Wordless Wednesday: It's Symbolic. Maybe.

Euka & Ella

So this image is symbolic, right? 

Ella and Euka's crossed paws show their unity, that we're in this thing together, sister.  The paws show that no matter where their paths take them, they will always walk the journey with the memory of their familial ties.

The deep midnight blue background is the unlimited sky.  Cool night, a gentle wind with a billion stars twinkling with as many opportunities.  To boldy go . . .

And the yellow tennis ball, as round and bright as the sun itself, well, it represents that service dogs can have fun, too.  The ball is within reach, actually touching a furry paw. Showing that these working girls can transistion from serious business to playtime and then back again. Just a touch away.

We pause here while you ponder this. And so I can grab a donut.

Ok, back now.  So whad'ya think, y'all?

Yep, you're absolutely right. I'm just messin' with you.  I happened to look down from my laptop and saw this. Thought it was cute and took a picture. And that's about it.

You know what that ball actually represents?  Its true purpose is to hold it in one's maw and push it into Everett's nose.  Look what I have and you don't, says either one of the girls.  Try to get it! bwahahaha.

More paw art below.  We can try for more trinity style symbolism for these three pups.  If you find yourself inspired, drop a comment with what your artist's eye can see.


1. Unity in Three

That's Ella's paw on top. That must mean something, right?
 Everett's is the lower one.

2. Tennis Ball Twister

Only three dogs. Take a moment to figure out which leg belongs to whom.
I sure had to.

3.  Nose to the ball

Nose now touching the ball, paws in a protective circle.
What could it mean?

Click for links to some great pet blogs

Where's the Off switch on this thing?

Euka II and Emma

[Blam! slosh slosh splish]


The former Bob II. He told good jokes.

Girls! I cry. That'll do for now. Let's leave the fish tank out of it.  One hundred pounds of wound up yellow dog have t-boned the saltwater tank cabinet bringing about an ominous sploshing sound.

What? says Euka in a tone of innocence that takes quick and dark turn into teenage sass.  It's not like there's even a fish in there. Doesn't that make it just a dirty water tank?

Not even the point, missy, I say. Fourteen gallons of saltwater on the carpet isn't any less a catastrophe just because it's missing a flopping clown fish. 

Bet he'd be funny to watch, says Euka. Clown fish! [snort].

Alrighty then. I say. Look, I can see you and Emma have a lot to catch up on. Now that you've shown her every toy you have and you two have both performed a full dental exam on each other with your mouth play, well, I continue, let's go take a walk and burn off that remaining puppy energy.

Littermate Emma was dropped off a couple of hours ago for a play date while her puppy raisers attend a family event. And it's been Game On ever since with these two. Micron and Jager have positioned themselves on the sofa as spectators of the coliseum event on the carpet below.

Only thing missing from this gladiator battle are dog thumbs to determine the fate of the conquered.

Seems to me like a walk in the metro park will bring a sense of order back to the day.  As we're getting dog gear together, the two pups are circling around me chanting Park! Park! Park!

I'm already exhausted and we haven't left yet.

We get Emma and Euka to jump into the backseat of the car and prepare to head out.  As I pull to the end of the driveway, I take a quick glance to make sure they're behaving.

I see this.

Really?  If I knew a simple car ride could bring such domestic harmony, we would have left a whole lot sooner.

Englewood MetroPark is part of the Five Rivers MetroParks system in our greater Miami Valley area. From their website:

"Englewood MetroPark is one of five natural areas created by the construction of earthen flood control dams. Stillwater River, lakes, woods and wetlands serve as focal points of this 1,900-acre MetroPark."     

                                                                

It's rather wonderful to have this natural area so close to home. Merely just down the street and around the corner. When there, I always keep a lookout for a glimpse of one of the nesting Bald Eagles catching the air currents above.  A rare sight which makes it all that much more awesome.

With the recent rains, we decide to keep to the paved walking path this trip. Muddy Dog Alert is Code Yellow and honestly, I'm too tired from this morning to even consider bathing these two today.

This next shot may concern those who know the nature of water dogs. So let me relax those fears to let you know that my favorite kid and photography assistant was at hand with a firm grip on those leashes just out of camera range.  Avoiding mud is one thing, people.  Chauferring two web-toed puppies smelling like river water in the backseat of the Mercury is a whole nuther animal, so to speak.



Euka and Emma by the Stillwater River.
 No cars were stinkified in the making of this picture.

And holy cow, have you seen the ticks this season? One of the thirty CCI commands to be introduced by puppy raisers is Roll.  Different than Roll Over, this is more like a Roll for Exam.  We ask the pups to roll onto their backs and just relax for a few.  This position of comfort is intended to make the dog more accessible to a person with a disability to handle grooming tasks and such.  A puppy in a Roll position is now available for ear cleaning, a dental check, toenail clipping and under carriage brushing.

Today we use this command for an post-walk tick check on each pup.  Before we even feel about our own noggins for the little buggers, the kid and I are examining the yellow dogs.

I absolutely hate ticks, which is natural I think. But then, I have a serious problem with anything traveling about on eight legs.  Some dark force was involved with this octopedal thing, is my way of looking at it.  Think about it for a sec. Nothing good ever came about with an eight-legged critter. Ticks, spiders, scorpions, mites, even crabs - the spiders of the sea. Ah, but not an octopus, you know. Those are arms, so they're all good. And I don't want to hear any of that spittle about spiders being helpful because they eat other insects. Birds eat bugs too and they're not evil, now are they?

See?  If a sparrow was perched in the corner of your bathroom, you wouldn't squash it by throwing your husband's shoe while screaming, right?

Dark forces, I say.

Anyway, no malicious parasites to be found on the girls. A blessed relief to not have to put the tweezers to work.  The kid and I came out of it clean too.  Another bonus, as we both still carry the emotional scars from the time I had to tweeze a fully engorged tick from between his big and second toes.

And now I think we've finally worn the pups out. They still have an attitude of puppy playfulness, but seem satisfied to lie on their sides and play something like patty cake with their front paws. It's like there's no real Off button on a puppy, you're just to wait until their batteries drain.

Which brings to mind another helpful CCI command.  Euka! Emma! I say, pointing to the dog crate. Girls, Kennel!

Ah, peace. Now some time to charge my batteries, too. Because I think the Round Two bell will be ringing very soon.



Emma looking rather lovely.
No ticks were harmed in the making of this picture.
Because we didn't find any. Otherwise I would have sent the little
buggers to a fiery death by match in the bathroom sink. They
make a satisfying popping sound when meeting
a hot match head. [bwahahaha snort] 

Rising to the (Kibble) Challenge

Such a great response to the Kibble Name Photo Challenge, y'all.  I am just wondersmacked by these dogs and their handlers. So much so, that I have two things to tell you.

1. I had the original and mildly grandiose notion to just post a few clever photos here. Click, click, done.  But was blown completely out of the water after receiving these fifty-some submissions representing more than one hundred awesome dogs. What a wonderful problem. So how do I get these out to the world without having a photo laden blog page that takes ten minutes to load?  In a flash of something I think was inspiration, I made you a photo gallery thingy. You're welcome. I just hope it works.
   
   and . . .
2. I can say with confidence, that I missed somebody or something somewhere. Simply let me know. Really. Easy peasy to fix and repost.  Just pop me a note to puppysword@gmail.com.

One more thing. You'll note some abbreviations in use.  Let me offer up a quick little glossary to help you along as you view the photo captions.

AT:  Advanced Training program
COC: Change of Career Dog (released from the training program and adopted as a pet)
FD:  CCI Facility Dog
HD:  CCI Hearing Dog
PIP: CCI Puppy in Program
PR:  CCI volunteer Puppy Raiser
SC:  CCI Skilled Companion Dog
SD:  CCI Service Dog

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

TIP: Pass your mouse over the top right corner of the photo gallery to see the navigation buttons and options for full screen view and slide show.

What's that you say?  You want more? Oh, we got ya more. Facebook, dog blogs and even a recently published book written from the viewpoint of CCI puppies. Enjoy! 

We're on Facebook because dogs can't read Dogbook

Bright, SD (Help on Four Legs)
Calliope
Cassius
Eliza
Euka
Kira
Novel
Lazer
Stinson
Tippi
Zoltan

Dog Blogs

A Novel Pup (Karen & Novel PIP)
Endless Pawsibilities, Adventures of a Pacific Northwest puppy raiser (Cassie & Helaine PIP)
Jeb's Dog Blog (Marianne & Jeb PIP)
Help on Four Legs (Alex & Bright, SD)
Raising a Super Dog (Donna & Euka II, PIP)
Redwood Musings (Constance & Renelle HD)
Still I Can't Be Silent (Natalie & Cassius SD)
Paws for Independence (Ellie & Haddie (at AT) & Kolby (PIP)
Paws to Hear (Leslie & Nettie HD)
Pooch Smooches (Jackie & Rita, a rescued dog)

Books

Let the Dogs Speak, by Marianne McKiernan
 

Micron shares his Therapy Dog Top 5 List

This month Micron and I will celebrate our first year anniversary of graduating Miami Valley Pet Therapy Association as an animal assisted Therapy Dog Team.

So using photos from a recent Healthy Kids Fair event, Micron and I are here to wax all philosophical on y'all about this past year's volunteer gig in pet therapy.

Our top five things we love about pet therapy



Hey, Food Lady! Let's do the Cartoon Dog trick again! 
You hold the leash real tight and I'll do that
scrambly running thing.

1. Experiencing exotic locales in the nether regions

Micron demonstrates his comfort level on placing his nethers on different surfaces. He gives absolutely no mind to slick floors nor pokey mulch.  In our travels we find retirement facilities have smooth flooring that's a little slippery for dog paws, but libraries are usually carpeted.  And the floors of elevators are pretty much random; you never know until the doors open.

I love that Micron is so well socialized and flexible about whatever may be down there supporting his weight under those baseball mitt paws that he walks into any venue with confidence. Because a worried dog is not a happy dog. 

Yeah, I had to do a finger sweep to get the
mulch out of his mouth for this shot.

And an unhappy dog isn't going to be much help in the therapy dog world.

We have more important things to focus on during our travels.  We don't want anything to dampen down that ridiculously sunny personality of his.

2. We meet the most interesting folk

You don't have to be the subject of some Oscar winning biopic movie to be an amazing person, you know.  Each of us get up each day to continue writing those chapters in our life stories, right?

Hey, if there was a movie about your life who would you want to star in it? Besides yourself, that is. Micron says he wants that dude that plays Kirk in the new Star Trek movie play him. Or Jim Gaffigan.  Either one will work.

 

When we visit patients of Hospice of Dayton, Micron and I have listened while being told a life story that is, truth be told, holds my attention more than any old movie or book could. 

Hey, Blinkin! 
Did you say Abe Lincoln?*

We hear of local history made personal, family lost and found then sometimes lost again, ways to process regret and what a successful life means to an individual. And about their beloved pets from over the years. Micron's presence brings back warm memories of that always extraordinary bond between pet and person. And those times after we have said our last good-bye to our person, their stories remain with us. We'll carry those experiences and lessons until our own book is closed.

 

And you know what? My own life is richer because of these other folk. Truly.

3. The treats are pretty awesome, too

 

Cordell and Micron politely await some popcorn.

In the mighty Micron's early training as a CCI puppy we thought that maybe, if he really applied himself, he might end up a service dog.  So we never offered him people food. Ever. He learned to not eat anything that fell on the floor or to be all obnoxious about asking for a dog cookie.

Well, all bets are off, Micron says now.  He's a pet and he can sleep on the sofa any darn time he feels like it, he lets us know.  So sure, we've relaxed some standards. For the sofa naps, anyway.

But still, for a dog as food motivated as this big guy, I insist on maintaining the no-eating-off-the-floor and polite manners stuff.  When a fellow mvPTa friend at our info table asks if Micron can have some popcorn from her bag, I did allow it though.  The other therapy dogs working the booth were being treated from the same paper bag, so it looked as much like a dog cookie reward than people food, I thought.

In hindsight, this was a duh moment for me. There sure were a lot of kids coming by the info table that morning with bags of those salty little dog treats.  A sticky sucker clutched in a toddler's grip was still a no-no in his canine brain. But thanks for holding that treat bag so near my tongue, kid, said Micron. Ah, but disasters were efficiently averted thanks to my hyper-vigilance. Mostly.

And the popcorn was free anyway, so there's that.




4. Little kids are sweet things

Little boys smell like french fries with ketchup, says Micron. And little girls? They smell like cotton candy and cherry suckers.

He would know.  When he's not snarfing popcorn from a youngster's paper bag, he's licking the kid's hands. Or face. Or good grief, now that it's sandal weather it's the toes.

Micron is so good with kids though. He plops his self down to their level and soaks up the attention. Here's my head, kid, says Micron. Have at it.

On a separate topic, I'm considering replacing the carpet in my house with gymnasium flooring to match the dog. 

At 14, Shelby finds herself like some of us do. It's easier,
to get down, than back up.  So, she'll  be glad to greet you on
all fours. Thanks for understanding, young person.

5. The free belly rubs

Micron doesn't charge a dime for these.

So you can just do this all day long, he says. Please. Feel free to continue. It's my pleasure.

I'd like to bring you attention to that yellow sucker poised all tempting-like in that young person's hand. Being totally ignored by the mighty Micron, you will note.

Belly rubs trump candy on a stick, according to this canine's value sytem.

At least this kid didn't have popcorn

________________________________________
* Yep, another obscure movie reference.  Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).  It's a comedy classic, people. I make no apologies. Now if I can just get a Young Frankenstein quote in here somewhere.

Wordless Wednesday: Name Game Photo Invite

When I said call me for dinner, says Euka, this isn't what I had in mind. But no prob, I could hear the kibble calling my name.

But truth be told, y'all, Euka did not get to partake in the noshing of her meal out here on the patio. But before you think this totally unjust, I can explain.

To be a service dog, that canine brain needs to wrap itself around the idea food on the ground, anything perceived as possibly edible, is not for them. Think about it this way . . .  a service dog in a restaurant must be focused on the handler, not the nibblets of treasure to be found under the table.  Same basic concept for any outing. A service dog is always tuned into his or her person, instead of like our pets [coughJagercough] who pass the hours of the day with nose to the ground scrounging for a scrap of edible goodness.

And this frame of mind starts early in life in the puppy raiser's home. We understand the need for this training, we puppy raisers. So we do this, we always have.

But new and trendy among us these days is the sharing of photos showing our young charges with the expression of cool indifference upon their faces when faced with their name spelled in kibble. So you got me thinking . . .

An invitation

You don't have to be a CCI puppy raiser to join in. If you have, or wanna take, a photo with your dog posed by their kibbley name, send the photo to me at puppysword@gmail.com.  Be sure to include a link to your pet's Facebook page or blog, if you have such things.

We'll post the grouping on next week's Wordless Wednesday.