Sleeping In

As much as he likes to work, Morey also enjoys a good nap. This is actually a very important trait for service dogs because most of the time they are waiting around for someone to give them something to do. A dog that needs constant stimulation and engagement usually won't make a good service dog because a lot of service work involves waiting patiently. Over the course of an entire day I may ask Morey to do 15-20 tasks and the rest of the time I need him to blend in and be practically invisible.

Thankfully, Morey has found an excellent balance between working and relaxing. Morey likes to sleep under my desk, in meetings, and especially in my bed. In the morning I usually get up and get ready before Morey gets out of bed. Once I leave the bed, Morey usually takes over the rest of the bed to snooze for a few more minutes. These pictures were taken soon after I got out of bed and turned the light on-Morey seems to be wondering what happened to sleeping in during summer vacation!

Human Hoarding

I keep a stash of tennis balls in my car, in my office, and at home so that I am ready at a moments notice to engage in a quick game of fetch with Morey. Sometimes though, the balls migrate to other locations and I find some of my secret stashes empty while others are overfilled. This was what happened a few weeks ago I couldn't find where the balls were ending up. I suspected Morey might be establishing his hoard under the couch and made a mental note to check it out the next day.

However, when I got home that evening and began to unpack my work bag, the mystery was solved.

Apparently I had been putting the balls in my bag when the ball sessions were over and then forgetting about them. Given the number of balls that I had been collecting, this had obviously happened more than a few days. I apologized to Morey for suspecting him and then dutifully returned the tennis balls to the regular places so that next time the occasion for a tennis ball session presented itself, I was ready with a tennis ball in hand!

Covenant Camp

Last week Morey and I were invited back to Covenant Camp, our church's summer program for kids. We had gone last year as special guests and I guess we did a good job because we were invited back again!

I always enjoy talking to kids about Morey and love answering the many questions they always have. I was impressed by some of the good questions posed this year; are there any things Morey can't do, what does he eat, and can any type of dog be a service dog are some of the most inquisitive questions that they asked. Morey demonstrated his retrieving, tugging open/pushing closed a door, taking off my jacket, pulling my wheelchair, carrying a bag, "paying" in a pretend transaction with a volunteer "cashier". Morey isn't used to having such an audience and when they all broke out in applause for him when he closed the door he got all wiggly and happy and wanted to go interact with his new adoring fans. That created a good opportunity to talk about distracting a service dog and why it's always important to let the service dog focus on their work.

Although I spend most of the time talking about what Morey does for me, I make sure to spend time talking about the things I have to do for Morey-bathroom breaks, feeding, grooming, etc. I want kids to understand that Morey is my partner and teammate and we both help each other. After we reviewed service dog etiquette and what to do when you see a working service dog, I took Morey's vest off and let him say hello to the kids. They each got a turn to throw his tennis ball for him and see how he acts when he is off duty.

Morey and I often provide the opportunity for education about service dogs. It is rare for me to go into a public place where there are kids and not hear "why is there a dog in the store?" Most parents are good about explaining the reason Morey is with me and it always makes me smile to hear that lesson being taught. If it appears the parent is too busy or not paying attention enough to answer the question, I will try to explain to the child directly. Kids have such a great sense of curiosity and ask questions that adults are often too embarrassed or hesitant to ask. I enjoy promoting respectful curiosity and am glad that Morey provides me a great opportunity to do so on a regular basis.

Take Morey Out to the Ball Game

Every year our church hosts an outing to a Round Rock Express baseball game. It is a fun event and I look forward to it each summer. In the past, I have left Morey at home but this year he got to attend because I didn't have time after work to take him home. There were a few unexpected things I hadn't anticipated, but as usual, Morey handled each new adventure like a pro.

I rode to the game with a couple from church. I sat in the front of their vehicle because it was easier for me to get into that seat, which left Morey and Beth to sit in the back. It's a good thing Beth likes Morey because he tried to take up way more than his fair share of the back seat. He graciously allowed her space to sit down and then laid his head in her lap. I think we may need to work on Morey's ability to share!

Morey was a little distracted by all of the hubbub at the stadium, but he easily redirected back to me and behaved himself quite well. Thankfully our seats were in the shade so we weren't too hot as we waited until the sun went down. One of the event staff kindly brought Morey a complimentary container of water to enjoy (I tried not to have my feelings hurt because no one offered me a free drink!).

 

Even the dog houses are bigger in Texas!

At some point during the game, we decided to take a stroll around the stadium and we stumbled upon the biggest dog house in Texas! Spike the bull dog is the Express' mascot and he has a dog house inside the stadium. Spike wasn't at home when we were there so Morey got to test out the dog house.

 

Are you a friend or foe?

Later as we continued our stroll, we ran into Spike. Morey wasn't quite sure about meeting such a strange looking "thing" and he stretched out his body to sniff Spike, then retreated back to me. He did this several times and although he was curious, he still wasn't too sure what to think.

 At the end of the game, there was a firework show. Morey hadn't been concerned about the fireworks in our neighborhood on the 4th of July at all so I hadn't really thought these fireworks would be an issue. However, fireworks set off at home are a little different than a professional show and Morey quickly decided that he does not like fireworks. As the first few went off, he became very concerned and I thought I might have to leave. I don't know how dogs see fireworks but Morey could obviously see something because he would stare at the sky as each one went off. However, after a few minutes he seemed to realize that the loud noises were nothing dangerous and although he was still tense, he wasn't as alert as he had been at first. He finally turned with his head facing away from the fireworks, trying his best to ignore what was happening until they were over. Morey has such good coping strategies!

We don't usually stay out so late and we were both tired by the time the game was over. Morey took a nap on the way home and then spent most of the next day catching up on his beauty sleep. I'm not sure if Morey really enjoyed his evening at the baseball game, but I was proud of his ability to handle several new and unusual experiences.

Competition in Cuteness

One of my co-workers had a baby back in November. We often get to see pictures, but last week we were honored with an in-person visit! Everyone in the office came out to say hello and "ooh" and "ah" over her baby cuteness. She had not yet had the chance to meet a dog, so Morey was called out for a first dog introduction.

At first Harlow wasn't very interested in Morey and so Morey wasn't too interested in her. However, soon Harlow started reaching for Morey and when she was sitting next to him on the floor she started petting him. Morey was very cute and gave her a few kisses (which caused Harlow to blow raspberries back at him!). He was also interested in her soft toys, especially when she kept dropping them on the floor.

Harlow meets Morey!

Morey wasn't too sure how he felt about having competition for attention. At the office, he is usually the center of attention and all high pitched voices are directed toward him. With Harlow in the room, Morey had to step up his game and he kept circling the room and approaching each of my co-workers, trying to make sure that he still got his fair share of attention.

Dogs and babies, I work in the best office ever!

 

Meet and Eat

My church has a dinner and worship service on Wednesday evenings and during the summer different groups take turns hosting the dinner. My Sunday School class of young adults took on this challenge this summer. As it turns out, on one of our assigned weeks to host, our church as hosting 65 middle schoolers who were staying at our church while they did mission work in Austin during the day. Instead of serving 40 members of our church, we ended up providing dinner for over 100 people!

I went straight to the church after work to start setting up and so naturally Morey came with me. I was working in the kitchen and so I left Morey in a down stay in the hall (I am pretty used to dog hair in my kitchen, but figured that wouldn't be too appropriate in a church kitchen!). When all the kids started coming in they were very excited to see Morey but were respectful of his working status. I was worried that he might get stepped on, so I asked our secretary who collects the money if Morey could share the space under her table. She is one of Morey's fans and willingly agreed. When I went back to check on him, she said that a lot of the kids had complimented her on her dog!

 

One girl had hung around, sitting a few feet away from Morey and just watching him all evening, so after we had eaten and cleaned up, I asked if she wanted to pet him. She eagerly scooted toward Morey and he put his head on her leg while she petted him. They sat there together for the rest of the evening, enjoying each other's company.

Morey and I each had the chance to contribute our gifts and talents that night!

Summer Fun

I would like to say that Morey and I have been so busy having fun this summer that we haven't had time to update this blog. In reality, summer classes started in June and so our afternoons are spent in class and my evenings are spent doing homework. This hasn't left too much time for summer fun, but we have managed to fit in a few fun things outside of school.

We got a bit of a break on the 4th of July. Morey and I attended a neighborhood 4th of July festival and Morey went decked out in his patriotic lei. I had to run an errand on the way home and Morey got several compliments on his festive attire.

Then, just because I couldn't resist, I tried an alternative way of wearing a lei (Morey is so patient with me!)

The 4th is Morey's dogsitter's birthday, so we had to add a birthday hat to celebrate the occasion.

I think Morey was happy when the celebrations were over and he could go back to his normal attire!