Working for kibble

It’s not hard to make Micron a happy dog. He is, by nature, a glass half full kinda guy. He finds most things in life are pretty good (naps, belly rubs, fresh bowl of water) and other events are wonderful (car ride, getting attention from the Starbucks girls), and then he has his ecstasy moments (I gotcher smelly sneaker!). 

But what is true euphoria for a dog? Anyone lucky enough to have a food motivated dog knows. Both these dogs know when mealtime is around here. We keep things on a tight schedule, because honestly, I really like to keep the #2’s on schedule too, if you know what I mean. So when 7:00 rolls around, there’s some serious restlessness in the household. After the bowl is licked to a shine, Micron will run to the nearest person to give his thanksgiving for the nouvelle cuisine. “Food Lady!” he says, “You’ve outdone yourself again. That was the best bowl yet!” His tail wags so hard that the tip is touching his sides.

It probably doesn’t need mentioning that this dog is really, really easy to train.

But hey, everything comes with a price, doesn’t it? This pup has to work for his daily kibble. In addition to his service dog training, he is an ambassador for CCI. We make the occasional public appearances and work at CCI booths to raise awareness of this amazing human services organization. Let’s look at a couple of our fall outings.

Aullwood Apple Fest



Micron and Bullet. They’re not exactly manning the booth,  but dogging the booth doesn’t sound right, either.

 One of my very favorite local events, the Apple Fest at Aullwood Audubon Center & Farm. I love being outdoors on a beautiful fall day with the smell of wood smoke in the air. Apple butter is cooking in kettles and apple pie is baking in the dutch ovens over an open fire. Puppy raisers Jerry and Jerri manage the CCI booth at this annual event. This year they brought their 17th pup, Bullet. Seventeenth puppy. These guys are pros in the CCI puppy raising business –my heroes and mentors.

Also working the booth for crowd control was pup in training, Karsen, and COC Fergo, the big sweetie.



Babe magnet, Bullet


We get a lot of traffic at the CCI booth over the two-day fest. Really, it is essentially non-stop. It’s a great opportunity to allow the dogs to learn calm greetings and talk to folk about the work that CCI does. We answer questions while the pups work on their fan base.

A firm handshake and good eye contact.




Hi sheep thing. Nice to smell you.

 



Hogs, mini whinnies, an alpaca, and a couple of calves. Nothing we can’t handle. It’s all good. We can check farm animals off the New Experiences list for CCI.

I just got my head around that sheep thing and now there’s this?



Apple butter a’cookin’.



Micron poses in the herb garden



Jungle Jim’s Fall Festival


Micron and Julie

We spent a chilly afternoon at the Jungle Jim’s International Market. Definitely hoodie weather, but much better than sweating it out on a hot summer day. Micron met up with pups in training Owen and Julie for an afternoon Meet and Greet. Julie is nearly five months old and quite the crowd draw. Owen is 18 months and will be matriculating at the November 12 CCI graduation ceremony in Dublin.

Julie was adorable, Owen was professional and Micron was, well, you can see from the photos. Micron was his usual self.



What is Owen thinking?  Probably don’t wanna know.

  

Julie and her adorable head tilt



I’m one of those unfortunate people who turns into an idiot when a camera is in my hands. All manner of squeaks, clicks and meows come from me in an attempt to get a dog to lift their ears and look at the lens.

  

It was a bit chilly out. Julie provides a hand warming service.

Micron Dog and Jungle Dog. Maybe just me, but I prefer food with less personality. And self awareness.