june 14 2018

WHEN  3 GOOFY DOGS CAN MAKE 30 VERY BORED PEOPLE SMILE AND LAUGH, IT IS CRIMINAL NOT TO GET ORGANIZED TO DO THAT.. "THAT "    BEING  volunteeer  MORA organizing a trip to a "home for people of my advanced age.."---- i certainly don't want to tempt fate.. so i should quit and discuss shoelaces or something-- however....to do the theraqpy dog thing and walk a dog around on leash for people to touch does not have the fascination of 3 dogs loose  wandering around  greeting everyone in wheelchairs and then getting  into a wrestling match in the middle...bentley,sizzle and mayhem were super at teh project-- if we had one more person with  us we could have taken penny and paula with us-  these people were sooooo happy to have us there...    the biggest problem which must be addressed instant by instant ..... people of my ADVANCED  age have skin thaT IS PAPER THIN-- AND TAKES EONS TO HEAL-- SO DOGGIE TOENAILS ARE NOT CUTE....  YOU MUST APPROACH THE JOB WITH DOGS WHO KEEP THEIR  4 FEET ON THE FLOOOR... THIS MAKES SPENDING HOURS TEACHING THE DOGS TO STRIKE AT THE YUPPY PUPPY WITH THEIR FRONT FEET A QUESTIONABLE PURSUIT.. EVEEN WITHOUT THAT INSPIRATION, PENNY AND PAULA ARE  FRONT FOOTERS... WHICH MEANS TEHY WOULD HAVE TO BE IN HARNESS/ ON LEAD... AT LEAST TIL WE GET A BETTER  IDEA HOW THEY WOULD ACT. THANKFULLY SIZZLE AND BENTLEY ARE INSTANTLY CONTROLLED IN THIS SITUATION...  Mayhem not quite so-- especially for people in wheelchairs who wear their lunches on their laps and feet...- she needs a little work... so we left her harness on. leaving harness/ collar  on is another issue... generic people, if a dog has a collar on- they will grab it "to control the dog"- which is amusing because a collar on bentley and he could drag most any 200 pound person around teh block without a problem-- there was a door from the room we were in and other staff by the dozens were stoppiong by to look at teh dogs... every time the door would open.. sizzle would go toward it-(to see if teh newcommer had any treats)  i could -- and did  stop her  from going out that door with a "sizzle  whoa"--  people coulld not believe it-- for the general public, teh conceopt of a dog  who is well trained  is a mistery... teh rest of that story is----- when we first got  to the nursing home,  it was said there were no other dogs in teh place... so we went in with bentley and sizzle  off lead-- it was a long walk form the handicapped parking lot , so i headed straight for teh collection of wheelchairs usually  by the door of such places-- and plunked myself down in teh nearest one--- not realizing it must have been for some 6 year old child or 93 year old person who no longer ate alot of whipped cream--- in lowering myself quickly, i had to angle my rump past teh arms of teh chair, but i landed and was comfortable...-- with that someone came thriu a door with a black lab on leash- sizzle being close to  it darted-- fortunately to play- but i lurched instantly in her direction- fortunately she turned quickly back to me---  now how i detached that tiny wheelchair from my rump is  yet a mystery.  lesson there is don't believe anyone about dogs til you visually check- and beware tiny wheelchairs. i suppose this is teh place for that astory about tiffany--  the first dane i  ever bought-- wonderful dog 100,000's of people patted that dog in her career at things like topesfield fair  or boston common 4th of july concert...- we were at such an event at the pru tower-- tiffany was loose in teh  crowd -- per usual-- she was ok with other dogs-   suddenly she came to me  with that growl/ grumble that danes do and turned to look at a young girl in a nice dress- maybe 10 years old- as teh girl approached tiffany's growl turned serious and i grabbed her jowels and explained to her  that hse was not to bite that little girl--- she stood stiffaned but  allowed the kid to come and go...  i let her go and she went back to "working the crowd- per usual" -- i forgot about it ---  til next year, same kid, same reaction- i have no idea why out of teh thousands of people she met, she wanted to fight that one.  someone will say .." see you can't trust animals" to which i will reply.." you can trust animals a bit better than you can trust people" -- which still doesn't say a thing. i think it was president bush senior, that got the law passed  "if you are going to be around equines, it is y our own fault if you get hurt"-- i think we have that sign in our barn.... generally if an animal  "turns bad" they injure one person at a time  with humans there is no limit to the number of people one person can kill or maime. so there !