Worn Out

Morey was tired after a big day of partying and his other new toy worked nicely as a pillow.

Birthday Presents!

Morey had a "woodland/country" themed party. He got to run through piles of leaves, chase corn husks, and trip and fall on walnuts in the yard.

One of his birthday presents was a duck that he likes to retrieve. It brings out his natural duck hunting instincts. ; )

Because Morey spends a lot of time laying on hard floors, Grandma bought Morey a self-inflating bed to take on the go with him. Notice the burnt orange color! It was a challenge to fit the bed into my suitcase for the return trip home, but we made it work. So, now thanks to Grandma, Morey is hanging out in style by the sidelines of the rugby court!

Party Guests

At his party, Morey had several human and canine guests. He was very excited to have a clown (Jessie) show up to provide entertainment.

Morey's Birthday Trip

For Morey's 3rd birthday he got to take a trip back home to Indiana to celebrate with his "grandma" and "aunts". I got to come along as well. The trip started out with someone objecting sitting next to Morey on the plane, saying "It is intolerable to expect me to sit next to a dog." That's the first time that had happened-most people are excited to sit next to Morey. The man was traveling for business and I guess I can understand not wanting to show up to a meeting with your dress pants covered in dog hair...although for me that's a common occurrence! Thankfully a dog lover offered to switch places and so the rest of our trip continued uneventfully.

Longhorn Morey

I finally did it. After 6 months of threatening to buy Morey a pair of longhorns I finally made good on it. While I like to think Morey looks dignified in this picture, I have to admit it might be slightly more accurate to say he was traumatized (not really- he got lots of treats and attention from it-but he really isn't a fan of dressing up).

This picture was taken at work by my co-worker who loves to take pictures of Morey. She sent it to all of our staff and I got comments from almost everyone about how good Morey looks as a longhorn. Hook 'em!

Service Dog... or Slave Dog?

At rugby practice Morey becomes everyone's service dog. With a whole group of quads there is a lot of stuff that ends up on the floor and Morey is very willing to work for anyone who gives him a butt scratch or throws his tennis ball in return.

Today, one of the new players on our team was watching me direct Morey to pick up pieces of trash that were on the floor. Morey was very dedicated in crawling under bleachers to grab empty water bottles and pulling pieces of tape that had gotten stuck to the floor. After a few minutes my teammate commented "I wish I had a slave dog."

I have to admit, I don't think I've ever heard a service dog referred to by that name and it made me laugh. I guess it kind of makes sense; I do "own" Morey and expect him to work for free- in return I provide him with food, shelter, and other necessities. He doesn't really get days off and he has to give up his natural dog instincts and behaviors in order to do what I ask of him. However, I prefer to think of our relationship as a partnership; with each of us providing things we can't get on our own. I don't think the name "slave dog" is going to replace "service dog" anytime soon (I can just imagine a vest that says "Slave dog-please do not pet") , but it certainly gave me a good laugh and made me do a careful evaluation of how I am putting Morey to use!

Rugby Season

Well, it's that time of year again! Rugby season has officially started with our first two practices this weekend. After spending most of my recent training time on the track or in the weight room it was nice to get back out on the court and give-and take- some hits! : ) On Saturday I left Morey at home during practice. I hadn't left him alone for a while and like to do that every so often so he doesn't develop separation anxiety. Everyone on the team was asking where Morey was and so today he got to come.

He was very excited and pranced right in the gym. I brought his tennis ball and he took turns letting people throw it for him. The gym we practice in has 3 courts in a row and so he can get some really good exercise chasing down the ball. The floor is a rubbery surface and when Morey tries to stop he slides a few feet which is very funny to watch.

Once practice started he hung out with our volunteers, being sure to keep his ball right beside him. We were doing drills out on the court and at one point our catch yelled "Everybody go get a ball". Well, that is a phrase Morey knows quite well and he grabbed his ball in his mouth-ready for whatever action was coming next. The rugby players had their balls and Morey had his...what a team player! He was very sad when I told him that he had to lay back down while we did our drills. He kept his ball in his mouth for most of the practice just in case we changed our minds and decided to let him play.