Working-K9: July 2009 Posts

Sunday, July 26, 2009
Let's Dance

Get up, get up, get busy do it
Get up and move that body
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over
Get up, get up, get busy do it
I wanna see you party.
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over

Yes I to feel the need to bust a move from time to time and at my humans' brothers wedding reception I did just that. Well I tried at least. Normally my human and I dace together in the privacy of our home without an audience so for this performance my human tried to keep my focus on her but it didn't work as well as she would have liked. Still after a few carrot treats I did finally shake my booty.

Click Here to view the movie on YouTube

Saturday, July 25, 2009
The surgery that wasn't

My next big story to tell you all was supposed to me of my humans' heroism in the face of surgical aftermath. That isn't going to happen just yet. You see she was supposed to have surgery to replace a badly damaged left shoulder on the 22nd and after all the prep, all the needle pokes and even being knocked out and pushed in to the operating room; surgery was canceled. Postponed may be a closer approximation actually.

You see the docs, all new ones again this time around, failed to heed my humans' words which is nothing new. They, like so many others, have now been humbled a bit by the experience that is "Myra". They tried for two hours to get the intubation (breathing) tube down to secure her airway. In fact three of their finest tried over the course of the two hours but it was all for not.

All they really managed to do was give my human a soar throat and nose, a tongue that resembled ground beef in spots and a totally limp and numb left arm which stayed in that state for nearly 16 hours. You see the nerve block for the surgery was the only aspect that went as planned.

The doctors are now waiting for my humans throat to heal and will try again in a few weeks. They also plan to reassemble one of the other anesthesia teams that had successfully intubated her last year in the hopes that next time they'll actually be able to do the much need surgery.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Wedded Bliss

Long before the sun peeked over the horizon Friday morning my humans annoying alarm clock sounded the call to action. I groaned, as did my human and her mother. I tried to stay in bed but the humans wouldn't let me. They did however feed me at the wee hours of the morn and for some insane reason expected me to poop on command. Ya right, like that was gonna happen.

Then Rose stopped over to join in the early morning antics. A third crazy human in the house, could this day have gotten any stranger? Well it did. A spiffy blue van showed up and a man I didn't know jumped out to greet me. I barked. I'm cranky without my beauty sleep you know.

We all got in the blue van and headed for the air port. Strange but I'd been there before picking people up so no biggie. However unlike other trips we didn't stop and wait for some expected stranger. We kept going. Through lines and in to the security area, which I didn't like one bit. My human and I made this machine beep. We were dragged aside; my human was scanned and petted by the security lady. That was actually kind of nice I thought. Then I was petted which I did enjoy a bit but was still wary of the whole experience.

As if that was strange enough we then got on board a mode of transport I had never seen or experienced before. Always open for a new adventure my human had to restrain me a little from checking out every seat and isle in the new vehicle until she found the place she wanted to sit. She got in and called me in to join her. I had about 6 inches of space to maneuver in, she was nuts! A little tug on the leash and I realized that yes she was in fact totally nuts but I wasn't getting out of it either. Now I wish I had pooped at home.

I wiggled my back end in to the tiny space under the seat in front of my humans' seat. No seat for the doggie I see. How unfair is that. So I squished my body in to that space and settled in for the trip. Then the strangest thing happened. We weren't simply moving forward, we started going up and that's just not natural. I was a little unsettled by this and poked my head up to look for an escape route. My human and her mother grabbed my head and held me in place while saying nice things to me in an attempt to appease me. This is where doggie biscuits would have been better.

Once the vertical ascension was complete I settled back down and slept until the plane started to descend towards the ground once again and as before I was snatched before I could make my escape. I couldn't get off that plane fast enough once we started heading towards the door.

Once out of the aircraft and free from the airport I suddenly realized I wasn't in phoenix anymore. The ground was covered in a thick carpet of this stuff that seemed like our grass but it was soft, wet and spongy. It took me a few moments to learn to walk on this new substance.

Naturally the humans wanted me to potty before we entered the hotel but I was too busy sniffing this new and strange world to even think about peeing. So the humans gave up and we went inside. While my human and her mother were getting prepped for the next event of the evening I decided to break every rule I had been taught and jumped up on the bed, curled up with the pillows and fell fast asleep. It was heavenly. Then they woke me up.

We piled in to the rental car again and headed off to a church of all places. My human and I mostly watched as lots of other humans scrambled about putting tables and chairs up. Then my human handed me off to her uncle as she went up the stairs with her folks. Yes her dad was there too! This made her very happy.

I'm not sure what they did up there but as long as Uncle Jerry was petting me and walking me around I was cool with it. They all came back down quite awhile later totally soaked with sweat. Apparently there was no air conditioning up stairs.

The humans proceeded to eat and not share with me. They laughed and talked and did all the silly things that humans do. As night fell we once again got back in the car and returned to the hotel where I finally decided I should stop and pee before going in. The humans were a little too excited to see me pee. Humans are so strange.

People kept coming in an out of our room most of the night. Apparently there was much coordinating to do. Lots of texts and phone calls. We finally get to bed and it starts getting colder and colder in the room. Keep in mind the AC was turned off the moment my humans first checked in.

Breaking from her usual behavior my human invited me in to her bed and I curled up next to her keeping her warm. She kept getting closer and closer to me and slowly over the course of the few hours of sleep we got I found that I had been pushed from one side of the bed to the very edge of the other. Ok so now maybe I know how she felt when I'd try to push her out of her bed when I was a pup and still learning the no dogs in bed rule.

The humans woke, wolfed out a little food, as did I. They tried to get me to potty again and again I was too distracted to poo. Then we were off again. This time to another building where we met more family who had apparently flown in late last night, which explains all the phone calls. The humans are more and chatted and finally my human had pity on me and slipped a strip of bacon under the table for me.

Then we were back in the car again and darting back to the hotel. These humans just can't make up their minds where they want to be I swear. They changed clothes again. A few other humans appeared and worked on hair styles. I was even brushed a bit. Then I was given another chance to potty but I wasn't ready yet.

So back in the car we went and back to that church. This time I went upstairs with the humans and you know what, it was a bit hot up there. I was dressed in a snazzy bandana which was apparently made from the same material as my humans dress. I looked fabulous. My human was pretty spiffy too. I was once again handed off to Uncle Jerry who kept taking me outside. I must admit I was getting uncomfortable at this point and being away from my human didn't help either. I like to make sure she's ok at all times, unless I'm eating, then she's on her own.

On the way back to the church I couldn't hold it anymore and I relieved myself. It felt soooo good. Uncle Jerry seemed rather impressed with the pile and brought me inside to tell my human of my accomplishment. He then had to go back outside with potty bags to clean up my mess. It took several bags which he then proceeded to tell everyone about as if it were some mythic tale of heroism.

My human helped me to where I would be sitting with Uncle Jerry and handed over my leash. Music started and people took their positions. My human and her brother walked down the isle past me, I tried to follow but Jerry wouldn't let me. Other humans walked down the isles.

Music changed and the lady who I came to know as Caitlin walked down with a very proud looking older gentleman. She was so beautiful and looked so happy. People talked, people cried and people laughed. I wanted to go help but again Jerry restrained me. It was all very touching.

Then all the humans started to file out back up the isles. There was some gathering and chatting for a bit before I was reunited with my human and again rushed back to the car. Then back to the place where we had had breakfast that morning. Humans snacked on a patio area but it was hot. Finally we were all allowed indoors to a cooler, somewhat air conditioned room. My humans' brother and his lady love came in and danced. Then the parent folk danced. Then my human and her brother danced. Lots of dancing too place.

After another short meal the general populous of the room was invited to the dance floor. They sure could boogie. Still I was rather bored and my human knew it. So with a few carrots in her hands she walked me out to the dance floor and tried to get me to dance with her as we do at home. Too many people were watching and I wasn't comfortable so I did a few spins and got a carrot. Then I started enjoying the experience more and got down to shake my booty on the dance floor. People laughed and cheered, I got another carrot.

It was hard for me to settle down after all that but my human said I had to. As it got cooler outside the party gathered on the patio once more and again the humans ate. Finally it got dark and downright cold so we all left back to the hotel. The humans changed clothes; other humans stopped in and chatted until finally everyone decided that they'd better get some sleep. As before my human invited me to join her in bed but not wanting to be used like I was the previous night I tried to stay at the foot of the bed. See if she can push me out of bed from here. My human wasn't going to let me get away with that so again I served as her heating blanket.

The next morning came way too quickly and we all got up. I ate my breakfast and the humans dressed. I was allowed to go out to pee before we got back in the car and it was so cold out I wasted no time emptying my bladder.

Then back to the airport where we waited and waited. The humans had breakfast and we still waited. This time the security screening didn't bother me as much, nor did the plane, or even my cramped seating assignment. I was so tired I just didn't care about the up and down, or the turbulence during the landing.

I was just so glad to get home as we all were. My human crashed in her bed and I crashed in mine. We didn't really move much until Monday morning. Now my human is prepping for some other crazy adventure but I don't think I'll be allowed to join her this time.

Pics Here

Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Athena

After Lana went home my human came home with Athena who also happens to be Atlantis's sister. While being sisters they are similar in some ways but very different in others. For starters Athena has her fathers face while Atlantis is all her mother in appearance.

Athena was also a bit better behaved around the house and in this regard made Atlantis look like a very bad puppy. Naturally I'm just awesome so I won't add myself to the comparison.

It took her awhile to warm up to me but when she finally did she sure liked the rough house. Naturally my human wasn't crazy about this so we were frequently put in time outs. I tried on several occasions to get Athena to run with me in the back yard but she simply didn't understand the doggie door. I even demonstrated the ease of its use over and over and my human also attempted to lure her through with treats.

To tell you the truth I think she knew how to use the doggie door fairly early on, she just preferred my human open the people door for her. I think she decided to use the doggie door on her own when she realized that my human needed to work on the computer a lot and she wasn't going to be at Athena's beck-in-call every time she wanted to go out to pee.

My human and I worked tirelessly to teach Athena to retrieve, settle, and to lay like a service dog. My human did all the explaining and luring with treats while I often demonstrated the tasks. I'm happy to say she did make some great progress but we would have needed a lot more time with her to really get the behaviors to sink in. As it was it'll be up to her raisers to finish the job now.

I will say this much about Athena, her house manners were so good that my human let her sleep in the shower with me a few times. That's something Atlantis won't be able to do for awhile, she's just too hyper and crazy.

Of course she's gone now and my human is prepping me for our next big adventure which you can bet I'll write about just as soon as I figure out what it is.

Sunday, July 05, 2009
Parade & Pool

The 4th of July has rolled around again and like last year my humans' neighborhood put on a little parade. Also like last year we joined in. The only difference is that instead of Preston joining us we had Athena.

For those of you trying to keep track Lana went home on July 2nd and my human brought Athena to stay with us for a week. Yes we be puppy swapping a lot lately. My human likes to keep things interesting. I'll write more about Athena's visit later.

No back to the endless thrill ride that was Independence Day.

My human managed to find what she calls "The cutest little 4th of July hat" for me to wear. I call it the "Are you kidding me?" hat. My human is way to easily amused and enjoys making us dogs look ridiculous far too much. It isn't just me either. She put Lana and Athena in the hat too at one point.

For the parade itself I had to wear the hat. Mostly because Athena was too bouncy and stimulated to wear it and while I did humor my human for a time I didn't wear it all that long either. We both had little flag bandanas on and everyone was fawning over us anyways. We also weren't the only dogs in the parade but we were the best dressed.

The parade itself is short but it was hot out, even at 8am. Plus the noise from the cop car leading the parade and the little motor scooters bringing up the rear had Athena a little frazzled. She handled it better than my human thought she would but neither of us wanted to push our luck so after the parade we went home. We missed the refreshments and skits the kids do afterwards.

We all relaxed and cooled off awhile and we all managed to get in a small nap. We needed this nap for what was to come next. Come late afternoon we headed to the family home of a friend. I'd been there before. In fact every time I go there it's always a party and always crazy fun. So naturally I was more than a little excited when we pulled up.

Since we dogs aren't allowed to rampaged through the house, not sure why, we were put out back. That's not a bad thing mind you. This back yard has a pool and lots of room to run and run we did.

Shortly there after many humans came out to frolic in the pool and no I did not get in the pool. Neither did Atlantis for that matter. We preferred to run around the pool and get splashed a bit. That was until I found a nice wet and dirty spot to lie down in, and then roll in.

Actually I found lots of great places to get dirty. Before long I was covered in mud and dry grass bits. It was glorious! Athena didn't quite understand the joys of being filthy but maybe I'll have time to teach her before the next puppy swap. She also didn't really understand why I kept chomping at the water as it splashed and sprayed over the edge of the pool. She was more content to just run around the pool and when she tired she sat next my human up on the patio. I never did tire of my mission to be dirty. I just kept running and rolling pretty much until someone grabbed me. Then I and Athena were hosed off and dried a bit. We were brought inside to cool down but still not allowed to roam. Rather we stayed tethered to the scooter while my human ate more sweets, chatted with people and played the Wii.

Once the sun set the humans all went out to the drive way to light off little fireworks. My human and us dogs watched but didn't get too close. One more trip inside for sweets and we headed home for the night. We all slept very well that night.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Service Dog Awareness Night

This was my second year attending this event. Naturally I let my human come too. We also had Lana in tow and Cadence joined the scooter pull team for awhile. Cadence is only 6 months old however and quickly became impossibly tangled in Lanas' leash.

This year we were actually in a slightly better spot than last year. Well we weren't behind the jumbo screen thing anyways and it was a bit cooler once they closed the roof and fired up the AC. This year we were directly in front of the beer pump room in fact. Kinda cool in some ways but rather annoying when the ball park employees had to repeatedly get in there to pull out more kegs.

The crowds were crazy and we barely had time to relax, and that was before the general public was let in! Once the spectators started flooding in the craziness tripled. Still my human did manage to get a meal or two and like last year she even gave me a little bite from the hot dog. You know I only agree to go with her to these events for the food right.

We did manage to get one lap in around the stadium before the onslaught of the masses encroached and made movement very difficult. It's a very big stadium. Of course they all are.

I was petted and loved on all night long. It was glorious! All the dogs, and I think we may have had around a dozen dogs at the Arizona Goldens LLC booth, enjoyed all sorts of love and attention all night. The other sitters, raisers and handlers that showed up to help were fantastic. If they hadn't shown up I probably wouldn't have gotten as much one on one time with my human. As it was Lana and Cadence were each handed off to other handlers for the night.

During the short but blissful lulls in the crowds you'd think my human would relax and allow me to do the same, but no, she didn't. She made me work. I started doing tricks, some simple stuff and lots of retrieving. Because of the constant roar from those actually watching the baseball game we did have to stick with commands that my human could give with hand gestures only. Yes I was trained with both verbal and gesture commands but we haven't practiced the gestures much in quite a while, it showed, I barked.

In my defense, it was all every exciting and I simply couldn't contain it, that and trying to remember gestures I hadn't seen in a long time it was all just too much. Still we did attract several crowds during our little sessions so maybe my barking wasn't all bad? Hummmm..

I don't know how many flyers we handed out that night. My human did notice that her little stash of flyers was disappearing a lot faster than she was handing them out. Apparently many of the other handlers started using her little pile on the scooter because it was easier than holding their own. She did find it very funny that nearly every time she reached for a flyer to hand out they were nearly gone, even right after she re-supplied herself.

Towards the end of the evening Cadence once again found herself tethered to the scooter. The helpers all took off to watch the fireworks. My human and I, and Cadence watched the rest take apart the booth and pack it away for the trip home. Then they grabbed some dogs and headed for the door. My human tried to get their attention but she figured she'd just hold Cadence as hostage and they'd eventually realize they were not only missing Cadence but that they had Lana who was supposed to come back home with us.

Ashley and pup Prescott joined us in the confusion. Cadence laid down on the scooter foot rest totally exhausted so my human let her ride there as we headed for the door. A quick stop at the grass so the pups could pee, and pee they did, then we continued on our way.

We got lost. Ended up at the wrong parking garage, humans have no sense of direction. Thankfully a nice police officer pointed us in the right direction. We finally arrived at my humans van shortly before the AZG folks did. We all exchanged hostage puppies and went on our separate ways.

Lana and I were dead tired when we got home. We were both out cold long before my human. Now it's only 300 some odd days before we get to do it again!! My human and I are both looking forward to next year already.