i was told to remind you --- if you woul d like this in your email box then  let sheila know buy sending info to gettheDD@gmail.com

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rough morning 

once i lose an entire night's sleep-- which i did monday night- i have trouble catching up----- soooooo

 i tried to replicate nyquil  as a sleeping aid---(which is alcohol and benedryl)--- with a shot of brandy and benedryl.  didn't work so now i am groggy-  i have only one piece of waterford crystal-- it is a shot glass-- problem is, it is a very generous size   shotglass to put it mildly.  

i don't know why nyquil works so well- and my  ingredients are not as good-- the brandy  certainly tastes better.  

i need to study it more..

i can tell the effect it has by doing sudoko puzzles-- i can usually do the hard ones at the back of the.book--- this morning i couldn't  even find the book

add coffee and stir....

i announced at mail call last night ---, that we need to modify our activity around kiara-- she does not need stimulation of shaking toys in front of her-- just don't-- quiet patting-- present toys-- but don't bang her in the head with them..  she is trying to understand things-- mostly the noise the food makes in the tin dish of the yuppy puppy.. at mail call she had a HS ( holy shlt) moment with the shake of the box of milk bones....  we need those things-- but not a bunch at once..

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the other mail cali item of note..

bailey did not want to get the basket-- and i thought-- oh dear--- that day will come-- but she looked at me in a certain way and i realized the room was full of dogs .. we have been feeding the extra dogs with a second spoon  which has encouraged dogs to accumulate-- so as i opened the mail- i chased the extra dogs out perry chaos opal and the pup-- and bailey got off the sofa and played with the boxes....

it was a perfect example of " if you insist a dog pays attention to what you say-- then you have to pay attention to what they say"

tonight  there will be no extra dogs  in the room- and we will test the theory.

the day will come where she does not want to  "get the basket " . but i don't think  last night was the time.. we will see...

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i love my fishermans vest--- thank you !! ----now finding my phone is easier-- at least it is attached to me somewhere...

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re:  shatupon society---  along with the gift check from me to the winner.....we decided to give out  just certificates to all 4 of teh nearest  numbers-- so there would be more society members  around in case we can think of something to do at dog fest with them...

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i am delighted at the fun fund donations-- we now have the pup and twans airfare  paid for--

cp's have been great to include a few extra $$ for the extra postage caused by the extra calendars we could send..

seems a shame not to use them all  because of 18 typos--- but the company ran the calendar off again with  corrections-- and i could  not throw them out-- or let him  do that-- so we added them to the orders... for you to share...  the pictures were perfect.  

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one other small detail  which i thought was interesting----i went to the bank to do th e money transfer-- and i had 3 dogs in the car--  no way could i put a vest on and say serv ice dog-- but it was just the bank- so i let bentley and opal  loose and put my one leash on mariah--  we  walked across tthe parking lo with great dignity-- thru the double doors and all was perfect--  i had tehm lie down in a row and dropped the one leash....-- this is 3 generrous size  harlequins -  perfect-- and the few people in the bank began to take pictures-- no problem

 the manager said "carlene come over here and we can do the paperwork at my desk"

i said "ok"--- to her----

wrong !!!!  the dogs heard the ok and immediately got up and ran for the door.

got to be careful what you say-- but it shows how much they pay attention ... i i had told tehm to stay-- and they were expecting me to give the "ok" release...

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moving quickly to the cut and paste---- and get a second cuppa

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jake is a great Fabulous Failure  --- huge pup--  nice pup ---but his legs just don't move in the proper sequence-- more like perry and his pacing... so dumble has him...

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Good morning, Carlene.

 Jake is doing well. We had our first successful pee outside this morning. We haven't pooped outside yet, only in the house. He seems to know that the floors are slippery for him and walks accordingly. I will get some rubber-baked throw rugs today. He's not overly impressed with my lab, Darby, but she seems to adore him! When we went to bed last night, Jake just couldn't summon the courage to go up the stairs, so he slept on the couch in the living room. I heard a little bit of whimpering, but then his tiredness took over and he was out like a light.

That's all the news from the wilds of Maine. Have a great day!!!

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Hi Carlene,
This is a long overdue update from Linda and Priya (formerly known as Pumpkin).
Though Priya was a remarkable service dog from the start, she has become so in tune with Linda now that they are really amazing to see together. Priya can sense when Linda's legs get wobbly and steps across in front of her to brace her before she falls. She paces herself to Linda's speed however slow that may become. Priya is also Linda's cheerleader. When Linda is blue or frustrated Priya will give her a couple of "bump kisses" and then start talking to her. She doesn't stop talking until Linda laughs and talks back. They have become real partners!
When Linda was having surgery Priya waited in the waiting room. She laid on the floor with her nose pointed at the door for hours. Every time the door would open she would pick up her head in anticipation, then sigh and put it back down on her paws when it was not Linda. When those doors finally opened to show Linda being wheeled into recovery, Priya flew down the hall! Everyone in the waiting room clapped!
Priya gained a lot of weight last spring which turned out to be a thyroid deficiency. She is on daily medication now, her levels are back to normal, and the extra weight is starting to come off.  Hopefully, she will be back to her sleek, svelte self soon!
We are forever grateful to everyone at Service Dog Project, and we hope to be able to visit soon!

Marion
For Linda and Priya