Month: June 2014

Oreo did so well this morning! We went to FedEx and she just laid at my feet while I sent the package. The proprietor just gave Oreo a glance and didn’t say a word. We then went to U-Haul, and Oreo hesitated at the deck stairs, which didn’t have risers, but then hopped right up. She did good for the first 30 minutes, but just when I thought we were done and she was in the car, they realized the hitch they’d sold me wouldn’t work, so she sat in the car for almost 30 more minutes before getting antsy. I can’t blame her; I was antsy to get out of there too. Note that neither of those businesses had ‘no pets allowed’ or ‘service dog only’ signs. I’m not trying to pass her off as a service dog; she truly is a therapy dog in training.

Also, there’s a company in Tennessee I’ll apply to so I can drive patients to their doctor appointments, wait for them, then drive them home. While we’re waiting, Oreo can do more therapy-dog stuff. As soon as I get down there I’ll find a trainer for her next steps in certification. I’m so proud of her, she was really seriously working once I put that vest on her.

Poor Oreo is bored to pieces. We’ve gone on no runs. We’ve been to a couple of baseball games, no excitement (besides the ballgame itself). I think people are confused by her new ‘Therapy Dog in Training’ vest. I think they think it means she’s a service dog in training so they should ignore her; the people who usually fawn all over her kept their distance last week. Hmmmmm…. we’ll leave it home for the All-Star game next Friday.

But, we move to Tennessee next week, so that will be exciting. She got her K-9 Float Coat and it fits beautifully. She wasn’t thrilled to wear it, but she will be once she associates it with jumping in the lake. I’ll get a picture of her in her Float Coat tomorrow.

Weather was nice, mid-60s, overcast. Two nice people and one crabby pants Botox Queen letting her little dog Roger run loose .25 mile ahead of her. I told her to leash him and she smirked at me (at least I think it was a smirk, hard to tell with all that facial paralysis) so I asked, “What’s his name?” “Roger,” she managed to squeeze out between frozen, over-sized lips. “Well, Roger’s going to be reported if you don’t put him on a leash.” Ha! Take that, plastic-woman. (Although I must confess I’ve had ‘work done’ as well…many moons ago.) These days I don’t even color my hair or polish my nails; too much animal testing in beauty products going on for my conscience. Anywho, back to Miss Oreo…

She seems to be showing her age lately; droopy skin and lips, a little bit of a wobbly gait. So she ran alongside for the brisk five-minute warm-up walk. She was really pulling hard, probably because it’s been six days since we last ran. But then I put her in her buggy for the 25-minute jog (minus the minute and a half I spent chatting with Madam Injection). She’s happy as a clam, sacked out right now on the cool, clean rug.

Nothing exciting from my nephews’ two games last Saturday; there’s another game tonight but hopefully it will just be a relaxing night out. Oreo’s Vet’s Best peppermint oil flea and tick spray worked great keeping the mosquitoes off both of us.

 

We finally got some good weather yesterday and today, and what a difference it has made in people! We went for our run this morning and people actually said good morning back to me! Usually they either just stare or make some snide comment abut Oreo riding in her buggy instead of running. One lady in the parking lot actually did approach and ask if it wasn’t better for the dog to run rather than ride, and when I explained that Oreo has three legs and can run about a mile before riding she turned to her friends and said, “I have to get out of myself more,” meaning to keep an open mind I guess. She was really nice about it. Our total pace was 14:07, but that includes the warm up and cool down walks. Our run pace was actually 13:03. And neither of us was too winded. 🙂

Last Saturday we went to an adoption event for Don’t Dump That Dog, the rescue that pulled Oreo up from Kentucky. Oreo was a little traumatized thinking she was going to stay there, but after a good night’s sleep she realized she’s stuck with me and went back to her happy, silly self. There was an ADORABLE pittie tripawd there named Emma. SUCH a sweet personality. She deserves a really, REALLY good home, and her foster mom is doing an excellent job with her. People local to New England can apply to adopt her at DontDumpThatDog.com (donations are also gratefully accepted).