Fall Break

Morey and I don't get an official fall break but since my mom and sisters came to visit it sure seemed like one! We had beautiful weather and did lots of outdoor activities that of course were centered around Morey.
I live right down the street from an elementary school which has a large fenced in play area. On nice days I will push with Morey down to the 7-11 and get a frozen slushy and then sit and drink it while he plays ball at the school. My mom and sister like to join us for this adventure and we all had a good time enjoying the day.

 Another favorite activity to do together is taking Morey swimming. There was a quite a crowd on the day we went so there were lots of other dogs to play with. One of them kept taking Morey's ball so he just followed the dog around until he dropped it so Morey could rush in and grab it again. Morey never wants to stop swimming so we had to give him a few breaks to catch his breath.

There was a paralyzed Corgi who went swimming- its owners put on a life jacket and it paddled around with its front feet. On land it has a set of back wheels to get around but in the water it was bobbing and floating around. It was nice to see humans and dogs with disabilities enjoying the day!

Unfortunately for Morey, after swimming comes a bath. He is only allowed in the bathroom when he gets a bath so when I call him he knows what comes next. He will very slow walk into the bathroom and climb into the tub. I am thankful he is so cooperative because there is no way I could bathe him myself if he was resisting.

 The only part of the bath Morey likes is being rubbed with a towel afterward. It must feel like a massage to him! I am very thankful he knows the cue "wiggle", which means to shake his whole body, so he can shake off some of the water while he is still in the tub. Once I let him out of the bathroom he gets the zoomies and runs around the house, shaking and rubbing himself on the carpet. I guess he doesn't like smelling like an apricot! :)

Blessing of the Animals

Every year my church hosts a blessing of the animals but the last few years I had class that night so I wasn't able to attend. This year I made sure to mark my calendar so Morey could go be blessed!

At church Morey is usually working so everyone is used to seeing him on his best behavior. At this event I decided to let him go vest free so he could participate as a regular dog instead of a service dog. He enjoyed meeting the other dogs and people enjoyed being able to interact with him without his usual working rules. Several people commented on how "normal" Morey was- sniffing people, barking at some of the dogs and eating treats when they were offered. People sometimes don't realize that service dogs are still dogs and that they like to engage in regular dog behavior when they aren't working.


I made sure I brought some tasty treats to maintain Morey's attention and focus on me. When he sees other dogs he often thinks he is going to get to play with them and although it was ok for him to sniff and greet the other dogs it wasn't an event where he could run and play.

I am thankful to have a church that recognizes the special role that animals play in our lives. Morey is truly a gift from God and I am thankful for each and every day we get to spend together.!

Friday Fun

At the end of a long, boring week for Morey I decided to take him for a swim. I was very careful not to let him drink the water so we could avoid the GI distress that happened last time! While Morey will go up and interact with new dogs when they come up to the swim area he is mostly interested in playing ball.

As I found out, Morey has acquired the new skill of being able to hold two tennis balls in his mouth at the same time. Morey was swimming to retrieve his own ball when he saw another dog's ball floating in the water and decided to retrieve that one too. The poor other dog then followed Morey back to shore, waiting for a chance to get his ball back. I had to apologize for Morey's behavior but luckily the other dog's humans found it funny and didn't seem to mind.

We only have to stay at the lake for about half an hour before Morey is worn out. Since he never chooses to stop I have to watch him carefully so he won't over exert himself. After getting a bath when we get home Morey is worn out for the rest of the night and into the next day!

Cherish Each Moment

I recently found out via Facebook that one of Morey's siblings, Jasper, passed away. He apparently had cancer and when they went in to do surgery they were not able to save him. It really hit me hard because I could only imagine losing Morey so suddenly. I furloughed Jasper while he was in training and he was a big sweet gentle giant. He was placed as a service dog and had been working right up until his death. Morey will be seven in October and I am hoping we have many more years together but this reminded me to cherish each day with my special boy.

An acquaintance of mine who uses a guide dog recently retired her seven year old lab. She has been posting a lot of pictures about their "lasts"- last walks, last night together, etc. Her dog is going to live with his grandma and will have a great life but the end of a working partnership is tough. I went through that when my first service dog, Jessie, retired. She had a great life living with my mom in her retirement but it was very hard to adjust to life without her by my side each day.

People often ask when working dogs have to retire and it is really unique to each dog and partnership. The dog's health and physical ability to do the job often dictates the age when they retire or at least take on lighter duty. For example, a dog may have to give up pulling a wheelchair because of their health but could continue to retrieve objects since it is less physically demanding. Some people can adjust and have their dog change tasks while others rely heavily on their dog and don't have this option. Some dogs won't accept lighter duty and they aren't happy being left behind so full retirement is the best option.

Losing a working relationship with a service dog, whether through retirement or death, is really hard. It is like losing a part of you, a part that is good and special and completely irreplaceable. I try to cherish each day and each moment with Morey because I know it won't last forever. Even thinking about going through life without him is hard but I try not to let those thoughts ruin the relationship we have now. Sharing your life with a service dog brings joy but also, inevitably, the pain of loss.

 As Morey approaches his 7th birthday I am even more aware that our time together as a working team is limited. Seven isn't old but it isn't the young pup I still consider him to be. While I want to keep working with Morey as long as possible, I also want to respect him and his quality of life. Hard as it is, I pray I will know when it is time to set aside his vest and let him experience life as a retiree.Hopefully that is still at least a few years off but the events of the past month have made me realize how unpredictable life can be and have reminded me to cherish each day we have together.

Football Season!

Even after 5 years in Texas I am still surprised by the level of intensity and importance placed on football in Texas. Football is not really that interesting to me but I do try to pay attention to the Longhorns just so I can be somewhat intelligent when the topic comes up at work. Morey joins in the fan experience by putting on his Longhorns for the first few minutes of the game, although as you can tell he is not the most enthusiastic fan either.

Morey and I help train the Fan Services student staff who work at the UT Athletics events. Morey does his part by demonstrating how a good service dog should behave at such an event- by laying down and taking a nap. He feels that is a much better use of time than watching people play football!

Hogging the Bed

Morey is allowed to sleep on my bed and he is good about waiting for permission before jumping up. Because he likes to go to bed before I do I will usually let him jump up on my bed while I am still getting ready. While Morey takes up 50% of the bed, he likes to take up the middle 50%- leaving me about 25% on either side. I can usually get him to move when I come in to get in bed but if I concede any of my space during the night it is nearly impossible to reclaim it. Many times I wake up to find myself with barely enough room to lay on my side because Morey has taken up the rest of the bed.

I can gauge the temperature in the room by how close Morey wants to be to me. In the summer he likes to have his own space but as the nights start to cool off he inches closer and closer to me. It's amazing how warm he is and in the winter it is nice to have his extra heat. September has been much warmer than usual and we have still been in the upper 90s. I am looking forward to some cooler days and nights, even if it means less bed space for me!

Assistant Gardener

Our summer garden is mostly dead which means it is time to plan our winter garden (broccoli, lettuce and cabbage). That first requires fresh soil and so Morey and I made a trip to Home Depot to buy some dirt. I don't think Morey was very happy to share his seat in my car with garden soil!

Unfortunately Morey can't help move the bags of soil so it was up to me to transport them from my car to the backyard. I consider it part of my work out program because the bags are pretty heavy. Morey's job is to drag the empty bags to the trash and help carry garden tools back and forth. He can also carry the hose which is helpful. It makes Morey so happy to have work to do and he will proudly wag his tail while retrieving items and then go into the "golden wiggle" when he hands it off to you. It is fun to see Morey enjoy doing his job!