It's That Season Again!

 Well, rugby season is here again! Practice started this weekend and I had to figure out how Morey and my rugby chair can co-exist peacefully in my Mazda. As you can see from the picture, Morey was not too happy about the new arrangement! He likes his space and doesn't really like sharing it with anything-let alone a big scary rugby chair. This arrangement did not work well because my chair kept sliding around when I turned, but by trial and error I was able to find a set up that could accommodate my chair and Morey comfortably.

Axles from wheelchairs are covered in grease to help them slide on and off the chair. You have to be careful when you handle the wheels when they are not on a wheelchair because the greasy axles are exposed. If you touch the end of the axle, it leaves a black greasy circle jokingly called "the mark of the devil" because it is impossible to get off!

When I got home from rugby practice, I noticed (with some amount of horror) that Morey had a mark of the devil on his fur! Somehow he must have rubbed up against one of my wheels during the trip home. I guess now his initiation into rugby is complete!

Quitting Time

The other day I was reminded of how good dogs are at putting patterns and routines together. Even if I am  not aware of how predictable I am in my routines, Morey certainly is!

When I get ready to leave work, I log off my computer, pick up my bag, and then call Morey out from under his desk hideout. Usually Morey comes out from his hideout when I pick up my bag and his leash, which is a pretty obvious predictor that we are leaving. However, the other day I had to log off my computer in the middle of the day and all of a sudden Morey came out from his hideout and looked at me expectantly. At first I wasn't sure why he had gotten up so suddenly; all I had done was log off my computer. Then I realized that this was usually the first step of my "leaving work routine" and Morey was reacting to the distinct sound my computer makes when I log off. The only time he ever hears this sound is when I log off my computer at the end of the day. Since this is such a consistent pattern, Morey was using this as the first predictor that we are getting ready to leave.

I tested this theory out a few days later and without giving any other cues that I was closing up for the day, I logged off my computer. Sure enough, when Morey heard the sound he came right out, ready to head home. He has been conditioned that the sound of my computer shutting down means it's time to go home. I wonder what other patterns he has figured out?

Riding the Lift

I have always wanted to get pictures of Morey and I riding a lift to get into a bus, but usually don't have someone with me who can take pictures. So, when we were in New Orleans and got to ride a streetcar with a lift, I asked Sabaa to document the experience. This is one of Morey's skills I am very proud of!

The first dog I trained to ride a lift was Morey's dad Jammer. This happened while I was still in college and I contacted the campus shuttle bus manager and asked if I could schedule a time to come train my dog to ride the lift. They were really helpful and I went to the garage when the accessible bus was "off duty" and was able to get Jammer comfortable with the experience of standing on a small metal grate while it lifts up in the air.

With Morey I didn't have the opportunity for such a good training/introduction to riding a lift. We were at a rugby tournament and it takes forever to load 15 people one at a time onto a bus. I sat next to the lift and got Morey used to the noise and fed him tasty treats whenever it got close to us. I had him get on and off a few times without it moving and he was fine with it. When it was my turn to load up, I had Morey stand next to me on the lift and asked the bus driver to go up just a few inches to see Morey's response. If he was going to freak out and try to jump off I would prefer if it was 3 inches off the ground instead of 3 feet! Morey looked surprised at the movement, but didn't act concerned so we continued up to the bus. Ever since that first time, Morey has been great at riding lifts and we always get smiles and compliments when people see us load up together.

 

When we got on the streetcar, there wasn't much room so you can see how Morey made use of the small space he could squeeze into!

Morey has ridden in cars, vans, trucks, buses, airplanes, and now has added streetcars to his many modes of transportation!

Better Late than Never: Pics from NOLA

Well, forgive the late posting of the next few pictures, but I thought they were worth sharing from our trip to New Orleans back in July.

This picture was taken one of the first nights we went out to explore. I was initially posing for the pic with just me and Morey and then we were photobombed by the Devil Man in red. What I love about the picture is how Morey is looking at up me like "do you see who is standing right beside you???"

(Btw, just a point of clarification; the reason I have two drinks in my hands is because I am holding the photographer's drink. Didn't want y'all to think I was having too much fun in NOLA! : )

It's The Little Things

When people think of the work that service dogs do, they often think of the amazing examples of how service dogs save their partner's  lives in dramatic ways. There certainly are these wonderful examples, but most of the time, service dogs help their partners in small ways that may seem insignificant but actually increase quality of life and independence.The other day I had a good reminder of how Morey makes my life easier.

I tend to keep my sunglasses hooked on the back of my wheelchair. Out of sight, out of mind, so I often load my chair in my car before remembering to remove my sunglasses. This happened the other day; Morey was loaded, I was loaded and as I was pulling my chair in behind me, my sunglasses fell off my chair and onto the ground. I sighed as I looked at them,  I had been having a rough day and I didn't really want to go to all the effort of unloading my chair and transferring out of my Mazda just to get my sunglasses that were 2 feet away.

Then I remembered that I have a very highly trained service dog traveling with me and I told him "off" and then "get". He jumped out of the car retrieved my sunglasses and gave them to me, then jumped back into his seat. Although it might seem like a small thing, it saved me from expending unnecessary energy. Those are the types of situations where it comes in handy to have Morey around!

Working Out

I usually work out after work and so Morey gets to go along to the gym with me. Recently I have been doing more strength training than pushing in my rugby chair and so I find a place in the weight room to settle Morey while I move between machines. If I stay near him he relaxes and appears to go to sleep. If I move out of his view though he stays very alert and wants to keep his eye on me (as if to make sure I don't leave without him or suddenly need his help for something).  As you can see from this picture, it appears that Morey is trying very hard to block out all the noise and hub-bub going on around him and focus on his power-napping!

Access Denied

For part of my graduate program I am required to complete two different internships. I will be starting my first placement this fall and all summer I waited anxiously to find out where I would be placed. I will still be maintaining my full time job at SSD and will also have to juggle 16-20 hours per week at my internship (in addition to my rugby and other life commitments) so I was eager to start making plans about how all of this would work.

I finally received my placement and was assigned to work at a dialysis center. Because it is open 6 days a week for 14 hours per day, I would be able to put some of my hours in during early mornings, evenings, and weekends. This seemed like a great arrangement and I contacted my Field Supervisor to initially introduce myself and discuss scheduling and training logistics. All was fine until I mentioned that I would be bringing Morey with me. My assigned Supervisor said she would need to check the protocol for service dogs because she had not come across that situation before. After a few days she emailed me back saying I may need to restrict Morey's access to parts of the clinic-most likely having him stay in the back offices and keeping him out of the treatment rooms. I certainly understood those limits and since I don't need Morey with me all the time I didn't think this would be a problem.

As I was getting ready to finalize the details of my schedule and placement, I received a call from my Supervisor. She explained that in order to bring Morey into the center at all-even into the offices- they would have to complete extra paperwork and approval for infection control reasons. She was willing to take this responsibility on, but it would fall on her supervisor who had not agreed to take on extra responsibility and work that having an intern required. Because of this, she regretted to tell me that my placement with their center would not work out if I needed to bring Morey with me. She did say that this experience had prompted them to review their policies for the future and thanked me for giving them that motivation. (I was not feeling entirely gracious because I was thinking, well, I'm glad someone will benefit from my experience, too bad it won't be me!)

I understood their reasoning for the decision, but I was still indignant and a little upset. I shouldn't have had to be reassigned just because they don't have a protocol and it would causes someone more work.  I have never been discriminated or kept from participating in an activity because of my service dog and I did not enjoy this first experience. I operate under a "love me, love my dog" philosophy and the fact that my dog was rejected made me feel some second-hand rejection.

In the end, it has all worked out for the best because I was approved to do my internship at my current job. I will be taking on new responsibilities and roles, but I will still be in the same office and won't have to commute or work too many extra hours. But still, the experience of being rejected because of Morey was a learning experience for me and hopefully one I will not encounter in the future!

Back to School

At the beginning of the school year part of my job involves "tabling" at different events on campus and advertising the services our office provides. Morey naturally comes with me and he often is very useful at getting people to approach our table. This picture was taken at one of these recent events. Can you spot my little helper? : )

Service Dog Signage

I like to notice signage that mentions service dogs. Sometimes signs say "seeing eye dogs welcome" but this sign at the Travis County Health and Human Services building seemed to be trying to cover all its bases by welcoming "handicap disability assist dogs".  I wonder how it translates in Spanish?