What It Means to Sponsor a Puppy

Southeastern Guide Dogs' primary mission is to provide dog who blaze a trail of freedom for their visually impaired partners. A secondary and lesser know mission is the one the dogs have embedded in their brains: their name. For each dog is named for someone special and he or she carries the hopes and dreams of that person's legacy with them. 

Sponsorships

The naming process is a very special process.  A person or a family or group will come together and make a decision to honor someone.  At Berkeley, we decided to honor our retiring headmaster, Joseph A. Merluzzi: JAM.

Joseph A. Merluzzi holding puppy Jam upside down in his arms.

One year, we had one particular student, Austin Iglehart, who raised all the money himself and wanted to recognize and honor his football coach for being such a role model and mentor.  That was Coach. Our sponsor was shy.

Austin Iglehart with Coach on the football field.

And sometimes the honoree touches everyone's heart.  

Christie Bassett

This January, 16 year old Christie Bassett lost her life in a  tragic automobile accident.  In addition to being a competitive swimmer, she was a vivacious young lady with a zest for life and a love for dogs.

Christie with her Uncle Chris's career changed guide dog Johnny.
Christie is a little girl in this photo.

And I know that while you all may be thinking that this is very sad, but I don't know why this matters to the McLeans and why it should matter you.

Christie with Wally, Chip and Chris's current guide dog in training.
Wally is asleep on her lap. Christie is smiling.

When Jam went in for training, he had a problem: he had bad separation anxiety.  Perhaps you have seen the Jam Cam or remember the posts about all the problems we have been working with him on about separation anxiety.  Well, at some point, Southeastern felt that for Jam's mental health that he needed a break and he needed to go to someone who would help him not only with his anxiety but would help him complete his training and allow him to come back, eventually.

They sent him to Chip and Chris.

Chris with Jam.

Chip and Chris got him through.  Chris is Christie's Uncle.  Chris has also been volunteering with Southeastern since 1997. Both he and Chip have been our friends since we got Jam back.  

Sponsorships are a way to let that loved one live on in memory.  We were thrilled that we had an opportunity to be a part of helping to name a puppy after such a sweet girl. Our hope is that you feel that same way.  Will you be a part of helping her name to live on in the spirit of a lab, golden or goldadore puppy?  Just click on Walkathon and go to our walkathon page to make a donation.

Any donation is acceptable!  However, if your donation is $50 or over, I will personally handknit you a scarf like the one Jam is wearing.  Just tell me your favorite color.

Here's a video of Christie.

Street Fair Exposure

Saturday we went to downtown Dunedin for lunch and then the plan was to go over to the concert in the park and see if we could find Coastie.  But we got distracted by the street fair that was going on in Dunedin and ended up spending our afternoon in Dunedin.

Coach and Fred getting reading to start walking down the Pinellas Trail to Dunedin.

The nice thing about Dunedin is that it is so dog friendly.  The bad thing about Dunedin is that it is so dog friendly.  This visit was going to be an exposure heavily laden with dog distractions.  However, since we were on the trail, our first distraction proved to be bicycles:

You can see two cyclists off in the distance on the the trail.

As we were standing there putting on Coach's coat, the cyclists came up from behind, called out that they were coming up from behind and on the left and then passed us.  Coach calmly looked around at them.  No problem.

A lady in a wheelchair is being wheeled down the cobblestone walk.

Not only were there bikes, but there were canes, walkers and wheelchairs, too.  Coach was indifferent to them all.

Photo of a chocolate standard poodle walking toward us.  The poodle is being held closely to the owner.

He was moderately indifferent to all the dogs.  What has happened with other puppies (Bingo and Jam) is that we would get lunging and jumping.  We got none of that with Coach.

Here is a chocolate lab being held closely to the owner and walking toward us.  

 Coach doesn't lunge or jump.  He does a mean stare though.

Coach staring at a small Westie.  Fred has him on a high collar. 

Unfortunately, at street fairs, it isn't just Coach's behavior that you have to be aware of.  You also have to be aware of all the dogs around you.  Not only in front of you, but coming up behind you.

A backend view of the doberman who sniffed Coach's butt.

The owner of the doberman in the photo above was not paying attention to him and just let him wander all over the place. Of course this big, scary dog was going up to every dog he could and sniffing them.  He managed to get up to Coach's butt and goose him.  I had been watching out in front, but moved over to the other side of Fred to be on Coach's left and keep the doberman away after the initial goose.

Honestly.  If people would just pay attention to what they are doing!!

Coach walking in a nice loose leash on the cobblestones.

There is a yellow dog project (see the photo of their poster above for more details) that seeks to highlight dogs who really do need more space by placing a yellow ribbon on their leash.  If you see that ribbon, you should give them space, NO MATTER WHAT.  In our case, our dogs are working.  They shouldn't be distracted by your dogs sniffing them or wanting to introduce themselves or by saying hello.  They have a job to do and learning to ignore you and other dogs is part of it.  

Coach did really well.  I am also going to be on the lookout for a yellow ribbon too.  It looks so pretty with blue!

Coach and the Boy Scouts

 On Tuesday our meeting was with the Boy Scout troops that meet at the Heritage United Methodist Church up by Countryside Mall.  There were LOTS of little boys (and some girls) there who were very eager to hear about Southeastern Guide Dogs, what they do, what puppy raisers do and to see a puppy and interact with one.

If' I'm not mistaken, the lecture was the most exciting. Haha! Really, Andros, our newest puppy in the group was the most exciting and the mob to get into his group was really a sight to see.  Although, all dogs did have happy children in their groups.

We waited outside while Michele gave an explanation of everything

Here we are trying to wait patiently in the lobby.  We are partially successful.

At last we are called into the main meeting room with the boys.  Now the fun can begin.  Ooops.  Some Q&A first.

Here is a shot of the boys all seated at tables looking at a half circle of puppy raisers with their puppies at the front of the room.

 After a few questions, it was time to divide up into groups of about 4-5 boys to a puppy.

Here's another shot of the boys patiently waiting to get a puppy group.

I have to say that my group was pretty good.  There was one boy who tended to get really excited, but when you explained that you had to be calm around the dogs so that the dogs stayed calm he tried really hard to stay calm.  It is so hard for some boys and he really wanted a dog at home.

The boys sat next to Coach and patted him on his body.

Coach did an excellent job.  When the excitement level would start to rise, he would stand up and we would have to get the boys to lower their voices and get Coach back in a down stay.  Then we would be good for a while.

Coach had one boy who really loved him and gave him a big hug.

Coach is a little unusual in that he is a cuddler.  He has been that way from the start.  He loves to be in your lap and he loves to be hugged.  So, there wasn't a problem when one of the younger kids wanted to give Coach a hug.  We knew that Coach is very accepting of this.  It's one of his super powers.

Fred took over for a while and had another group petting Coach's side and the top of his head while Coach was lying down.

Fred's group was quite a bit more quiet and calm than my group and Coach spent most of the time lying on his side relaxing.

All in all, I think everyone had an excellent time!

Pose Like a Champion

Today we went to the Berkeley Buccaneers football photo shoot.  This event was quite entertaining as I got to see the real Coach Ciao in his element and it was fun! Did you know that it takes almost all day to get football photos?  Yes.  It does.  First you have the coaches photos, then you have the team photos, then the group photos, then the individual photos.  And the seniors get photos with their parents.  It is all very regimented too: seniors first, etc.

Coach is sitting by Fred outside of the Straz Family Field House.  Coach is wearing his Big Boy Coat.

 The day started out with a big change: Coach was wearing his Big Boy Coat.  Yes, our 5-month old baby is into the big boy coat.  Fred got tired of him showing so much booty in the baby coat and doctored up the big boy coat for the photo shoot.  It just hung over his tail a tiny half inch.  But Coach didn’t seem to mind.  After all, he was with the Varsity Team.  He couldn’t let on he wasn’t worthy!

Coach is lying down next to a Berkeley football helmet. 

First there was the a problem though.  There was lightning.  Evidently when there is lightning within 8 miles of the school, all children must come inside.  That meant that all the photos that were planned for outside on the field had to be broken down and moved inside.  This move created another unforeseen problem.  Seems that Coach Ciao had a bad experience with taking team photos in the gym and he doesn't ever want to repeat it.  Therefore, we had to find an alternative. 

Coach is lying down next to a Berkeley football helmet with the Berkeley Buccaneer in the background.

 Fortunately, when Coach Ciao wants something, everyone puts their thinking caps on and eventually someone comes up with a solution to a seemingly impossible situation.  What they came up with was brilliant.

Here is a photo of the Berkeley Buccaneer coaching staff.  Coach Ciao is holding the football in the middle of the front row.

Here is the football coaching staff.  I don’t have a shot of Coach with them.  It is coming soon.  Alan, the photographer, got him to perk his ears and look super cute though!!!

In the entrance of the Straz Family Field House, the benches have been laid out and the seal is down in front.

Here is the solution that they came up with: the entrance to the Straz Family Field House which is gorgeous and also features an amazing Berkeley seal in the foreground. Perfect.  All they needed were benches, which they found and trucked in from the football field and some boxes to stand on.  Teamwork.  It is amazing.

Here Alan is positioning the boys and Coach Ciao. 

Soon the benches were filling up and the final people were being placed.  All that remained was the placement of the coaches and the front row.  The front row had a tough job as it was a really awkward and uncomfortable position for the boys to stay in.  Most of them have very tight hamstrings and did not like sitting like that, which is why number 55 is resting before sitting up tall for the official shot.  They took several team shots before calling for Coach (the dog) and when Alan called for him, a cheer went up with the team.  It was quite cool.

Coach is lying down in front with the rest of the Berkeley Buccaneer 2012/2013 Football Team and Coaching Staff behind him.

I walked Coach out to Chris (#7). And Coach sat next to him.  Alan told the team that he was going to be making barking noises and not to laugh.  Then the barking started. Coach put up with it for the first shot, but then he gave Alan a startled look and got up and ran in my general direction.

There were smiles, but  no laughter. Although, I think there might have been a snicker or two.

Orchid Thief

By Fred

An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional...
The Orchid Thief

Jam doesn't actually steal the orchids; he just knocks them over on his way from here to there. I noticed today, however, that he seemed more curious about them, and maybe just a little more gentle than in the past.

We've had the orchids on the porch for years, and we never really expected much from them, but this year they've bloomed all at once (all except two plants), mostly white blooms with splotches.

It has been difficult to teach Jam about the orchids. Fortunately, dogs don't require wordy explanations (and I really don't have any). They eventually just want to be good, if only for a while, like today.

A Lesson Learned

Thursday was one of those busy days.  A day you just can't predict.  You think you have it all prepared, but then it goes INSANE.  

Usually, Jammy and I walk into school, past the speeding students and their sometimes equally speed demon parents and I was thinking about the morning's schedule.  MUN (Model United Nations club) had a Frosty sale at lunch.  We had never attempted this before and it was uncharted territory.  I needed to leave right before lunch and go with one of the senior students to Wendy's to pick 200 frosties and then get them back on campus in time to sell before the kids got out for lunch at 12:30.  And I had a lunch meeting to review student library proctor candidates with my head and assistant head student library proctors at 12:35.

But first I had a ton of grading to do.  That meant sitting on the main floor of the library and grading the works cited as I also kept an eye on what was going on around me.  They call it multitasking. Librarians are whizzes at it.  Usually Jam and I have our morning walk at 10 when we go to convocation, but we didn't go to convocation on Thursday for some reason.  I don't know why.  Perhaps I got caught up in my grading.  For whatever reason, we had a pee break, went back to work and about the time I needed to fly out to the Wendy's, I left Jammy with Christina.

Jammy is sitting in front of Christina in the library workroom with his head tilted to the right.

 He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he knew something was up.  I was a bit stressed about the whole deal.  Alex and I drove to Wendy's and when we got there, we found only one person working the cash register.  All I needed to do was go up and ask for Charlie, but since there were three people ahead of me in line, I could very well barge up and say, "I just need Charlie, now, get outta my way!" and have them get all up in my face about cutting in line and being there first.  Especially when I had a student with me.

So, I patiently stood in line.  Right.  I stood in line, but NOT patiently.  I was toe tapping and looking around and trying to figure out which person back there was Charlie, because the minute I identified him, I was going to laser beam him over to me.  Seriously, what was he thinking putting only one person on the counter at lunchtime?

And then the VERY WORST THING HAPPENS: coupon lady appears.  I was next in line.  I was so close.  There was this blonde in front of me and she had just started to order when her friend comes out of the bathroom and steps up next to her.  (Oh yes, she did, and her purse was big and filled with coupons.) The blonde turns to her friend and says, "What do you want?"

Well, I wanted to poke her friend's eyes out.  But that was before her friend pulled out the ginormous wad of coupons. The old lady behind the register, who you know is on her third day at Wendy's, lets out a little moan.  "I don't know how to do coupons!"

"Oh. My. Freaking. God." But I say this inside my head where a little mini me is screaming and pulling out big tufts of hair.  "I just need to talk to Charlie!  I don't even need any food!!!!  Where the hell is Charlie?!!!"

So, three-day-old cashier says, "Charlie, I need some help!  I don't know how to do coupons."  And this tall man comes over and I try to laser beam him with my eyes, but it doesn't work.  The coupon lady has him in her talons.  She is throwing all this coupons on the counter and talking in coupon gibberish.  It's like Klingon for Trekkies only you get food as a reward.

Sure enough, Charlie starts punching buttons and things beep and three-day-old cashier watches with her big eyes as it goes in one ear and out the other.  Charlie looks up and I laser beam him again.

"Hi, I'm from Berkeley.  I have the 200 frosties."

"Oh yeah. They are out back.  Have you paid yet?"  I look at coupon lady.  She looks back at me and offers me a coupon.  "No thank you. No, I haven't yet."

"Well, let's do that and get you out back to get your frosties."

So we pay and go out back and he has 7 boxes of frosties to go in my Honda fit.  Mind you, we brought 3 coolers to put the frosties in, because we were told to bring coolers.  But the Honda Fit will fit a full size llama in it, I kid you not!

Photo of a Honda fit with a llama in the back seat.  The head is poked out the window.

And you didn't believe me.  I think sometimes, dear reader, you think I drift into hyperbole!

Anyway, back to the story, we here we have three coolers and 7 boxes of frosties and the frosties are melting and they are all very precariously placed in the boxes, not tightly placed or snugly placed, but loosely placed with room to move and dance around.  And did I mention that the tops are pretty open?  So they can slosh out if they feel like it?  Yea.  Great.

I'm really relaxed about this whole thing.  Oh, and Alex.  He's about 6'5".  No worries.  We'll make it.  You know how I drive right?  I can handle this.  I can drive really slow and take turns in a calm manner.

Quit laughing.

We make it to the school.  We sell the frosties.  I make my meeting.  We select SLPs.  The upshot is that Jammy is without a walk for a long time.  I am bushed and completely stressed and drained.  So when I take him back, I just go into my office with him.  I go into my office, because there is a speaker in the library who is currently speaking to 65 fifth graders on how her family emigrated from Cuba to America, which is a serious subject.

I sit in my chair and I lean over to Jam and I reach down and start to remove his coat.  This signals to Jam that play time as started.  And since he has been cooped up ALL DAY in the office, why should he spend one minute more in MY OFFICE?  So, he takes off. And because he is a big boy and doesn't run off, I didn't have him on a tie down.

SO HE CAN.

AND HE DOES.

Do you know about the puppy crazies?  Labs are particularly infected with them.  They will kick up their heels and then it's like their back legs spin in circles they move so fast.  Jam was GONE.  He was naked and gone.  I leaped up and was out in the library and every high schooler was staring out towards where the speaker was because of course, that's where Jam went.

He ran right to the back of the library.  Past all the high school kids and the tables, past the books.  Into the second study area and there was the big open space with 65 fifth graders.  Here was the big open space for Jam to do some wheelies.

And so he did.

Several of them.  To the delight of every one of the 65 fifth graders who had turned around to watch him pop a wheelie.

By this time, I had made it back to where he was and he saw me.  Jam blew past me to the left and went through the Spanish teacher's legs (his wife, a professor at USF was our speaker).  Jam danced around the tables and weaved in and out of the chairs as students and library personnel tried to reach out and grab him.  All us not saying a word, in deference to the speaker, who was still speaking.

It all came to an end for Jammy when he got close to Clay, a junior, who knows all of Jam's tricks.  Clay reached out and grabbed him and caught him.

There was a huge sigh of relief.

And a lesson learned.  No matter what.  Never skip the morning walk!!!

Great Expectations, Chapter 1

By Charles Dickens
Chapter 1
Willow and Jam took a perfectly ordinary tour of the pond, and as usual with all the wonder and amazement of seeing it for the first time, when they came upon something truly new and unusual: a talking frog that did not seem at all afraid or tempted to retreat.

Startled by such a brave and small animal, the two dogs sat back in amazement, and their wonder only grew when the frog began to speak.

"Hear now, pay attention, you two," said the frog throwing out his tongue impulsively and bringing it quickly back.

"Bear in mind, will you?" the frog said to Willow, as if forgiving her something and then pointing his webby thumb at Jam, "that my business is with him."

"I am instructed to communicate to him," the frog continued, "that he will soon be removed from his present sphere of life and from this place, and be brought up as a gentleman,--in a word, as a young fellow of great expectations."

Jam and Willow gasped, and looked at one another...

Tic Tac Toe and Tequila

Saturday was our puppy meeting at Largo Central Park.  I don't have many photos as Fred was at home repairing plaster and painting the hallway and I had sole control over Captain Crazypants.

Anyway, we arrived at the park just fine.  But, I have to tell you.  These monthly meetings are becoming a a bit stressful for me, especially if I go by myself.  Jam and his nuggets are really having a testosterone party and he is quite drunk with hormones.  So, coming to a meeting is like bringing an alcoholic to Tijuana, leading him into a bar, sitting him on a barstool where there are shots of tequila lined up on the bar and then screaming, "Don't Drink!"

The alcoholic will find it tough to listen to you.

So, I bring Jam (and his raging hormones) to the park where lush females and unneutered males will be gathered to challenge his sensibilities.

I'll just go ahead and say it.  We weren't in the circle of acceptance.  We tried, but we got booted pretty fast.

Sigh. We did obedience, then went by the train and at the end of the meeting we played Tic Tac Toe.  I had Jam sit out the first game.  Yellows won.

Everyone was looking at us.  Jam had to play the next game.  Could he do it and not completely muck it up?

You know, at some point, you just have to say, fine.  OK.  I will be the one with the insane dog.  I walked  Captain Crazypants over to the box and he laid down.

And he stayed.

OMG.

Cheryl and Jam walking to Tic Tac Toe box Photo by Michele Reese.

Cheryl asking Jam to stay in a down on Tic Tac Toe box Photo by Michele Reese. 

Jam maintaining the stay on Tic Tac Toe box Photo by Michele Reese. 

Where's my tequila?  I need a drink!

Long Day Into Night

Friday was one long day of exposures for Jam.  It all began with a local library conference that was held in our lower division library (photos forth coming as I don't have the connecting wire to download from a Nikon camera GRRR, but I have other things to post and I don't want to delay this.).  

Jam was very good throughout my presentation, staying mostly under the table and not snoring too loudly.  Most of the librarians already knew about Jam, but there were a few who needed the Harry Potter speech.  Jam did a little bit of jumping up, but I did some quick corrections and walked him away from big groups.  The key thing for me is that I can't greet anyone effusively.  If I want to go give someone a hug hello, Jam is going to jump up and hug them as well. Lesson: I can't hug anyone with Jam because he's not going to be left out of the greeting party.  So as long as I was pleasant and a bit distant with my greetings and stayed back from people, we were fine.  Jam was calm.  We even went through the buffet line with no problem.  Well, only one problem.

The gal in front of me was getting some pasta salad for her plate and dropped a pasta shell on the floor.  She laughed and looked at me and said, "I guess he can get that."

"Nope.  He can't have any people food."  I have Jam on sit stay and he is staring daggers at the pasta shell.

I think she made a small eeeek sound.  She immediately bent down to get the offending shell. Librarians are such nice people. I love what I do and who I work with.

After school Fred and I decided to go car shopping.  I am looking to trade in my Prius and get something new.  So went to Sun Toyota to try the Prius V. Now, I am sure that the last thing a car salesman wants to see is a big white fluffy, SHEDDING dog get out of someone's car, put on a service dog coat and then start walking around their lot.  That means that not only is that dog going to be able to come into the showroom, but that dog gets to RIDE IN THEIR CARS.  And how much time is going to be spent vacuuming every car after these people leave?

To Sun's Toyota's credit no one said a single word to us about Jam.  It was if he actually did have Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility.  He just didn't exist in their world.  It was quite extraordinary.  When it came time to go see some cars and possibly take a test drive, we had to get in a golf cart.

Woot! Golf cart exposure for Jam.

Photo of Jam looking out the golf cart's front windscreen.  You see the back of Jam's head.

Our salesman Ron just scooted over and made room for Jam in the front seat. I noticed that he drove super slow as if afraid that Jam would suddenly make a break for it and leap out of the golf cart, dragging me to my death and making Ron an accessory to murder.  But Jam wasn't going anywhere.  He was in the middle and staying put.  He had great view and I had him trapped on the outside.

Turns out, I wasn't going to actually put Jam in the Prius as we have had two Prius cars and know exactly how they drive, but it was great that Ron had no hesitation about it.  He was very nice and helpful.

After that it was time for dinner (Jam had his dinner much earlier). Sun Toyota is WAY up North, so we stopped at our favorite Greek restaurant Mykonos on the way back.  When we walked in the hostess/waitress asked us for our guide dog ID (which we always carry), so I took it out and showed it to her.  That was the first time that had ever happened to us.  After looking at it, she smiled and asked if we preferred a booth or a table.  We selected a booth at the back.

Photo of Jam completely asleep on Fred's foot underneath the booth at Mykonos.

I was a little worried after asking for ID that there would be some residual irritation or dislike regarding Jam, but I have to say, there was nothing but smiles and good service.  The chef even walked by and asked where the dog was.  Jam, of course, stayed silent and for the most part motionless, under the table. He had had such an active day that he fell fast asleep.  First on my foot, then on Fred's.

The food was so good, nothing fell to the floor!

Curtains for a Bed

Yesterday, the school's webmaster said his son Tyler, who is in pre-k and knows Jam, wanted to know where Jam slept at night.  I said, you can tell him that Jam sleeps with us in our bedroom.  But lately, Jam has been doing some weird things.

This morning I saw Tyler and his mom, who teaches French and is an academic counselor, walking in together.  I went over and said hello.

"Tyler, I hear you wanted to know about Jam and where he sleeps at night."

Tyler immediately ducked his head and looked down.  He is very shy.  I just continued talking.

"Well, Jammy sleeps with us, but he does this very strange thing right before he falls asleep." Tyler looked up very quickly, then looked back down. "Jam will go under the curtains by the wall and turn in a circle, fluffing them out.  Kind of like a blanket.  Then he goes to sleep."

Jammy peeking out from under the curtains while he is preparing for bedtime.

I could see a little smile on Tyler's face, but he didn't want to look at me.

He was probably thinking about dogs and dreaming and blankets and beds made out of curtains. And while you're at it, if you have a bed made out of curtains, can you sleep on the window?  And if  you sleep on the window, could you fly out into the night? And if...

He didn't need to say anything.  I knew what was going on.

Stinky Fish

Our koi pond used to have lots of koi.  But then time and goo worked its magic and slowly the waterfall/well became filled with a sludge-like mixture down at the bottom that inhibited the ability of the water to flow over the water fall.  Something about viscosity and fluid dynamics, but frankly once Fred started talking about viscosity all I heard was blah blah blah.

The result of the goo, which I am sure has a technical name, is that over spring break some fish died.  We  got home about 2 am on Monday morning and Fred went out back to check on the pond and there was a terrible smell emanating from it.  

Dead floaters.  Ick.

So he did what any right minded soul would do at 2 am, he threw them into the deepest darkest bush we have.  Oh wait, a word first about our yard.  It is a jungle.  I say that in a nice way.  Except for that back corner where it is just lawless and awful.  That is where the previous owners told us that a family of coyotes were living before they put in a fence.  It is that overgrown.  Jungle doesn't even begin to describe it.  I hate the corner of the yard and have been wanting to clear cut it for years.

Anyway, into THAT is where the dead decomposing fish go.  Fred's side of this is that he (in deepest, dark night) finds an out of the way spot for them and lightly buries them.  

OK.  Since I wasn't actually out in the yard, I'll have to take his word for it.

Jam standing on the other side of the upper pond looking to the left.

So, the next morning I am near Willow and I notice that she STINKS.  I lean down and sniff.  OMG.  She has rolled in something nasty.  She has rolled in, oh crap.  She didn't. Yes. She did.  She rolled in decomposing fish.  

Great.  I give Willow a bath all the while complaining about the fish and why would she do this (hint: she's a dog and dead fish stink!).

After the bath, I'm pretty worked up and I let Jammers out to poo.  Well, in case you didn't know, Jammy likes to poo in a bush and he does a full twirl before his poo.  So he wanders off in search of a bush and guess which direction he goes?

In the direction of the dead decomposing fish graveyard that I don't know about. I follow behind but not too close because there is a bush between us.  I can see Jammy, but can't reach him.  Generally, this isn't a problem as he does his business and we go inside, but this time, he starts his twirl and a really great scent attracts his attention.  He stops. He sniffs.  He starts to investigate.  

Oh no.  

"Jammy!  What are you doing?"  I'm peering through the bush.  There isn't much foliage so I can see everything that is going on, he is grabbing something.  Something orange. "Jammy! Drop it!"

Yea.  I completely forgot that whole thing about don't say a command you can't follow through on.  I was way too far away to follow through on that drop it and Jam knew it.  He narrowed his eyes at me.  I made a darting movement toward the bush.  Jam ran to the right.  I ran to the left.  He flanked me and ran around the pond. 

I was so flustered by the fact that he had something in his mouth and I wanted him to drop it, that I didn't know what it was, that I was completely panicked, that everything I knew went out of my head and Jam and I played chase while this orange thing hung out of his mouth.  

Then it hit me.  HAPPY VOICE.  Criminy.  Use the happy voice!  I used the happy voice and Jam stopped and I got a hold of his collar and yanked out the orange thing which was

A DEAD DECOMPOSING FISH NOW REALLY REALLY STINKY.  

So I did what any right minded person would do.  I screamed and threw it as far away from me as I could get it.  It was a high arching throw that took it off to my left, over the bamboo, and then

OVER THE FENCE!

Eeek. The dead fish was now in the neighbor's yard. First, I needed to wash out Jam's mouth with some water.  Then I stare at the fence and the neighbor's yard. Then I look at the pond

It's a fish.  A dead fish.  We have a fish pond. Things are not looking good for me.

Jam on the left and Willow on the right enjoying a lie down by the pond.

It's not too much of a leap.  We need to be good neighbors and Fred says should go get the fish.  It's the right thing to do.

I go over to the neighbor's house.

Knock. Knock.

"Hello?" A man answers the door.

"Hi, I'm your neighbor.  I have a dog and a fish pond.  We were on vacation and some of our fish in the pond died and my husband threw them into the back yard?" My voice goes up a bit to see if he is still with me. He nods.

"So, my dog was out there, in the back yard, and he grabbed one of the dead fish in his mouth! But I couldn't let him do that.  So I got it out, but when I pulled it out of his mouth and saw what it was, it was so gross that I got disgusted and just threw it and it landed in your yard."  I stare at him.  He stares at me.  I smile and shake my plastic bag helpfully.

"Is it in the pool?" He is bewildered.

"No.  It's by the garage.  I just didn't want to startle you by appearing in your backyard unannounced.  Do you mind if I go get it?  It's really stinky."

"Be my guest." I notice the tool belt he is wearing.  I turn and see the repair truck.  I think this guy is a repair man and not the owner!  Could it be that my neighbor might not ever know about stinky fish?

Oh, man. Things are starting to look up.

Cursed with Manliness

Last night, we went over to our friends' house to have dinner and play music.  Claudia was doing all the cooking and I just contributed a dessert.  Fred and Tim were going to provide the musical entertainment. Jam was invited because they live way out in Lutz, they love dogs and know Jam and they are very nice people. 

Jam is trying to get Baxter to come over to where he is lying down on the rug.  

 When we got there, Jam and Baxter, who is a very sweet 3-year old golden retriever, got along great.

Jam and Baxter playing.

 There is nothing quite like young, energetic, frisky dogs playing to make you smile.

And then the humping started. Sorry, you were expecting something sweet for your Easter blog weren't you?

I feel terrible to disappoint you, but the evening just devolved (in terms of the dogs) from there.  At least I won't show you any video or photos of THAT. 8-) Jam couldn't go for more than four or five minutes with out hopping on for a ride on poor Baxter.  Baxter, who is very sweet, would just look around as if to say, "Would someone please stop this whippersnapper?  I know I'm the host, but really!"

Now, when we were at the Walkathon dinner, we happened to run into Dr. Edington while we were walking through the museum.  We had stopped and were talking with John Bauer when Dr. E stopped by and the topic of breeder dogs came up.  We happened to mention that Jam was pretty much a Player with a capital P as he would hump anything that let him.  Dr. E looked at us with a bit of concern and asked if we could stop Jam easily.

"Oh, yes. We just pull him off no problem." Dr. E said that you didn't want to correct for that behavior, because the breeding program wants dogs to be able to perform the act.  In other words: they want breeders that actually enjoy the act and will perform.  Evidently there were breeders who wouldn't or who had to be coaxed to do it.  So you had to be careful not to induce negative connotations with getting them to stop, but you had to stop them when they were doing it because it was inappropriate.

It's a conundrum.

We solved it by putting the ever sweet Baxter on the porch.  Jam went back and forth like a shark from the window to the door looking out the windows at Baxter.

Baxter sat in a patio chair.  He was thinking that perhaps the porch was the better part of the deal.

Claudia's dinner was amazing: a Brazilian feijoada. We all stuffed ourselves!  Periodically we would let Baxter in to see if the dogs could JUST BE FRIENDS.

But no.  After dinner, Fred and Tim pulled out Tim's guitars and started playing.

Tim is on the left and Fred is on the right jamming on the guitars.  They sounded great.

All I can say is that Jam still has no negative connotations associated with the act and is raring to go.

Deep sigh. I hope we get invited over again.  That feijoada was spectacular and Fred really enjoyed playing the guitar.  Perhaps we'll get a babysitter for Jam...

The Greeks Know How to Eat

Recently we met friends for dinner at Acropolis down in St. Pete for dinner. Our experience with Greek restaurants is mostly tied to Tarpon Springs and so we like to think we are getting some kind of "authentic" experience when we go there as we have a certain Greek restaurant WE like with certain dishes that we haven't seen other places.  I have a feeling that our Greek world view was a bit snobbish (I'm speaking just for myself here) and that I felt I knew a bit about Greek food from what we had been getting.

Ah, foolish resident tourist.  While the restaurant we went to is certainly not claiming to be authentic, it does give you a much different interpretation of eating out Greek style than what we had been getting in Tarpon Springs.  For one thing, it was a huge party.  A party that went on all night long.

It was also a fairly unique experience for a guide dog puppy, but one that I would only recommend for older puppies.  It is a VERY LOUD experience at nighttime.  And have I mentioned the napkins?

When the wait staff dance through your aisles, they are followed by the sacred napkin thrower.  This person leaves napkin chaos in their wake. Additionally, beware, if you sit in the middle of the room for napkins may rain down from the heavens like Zeus's entreaty to clean up your mess!

 Yeah.  There's a few napkins as a distraction as well. Make that thousands.  Every hour and a half.  Our friend had mentioned the napkin quirk to us, but I had blown it off in my head thinking cloth napkins.  What could be the harm in that.  But when we actually came to dinner and we had Jam under the table and hundreds of napkins are being flung into the air right in front of his nose.  Well, I think that his staying under the table and not leaping out to rampage among the wild napkins is a huge deal!

Pat on the back to you Jam!

However, all is not well in napkin land.  These are flimsy napkins.  Light papery thin napkins that the slightest breeze will make fly into the air.  So, yes, while I could clear out a napkin free zone, anytime any waitstaff would walk by, a napkin would flutter into the red zone.

Jam under the table and dreaming...of napkins

Even though I was keeping Jam directly under foot (as above photo shows), there were occasions when a napkin would enter the red zone and Jam would grab it.  I would have to root around in his mouth and pull out moistened bits of napkin. Yum.  I did miss one napkin and the table next to us waved at me and pointed down to Jam.  Yep, he had just started in on a napkin.  I thanked them and extracted it.  You have to be vigilant.

Jam giving his full attention to the belly dancer.

There was music playing as well.  The musician was amazing, but be prepared to have him come over to your table.  Fred liked this.  Jam stayed under the table and was unconcerned.  He evidently has no interest in Greek banjo-like music.  I thought it was awesome.  Jam did poke his head out when the belly dancer appeared.  Or was that because Fred moved and was so interested in her?  Hmmmm? Hard to tell! 8-)

Anyway, Fred ended up dancing with her and Jam went back to sleep.  So I guess that answers that question.

Acropolis: good food, the servers and wait staff were all kind and friendly to Jam, interesting exposure for older dogs.

Food, Glorious Food

Jammy has always been food obsessed.  We have him eat out of a special slow down bowl, which Stephanie said she didn't use during his stint with her because of the behavior you will see in the video below.

We have had some success in dealing with his separation anxiety because we were given permission to use kongs stuffed with peanut butter (or moistened dog food).  He LOVES them.  In fact, today, as I walked in Fred had just shut him up in the crate with a kong stuffed with kibble.  Jam complained until I opened the crate door and then he stayed in the crate with the door open while he tried to take the kibble out of the kong.

He can be a weird dude.

But one of the more charming things he does is when he is through with his meal.  He's never, ever, really satisfied with what he has received.

Honestly, his name should be Oliver.

Well, you watch and decide.

Second Graders Rock!

Today, I got the most amazing thank you note from the second grade class where Jam, Jan and I went to talk the other day.  Here it is up on my office door:

Thank you letter with a large dog surrounded with bones.

 The message says:

Dear Mrs. McLean, Mrs. Connors and Jam, Thank you so much for coming to visit.  We loved learning about guide dogs! Love, (and then they signed their names)  They also all wrote one thing they learned from my talk on a bone that they placed around the picture of the dog on the card.  I took individual photos of each of their bones.  They are below.

Guide dogs can sit, stand and stay.

I learned that guide dogs can lead blind people.

Guide dogs are careful.

Guide dogs sometimes have to disobey.

I learned that they test their gait. (I'm really impressed she/he remembered this vocab word!)

Guide dogs help people.

Guide dogs can be silly some times. (Oh, how true!)

Guide dogs are smart.

Guide dogs get trained on the board walk. (This refers to our conversation on intelligent disobedience and one of the ways they do that is on a pier, which I think she/he mistook for a boardwalk.  Close enough, I say!)

I learned guide dogs get trained to save people.

Guide dogs go where ever there (sic) owner goes!

Jam is really funny. (I love this kid!)

When the guide dog does not make it, they go to the hospital and make them feel good!!!  (I think this refers to our conversation about career change dogs and what other things the dogs do if they aren't guide dogs.  She has a little heart drawn at the end of her sentence.)

Jam is very curious.

Guide dogs know how to stop people from going in the street.

Close up of message!

Close up of names.

I love Lower Division!!