Gym Dog

The Phoenix tournament was held at a great new facility built specifically for people with disabilities. The entire place is accessible and it's a tournament I look forward to every year. The "staging area" for the teams to store equipment and our wheelchairs while we are competing is down in the basement. Often these staging areas are in the same area as the gym so you can keep an eye on your things. This is especially important to me when I bring Morey as I don't like to leave him unattended in a public place. Since the basement isn't really used by the public I felt comfortable leaving him downstairs in his collapsible crate.

Morey hadn't been in the crate for more than a year. Rugby tournaments are the only place I have ever used it and since Morey has been staying home while I travel there wasn't any need to use it. As I was setting it up I hoped that he hadn't forgotten the strange way that it wobbles and adjusts to his movement. There was no need to worry as Morey walked right in and made himself comfortable.

I put Morey in the crate more to keep other people from bothering him than to keep him contained. Because of that I didn't bother zipping the door all the way and when I came back down to the basement after our games, this is what I found.

 

Apparently I need an extension on the crate so all of Morey can fit in it!

 

Fun in Phoenix

Ever since I moved in with my roommate, I haven't traveled with Morey as much when I go to rugby tournaments. I don't really need his assistance when I'm traveling and it's easier for both of us when he stays home. Travel is often filled with long days, venues that aren't always dog friendly and various modes of transportation and I sometimes have to put Morey in less than ideal situations. When I bring Morey along I also have to make sure to take care of his needs which is just an extra thing to think about during a busy weekend.

Last week we had a rugby tournament in Phoenix. My roommate was also going to be out of town that weekend so Morey came along with me. I brought Morey to the Phoenix tournament two years ago and we had some problems because of the lack of grass for him to "hurry" so I was a little concerned about his comfort on this trip.

Thankfully the hotel had a very nice grassy area which Morey and I ended up visiting a lot. It was behind the hotel where there wasn't much traffic so I felt comfortable letting Morey play ball of leash. Since we spent long days at the gym I made sure Morey got a good play session in the morning and evening.

 

Morey appreciated the other dog friendly amenities that included dog bowls filled with food and water at the entrance to the hotel. I didn't want him eating the dog bones in the bowls but did let him have a drink of water. Although he sniffed the bones he left them alone when I gave him the cue "leave it".

 

 I always get my own hotel room as the only woman on the team and Morey seemed to appreciate the king bed. However, even though the bed is much bigger than ours at home somehow I still ended up sleeping on the very edge....

 

 

Puppy Bowl!

Morey has taken a liking to watching TV that involves dogs or animals. The other night Marmaduke (featuring real dogs) was on TV and he watched most of it. I turned the volume down and was doing some work on my computer but Morey kept watching.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday but it is also the day of the Puppy Bowl. I thought Morey might enjoy watching it and he definitely did!

 

At first he watched from the couch but he soon got much more involved in the puppy antics

 

Somehow a picture just couldn't capture Morey's interest in the Puppy Bowl so I caught some on video. As you can tell, he wanted to participate and was disappointed when I told him he was too old to be in the Puppy Bowl.

 

 

I think next year Morey will host his own live Puppy Bowl!