Skype

I frequently Skype with my family on the weekends. While my family always wants to see Morey he usually doesn't show too much interest in the computer screen. Last week though my family was watching Declan, one of my first service dogs in training, who is now 11 years old. When Morey heard me using my "special" voice with Declan he came right over to see what was going on. Although he doesn't appear to be able to see people on the screen I could tell he recognized Declan as a dog and was very interested in watching him.

I could also tell that Declan recognized my voice and was trying to find me in the computer. It was cute to see him remember me and want to find me but sad because I knew he doesn't understand the concept of video chatting. Declan is a fun dog and although a "virtual visit" isn't nearly as good as seeing him live it was definitely better than nothing! Hopefully Morey and I will have a chance to visit with him next time we are back in Indiana!

Declan

I can hear you but where are you?

Vet Visit

Ever since Morey's "sick day" back in May, he has had other days where he just hasn't seemed right. He will walk with his head really low and pant even when it isn't hot out. He seemed to experience these symptoms more after exercising so I decided to take him to the vet to get checked out.

 The vet office had a sign welcoming all the animals who had appointments that day. Morey always likes the vet until we get into the exam room and then he becomes clingy. He is still cooperative and the vet tech said he is the best dog she had worked with that day.

The vet checked Morey over and asked me lots of questions. She said that she couldn't find anything problematic and thought he might have had a soft tissue injury in his neck that he was aggravating when he exercised. She recommended putting him on exercise restriction for a week or so and see if that helped. She also prescribed him some pain meds if he needed them. She said if he continues to show symptoms they will do x-rays but she wanted to start out conservatively which I appreciated.

Since it has been raining so much it wasn't hard at first to restrict Morey's exercise. After a few days though I could tell he was starting to get antsy. One night he brought me his squeaky toy and started tossing it at me- wanting me to throw it for him. I handed it back to him and he tossed it around, squeaking it ferociously. That seemed to take the edge of his restlessness but I could tell he wanted to do more than just squeak the toy.

We had to miss agility class but luckily I had taped the Purina Incredible Dog Challege, which is Nationals for sports including agility, dock diving, flying disc and Jack Russell Hurdle Racing. Instead of doing agility, Morey enjoyed watching the dogs competing. Hopefully he learned something by watching the champions run through the course!

So far, Morey has felt fine so we have added a few ball tosses back into our routine. It has gotten hot in the past week so he can only chase it a few times anyway before he gets too hot. Even with this activity he is feeling fine so we will slowly increase his activity over the next few weeks and see how he does. Hopefully he is all recovered and ready to go back to his normal activity!

June Adventures

June was a pretty laid back and low key month. I am getting used to life without school although I am finding ways to keep busy! It rained a lot in June so although it kept the temperatures cooler than normal it was too wet to do many outside activities.

I have been doing some consulting work for OneStar Foundation, which is where I did my internship last year. They asked me to manage their Inclusion and Experience survey for all their AmeriCorps and VISTA members in Texas as well as present at the Southwest National Service Conference in Ft. Worth. I really enjoyed both of these tasks and of course Morey came along for the ride!


The conference and hotel was right across from the Ft. Worth Water Gardens. They were fun to explore, even if they weren't very accessible. Morey heard the sound of water as we approached and got excited even before he saw the water. I made sure I held tightly to his harness because he acted like he wanted to get first hand experience with the water garden! There were people climbing on the different levels and it looked like fun. It would have been fun to see what Morey would have done in the water but there was a sign prohibiting dogs. Sorry Morey!

Picture borrowed from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/542261611355863743/

I also took a trip to Oklahoma City for the Endeavor Games. This was the third year I have competed and I always look forward to participating in handcycling, track and paratriathlon. Because all these sports are outdoors and take place over distance it makes it hard to bring Morey along so I decided to leave him home with my roommate. It has been a while since I have left Morey at home and according to my roommate he didn't like it very much. Apparently he wouldn't play ball and was being very mopey and lethargic. I felt bad that Morey missed me so much while I was gone. I guess I need to be better about leaving him at home more often so he gets more used to it. Obviously I want him with me but he needs to be ok with being alone as well. 

                                      We were both happy when we were back together again!