WITH REGARD TO THIS ROYAL BALL I AM WORKING ON--- WHICH i HAVE ON CAMERA DURING 5PM MAIL CALL---YOU MAY WATCH TEH PROGRESS... IT CERTAINLY MAKES IT CLEAR HOW A MONKEY FIST IS MADE
MY MONKEY FIST IS GROWING-- I STRUGGLED TO FIND A 7" BALL- AND FINALLY FOUND TEH MEDICINE BALLS WHICH ARE LEATHER COVERED FILLED WITH SAND - AS EXERCISE DEVICES...
I BOUGHT THE 7 INCH-- AND AN 8 INCH FOR GOOD LUCK... TURNS OUT---- THIS 3/4 INCH ROPE MEANT TEH 8" BALL WAS LOOKING BETTER -- THAT BEING THE CASE COULD I USE A REGULAR BOWLING BALL- WHICH WOULD BE BETTER MATERIAL AND ONLY 8.5 INCHES...-- "GROWING FROM 7 INCHES TO 8.5 IS ONLY 2 MORE "FINGERS" OF 3/4 INCH ROPE. OR I MIGHT HAVE TO GO BACK TO FEWER FINGERS WITH TEH 7 INCH ONE.
WITH ONE FOOT FIRMLY PLANTED IN MID AIR...I WILL PROCEED... AND MAY TRY AND FIND A "USED" BOWLING BALL AT SOME ALLEY ...
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AN FYI---- BETSY EMAILED ABOUT TRYING TO SHIP[ A DANE FROM CALIF TO BOSTON - THE ONLY MEMORY I HAD -- FROM LONG AGO--- ABOUT A LARGE 1/2 GROWN DANE-- WAS FROM AMSTERDAM TO BOSTON-- WHERE I HAD A 6 MONTH OLD DANE IN A #700 CRATE-- AND THE PROBLEM THEN WAS TO FIND AN AIRPLANE THAT HAD THAT BIG A C ARGO DOOR... I HAD TO CHANGE FLIGHTS--- SO I EMAILED TEH EXPERTS-- PET AIR IN FRANKFURT AND ASKED HOW WOULD THEY SHIP A FULL SIZE DANE TO BOSTON... THEY SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO BUILD A CRATE - THEY ALSO SAID TEH COST FOR EVERYTHIGN WOULD BE $2800. THEY DIDN'T TELL ME WHAT PLANE WOULD BE INVOLVED...
SO WHEN YOU ARE SHIPPING DOGS AROUND EUROPE-- PETAIR FROM FRANKFURT HAS MY TOTAL CONFIDENCE-- ALL THE PUPS (?10?) WE HAVE SHIPPED SINCE HAVE BEEN HANDLED PERFECTLY BY THEM,.
P.S #700 airline crates are hard to find--- actually i have never seen one in the usa...
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airport massage-- now there is a term i had not thought of.... it is heidi's description of getting on an airplane after teh tsa inspection. I AM GLAD TEHY FINALLY HAVE ALL SERVICE ANIMALS REMOVE ALL EQUIPMENT AND WALK THRU THE SCREENING ALONE... THAT SHOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF POORLY BEHAVED FAKE SERVICE ANIMALS/
Hello Carlene,
Rizz went on her first flight today. I always tell people that flying on a plane is no big deal for a “good service dog”, because it is not any different than riding on any other form of public transportation - the dog doesn’t know or care how far off the ground their form of transportation is....it is the airport experience that is the challenge.
For your DD readers that have never flown with a service dog, let me describe it.
When you get to the airport, you have to walk through crowds of people that bump into you because they are in a hurry to get where they are going, then you stand in line at the security checkpoint, where people push their luggage with their feet and again bump into you. Then because you are a service dog team, the dog has to get completely undressed and pass through the checkpoint on their own, at which point, you wait for a TSA agent to be called so that both the handler and the service dog can receive a pat down (again, while people in a hurry bump into you and push you out of the way). After this lovely “airport massage”, you have to find a corner out of the way for both the handler and service dog to get dressed again. Next you head back into the crowd of people to navigate your way to the gate, during which time, drivers on carts come up behind you and honk to have you get out of their way. When you finally get to your gate and look for a seat to take a breather, you discover that passengers needing extra space to rest their bags have taken all of the handicapped reserved seats, so you have to stand and wait to be called to board. Then there is the discomfort of sitting in a too small space for several hours with a 120 lb. dog wrapped around your feet.....This is the experience for the person. The service dog experiences all of these things from the perspective of a height of 30 inches, the floor of the plane, and no idea where they are going, or why their partner chose to do this crazy thing. Additionally, Rizz experienced all of this for the first time after already having put in a full 10 hour work day in DC.
We often hear in the news of airline passengers who get into brawls over their stressful flying conditions and all of us who have flown, have ridden on a flight with a screaming child who has had a meltdown because they couldn’t take it anymore, yet we expect a “good service dog” to take all of this in stride, show no stress, and take care of their partner’s need before their own. Even though I am going on my 10th year of being partnered with a dog, I never take for granted, or cease to be amazed by the dedication and self sacrifice these magnificent creatures make every day to give their bodies in services to us.....it is a bit of an understatement to say Rizz was a “good service dog” today. She was a wonderful testament to her breed, her trainers, and SDP!
Thank you to everyone who made this wonderful gift of a partner possible!
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there is a line from a show " if God had intended us to fly, he would never have given us the railways."
I AM VERY GLAD I DON'T WANT TO GO ANYWHERE...
COURAGE TO ALL OF YOU FLYING HERE FOR DOGFEST. !!
YOU WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW WE ARE ARGUING ABOUT TEH SHIRTS THIS WEEK.
I THINK WE HAVE THE FOOD UNDER CONTROL
NEXT THE CALENDAR.
