Cause of a Commotion

Morey was the unintentional cause of commotion during the worship service. All the kids in the church know Morey and are used to seeing him in church. On Easter there were lots of visitors and many of them were kids. As they were walking in most of them walked by Morey and me on the way to their seats. I heard at least five kids say "Mom/Dad, there's a DOG in the church!" Everyone around me who knows us was laughing-for us having a dog in church is normal, but that is not the case for most people! I think there was a lot of service dog education that went on that morning!

There was a little girl, probably about 2 years old, sitting in front of us with her family. When it was time to stand and sing, her dad picked her up. She could now see Morey when she looked behind her and began saying "Doggie" in increasingly loud tones. Her dad tried to shush her but she kept insisting. Finally her dad reached down in a bag and tried to put a pacifier in her mouth to keep her quiet. Once the song was over and they sat down she couldn't see him anymore and was quiet. But each time they stood for a song she began her chant again.

The parents were obviously embarrassed. I felt bad because my dog was the cause of all this, but it wasn't like I could make Morey disappear. Meanwhile he was just laying quietly, acting like the perfect angel that he is. He can't help it if he has paparazzi who follow him even to church!

Easter Sunday

Morey had an exciting Easter morning. We went to church and sat in our same spot and just like always, Morey laid down and went to sleep, unaware that this service was not going to be "just like always". The first song started and a woman ran down the center aisle, doing a liturgical dance and waving a long ribbon. Morey jerked up, although he stayed in the "down" position, and his ears were flat against his head. He is not used to people running by him in church and she caught him by surprise. For the rest of the song he stayed alert; keeping his eye on her wherever she went. He was not a fan of the ribbon she was waving and was obviously relieved when the dance/song was over.

Even in usually predictable places, service dogs have to be ready to deal with the unexpected. I was a bit startled when she went running by the first time and I can only imagine what Morey felt since he was sleeping. He was also laying on the edge of the aisle so he was a lot closer to her than I was. Even though he was obviously startled and nervous, he never once got up. He did look up at me for reassurance a few times and I gladly gave it to him. Good boy Morey!

Easter Celebration

Morey's Grandma sent him (and me) an Easter package. Morey wasn't too interested at first as I opened the box, but once I unwrapped the duck he came right over. He played with it for a few minutes, enjoying the crinkle sound it makes when you bite its body. Then as I started unwrapping the next item he came over to see what other fun stuff was going to come out of the magic box. The answer was his own little Easter basket with two eggs filled with heart and bone-shaped meat treats. They had a very pungent aroma and Morey was intrigued. He offered several different commands to try to "earn" one of the delicious morsels. I let him sample a few and then went back to the box to open my surprises. Morey looked each one over carefully, trying to see if he got anything else. I guess that's what happens with only children/granddogs-they assume all the presents are for them!

Carrier Canine

One job I dislike is unloading my van when I arrive home after a long day of work or after doing errands. I like to be able to bring everything into my apartment in one trip, but depending on how much stuff I have, this is not always possible. The other day I was assessing the number of bags I had versus the number I could pile on my lap and realized I would have one extra bag I would have to come back for. Then I looked at Mr. Morey standing beside me and wondered if he could carry it in for me. It was a plastic grocery bag and wasn’t too heavy, so I handed it to him and said “get”. He willing took it and took a few careful steps-trying to figure out how to walk without having it hit his legs. He dropped it once, but picked it up again and continued holding it while I unlocked my door and we went inside. Once again, Morey got lots of excited praise for doing this new job and once again he reacted with wiggles and bouncing. It’s fun to see how much Morey likes his job!

Since discovering Morey’s new talent, I have put his carrying skills to good use. Today I had two bags of items to recycle and rather than making two trips, I handed one bag to Morey and I balanced one on my lap and we both carried our bags out to the recycling items to the bin behind my apartment. Later on we went for a walk and he pooped and there was no trash can sight. I bagged it up and handed to him to carry. He carried it for about ten minutes without dropping it before we found a trash can. Every time we passed someone they smiled when they saw him happily carrying his own trash.

Morey looks very proud when he is carrying something. This could be because he has to hold his head up high so the bag doesn’t drag on the ground, but the way he trots and the excitement he has after I take the item back make me think he really does enjoy it. I will have to continue to think of new ways to apply Morey's commands]to make my life easier!

Morey's New Job

There are three commands that I use the most when Morey is doing service dog work (not counting “life skills” such as sit, down, etc.) They are “tug”, “get”, and “touch”. I tend to use these commands in the same ways; “get” for retrieving dropped items, “tug” for closing doors, and “touch” for pushing automatic door buttons, but there are many different ways these three commands can be used (tugging off a coat or retrieving a named item). This week I found two new ways for Morey to help me using the “get” and “tug” commands.

My doorway is fairly narrow and it’s hard for me to get myself and my rugby chair through the door. It’s a challenge to block the door open and push myself while also trying to push my rugby chair. The other day as I was heading out, Morey was standing behind my rugby chair, waiting his turn to go through the door. He was watching me as I struggled and all of a sudden I realized that Morey could pull my rugby chair a lot easier than I could. My chair has a stretchy strap on the front that was perfect for him to grab. I got out of the way and positioned him in front of the chair and told him to “tug”. He grabbed on and tugged but when the chair moved toward him he dropped the strap and jumped back in surprise. I encouraged him to try again and this time he knew what to expect so he tugged with just enough momentum to keep the chair from running over him. When we were all through the door, I gave Morey lots of praise. He seems to like figuring out how to work in different ways and he jumped around in excitement in reaction to my praise. Seeing how proud and happy he was, I had him help me pull my rugby chair all the way to my van. Morey has definitely found a new way to help out with rugby!

Unexpected People in Unexpected Places

Last week after rugby practice I went to the grocery store. I don’t always bring Morey in when I go shopping, but it’s been in the high 80s here which is obviously too hot to leave Morey in my van. As we were shopping we ran into my boss. She lives close to me and we have crossed paths in the store before. As we greeted each other, Morey leaned forward to sniff her and when he realized it was Stephani he got very excited.

Morey has stayed with Stephani when I have needed a dog sitter, most recently for five days while I was in San Diego. He had a great time playing with her dog and being spoiled by the rest of her family. In the office he does a good job of recognizing boundaries of when he can greet and play with her and when he is on duty and focused on me. However, seeing Stephani in the store threw him off. He was working and ignoring people as usual, but when he saw her he got all wiggly and excited. She did a good job of ignoring him, which seemed to make him even more desperate to get to her. After putting him in a sit, I let her give him a quick pet and then we went our own ways.

The rest of the time we were in the store Morey was extra focused on the people around him. When we turned down an aisle he would scan the area around him, obviously still looking for Stephani. There are very few things that can cause Morey to act anything but perfect, but I guess seeing someone he knew in an unexpected place is one of those things!