the message that people don't
have to stop enjoying life because of difficulties.
"Unfortunately, Carolyn can't be who she is right now without what she went
through," Lesser says. "She's just incredible. She has a real presence."
Instead of telling herself she's going to fall down and how frightened she
is, Scott restructures her thoughts to tell herself she's going to do a good
job. If she falls down, it's OK. And if she questions herself, she has only
to look at Rookie, whose natural personality was hidden under all that fear.
"All of us walk around masquerading ourselves," Scott says. "We don't let
ourselves be vulnerable."
Scott taught Rookie that life is a fun game. She gives him random rewards
and lets him play with people when they go out. "Of course, now he thinks
that's what they're there for," Scott said. "Both of our personalities have
taken a change. He's confident and enjoying life — just like I am."
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company.
Most-Read Features Stories on Seattletimes.com
In the month-by-month
top five features stories for 2005, our own Carolyn Scott made it to
Number 3 for Most-Read Stories in May. 3.
He's a good dog, fantastic dancer
People who see the Internet clip of Texas-born Carolyn Scott
performing a song from "Grease" with her golden retriever Rookie
are riveted to the screen. Thousands have sent her e-mails, many
saying they cried with joy. |
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