At the Fire Station

By Fred
We went to the Dunedin fire station for last night's meeting, a chance to let the dogs get up close to a noisy, flashing fire truck and to see some men in fire gear and to attend a class in real life. After all, these dogs need to remain calm in situations that cause most other dogs to run and jump and pee uncontrollably.

We knew that Berkeley (unlike the fearless Bingo) might be afraid of the truck once the sirens were turned on. She's a little fearful of some loud noises (though she's getting better). And we were right--the sirens sent her into a little panic, but only briefly, and she recovered nicely as you can see the following video:

(Narration: Berkeley and Cheryl walk right up to the truck and down the entire length of it, only a few feet away, and with lights flashing and the truck's loud engine running. Berkeley's sister, Cookie, is right behind them.

It was getting dark, so it's difficult to see how much Berkeley enjoys being petted by the fireman in the video below (Cheryl seemed pretty pleased with him, also). Since he was in coat, too, the normal rule against petting was temporarily waived. And we want her to know that firemen and policemen (the guys with the funny outfits) are good.

(Narration: Berkeley is introduced to a fireman wearing a big hat and a uniform with bright stripes on the coat. He's squatting down to pet her and grinning into the camera with what some people might consider to be a handsome face. At the very end you hear a load noise from one of the firemen's play toys. Berkeley didn't seem to mind it.