Starbucks Snob?

We have had a couple of chilly days recently, so it finally feels like fall here. I love the feel of the crisp air in the mornings and evenings and have had to break out some of my favorite warm snuggly clothes to wear. It's also the weather for warm comfort food like chili, s'mores, and hot chocolate. Fall is my favorite season and living in Texas, I kind of feel cheated, so I have to make the most out of the limited experience!

While Morey and I were working Family Weekend with our friend and co-worker Heather, she went and got us hot chocolate and coffee. Morey was laying on the cold brick plaza the entire time and I'm sure he would have enjoyed a hot drink too. Sorry, Morey, no Starbucks for you!

(While I was taking this picture, the person working the table behind us asked if he could take a picture as well...Morey has paparazzi and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets an offer from Starbucks wanting him to be their new spokesdog! : )

Fall Fun

Although I usually work standard business hours, occasionally there are special events that require me to work evenings or weekends. Recently, Morey and I volunteered to staff a table advertising our office and services at Family Weekend at UT. When I bring Morey to these events, I usually end up doing more education about service dogs than about our office. It amazes me how many people will walk right up and start petting Morey without asking first. Sometimes I don't think they realize that he actually is a service dog and not just a way to bring attention to our table. Although they might be attracted to our table because of the cute dog, I make sure they leave knowing the importance of not distracting and interfering with a service dog without first getting permission from their human partner. I guess you can say that Morey and I were working double duty-advertising our office and teaching service dog etiquette!

Healthy Habits

Over the summer, I got into some lazy habits with Morey and am only now beginning to see the results of those habits. I usually play ball with Morey before and after work so he gets exercise at least twice a day. During the summer, though, it was just too hot to play ball enough to give Morey the amount of exercise he needed. I'll still throw it once or twice but even that gets Morey panting for hours.

Recently as I was grooming Morey, I noticed that he had put on a few pounds in the last few months. He is not super heavy, but he definitely has a nice layer of insulation that is not really necessary in the Texas heat. As I started thinking about the reason for his weight gain I focused on areas; feeding and exercising.

When I looked at Morey's feeding routine, I discovered that the cup I had been using to measure his food was not truly 1 cup. I got a new measuring cup so I know exactly how much I am feeding him and I am making sure they are not rounded cups!

I have also re-started ball play times before and after work. This requires me to park in a space that is a little farther away from my building (with a hill in between the space and my building). It's not that big of a deal for me to push a little bit farther and it allows me to have a nice place to throw the ball for Morey. On days when I am running late or wanting to hurry home, it can be a challenge to make sure I don't skimp on Morey's exercise time.

I am trying to stay committed to these new habits that will keep Morey happy and healthier!

Four is Fun!

It's hard to believe that Morey is four! I remember the day he was born but never imagined he would become such an important part of my life. Here is hoping for many more happy years together!

Birthday Hangover

We actually celebrated Morey's birthday a day early because his Grandma and Aunt had to leave early in the afternoon on his birthday. After a special birthday breakfast and snuggle session we had to take them to the airport and then head to the office to put in a few hours at work.

One of my co-workers had brought a birthday present for Morey, but he was so exhausted he didn't even want to play with it (he has since recovered and very much enjoys having a ball and tug toy all in one!). As you can see in the picture below, Morey was definitely suffering from a birthday hangover!

Birthday Treat

We had big plans to take Morey swimming and then to get a snow cone at a food trailer to celebrate his birthday, but the weather didn't cooperate. It is rarely cold and rainy, but that day it was, so we had to rethink our birthday fun for Morey.

 Aunt Natalie volunteered to make him a snow cone at home out of crushed ice and some dog meat treats and Morey seemed to be quite happy with this birthday treat!

Fun and Games

My family got to attend rugby practice twice during their visit and they came up with some fun and games to keep themselves (and Morey) occupied. Some of the fun  was having Morey style a deflated rugby ball as a hat and I have to say, it was a good look for the team mascot! The other game (besides more fetch with a tennis ball) was teaching Morey the essentials of the "shuffle game"; putting a tennis ball under the cones and asking him to find his ball. It took him a few tries to catch on, but once he did it was pretty fun to watch how intently he watched as the cones were moved back and forth. His next goal was to try to pull the ball out through the top of the cone and this proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Staying true to his training, after several attempts he would step back and look at the people around him for direction to either continue trying or to receive some human help. What a good dog!

Birthday Visit

Morey was very excited that his Grandma and Aunt were able to come down to Texas to celebrate his fourth birthday. He had a wonderful time snuggling, playing ball, and getting spoiled with some very tasty treats. By the time they left, he was absolutely exhausted and had to take a day off of work to rest and recover from his amazing 4th birthday celebration!

Fire Alarm!

Morey and I were at work the other day when the fire alarm went off. I was pretty sure it wasn't a drill because I usually get prior notification before a drill (my office is on the 4th floor and it's a hassle to deal with a drill if we don't have to so we conveniently plan to be out of the building before our drills take place). I got Morey dressed in his gear, grabbed my bag, and we headed to the stairwell, our designated place of refuge. Another one of our staff members can't climb stairs either so the two of us stood in the stairwell while everyone on the 5th floor went down in front of us. Two of our staff members went down to let the building manager know we were staying inside and two of them stayed with me, Morey, and Dora.

The alarm had been going off the entire time and yet Morey was standing calmly by my side. He got so many compliments from the 5th floor staff as they hurried by us on their way downstairs. His ears were back so I knew he was stressed but the casual observer didn't notice. He began to get a little antsy so I asked him to do a lap to give him some loving and silly talk. He obeyed and as I petted him, wafts of Morey hair flew through the air. The stress was causing him to shed more and when I had him get off, my black pants were no longer black. Oh well, that's a small price to pay to make sure Morey was happy and calm.

Eventually the alarms went off and we found out someone had overheated their lunch, causing the alarms to go off. With the excitement over, we headed back to work. Over the next few days, I got many more compliments from staff members who had seen Morey on that day. His calm and cool demeanor, even in the midst of noise and confusion, was impressive and he earned a lot of respect for his professionalism in emergencies. : )

 I usually notify our staff when I leave Morey in my office when I leave and this situation made me realize the importance of doing so. It doesn't happen too often, but I want to make sure someone would think to save Morey and not just assume that because I'm not there, Morey isn't there too. Our "safety leader" is responsible for doing a sweep of the office before evacuating and I talked with my supervisor about making sure the person checks under my desk for Morey during their sweep. It doesn't happy often that I leave Morey (or that we have emergencies that require evacuations) but I would rather be safe than sorry.