Bath time!

Last week Morey and I got together with our friends: my human friend and his dog friends, Maggie and Ace. We hadn't gotten together for a while and so we took them swimming in the lake, which they all enjoyed. If you want to see a happy dog, just watch Morey at the lake chasing a tennis ball with his dog pals. I think that is his idea of heaven!

After going back to my friend's house with 3 wet dogs, we decided to give them all baths in her front yard. She washed and I dried and it worked out pretty well. I don't know if Morey had ever gotten a bath outside in a yard and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. While Maggie and Ace submitted to their fate once they realized what was happening and stood still while they were washed and rinsed, Morey wasn't quite as well-behaved. Because his collar was off, my friend had a hard time holding him still. Several times he broke away and dashed around her yard-soap suds flying everywhere! At one point he came over to me and looked at me as if to say "Can you see what she is doing to me? Are you really going to let this happen?"

Finally he settled down and my friend was able to finish his bath. A bath is the price he has to pay for going swimming but I think it's probably a good trade off for him. The weather is getting colder so I'm not sure how many more times we will be able to go swimming this year. I'm sure he will miss that this winter.

Happy Halloween!

One of the things we brought back from Indiana was Morey's Halloween costume. Morey tried on several (a cow, pumpkin, alien, and devil) but because he likes swimming so much he wanted to be a shark. Well, not sure he really wanted to be one, but if he had to wear a costume, I think that is what he would choose.

Morey wore his costume to work. I had intended to only leave it on while he was greeting people a the start of the day, but he really didn't seem to mind it so I left it on most of the day. It could help that he got tons of attention and had his picture taken by several people.

I'm sure it felt strange when people petted his costume instead of him and each time Morey would rub up against the person, trying to get it off. He also kept turning his head to bite at his fins which was rather humorous to watch. For the most part, he tolerated the whole thing very well.

Our church had a "No Fear" Halloween celebration and Morey and I attended, with Morey in costume of course. He got tons of compliments-naturally! There were other people in costumes as well and it was funny to see Morey's reaction. Some of them were people he knows but he didn't recognize who they were until they spoke. Wigs seemed to throw him off the most. He also approached kids wearing fairy wings cautiously. Sometimes I wonder what Morey thinks of his life. We've been to church many times and the building and people are familiar to him, yet that night everything was completely different. Thankfully Morey has been well-socialized and takes things all in stride.

I posted a picture of Morey in his costume on Facebook and it has 20 "likes" so far. I have to admit that's one reason I haven't broken down and created a Morey fan page on Facebook...I'm afraid that he would end up having more friends than me and that might create some tension between us! It's pretty hard to compete with such a smart and handsome guy!

Worn Out

Morey was tired after a big day of partying and his other new toy worked nicely as a pillow.

Birthday Presents!

Morey had a "woodland/country" themed party. He got to run through piles of leaves, chase corn husks, and trip and fall on walnuts in the yard.

One of his birthday presents was a duck that he likes to retrieve. It brings out his natural duck hunting instincts. ; )

Because Morey spends a lot of time laying on hard floors, Grandma bought Morey a self-inflating bed to take on the go with him. Notice the burnt orange color! It was a challenge to fit the bed into my suitcase for the return trip home, but we made it work. So, now thanks to Grandma, Morey is hanging out in style by the sidelines of the rugby court!

Party Guests

At his party, Morey had several human and canine guests. He was very excited to have a clown (Jessie) show up to provide entertainment.

Morey's Birthday Trip

For Morey's 3rd birthday he got to take a trip back home to Indiana to celebrate with his "grandma" and "aunts". I got to come along as well. The trip started out with someone objecting sitting next to Morey on the plane, saying "It is intolerable to expect me to sit next to a dog." That's the first time that had happened-most people are excited to sit next to Morey. The man was traveling for business and I guess I can understand not wanting to show up to a meeting with your dress pants covered in dog hair...although for me that's a common occurrence! Thankfully a dog lover offered to switch places and so the rest of our trip continued uneventfully.

Longhorn Morey

I finally did it. After 6 months of threatening to buy Morey a pair of longhorns I finally made good on it. While I like to think Morey looks dignified in this picture, I have to admit it might be slightly more accurate to say he was traumatized (not really- he got lots of treats and attention from it-but he really isn't a fan of dressing up).

This picture was taken at work by my co-worker who loves to take pictures of Morey. She sent it to all of our staff and I got comments from almost everyone about how good Morey looks as a longhorn. Hook 'em!

Service Dog... or Slave Dog?

At rugby practice Morey becomes everyone's service dog. With a whole group of quads there is a lot of stuff that ends up on the floor and Morey is very willing to work for anyone who gives him a butt scratch or throws his tennis ball in return.

Today, one of the new players on our team was watching me direct Morey to pick up pieces of trash that were on the floor. Morey was very dedicated in crawling under bleachers to grab empty water bottles and pulling pieces of tape that had gotten stuck to the floor. After a few minutes my teammate commented "I wish I had a slave dog."

I have to admit, I don't think I've ever heard a service dog referred to by that name and it made me laugh. I guess it kind of makes sense; I do "own" Morey and expect him to work for free- in return I provide him with food, shelter, and other necessities. He doesn't really get days off and he has to give up his natural dog instincts and behaviors in order to do what I ask of him. However, I prefer to think of our relationship as a partnership; with each of us providing things we can't get on our own. I don't think the name "slave dog" is going to replace "service dog" anytime soon (I can just imagine a vest that says "Slave dog-please do not pet") , but it certainly gave me a good laugh and made me do a careful evaluation of how I am putting Morey to use!

Rugby Season

Well, it's that time of year again! Rugby season has officially started with our first two practices this weekend. After spending most of my recent training time on the track or in the weight room it was nice to get back out on the court and give-and take- some hits! : ) On Saturday I left Morey at home during practice. I hadn't left him alone for a while and like to do that every so often so he doesn't develop separation anxiety. Everyone on the team was asking where Morey was and so today he got to come.

He was very excited and pranced right in the gym. I brought his tennis ball and he took turns letting people throw it for him. The gym we practice in has 3 courts in a row and so he can get some really good exercise chasing down the ball. The floor is a rubbery surface and when Morey tries to stop he slides a few feet which is very funny to watch.

Once practice started he hung out with our volunteers, being sure to keep his ball right beside him. We were doing drills out on the court and at one point our catch yelled "Everybody go get a ball". Well, that is a phrase Morey knows quite well and he grabbed his ball in his mouth-ready for whatever action was coming next. The rugby players had their balls and Morey had his...what a team player! He was very sad when I told him that he had to lay back down while we did our drills. He kept his ball in his mouth for most of the practice just in case we changed our minds and decided to let him play.