Snow Day!

It doesn't happen often in Texas but today Morey and I got the day off due to "inclement weather". Last night we got sleet and ice which caused lots of accidents and pretty much shut down the entire city. I have been jealous of my Midwestern family and friends who have gotten multiple snow days (although I haven't been jealous of the temperatures that came along with it!) and was excited that I got an unexpected day off.  All of a sudden I had time to do things like sleep in, cook breakfast, and of course, catch up on Morey's blog! It is a nice change from my usual tightly packed schedule.

Come on out and play!

Our deck was covered with ice and Morey was quite excited to go out and run around. He would have liked it a lot more if we had gotten snow accumulation because he loves to play in the snow but he still had fun frisking and frolicking around. I had fun watching him from inside :)

My roommate recently got a new wheelchair and we had the giant box sitting in our living room. I guess the little kid in me came out as I remembered all the fun I had growing up playing in old refrigerator/dishwasher/washer/dryer boxes and I suddenly had a desire to put that box to good use. I didn't feel like getting on the floor to enjoy a box fort but I figured it would be fun to see what Morey thought of it.

 

It only took a sharpie marker and some rearranging and soon Morey had a homemade fort complete with his bed, toys and antler.

 

As you can see, he has found it to be quite comfortable!

 

It's supposed to be back in the 70s tomorrow but for now Morey and I are enjoying our one day winter!

 

 

Internship

I am entering my final year of graduate school which includes a final internship. I have been accepted as a Graduate Fellow with OneStar Foundation, a nonprofit that strengthens, convenes and  promotes the nonprofit sector in Texas. Among other things, OneStar manages the AmeriCorps grants in Texas and I will be working as part of that team on their Disability Inclusion projects. It is an exciting placement with some great learning opportunities! While I am doing my internship I will also be juggling my full time job at UT, a capstone class and my rugby schedule. 2014 is promising to be a busy year!

I was pleasantly surprised to have my own office at OneStar. The desk is actually the same design as the one I have at UT and so when Morey went in the office for the first time he knew right where to go!

OneStar has a suite of offices with a conference room, kitchen and individual offices. For the first week I decided to leave Morey in my office while I attended the various orientation sessions. I took off his vest so he knew he was staying a while but when I left my office Morey started to come with me. He didn't understand why I would leave him in a strange place and thought if I was leaving he should come too. When I came back to check on him between sessions, he was waiting by the door as if he was watching for me to come back. I could tell he was on edge about the whole experience because it was very different than what usually happens when he goes to work.

The next day I brought in a dog bowl, toys and a bone and he seemed to be a little more settled. He has already won over most of the staff members who were quite excited that they could come visit and play with him if he had his vest off. The office suite has a long hallway that is perfect for playing ball (if you can throw straight that is!). Good thing the office is full of dog lovers! Morey was even included on our official Facebook welcome!

A big OneStar WELCOME to our newest Graduate Fellows from The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work: Deepti Agarwal & Emily Shryock. And let's not forget their faithful sidekick, Morey the service dog! Together, they will help us revolutionize our work with Texas Connector and AmeriCorps*Texas. Welcome, ladies (and Morey)!

The one part of the office setup that is not good for Morey is the outside space. The building is built on a hill so the only part of the parking lot that is accessible are the accessible spaces. There are lots of nice wooded areas but I can't get close to them and I certainly am not going to let Morey loose to go "hurry" there.

The only accessible entrance to the building is through the parking area underneath the building. The main entrance has stairs but at the top of the stairs near the front door is a tiny landscaped area with a small tree. I have gone out the front entrance several times to let Morey "hurry" there so I don't have to take the elevator downstairs. People often give me funny looks as I sit at the top of the stairs and Morey isn't really thrilled about the small space and few options he has there. I am only in the office 2 days a week so Morey will just have to make do!

This is where you want me to go?

I am sure we will have more adventures to report about our time with OneStar!

Close the Door Behind You

There are some tasks that I have chained together so that Morey automatically goes through several commands with only one command. These tend to be tasks that Morey does on a regular basis and it allows me to be efficient (lazy?) and say one command instead of directing him through each step. Most of the time this is helpful, but there are occasions where this can backfire.

When I let Morey out into our fenced in backyard, I sometimes don't go out with him. I'll close the door but not latch it and when Morey is done with his business he comes and stands by the door. I'll then tell him "push" and he'll push the door open and come inside. After he comes in I have trained him to turn around and push the door closed behind him (I'm still working on figuring out how to get him to lock the door as well...). This works well for us and is pretty cute to watch. I may have to catch it on video and try to post it here.

What could go wrong with this arrangement? Well, the other day I was bringing in groceries through our garage door. I had my lap full and reached out to unlatch the door and then told Morey to "push". He eagerly pushed the door open- and then went inside and then immediately closed the door behind him- essentially slamming the door in my face! I realized that I had been too effective in teaching him to close the door behind him and had a good laugh about it. I guess I need to re-think this arrangement!

When Habits Become Hazardous

Morey knows more than 30 different commands but there are some I don't use on a regular basis. However, even if there's something Morey knows that isn't helpful to me, I try to practice all his commands with him so he doesn't get rusty. You never know when something will change (living environment, physical functioning, etc) and a command you didn't used to need will suddenly become important.

The other day I realized that our practice sessions need to be tweaked a bit because I found myself in a situation that was potentially dangerous for both Morey and me. I was grocery shopping on the weekend, which is something I hate doing because it is always so busy. There were no accessible spaces available so I ended up parking in a regular space farther away from the store. I don't like to do this because it means I have to push in the parking lot behind the parked cars. Since I am much shorter than most able-bodied folks I am not visible when people backing out look in their mirrors. Whenever I have to push through parking lots I am extra alert for cars backing up because I know they probably can't see me.

After doing my shopping I made my way back to my car- carrying my groceries, keeping an eye on Morey and trying not to get run over. Whenever I have to push near traffic I always try to put myself between traffic and Morey. This arrangement feels safer to me as I am potentially able to "body block" if Morey should happen to head toward traffic (you never know- it could happen!). Because of the direction I was heading I needed Morey to be on my right side. I told him "side" and he quickly moved over to my right side. However, he didn't stay there and kept crossing back over to my left side because that is typically where he walks. This happened several times and I quickly got frustrated.

I was already on edge after navigating the crowded store and now I was trying to manage too many things at once. I recognized my frustration level was increasing and saw that Morey was confused about what I wanted. I was rather concerned for our safety and realized this was not the time for a training session so I told Morey to "side" and then took hold of his collar to prevent him from crossing back over to my left side. He was startled because this was also not part of our typical routine but in this fashion we managed to make it safely back to our car. Not an ideal way to manage the situation, but sometimes that's how things go.

Although I practice positional commands with Morey on a regular basis, I realized that I usually do this in a stationary position. When I ask Morey to "side" I usually have him go stand on my right side and then I release him or give him another command. I hadn't been giving him the opportunity to go to my right side and stay there as we move forward. Since that time I have been intentional about alternating the side of my chair that Morey walks on so he is used to both options.

People often ask if Morey is fully trained and although I usually say yes, the more precise answer is that he is always learning and adapting. It is my job to make sure that his training stays sharp and I certainly had a good reminder of how important that is in order for us to remain a safe and effective working team!

Common Courtesy

Thankfully our trip back to Texas was much less eventful than our trip to Indiana. The only excitement that happened was on our flight from Dallas to Austin.

As Morey and I were hanging out waiting for our plane to arrive, a man with a houndy-looking chocolate lab with a service dog vest walked by us and up to the gate agent. I actually didn't notice the dog until it started barking at Morey. I was very proud that although Morey was quite interested and alert, he didn't bark back or even move from his down stay. The dog continued to bark as the man tried to check in and the man pulled out a muzzle and put it on the dog. After he finished his business with the gate agent, he walked right by us as he left. The poor dog was having trouble breathing with the muzzle on and its sides were heaving from stress/excitement.

A moment later the man walked by with his dog again and it almost seemed that he was intentionally trying to bother Morey. I moved over to a place out of the way and settled Morey there. Less than five minutes later, the man walked his dog by us again. I was annoyed as it was pretty obvious that the only reason I had moved was to get away from him and his dog. When he walked his dog by yet again, I spoke up and said "Sir, would you mind giving us some space and keeping your dog away from mine?"  He didn't even look at me as he responded "I'll walk my dog wherever I want to". I was quite surprised by his rudeness. Most service dog partners I have encountered have been very polite and understand the distraction another dog can pose.

Thankfully after that he sat down far away from me and stayed there until it was time for us to board. However, even though that distraction was gone, a woman with a tiny dog soon came and sat close to us. She had a carrier for her dog but she had it out on a leash and was letting it socialize with everyone. Despite all these distractions, Morey behaved himself like a professional!

All the people with dogs got to board first and we were all called up at the same time. The gate agent told me and the man with the service dog to go down the jetway to board. The man with the other service dog said "That woman doesn't want me near her service dog so I can't go down with her." Unwilling to be seen as the one causing the problem I replied "It just seems like it will be less chaotic if we keep our dogs apart. Why don't youboard first and then I'll go down once you are settled on the plane". The gate agent decided that was a good idea and so the man went down with his dog.

I didn't necessarily think the dog was vicious (I've certainly seen other service dogs bark out of fear, excitement, etc) but without knowing more about it and how it might respond to another dog in close quarters I didn't want to take any chances. I also didn't trust the man's ability to control his dog. I know that when I am boarding the plane I have enough to focus on without worrying about Morey's safety.

Altogether there were 4 dogs on the plane: Morey and the other service dog and two little dogs. Once we were all on board there weren't any problems and most people probably didn't realize how many canines were on board!

That was my first negative experience traveling with another service dog and it was more because of the man than his dog!

Happy New Year!

Morey and I want to thank all of you for following our adventures during 2013! It is fun to look back at the year and remember where we've gone and what we've done.

                                  We look forward to sharing our lives with you in 2014!

 

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!