Usually when I work out at the gym I leave Morey at home or in my van. The past few weeks I have been working out directly after work and it's obviously way too hot to even consider leaving him in my van. So, Morey has become my work out partner. He's not great at motivation, but he is faithful. He watches my everyday chair while I push in my rugby chair. When I do laps around the gym he will lift his head up to watch me go by and then put it back down when I leave again. Although, last week I pushed a mile (which is 7 laps) and after the 4th lap he didn't bother to pick his head up to watch me. That kind of hurt my feelings...
This week I was practicing passes and the ball accidentally rolled under the bleachers where I couldn't reach it. Morey to the rescue! I've worked with him before on getting the rugby ball (similar to a volleyball) back to me, but never really had much success. Obviously he usually uses his mouth to retrieve but he can't get his mouth around the ball and I don't want him trying in case he pops it. So, I encouraged him to use his nose or paw. He batted it around for a while, but the direction of the ball was hard to control and he ended up pushing it farther away. In confusion, he kept picking up his leash so finally I took it off. He kept trying but couldn't quite figure out how to get it to me. As I sent him under once again I was getting ready to admit defeat and go get someone else to help me when in a burst of frustration he gave a huge paw swipe and batted the ball to a place I could reach it. YAY MOREY!! We had a huge celebration in the middle of the gym and by his body wiggling I could tell he was very proud of himself. After some excitement and bouncing, I sent him back to lay down so I could finish my work out.
Instead of going to find someone else to help me, I was able to rely on Morey. That's independence! When people ask what Morey does for me, I usually say retrieving. That one task can be put to use in variety of ways and I guess now I have one more example to use when I talk about how my service dog makes my life easier!
Morey
Morey, My 2nd Service Dog
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Morey's Not-So-Good Day
Last weekend I spent the afternoon at a friend's apartment hanging out with a group of friends. Morey came too, naturally, but I don't think he had as much fun as I did for several reasons.
Reason #1: One of the people there is the best balloon artist in Texas. His balloon creations are amazing; he has made full-sized cars, manatees, and movie characters-all out of balloons (http://www.nate.balloonhq.com/ is his website if you want to see some of his creations) Another friend who was there is learning balloon artistry and so the two of them spent a good portion of the afternoon blowing up, twisting, and popping balloons. Morey was fine with all of it except the popping part. Oh yeah, and the part where a balloon monkey was designed to ride on his back...
Reason #2: My friend has a bark park at her apartment so we took Morey to visit it. We wandered over and started a game of ball with Morey. Unfortunately, after only a few tosses, the ball bounced over the fence and rolled down a steep parking lot that is next door to her complex. Morey kept running in circles trying to find his ball and we finally had to leave so he wouldn't keep focusing on his lost ball. : (
Reason #3: We spent part of the afternoon at the pool and at first Morey thought it was going to be his dream come true. Water and kids throwing balls in the water! What could be better? And then I put him in a down and told him to stay, crushing all of his swimming dreams for the day. There was a No Pets policy at the pool and I thought it might be pushing the line a bit to say I needed my service dog in the water with me. For the first 10 minutes he whined and quivered, barely able to control himself. He kept creeping closer to the edge of the pool (obeying the down command, not so much the stay command) and several times he dipped a paw in the water.
I don't think Morey has ever seen me in the water and this made him even more alert. All the people sitting around the pool were laughing at his obvious conflict between what he wanted to do and what he had been told to do. Several of them said that it would be fine to let him in the water because the management wasn't there and although I was tempted, I made Morey stay. I half expected him to accidentally-on-purpose fall in the water but he didn't. All the kids at the pool thought the circus had come to town: a balloon artist and a dog had come to their pool! Morey was showered with attention and at one point attacked by a balloon sword and then introduced to a balloon flamingo.
Like always, Morey handled everything like a pro. I felt bad for exposing him to so many difficulty and un-enjoyable experiences, but sometimes it is hard to predict what is going to happen and then it's too late to do anything about it. But, I did promise Morey that he will get another swimming trip soon!
Reason #1: One of the people there is the best balloon artist in Texas. His balloon creations are amazing; he has made full-sized cars, manatees, and movie characters-all out of balloons (http://www.nate.balloonhq.com/ is his website if you want to see some of his creations) Another friend who was there is learning balloon artistry and so the two of them spent a good portion of the afternoon blowing up, twisting, and popping balloons. Morey was fine with all of it except the popping part. Oh yeah, and the part where a balloon monkey was designed to ride on his back...
Reason #2: My friend has a bark park at her apartment so we took Morey to visit it. We wandered over and started a game of ball with Morey. Unfortunately, after only a few tosses, the ball bounced over the fence and rolled down a steep parking lot that is next door to her complex. Morey kept running in circles trying to find his ball and we finally had to leave so he wouldn't keep focusing on his lost ball. : (
Reason #3: We spent part of the afternoon at the pool and at first Morey thought it was going to be his dream come true. Water and kids throwing balls in the water! What could be better? And then I put him in a down and told him to stay, crushing all of his swimming dreams for the day. There was a No Pets policy at the pool and I thought it might be pushing the line a bit to say I needed my service dog in the water with me. For the first 10 minutes he whined and quivered, barely able to control himself. He kept creeping closer to the edge of the pool (obeying the down command, not so much the stay command) and several times he dipped a paw in the water.
I don't think Morey has ever seen me in the water and this made him even more alert. All the people sitting around the pool were laughing at his obvious conflict between what he wanted to do and what he had been told to do. Several of them said that it would be fine to let him in the water because the management wasn't there and although I was tempted, I made Morey stay. I half expected him to accidentally-on-purpose fall in the water but he didn't. All the kids at the pool thought the circus had come to town: a balloon artist and a dog had come to their pool! Morey was showered with attention and at one point attacked by a balloon sword and then introduced to a balloon flamingo.
Like always, Morey handled everything like a pro. I felt bad for exposing him to so many difficulty and un-enjoyable experiences, but sometimes it is hard to predict what is going to happen and then it's too late to do anything about it. But, I did promise Morey that he will get another swimming trip soon!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Comfort Dog
Morey is comfortably settled in my new office at work. My desk is an L shape and he likes to lay under it...earning it the name "Morey's fort"(pictures to come soon). Sometimes he stays under it when I meet with students and sometimes he comes out to say hello. It's always interesting to try to predict which students he will make the effort to get up and greet.
The other day a student came into my office and Morey came out to say hello and then laid down on her feet. We continued talking and when we were finished, she carefully slid her feet out from under him so she wouldn't disturb him. I laughed and apologized for Morey. "It's ok." She said quietly. "It was actually kind of comforting...I usually get nervous when I have to come here [the Disability Services office]". Go Morey! Apparently we are not only a great service dog team, but we are a great team at work too; he comforts and puts students at ease while I try to answer their questions and help arrange their accommodations. Hmm, maybe I should see if he can get put on the payroll...
The other day a student came into my office and Morey came out to say hello and then laid down on her feet. We continued talking and when we were finished, she carefully slid her feet out from under him so she wouldn't disturb him. I laughed and apologized for Morey. "It's ok." She said quietly. "It was actually kind of comforting...I usually get nervous when I have to come here [the Disability Services office]". Go Morey! Apparently we are not only a great service dog team, but we are a great team at work too; he comforts and puts students at ease while I try to answer their questions and help arrange their accommodations. Hmm, maybe I should see if he can get put on the payroll...
Blessing of the Animals
This week my church had a blessing of the animals at our outdoor chapel. Morey looked surprised to see other animals at church (and may have been a bit put out at having to share the attention he usually gets!). Most of the other attendees were dogs, including labs, goldens, several dachshunds, a chiahuahua in a grass skirt, a bloodhound, and several mixes, but there was also a hamster and some hermit crabs. Morey greeted them all very appropriately although when a giant wolfhound showed up he did join in barking with all the other dogs who were obviously saying "what on earth is that???!!!"
It was very hot and for some reason, Morey decided he was going to sit on the benches instead of on the ground with the rest of the dogs. As I have referenced before, his body awareness is not the best and while trying to lay down on the bench he fell off...and decided the ground was good enough for him for the rest of the service.
Morey's swimming buddies Maggie and Ace came and after everyone else had left we let the dogs off leash to do some running. There was a kiddie pool filled up as a water bowl, but the water-loving pups thought it still should be used as a pool. Maggie and Ace just stepped in it to cool their paws, but Morey dove into it. I wish I would have had a camera because he was absolutely hilarious! He looked like his goal was to splash all of the water out of the pool and he was quite successful at it. He would jump in it and roll around in the water, then get out and run a lap around the chapel, then make a flying leap back into the pool. After several repetitions, Morey just laid down in the pool, a huge doggie grin on his face. He obviously thought he was a pretty blessed dog at the moment! : )
It was very hot and for some reason, Morey decided he was going to sit on the benches instead of on the ground with the rest of the dogs. As I have referenced before, his body awareness is not the best and while trying to lay down on the bench he fell off...and decided the ground was good enough for him for the rest of the service.
Morey's swimming buddies Maggie and Ace came and after everyone else had left we let the dogs off leash to do some running. There was a kiddie pool filled up as a water bowl, but the water-loving pups thought it still should be used as a pool. Maggie and Ace just stepped in it to cool their paws, but Morey dove into it. I wish I would have had a camera because he was absolutely hilarious! He looked like his goal was to splash all of the water out of the pool and he was quite successful at it. He would jump in it and roll around in the water, then get out and run a lap around the chapel, then make a flying leap back into the pool. After several repetitions, Morey just laid down in the pool, a huge doggie grin on his face. He obviously thought he was a pretty blessed dog at the moment! : )
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
4th of July Fun
Morey and I celebrated our first 4th of July in Austin. My sister was here for the first part of the day and we went to the Texas State Cemetery, which was actually pretty cool.
After dropping my sister off at the airport, I took Morey for a walk on Lady Bird Lake so he wouldn't be too sad about her leaving. When we got there I remembered that part of the Hike and Bike Trail includes an off-leash dog area with a place for dogs to swim. It was ~102 degress and Morey was hot so I decided to let him enjoy his holiday and join the pack of dogs that was already in the water. He absolutely loved it! First he splashed in a small pond with a fountain and then we moved on to swimming in the lake. There were probably about 10 dogs already there of all shapes, sizes, and breeds.
Most of the dogs had tennis balls and were fetching them from the lake. I couldn't get close to the water, but Morey quickly realized that any of the people standing ankle deep in the water would be happy to throw the ball for him. He had some confusion about which ball was his and whenever he saw one being thrown he would drop the one he had and race the other dog to get the ball. And most of the time he got it too. I had to keep apologizing that Morey was stealing the other dogs' balls but no one really seemed too bothered by it. It was a very fun way to spend a hot afternoon and Morey had a blast!
After dropping my sister off at the airport, I took Morey for a walk on Lady Bird Lake so he wouldn't be too sad about her leaving. When we got there I remembered that part of the Hike and Bike Trail includes an off-leash dog area with a place for dogs to swim. It was ~102 degress and Morey was hot so I decided to let him enjoy his holiday and join the pack of dogs that was already in the water. He absolutely loved it! First he splashed in a small pond with a fountain and then we moved on to swimming in the lake. There were probably about 10 dogs already there of all shapes, sizes, and breeds.
Most of the dogs had tennis balls and were fetching them from the lake. I couldn't get close to the water, but Morey quickly realized that any of the people standing ankle deep in the water would be happy to throw the ball for him. He had some confusion about which ball was his and whenever he saw one being thrown he would drop the one he had and race the other dog to get the ball. And most of the time he got it too. I had to keep apologizing that Morey was stealing the other dogs' balls but no one really seemed too bothered by it. It was a very fun way to spend a hot afternoon and Morey had a blast!
Back to Texas
Unfortunately, our time in Indiana came to an end and it was time to head back to Texas. Grandma made sure that Morey was well-supplied with several new toys, including a lobster, a gecko, and a green frog wubba. Morey’s grandma and aunt are planing on coming to visit Morey on his third birthday, but that is still several months away. Morey and I enjoyed our time in Indiana with all our family and friends and are looking forward to our next visit to the Hoosier state!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Morey's Favorite Toys
Morey got to play with all kinds of new toys at Grandma's house. Two of his favorites are pictured here; they are actually soft baby toys that Jessie likes to play with, but because Morey is gentle with toys too, he can also play with them without destroying them. It made me laugh to see him playing and carrying them around, but he definitely preferred them over many of the other toys that were available!
ICAN Golf Outing
Morey and I were invited to speak at ICAN’s annual golf fundraising outing. I never mind talking about how great my service dog is (obviously), or how much of an impact ICAN has had on my life and I was more than happy to accept this invitation. Many of the people who were participating in the fundraiser did not know very much about ICAN, and I was glad to be able to come to show and tell what ICAN does for people. Morey got to meet several of the new puppies in the ICAN program as well as several of the dogs in training. In his working gear, Morey gave them a polite “hello” but wasn’t too interested in interacting.
Many of the ICAN volunteers who had known Morey since he was a puppy called him “Little Morey (in contrast to ICAN’s director’s dog, "big" Maury. I hadn’t heard Morey called “Little Morey” in quite a while and it reminded me of all the people involved in his life before he became my dog. It was fun to watch him recognize people by their voices and see how he stared at them as if trying to figure out how he knew them. My talk went well; Morey acted like a well-behaved service dog laying at my feet. Many people thanked me afterwards for sharing my story, but it was really my pleasure. I never get tired of sharing how my service dogs have changed my life and how ICAN has made that possible.
Family Reunion
One of my friends and teammates from the Indy Wheelchair Rugby Team was matched with Morey’s sister, Lonnie, in October. While I was home we had the chance to get together and have a “family reunion” with Morey and Lonnie.
Jessie, Yuma, and Morey
Jessie (on the double decker dog bed wearing her "What happens in Indiana stays in Indiana" shirt...think she is enjoying her retirement with grandma?) Yuma, and Morey
Hoosier Pals
While Morey was home in Indiana, he met lots of new friends, both human and canine. Jessie, my retired service dog, and Buddy, my mom’s shih-tzu were his primary companions since they are full-time residents at the Shryock household. Neither one of them was exactly thrilled about playing with Morey, althoug they graciously accepted his presence and the attention that was lavished upon him. While we were home, Morey met several guests who were visiting at the Shryock house at the same time we were. One dog, who became Morey’s wrestling partner, was Yuma, a golden retreiver who is retired from breeding (many of her pups have gone on to become service animals). Morey and Yuma had similar ways of playing involving lots of body contact, growling, and snarling. All completely harmless but sounding quite ferocious.
Another one of Morey’s new pals was Declan, a black lab service dog who is the second ICAN dog I ever trained. His family was going on vacation, so Declan came back for a visit. Although they were only together for 24 hours before Morey and I made our way back to Texas, they made the most of it. Their play consisted mostly of bouncing up and down, and tugging on toys.
After Morey’s experiences in Indiana, he has a much more appropriate way to greet new dogs. Now, instead of being defensive when he meets a new dog, he perks up in excitement, wondering if this is going to be a new play partner. It has taken six months of hard work, classical conditioning, and positive experiences to change Morey’s thinking and reaction to strange dogs, but the results are definitely worth it!
Graduation
Because I got Morey in December, he never went through an official ICAN graduation ceremony. We were invited to participate in the ICAN graduation following team training, but unfortunately, I was not able to partipate because I was in Alabama for wheelchair rugby training camp. However, Morey’s grandma was happy to accompany him to his graduation and act as my stand-in. I have asked “grandma” to write a guest blog post account about graduation because since I wasn’t there, I can’t really write about it. Apparently it all went well and Morey and I were given our official ID card. Stay tuned for more details about graduation at a later date.
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