as we have had service dogs out for 10 years, we are getting to the point where they retired or going off to the
rainbow bridge..
it is a very rough concept, but every time we donate a dog and it does great things fro the lives of the recipients, i aam pretty sure the person will outlive the dog and have to face the lonelyness of loosing their partner.. it is extremely difficult, but the memories of the happy life they had together will hopefully carry them forward .
spot- who was fido's sister- went to sleep yesterday leaving allison with memories of all the great times together- like the photo of them in the limo on the way to her wedding..-- a great picture-she has our sympathy
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megan said i should report on all the dogs graduates or fab uous failures - and i certainly would if people would send me reports.. she gets more than i do because she faces books... i do not..
most werre glowing reports, but there is one she told me about that upset me.. one of the dogs- a ff ----has bitten someone ..twice...sounds really bad-- and it is... there is really no excuse for a dog to bite a person, however, there are a few people who ask to be bitten-- and it is up to the owners of th edogs to save their dogs from such people...
i remember a dog asleep in someone's office and a person came in and grabbed him by the neck before the dog was awake. it was a situation where the owner should have said loudly and quickly-- don't touch my dog---
the general public is just awful-- i know this from doing animal jobs where teh unexpected is normal.. in medford some 12 year old kid said to his friend "wanna see me bite the dog?" and he did- in poor deagle's ear-- tore a 2 inch gash- blood all over-- including the kids blood, as i nearly broke my hand coming down across his nose to try and prevent it. luckily deagle didn't bite back... but people can be stupid...
so we as responsible dog owners of danes--- who have an attraction element like no other,--- we must constantly be aware of wierd situations which the dog can hardly be blamed for biting... but they will be..
in this latest case i have heard of the dane vomited and in th confusion of a few other dogs rushing in to see if it was something they wanted to eat, a person who did not know the dog-- or most any dog-- rushed in and stuck their face right in the dog's face and got bitten. apparently the dog is a nice family dog-- they love her--
well if they love her enough, i strongly suggest they get a good brightly colored "pretty" muzzle-- and never take her in public without it because one more bite and people will decide the dog should be put down...
if anyone questions the muzzle, say she is on a diet and must not pick up anything and eat it.... or she eats rocks...
everyone who has had a service dog for 6 months has a story "you wouldn't believe what some stupid person did"
on guard !! protect your dog from the people who are asking to be bitten-- they are out there.
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Today marks Arrow's eighth birthday. He got a special treat of some bacon with breakfast and some salmon with his dinner. I just want all of you at SDP to know how grateful I am to have this wonderful dog in my life. He brings me joy every day with his devotion and his willingness to help me walk. Thank you! V2
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Good Morning Carlene, Once again, Miss Willow has far surpassed expectations, at least my neurologists and my PT's, not me. When I found out that I would be attending my friends wedding, a Black Tie affair, I thought "ugh, what am I going to wear with flat shoes and still look elegant"? I also thought about Willow being at an elegant event and seeing the bride who she loves beyond measure and THE DRESS. If Wil's got near that wedding dress, and decided to "love on" her Auntie, I would die. The first thing I did was speak to Melissa, the bride, and tell her I didn't want Willow anywhere near the dress. More on that later. The next thing I did was decide that Willow and I would try and work toward walking in shoes with a heel. Not 5 inch heels but heels nonetheless. We didn't need to walk a 5k. We simply needed to walk in to our table. I didn't need to carry anything as Willow's vest carries every thing I would need and I could drop off her mat the night before. We had a plan. We added walking in "heels" to our workout and we didn't tell anyone in case we failed. There were some bumps. Some really funny "bumps". More like bangs actually, but we kept on and Willow I think, was laughing right along with me as we figured it out. We did figure it out. We bought the dress. We went and we found the most amazing shoes and when I tried them on I looked at Wil's and said "Okay, this is it". She came around, braced and we walked! Not a runway walk, but we walked! I burst into tears. A woman, thinking I was in distress came over and asked if I needed help. I explained that I was fine. I was actually happier than I've been in a long time. You see, I have not worn heels in 4 years. I then noticed out of the corner of my eye the manager of the shoe department was crying as well. I thought we'd better get out of there before there was a huge scene. We bought the amazing shoes. Wil's and I attended the wedding last night. We walked in looking elegant. Me in my amazing shoes, she looking chic in a black vest, black harness and black and silver "necklace". As for the bride and THE DRESS? As expected, Willow saw Auntie and was soooo excited. Melissa, being a typical Auntie completely ignored my admonitions and there were plenty of hugs and kisses for Willow. She even was photographed with her multiple times. In light of it all I realized she deserved it. She should get to kiss the bride. After all, she is the most incredible partner I could ever have. She is simply outstanding. Thank you and everyone that makes SDP possible for my amazing Willow. It will be a year next month that we began our life together and last night showed just how much SDP and she changed my life.
Most Sincerely, Lynne
