Burger 21: Friendly to Service Dogs

On Monday I met a friend in the Burger 21 on Linebaugh to discuss a class we would both be teaching.  I was a bit nervous about it.  

I have brought dogs before to Burger 21 and not had a problem, but this time they were really exceptionally pleasant.  We sat in the corner at the back away from everyone.  Eventually, the place filled up and people sat next to us (a mom and her two daughters), but at the beginning, we had the place mostly to ourselves.

The one guy at the counter brought over a bowl of ice water for Corky and I didn't have the heart to tell him that he can't drink in coat.  We just moved it out of the way.  Corky tried to tip it over almost immediately.  

Which led to us using tons of napkins to sop up the water on the floor.  Which Corky then tried to eat.  

Sigh.

All of the wait staff who helped us were friendly and helpful and very cognizant and sweet to Corky.  Even the customers were amazing.  I have never been to a restaurant where all of the moms knew to ask if Corky could be petted first.  

I was at the counter with Corky waiting with one mom who said, "I can't believe my daughter hasn't run over here yet.  She loves dogs." She glanced at their booth and sure enough a small little girl was sliding down and running toward us.  The mom almost yelled at her as she came up to Corky,

"Honey, you have to ask if you can pet him!"

She looked at me.

I shook my head.  "I'm sorry.  He's working.  He can't be petted right now."  

The mom took her daughter's hand.  "See honey, he's working.  He's doing a job."

Dang, these Burger 21 people were on it!

I got back to the booth and my friend and I worked some more.  Then the small family of three moved into the booth next to us.  The two girls sat along the wall and the mom was in the far chair. They made sure to slide in from the far side so as not to bother Corky.

Corky, lying against the booth, is in good position to whack his tail
against the small girl's feet as she is sitting in the booth next to us.

Corky looked up and saw the girls.  He wagged his tail.  It thumped against the older girls feet and ankles.  She smiled and bit into her hamburger.  She knew a good thing when she had it hitting her in the shin.

When we had finished lunch, I thanked the girls next to us for being so nice and letting Corky smack them with his tail.  I told them that he really needed to get his wagger under control.

I highly recommend a stop in Burger 21. Not only for the food, but for the service and the people.  They are uniformly nice and pleasant.  It was a great lunch.

Puppy Portraits: Christmas Presents

Santa brought some very nice presents to our house and there were some improved lenses to help take better photos for the blog.  So, today, I have some examples taken with one of my new lenses. (In case you are interested, I use a Canon Rebel T3 and this lens is a 24-105mm).  Our December meeting was a webinar by Jen Gerrity on dog body language, so I will use what I learned to evaluate the photos to see if our puppies are relaxed or not!!

A relaxed dog is indicated by a face that is squishy and soft.  The muzzle is soft, not drawn tight, not tense.  There are not whites of the eyes showing; the eyes are not wide open.  The ears are soft and crinkly.

Portrait of Jam, our career changed yellow lab.

Jammy, is always up for a photo.  You can see that his muzzle is soft, his ears are soft and his eyes are at ease.  He's a photo fan.

Corky, a black lab guide dog in training, looking off to the side. 

Here is a photo of Corky, our current southeastern guide dog in training. While he is looking off to the side, his face is fairly relaxed. You can see his underlip jowl, so his mouth is still soft. His eyes relaxed.

Willow , a chocolate lab, sunning in the garden.

Willow doesn't like the camera and it is hard to get a happy photo of her.  You have to get her when she is not watching or very relaxed.  I happened to get her relaxing in a dirt hole she dug in the garden.  Her face is relaxed, her ears are relaxed and her eyes are soft.

Photographing dogs in some ways is like photographing people.  Some like the camera and some don't and shut down.  If you know what to look for: tight ears, mouth, whale eyes (where the whites of the eyes are showing), you know the dog is tense and the photo will not be good or look natural and you can work to make your subject more relaxed.  Good luck!

New Assessment Kennel!

It was a long drive to Southeastern Guide Dogs for a puppy meeting, but the reason was quite a special one: the opening of the new assessment kennel!!! And we were going to get to see it for the first time! WOOT!!  How exciting is that?!

South and Central Pinellas Puppy Raiser Groups had obedience before the opening ceremony. John Bauer was leading the meeting.

 It was a lovely day for a building ribbon cutting ceremony.  Perfect weather for it.  And there was a nice big crowd.

Puppy raisers were doing obedience.

Fred and Dewey were in the sun for a tiny bit.

Dewey quickly migrated to a down stay in the shade.

Westen was looking very handsome.

A south puppy raiser and her cute yellow puppy.

Brian and Marcia are trying the sit and pay attention to me command. 

Bill walks up to try and distract Marcia, but fails. 

Julie was puppy sitting Java.

Cesar, a yellow lab puppy, was just so darn photogenic.

Cesar, smiling.

Chris pointed out this guide dog with a curly tail.  We think he must have Jack as a dad.  Jam has Jack as a dad.  Curly tails are his speciality.

Titus welcoming us to the ribbon cutting.

Cesar, being cute again.

Mr. Hirst talking about the center, named after him and his generous donation.

Marcia remembers me.  Can you see her foot on my foot?

Outside of the Hirst Assessment Kennel.

 

Inside of the female kennel wing.

female kennels.

Self-watering drinking fountains for the dogs in the kennels! How cool is that?

One of the pups was already learning how to drink out of the fountain!

Hurricane proof in-out doors on the kennels.  

Grates for waste, easy clean up, drains are flushed every 20 minutes (I hope I have that right!).

They have their own vet clinic. See photos below.

Place for exams.

Scales to get weighed! She was 38 pounds. 

Privacy Wing.

For the ladies in the red tent.

For training in inclement weather and all other testing, etc. Those big glass windows at the back house the observation room.  Turn off the lights and the dogs don't know you are there!

Spa grooming center!

 It was such a fabulous center.  So nice and clean and state of the art.  What a joy for our puppies going in for training.  Thank you Mr. Hirst and to all the donors who made every inch of that training facility possible.  It is an amazing place. Dewey will love it.

Puppy Raiser Day for Coach

Thursday I went to the dentist.  I arrived an hour early because I had the time wrong.  Silly me.  So, I went out and did some browsing, lost track of time and and was almost late for my appointment.  Now, generally, I don't think of myself as a person who fears the dentist, but the dental hygienist took my blood pressure and said:

"Oh. Your blood pressure is 159 over 95. Is it usually that high?"

"No."

"Let's take it again." The machine shows 147/97. Not better. Tonya starts to tell me how this is heart attack range and did my prescriptions list have blood pressure medication on it?

"No, that was Crestor for cholesterol," I say.  "Couldn't it be that I'm just stressed about being at the dentist?"

"Or that you need to buy a blood pressure machine and have this checked out." She points at the machine.  "This brand is really good.  You can get it at Walgreens."

Great.  I start trying to do deep breaths.  In two days I will be going to puppy raiser day and the last thing I need is to have a heart attack and miss it.  Tonya starts to clean my teeth.

Are my arms going numb? I shake them surreptitiously.  Is that tingling? She is spraying water into my mouth and dragging a sharp pick over my teeth.  Deep breaths, deep breaths.  I try think about how long someone stays in the hospital if they have a heart attack.  Would I get out by Saturday? Would they just give me some blood thinners and send me home or could I check myself out by Saturday morning to go to puppy raiser day?

I'm pretty sure it's just stress. Deep breaths. I went to the doctor's last week and it wasn't that high. I am NOT missing puppy raiser day.

I made it through the appointment without a medical incident and made it to Saturday morning. We
got up early to get ready to make sure we were on the road to make it to Melisa's on time.

We picked up Melisa, dropped Jam at Larry and Gabrielle's (who were nice enough to baby sit for us!), Dewey was safe with Rita and Al, and we headed on down to Southeastern.

Yes. We arrived early.

Then we waited.  But it was a good thing because we had an opportunity to meet Steve Dunn and his wife Laurie.  They were the volunteers who took Coach home when he developed severe kennel stress.

Fred, Steve, Laurie and Cheryl at Southeastern Guide Dogs.

Coach was able to relax and rejuvenate at their house, which allowed him to remain in the program. We are so grateful for their kindness to Coach and willingness to take him back and forth.

Then it was outside to wait to see the graduates practice their route with their guide dogs.  It was just amazing.  I don't think I have ever seen anything so awe-inspiring or something that makes me happier.  Those dogs were so happy.  Every tail was sky high.

Kristen coming down the sidewalk with Coach.

You can tell Coach is intent on working because his tail is up and curly. Kristen was the smallest of the graduates and Coach was the largest dog.  Yet they made an amazing team.

Close up of Kristen and Coach photo by Durga Garcia.

She needed a dog who got along with horses and who had a fast pace and trust me, this team can move!

 Marisa was the head trainer for the group and she did an amazing job with Coach and we can't thank her enough for giving him all the skills he needed to get to the point he where he could do this amazing job for Kristen.

After the route, they brought Kristen and Coach out to see us.  It was so sweet.  Coach was sniffing around and knew something was up, but not quite what.  Then he saw us.  He did several tiny butt tucks, circles as fast as he could.  He was so sweet.  Then I bent down to kiss him and Coach jumped up and to kiss me.

Fred and Cheryl meeting Kristen.  Trainer Caitlyn brought her to us. Photo by Durga Garcia.

We met in the middle.  Hard.  I heard my tooth make contact with his tooth.

We went into brunch and had a great time talking and learning more about Kristen and Coach and how they are working together. And then it came time to leave.  We gathered together for one more photo.

Marisa, Coach's trainer, Fred, Cheryl and Kristen and Coach

It had been a completely happy and lovely morning.  When I was using the restroom to leave, I checked my tooth out.  There was a small chip off my front tooth.  A permanent reminder that we had had a hand in make a guide dog, for it takes a village: puppy raising services, the kennel staff, trainers, the Dunns, puppy raisers and the people they interact with all combined to create a confident, well mannered dog who will be someone's partner for life. It's not one thing, it is many things.  It's not one person, it is many people working together for the benefit of that one dog and they all get to say: Coach is my guide dog. Coach is our fourth puppy to raise and our first puppy to make it as a guide dog, so for all of you puppy raisers out there who haven't had one make it yet: don't give up.  

As for me, I won't be going back to the dentist. I'll just live with the chip.  It gives me good memories.

The Man Cave

Sometimes, Coach doesn't want to be bothered.  He has had enough.  He is over it.  He needs some shut eye.  That's when he retreats to the man cave.  Yes, I have a man cave in my office.  It's actually the small dark space under my desk, but Coach really likes it down there.

Coach lying down in the man cave.

One of his favorite things to do is have someone love on him and then all of a sudden he will leap up and walk away.  "I'm done now." 

He usually walks to the man cave and disappears.  He can be coaxed out of the man cave to see someone.  But on occasion, he does get a little grumpy.

Coach is sitting up in the man cave and is sticking his tongue out.

I think he was sticking his tongue out at me.  Seriously, little dude?

"Stay out of the man cave!"

Little buddy, the man cave is under my control.  It is all under my control.  At least, that is my story and I'm sticking with it!

Toddler Time

One of the exposures that Southeastern Guide Dog puppies in training are supposed to have is time spent with toddlers and babies.  So it was with great pleasure that we went to have lunch with our friends Christy and Eliot, because not only would we be able to see their new baby (Fred was now over his flu-like cold), but we could bring Coach and let Lydia meet him.  Lydia had met Jam before, but he was a little bit too rambunctious for her tastes and she spent most of the time in her mom's arms looking down at Jam.

Coach would be a whole different ballgame, so to speak, for her.

Lydia is lying on the rub a few feet away from Coach but looking at him as he lies between Fred's feet.

 Lydia is a very self confident, almost 2 year old, little girl and her new sister Vivian seems to be a quiet sleeper (albeit a beautiful sleeper!).

Near the end of the visit Vivian opened her eyes for us!

We all went out for a lovely lunch at the neighborhood Greek restaurant and Coach and children all did very well.

Coach is lying next to me and Lydia is petting his body.

When we came back for coffee, Lydia decided she could chance a pet or two with Coach. One of the things that Coach does like to do is lick you, so if Lydia managed to get her face close to his, he would give her a big lick on the face which made her jump back.  I would immediately tell Coach in a stern voice, "No kisses."  Lydia would also look at Coach and as she got near him she would say, "No kisses!"

Lydia is petting Coach on the paw.

He got lots of praise because he was calm and just let her pet him.  She was able to pet him on his paw and on his body.  And he even got a pat on the head.  She still made sure she told him no kisses though.  Just in case.   I really am amazed at his calm demeanor.  He was still and calm and waited for her to come to him.  There was no lunging or jumping.

Coach and Lydia are looking at the camera.  

 I think Coach may be a ladies man!

First All School Convocation

Last Wed. was our first all school convocation.  Our school likes to start the year with a big gathering to welcome everybody back.  We also have a tradition of having the seniors escort a kindergartner into the gym accompanied by a balloon.  In the past, the little ones held the balloons, but they soon grew tired of this onerous task and then at various points in the convocation a balloon would softly and slowly drift upwards to the very high ceiling of the gym as seniors looked a bit panic stricken and kindergartners giggled.  

Serious seniors would try to admonish their kids to keep a firm hold on the balloon, but usually, temptation was too much.  Off it would float and whoever was speaking would hear some giggles and look over to the right and watch silently as the balloon made its slow journey up to the top.

The year more than 20 balloons were set free, faculty knew that the end of the balloons had come.  Their demise was predicted.  But no, more sagacious minds were at work and they came up with the ingenious balloon bracelet.  Now, there is no temptation.  No giggling, no interruptions.  No serious seniors (only happy ones). After all, who wants to give up their fabulous balloon bracelet? 

The all school convocation is joyous and filled with balloons.  Balloons attached to strings which are attached to tiny braceleted wrists.

Photo of the back of Coach's head as he looks out onto the gym floor and the crowd filing in.

Over 1300 people were crowded into the old gym because the weather wouldn't allow us all to walk the distance to the new gym.  The little kids just couldn't make the walk in all that rain.  So, we will have to inaugurate the Straz Family Field House with a different All School Convo.

Coach is lying at my feet with his Southeastern Guide dog coat on.  Can you see the rain sprinkles on it?

This time we sat over on the opposite side from the kids and had a good view of the seniors with their little escorts.

Pairs of seniors walk in with one kindergartner in between them.

It's a great tradition.  It's surprising how many lifers (lifers are students who came in pre-k or k and stayed until senior year) remember who their senior was and who was their little kindergartner.

You can see how intently Coach is staring at something (probably a cheerleader!) as he is surrounded on all sides by students.

Coach got his first exposure to over 1300 people clapping, shouting, and singing in unison. He was a bit disturbed by it at first.  He vocalized a little bit.  Well, a little loudly.  He made a really weird sound that had all the seniors and little ones in our area turning their heads and staring at him.  But gradually, he got used to the noise.  The cheerleaders were another thing.  He watched them and was interested. 

Every time he wanted to bolt forward, there lots of people around and I had to pull him back.  Eventually, he just settled in for the ride.  It didn't last too long. About 20 minutes.

Photo of one of our head student library proctors (a senior) talking with her kindergartner.

But it was something everyone enjoyed.  At the end, Coach even enjoyed it.

Bring on the bagpipers!