Skip, the studio mascot, has found a new best friend.


Asena walks Skip, even on rainy days.

While waiting for her sister, Ayla, to complete her piano lesson, Asena walks Skip. It's a good way to kill the time before her lesson, and has made Skip so happy that he can barely contain himself when they approach the house.

One really amazing thing about this: the girls used to be a really intimidated by dogs when they first started their lessons. Completely understandable, as dogs have huge sharp teeth and can make a lot of noise with their bark. Skip, moonlighting as pet-related stress therapist, helped these girls and others get over their fear of four-legged fuzzballs.

Skip plays many roles in the studio, including:

Entertainer. Whether he is doing his prairie dog pose, snoring to the music, or curling up at the toes of those playing, Skip always offers a little comic relief during every lesson.

Skip works as consoler. Not having the best day? Give that little stinker over there a good pet and some snuggle time, and things will start looking up.

Getting a little frustrated? Hold on a second . . . Get up from the bench and go scratch Skip's belly, and when the steam has stopped billowing from your ears, come back to the piano and try it again.

Here's the reality: I'm pretty sure if it weren't for this cute little fuzzbody we call Skip, most kids wouldn't be that excited about coming to their lessons. So this blog posting is a way for me to say, "Thanks, Skip, for making piano lessons more enjoyable for my students."



Ayla diligently notating her piece while Asena walks Skip.


For a little more pleasure, check out this video. It's so provocative that Skip had to come into the room to see what was going on. In Skip's [humble] opinion, he thinks the dog should save the singing for the shower, but I think he's just a little jealous.