Canine on the Canal

When I went to school in Indianapolis, I lived a few minutes away from downtown Indy. One of the things I enjoyed the most was the easy access I had to the canal and trail alongside of it. Approximately two miles in length, I would often go there for a push in my rugby chair, or to walk with whichever dog I had at the time. It was also a favorite spot to meet friends and there was one particular group of girls that I would always go strolling with-usually at least once a week during the nice weather. While I was back, we managed to get the whole group back for a reunion of sorts. I have been going through some medical stuff and didn’t have the energy to push the whole way up and back. So, I decided to see if Morey remembered the pulling lesson we had worked on when we moved to Texas.

I had started to teach him to pull my wheelchair, but we hadn’t worked on it too much. It’s a skill that I don’t often need, but that is useful to have my dogs know how to do. (It tends to make me lazy and spoiled if I have them do it too often!) The pulling harness I have is lined with fur, designed in Michigan, and it’s not really appropriate for summer weather, which is why Morey hadn’t gotten much practice recently. Without too much expectation, I put it on him and told him to “go”, the cue I use when I want him to pull. I really should stop being surprised at how amazing my dog is, because once again, Morey rose to the occasion and acted like the experienced service dog that he is. Morey pulled me around the entire canal that night, past the distractions of quacking ducks and various pet dogs we met along the way. He seemed to enjoy his work although by the end of the evening I could tell he was tired.

Morey allowed me to have an excellent evening hanging out with my friends in the same way we always used to. Without his help we would have had to cut our evening short, or I would have had to ask my friends to push me. (And for those of you who know me well, you realize that would have been the ultimate torture ; ) Most of the time for me, having a service dog is a convenience, allowing me to save time and energy, instead of having to struggle to do things on my own. But there are times when having Morey around can make the difference between independence and success, or having my disability limit my choices and activities.

Back to Prison

Team Training is the time where new ICAN clients learn to work with their assistance dogs. For about ten days, clients go into the prisons and learn from the offenders how to work with their new canine partners. I have been a part of many of ICAN’s team trainings, as a volunteer, employee, and client. I was fortunate that ICAN was holding team training while I was in Indiana, so I could visit the prison and meet ICAN’s newest graduating class. And of course, have Morey return to the place he was trained and see his old friends. As soon as we arrived on the prison grounds, Morey knew where he was. When I asked him to push the button to open the automatic door to the administration building he started whining and quivering. As we got closer to the gym where the training was being held, and where Morey had spent many hours during his own training, he got more and more excited. When he saw his handler he had to use every amount of effort he had to sit until I released him. Once I did he ran over and started jumping around her. With a smile she asked me what I had done with the well-trained service dog she had given me in December.

Although Morey and I were there to visit, we were also there to help the new clients learn to work with their dogs. It was Morey’s job to act as a “strange dog” so the clients could introduce their dogs to a dog they had never met before. The only problem was that Morey has met these dogs before, as they were his training pals before he moved to Texas with me (most of the graduating dogs are actually Morey’s half brothers or sisters on his dad’s side). He behaved very professionally as the clients walked their dogs by, first for a “leave it”, and then for a short introduction.

Almost everyone who had known Morey before moving to Texas commented on how dark he has gotten. Because I see him everyday, I guess that’s something I don’t notice.They also commented on how connected Morey seemed to me. When I handed over his leash to someone else, he willingly worked for them but always seemed to be keeping an eye on where I was. I think he might have been a little afraid that he would be left behind. It’s always fun to visit the ICAN folks and good to have the chance to meet the new ICAN clients. I think Morey and I both enjoyed our day back in prison.

Clumsy Morey

Morey is a tall, long dog and he doesn’t seem to know where his body is; he frequently bumps his head or his butt on tables and doorway and sometimes even falls off the bed. The other day Morey demonstrated that he doesn’t always have the best body awareness in a new way….

I was out for a walk with a friend at Butler University and we had stopped to throw the ball for Morey to chase. There was a fountain nearby, and we sat there while we played ball with Morey. It was a hot day and after chasing the ball a few times, Morey came back to us, panting. He circled the fountain a few times and I could tell he was trying to figure out how he could get to the water that was spraying up in the air and then landing in the pool below. I had him jump up on the edge of the fountain and figured he could lean down to get a drink. The base of the fountain was shaped like an octogon, and where the corners came together, there was a nice place for him to brace himself, lean down, and get a drink. However, as he leaned down, it threw him off balance and the upper half of his body fell in the fountain. He scrambled backwards, shook his head, and sneezed. Instead of getting a mouthful of water, I think he got a noseful! But at least he wasn’t hot anymore! He tried again, this time instead of trying from a bow position, he tried to lay down and stretch his neck out as far as he could. This seemed a little more managable, and he got his drink, although I could tell it was much more work than he had origanally anticipated. Silly Morey!

Shopping with a Service Dog

Morey is a pretty happy go lucky dog, willing to go and do just about anything, but one activity he does not enjoy is going shopping. This has been the case with almost every service dog or service dog in training I have ever had. I think it's a combination of things: it usually takes a while, it's a lot of stop and go, and there is not much room to maneuver. The aisles are usually narrow and there is barely room for a chair to get through, let alone a dog and a chair. That means Morey either has to go in front of me, walk behind me, or, his personal favorite if we are clothes shopping, walk beside me underneath the racks of clothes, causing them to brush along his back (maybe it feels like a massage?) Just about the time he lays down and gets settled, I decide I want to move along and see something else so he has to get up, follow me five or six steps and then repeat the whole process.

I usually get a lot of sighs and pathetic looks from Morey when I take him shopping. I also get a lot of surprised looks from people who will come around an aisle, focused on whatever they are looking for, and then see a dog laying on the floor in front of them. This is especially funny when I happen to be out of sight and they try to figure out why there is a dog in the store. You can almost see the lightbulb go off above their heads when I reappear.

In most cases, I try to leave Morey at home when I go shopping (which isn't too hard since that's an activity I usually avoid as well), but this past week Morey had the pleasure of going shopping with his grandma, aunt, and me. Poor dog! He was a good sport, but clearly did not enjoy the shopping trip as much as the rest of us did. When we got home, I made it up to him with some extra ball time!

Morey's Vacation

Morey seems to be enjoying his vacation in Indiana (and needless to say, so am I!). He likes being spoiled by his aunts and grandma and has gotten all sorts of new treats to taste and toys to play with. He likes to play with the other dogs here, although he is still learning that body slamming is not a good way to make friends with a soft golden and a shih tzu. He and Jessie, my retired service dog, compete for attention and if you talk to one, chances are good the other one will come over as well. Although in the past if I asked another dog to work for me, Jessie would push her way through to do the job first, this time she seems very content to let Morey do all the work. I think she has adjusted to retirement quite nicely!

Morey and I have gotten to see some friends from ICAN and it was fun to see how excited he got when he recognized the volunteers and trainers who worked with him in the past. It has been very gratifying for me to see how, even when Morey is excited and distracted with toys, treats, and favorite people , he will redirect and focus back on me with just a quiet cue. Even when he is on vacation, Morey is always on call for me whenever I need him.

Road Trip to Indiana

We left at 6am and drove and drove and drove and drove. Morey had his spot on the back seat of my van and quickly went back to sleep (after all, he had to wake up at 5am- way too early for him!)

We stopped 3 times in 18 hours; basically whenever we needed gas. Morey's aunt would take time to run him around any nearby grass and give him a chance to stretch his legs. Then we would load up again and keep driving. I know dogs don't really have sense of time, but I could just imagine him thinking "Are we ever going to get wherever we are going?" It kind of felt that way to me too!

We arrived home at midnight and my sister and I were both exhausted after 18 hours on the road. Unfortunately, Morey had been sleeping all day and he wasn't exhausted. He wanted to play with Jessie, my retired service dog who lives with "grandma", and she wasn't really thrilled about that at midnight. But, my wonderfully adaptable Morey reluctantly settled down and slept for the rest of the night. He definitely got his beauty sleep during those 24 hours since he slept about 20 of them!

Change is in the Air

Once again I have heard our fans clamoring about what Morey and I have been doing lately. But this time, my lack of writing is because we have been too busy, not too boring, to post updates. The past few weeks have been rather eventful for us! Here's some of what we've been up to recently...

Our office at work is moving to a new location down the hall and so I had to pack up all my office "stuff". Morey was curious about all the boxes but began to get concerned when I started packing. He hunkered down on his bed and watched while I packed up all my stuff. I was also packing for my trip back to Indiana and so the packing continued at home. By his panting and pacing I could tell Morey was stressed, so we took frequent breaks for play and ball time.

My sister, Morey's"aunt", flew down to Austin so she could drive back to Indiana with me. When she came to my office, Morey recognized her immediately. He has a special wiggle and bounce that he only does for certain people and he did it for her. It's amazing how dogs recognize people they know, even after months of being apart.

The next day I had to work, but Morey got the day off to stay home with his aunt. I think he liked not waking up early and being able to sleep late. Lazy boy! : )