Small Spaces

Traveling back and forth from the gym to the hotel was done via bus. Morey is getting very good at squeezing into tight spaces! At one point we had 20 wheelchair users, 5 able-bodied people, and 2 dogs on a bus much smaller than a short school bus . Some of us transfer to the seats and our chairs went in a trailer pulled by the bus and then we pack in everyone else. Morey sometimes fits under seats, under wheelchairs, on top of suitcases, you name it! The other service dog ended up jumping up on one of the other player's lap- and she was a golden retriever!

In these times, cues such as "back, under, front, and down" are very useful to direct Morey to where he needs to go. Often it's a case of him figuring out where he needs to be. One morning when we had a bit more room, he jumped up on the seat next to one of my teammates who likes to rough house with him. Morey sat beside him/on top of his lap the whole ride. When he got off, my teammate's black shorts were absolutely covered with yellow Morey fur. Oops! : )

Another interesting adventure we had at Nationals was the tornado warnings. During one of our games we had to all go into their tornado shelters. There were more than 200 people (about 150 in wheelchairs) all trying to squeeze into safe places at the same time. One of our support staff got Morey from his pup tent, but took him into a different shelter than I went to (I went to the girls' bathroom, they went to the boys'.) I knew Morey was safe and that he would mostly likely be providing entertainment to everyone in the bathroom. Sure enough, when we came out, one of the players from St. Louis said "You've got a cool dog, I like how he can do pound it". Morey was eagerly searching for me when we all came out and he was bouncing all over when he saw me.

Hardly a day goes by where I am not aware and appreciative of all the things service dogs are expected to do and handle as part of their job. While you obviously want them to be bonded and attentive to their partner, they also need to be ok with going with strangers and following other people's commands. During their training, they are socialized and prepared for many different environments and situations, but there is no way to get them used to everything they will experience in their working lives. Morey's personality and his training make him a perfect fit for my crazy life and the trip to Nationals definitely demonstrated that to me!