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Category Archives: service dogs

Working for kibble

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Donna Black-Sword

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.
I was especially looking forward to this as it would be Micron’s first contact with farm animals. I learned from experience that the goats are not a really great first step as far as livestock goes (sorry, Inga).  A goat will stare a little too long before they go all freak out on you. So we started with just walking around to get exposed to some novel smells.




Hi sheep thing. Nice to smell you.

 

First we met a gentle, old sheep, which went really well. A sniff, sniff and we moved on. Next was the barn.



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’.



Aullwood Farm is a good family visit anytime, really. It’s an educational farm for kids to learn about livestock and agriculture. For folk within driving distance of the Dayton area, check out the farm and the adjoining nature center and gardens. Always time well spent.

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.

I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t get the occasional reward, such as that puppy head tilt of Julie’s. Just look at that adorable mug. She brought back some wonderful memories of Inga as a pup (sniff).
Long time puppy raisers Steve and Bonnie facilitated the CCI booth for this event. Jungle Jim’s is an eclectic shopping experience, sorta like an amusement park in a grocery. We decided to try out some shopping after working the CCI booth. It was our first time at the place and we found we needed a map to find our way around the international marketplace. Micron did a wonderful job exploring with us, but we knew it was time to put a cap on things when he dropped onto the floor in England and fell asleep. It was a long afternoon, the poor fella.

  

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.
Do they ever get to be “dogs”?
Questions we get as puppy raisers from concerned dog lovers. Is it all work for these dogs?  Do they have to wear their capes all the time? Don’t they ever get to be “dogs?”
Of course they do, people. We undress these fuzzies, give the Release command and stand back. But you know, it helps to have a visual sometimes. The Gold Rush Champions chapter of CCI put together an excellent video that will relieve some of those working dog worries. Talk about time well spent – if you’re a dog lover, you won’t be asking for these four minutes back. 
Check out the video at:
 Do service dogs get to play?.

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Ten Ten in Penn

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Donna Black-Sword

Pennsylvania Oct 2010

Autumn is upon us! I do love this time of year; the cool mornings and just the way the air smells. I’ve never been a big fan of summer.  Being of questionable breeding, I tend to perspire more than the average person and it’s, well, just unbecoming.  So while families are taking off on road trips to roast in the unforgiving summer heat, I prefer to hold out until October. Leaf peepin’ is my thing.

Yep, it’s time to pack up gear into the RV and hit the road. RV you say?  Nice.  Yeah, hold onto that jealous thought just a sec. Speaking of unbecoming, I’ve christened the thing as The SWRCT. That awkward acronym stands for the “six-wheeled-rolling-cat-turd,” excuse my French. It moves when you hit the gas, it stops when you brake. And it holds all our stuff and the dogs. And that’s good enough for me and my value system.

We bought this rattle trap a few years ago so we could take our dogs along on our travel adventures. It puts a whole new edge to vacations, having dogs with you. The kid used to be part of all this, but now he’s all grown up and everything and off to college. We do miss having him on our road travels. So this trip, there was nothing to do about it, except borrow a friend’s dog to take with us. We hooked up with the sweet Fergo, a nine year old CCI COC.

So we’re off in the RV to Pennsylvania with three dogs, a fridge full of food and enough dog kibble to feed a sled dog team. Micron was thrilled to have Fergo with us. He would cram a toy in Fergo’s face and was all hey fergo be my friend let’s play fergo hey fergo where ya going be my friend fergo. But the old man just wanted some quiet time that didn’t involve yellow puppies in his face.

They finally reached a compromise of sorts.

Be my friend, Fergo

 As CCI puppy raisers, we look for opportunities to expose the pup to different environments.Socialization is one of the most critical tasks we have. Consider this – someday this dog will go wherever his person will want to go. It really helps if the dog has an attitude of been-there, done-that and can focus on his job, not a new experience.

Cabela’s was a good stop for Micron. We walked through the dark tunnel aquarium complete with monstrous catfish looking at him with their hungry little beady eyes, followed by a casual stroll around the taxidermied critters. Micron gave a sniff-sniff into the air and was able to move on. Well done, yellow dog.
Hey, hand me that little stuffed rabbit, will ya?

Off to Hershey for some huge antique car show thingy. Otherwise known as long walks with the dogs and a trip to the outlet mall for me. We set up camp in a field near Hershey Park, which the powers-that-be have cruelly closed for the season. But no matter, we take pictures of it anyway.


No fun for you today

  



Saying cheese for the food lady.

We don’t tow a car for this trip, so gotta hoof it if I want to go anywhere. The more benevolent Hershey powers-that-be have placed an outlet mall about a half mile from where we park the SWRCT.  Micron and I are off to go shopping. We hit the very excellent Times to Remember scrapbook store where Micron is treated like a rock star by the staff.

Where else can you find Hershey Kiss stickers?
After Husband finds some rusty antique car parts, we’re off again for a day tour of Lancaster County. We choose a nice little campground for an overnighter. Roamers’ Retreat is just outside Bird-in-Hand and is nestled next to some gorgeous farmland. 

The boys loved it.



I love dogs. So I would never say traveling with three dogs would drive you to drink. But we did still drive to get some drink. We stopped at Adams County Winery last year on our road trip to buy rusty car parts, so wanted to make sure we fit time in this year’s schedule as well. Micron met the resident winery golden retriever, Rusty, and made a new friend. Well, kind of. Not sure how old Rusty is, but guessing around the same era as Fergo. The whole hey rusty be my friend let’s play rusty, went over as well as it had with Fergo. 



They should name a yellow wine after me.



Rusty won’t play with me.



Rusty has his own wine named after him, Rusty’s Red. How cool is that?  We didn’t sample that one, though. We did grab a couple of bottles of Stray Cat Strut, a very nice dry white wine. And a bottle of Scrapple, a rather odd name for a sweetly spiced wine.
This place is great. Friendly staff and affordable prices. And they have a golden retriever to greet you at the door. Pretty cool, I think.
Time to wrap up the trip. Final stop is Gettysburg and an overnighter at the KOA. In our road travels in the SWRCT, I’ve really come to appreciate KOA’s. They’re by design very well run; both kid and dog friendly. It’s usually a KOA that has the enclosed dog run so they can do their duty off leash. The Gettysburg KOA actually had a Camp K9 with agility equipment and plenty of space to run off some energy. Which the dogs would have done if they could have ever reached their personal goal of sniffing each little rock and pebble in the place.



M-o-o-o-o-m!  Fergo won’t let me in the cabin!

Good trip with good dogs. Time to head out for the long drive back home where the boys will continue to leave their mark along the I-70 rest stops. For myself, I’m looking forward to a meal that doesn’t have dog hair as a condiment.








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It’s not even Halloween yet and you’re talking about Christmas?

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Donna Black-Sword

Did you know that you could subscribe to e-news from Canine Companions for Independence? You can have the latest Super Dog derring-do sent directly to your email. Being a rabid CCI supporter, of course I had signed up for this some time ago. Maybe rabid supporter is a poor choice of words being dog related and all; we’ll just say that I feel pretty passionate about CCI’s mission.


So I get the latest e-newsletter, an email titled A Pup for All Seasons. Ooh, the 2011 Calendar is out. Gotta order that. And the 2010 Holiday Cards.  I’m all over that one, too.  Let’s go shopping! 

And . . . what’s this?

I holler over to my office cube mate, “Mary Ann do you have a sec to look at something?”  Of course she does.  I keep chocolate at my desk.  I point a hesitant finger to the laptop screen and say, “I think that’s Micron.” 




https://cci-store.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=127#

 

I’ll admit, I do love CCI, but it’s not my only passion. I take hundreds of photos – of anything and everything whether it moves or not. And yeah, I take a lot of shots of the dogs. Would I recognize one of my own photos if I saw it?  Well, you would think so.  But self doubt has hit.  How could it be possible in my humble little world that my shot of Micron is one of three shots selected for the 2010 CCI Holiday Cards? 


Sup?

Good Lord. It’s true. It’s Micron at four months old. We got this shot of his adorable mug last February when we had a huge snowfall and let the boys run wild in the backyard.

Here’s some other digital memories of that virginal white afternoon.

Little dog in a big snow



Be careful what you chase



Jager heard that snakes can unhinge their jaws
to swallow things bigger than their head.

 


Shouldn’t have licked that flagpole

 

Frosty nose

  

Jager?  Where’d ja go buddy?

  

I’m at a loss for words. Can you imagine? How can I express how this feels? I am thrilled. Excited. Over the moon.
I am honored.




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You’re how old in dog years?

Posted on September 25, 2010 by Donna Black-Sword



That’s just for lookin’ at, big guy.

Well, a big Happy Birthday shout out to the amazing M litter. These nonuplets, Mars, Marco, Marlena, Micron, Miwa, Molina, Madias, Madden, and Meryl, all celebrated their first birthday on September 23.

CCI’s M litter is from Blaze, a golden retriever, and Nyrobi, a golden/lab cross. We caught up with some of these pups at seven months old. Now let’s take a look at what they’re up to as they hit their one year milestone. Here’s Madias, Mars, Madden, Marco and Micron’s updates.
Madias


Puppy Madias

Whenever I come across photos of this fellow I think to myself, what a gorgeous dog. And not just because he’s a slobberin’ image of Micron.  He is a handsome guy.

Madias is being raised in the northeast by 4-time puppy raiser, MaryAngela. When I asked for some fun facts about Madias, she says that he pretty much lives for snow. Last winter is was nearly impossible to get him inside. He has a “hurry” bell to ring when he needs to go outside to do his business, but if there’s snow on the ground, the bell never stops. MaryAngela says she’ll have to put a tag on him at turn in that says “must be placed in cool climate area.”

 And he loves to “talk”. MaryAngela has taught him to say “I love you” which he states excitedly to her family daily. [Blogger’s note: I saw a video of this. It is adorable.]

Madias has an obsession with bugs. Whether he’s gazing with his nose to the ground at ants scurrying around, or hopping through the yard chasing butterflies, he is always on the look out for some fun little critters to play with — or eat.



Madias now



Mars

Puppy Mars
Mars works part-time at 7News, the ABC affiliate in Denver, and has a DogBlog that he updates weekly at www.thedenverchannel.com/family. He lives with veteran puppy raisers John and Marianne. Mars is the seventh puppy they’ve raised. I agree with Marianne when she says puppy raising for CCI is addictive. We can’t imagine life without a leash in our hands.
Mars gets lots of extra attention because of his unusual curly black fur. He’s a three-hour grocery store dog. Puppy Raiser Marianne says littermate Madden must be a 4-hour dog. Scroll down to Madden’s section and I think you’ll see what she means.
For those who may not get the three-hour grocery quip; this refers to going shopping with your pup-in-training and having folk stop you to talk about the rock star walking at your side. Grabbing a gallon of milk is no longer an in & out trip if you’ve got an additional four legs with you. But this is a good thing, of course. We love the attention it brings to the CCI program. 

Mar’s has the golden retriever Velcro personality. He wants to be with a human at all times, physically touching said human if possible. “What do you mean, I’m not a lap dog?” he says in complete bafflement. “OFF!” is his least-favorite command.

Mars feels that being left at home in a crate is a fate worse than death and will howl with sorrow and frustration. He’s the first puppy they’ve raised that unconditionally hates his crate. Being released from the crate is an occasion of such joy and rapture that the release command is immediately followed by “SIT!” in order to control the hysteria. Sort of.


Mars now

Madden


Puppy Madden



Madden is another Northeast Region puppy. He is CCI pup #9 for puppy raisers Regina and Dave who say he’s a sweet, loving, gentle soul, the consummate retriever of all things but does not chew, is loved by one and all, loves outside exercise especially hiking the nearby mountains and loves, loves, loves swimming.
But what clearly makes him stand out from his sibs is his unique coat. That fluffy ball of mulit-colored fur has turned into a sleek flowing coated gentleman with just enough silliness to keep it fun. The photo above with the wine bottle was taken the week he arrived and Regina knew he would be the best invitation for the CCI Northeast Region Wine & Noses fundraiser coming this October. Maddens’s love of water speaks for itself and he needs to be touching his big bro Doug the dog (COC #5) when napping.
Sharing puppy cooties with Madias
Madden has been mistaken for a Neuffie more times than not. Regina and Dave refer to him as our “horse of a different color” and he is a great ambassador for CCI. 

Madden now
Marco




Marco



Marco is being raised in CCI’s North Central Region by Roxanne. He and Micron are close enough geographically that we can arrange the occasional get-together for the two boys. Roxanne and I have been asked if we think the two dogs remember each other and really, that’s hard to guess about dogs. What’s obvious though, is that they do feel a link between them and will start a play session with each other before interacting with another dog. Interesting stuff to watch.

A solo game of Marco Polo. Just not the same.

Roxanne mentions that Marco loves to carry things about the house. Socks, shoes, a bottle cap and a skull cap.  Actually the list goes on and tends to include such things as perhaps best left off a blog.


I’m a retriever.

Here’s a shot from the earlier in the year. The fellas would be about six months old here. This was at CCI’s May Graduation Ceremony using an offsite venue in Columbus. Micron was indeed in a conscious state; he just got a little motion sick from that SpaghettiOs-on-LSD carpet pattern. 

Marco and Micron at the May CCI graduation event

Micron

My two boys shared a birthday week. Both good lookin’ bachelors; neither eligible. Derek turned a legal 21 this week and has an absolutely adorable girlfriend. And Micron is neutered. Sorry ladies. 

We got a birthday shot of the two of them when we drove up to BGSU treat Derek to lunch last weekend.

My handsome birthday boys

We asked the other puppy raisers for a few interesting facts about their CCI pups at one year old. We’re seeing some similarities with this litter; water dogs, retrievers and cuddle bugs. And of course, the cool things that make each one unique.

So let’s share some thoughts about the mighty Micron on his first birthday. Like his littermates, he is a people dog. He accepts spending time alone, but is very, very happy when you show up again to let him out of the crate. Also, like Marco he loves to carry things in his mouth. He’ll walk up to you with his tail wagging so hard, the tip of it is hitting his rib cage to show you that, Holy Cow! Did you SEE this? I’ve got your dirty SOCK. Then go off to share the news with someone else.

He is also a remarkably laid back kinda guy. He’s comfortable with sleeping in my office during the workday and snoring through meetings. He does look forward to puppy playtime at lunchtime with the other office dogs. 



Looks like somebody spiked the water bowl

 This is all fun stuff, sharing stories about these pups; part of the puppy raising experience. We’re new at this thing. Micron is only our second dog for CCI.  But what a family we have.



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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went (Will Rogers)

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Donna Black-Sword

Imagine this. You’re exploring an old city cemetery during the early evening hours. You like this time of day because of the softly muted light. You’re taking photos of an interesting monument and thinking intellectually deep thoughts about macro shots, f-stops and ISO settings — you’re in the zone. If you lean at this angle, is the depth of field too shallow or should you maybe bump it up to . . . and suddenly from behind you comes a deep bass “EXCUSE ME.”

What do you do?  Turn around smoothly with an air of cool authority that says clearly, you wouldn’t DARE accost me?  Or instead make a weird little strangling sob sound that is shorthand for, my purse is on the front seat of the car?

What did I do?  Oh as if.  Option B, naturally.  Just about dropped my stupid camera, I did.  Much to my relief the interruption to my artsy musings was merely a young college student from the adjacent University of Dayton who was taking his evening constitutional through Woodland Cemetery. Although I did make clear that I HAVE MY DOG IN THE CAR.  Perhaps a little too loudly. Thinking this may thwart any untoward thoughts against my chubby, middle-aged person.

Hey Fella, she left the keys in the ignition
Right. Oh, never mind.
The young man was merely curious, he heard stories about a haunting at Woodland. Something about a boy and his dog. He couldn’t help but notice that I was taking photos of a monument of the same. Taking photos is right. I was trying to get a macro shot of the stone dog’s nostrils (f-stop, depth of field . . .) when he caused me to jump out of my skin. But more on dog nostrils later in the post. 
So, what’s the story on the boy and his dog; did I know? Are you kidding me?  Heck yes, I know.  Just give me a sec here to swallow first so I can get my heart out of my Adam’s apple, though. Have a seat, young man and I’ll tell you a story.

In the late summer of 1860, 5 year old Johnny Morehouse was playing with his dog near his father’s cobbler shop in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Dayton was still a young city then and relied on the nearby river and the Miami & Erie Canal system for commerce with other Ohio cities. This was all before the Great Flood of 1913 when folk still had a tentative trust in the Great Miami River. Johnny went against his mother’s warnings and was playing too close to the canal, when he fell into the dark water. His dog jumped in after him and tried in vain to save him. But Johnny Morehouse drowned on that summer day of August 14, 1860.

Johnny was laid to rest later that week in Woodland Cemetery. Legend has it that his dog stayed at the gravesite, refusing to leave. People would come by to bring food and water to the dog.

Then one day, the dog was gone and never seen again.

It’s said that in late summer, at the last light of the day when the cemetery gates have been locked, you can hear a boy laughing and playing with his happily barking dog.

But really

Johnny’s father was a cobbler, not a rich man by anyone’s standards. The family could not afford a grave marker, even a modest one, for their only son. But a local businessman, Daniel La Dow, had heard the story of Johnny’s valorous dog.  La Dow was a stonecutter and owner of a prosperous marble works in the city. He designed and created the remarkable monument that is at Johnny’s gravesite. ‘Tis truly a work of art that is not duplicated anywhere else within our fair city.

Take a break, hero dog. I got this.
The monument has no dates on it – no date of birth nor death. The only inscriptions are Johnny’s name and the words Slumber Sweet. We see that after 150 years, the dog remains vigilant with a protective paw over the young boy as he sleeps. Forever to be alert and watchful in stone. At their feet are Johnny’s cap and the toys found in his pocket that sad day. His ball, a top and harmonica.
Slumber Sweet
Woodland Cemetery states this is their most visited gravesite – and the most decorated. The site changes daily as families come by to pay their respects to this lost boy by leaving toys, trinkets and clothing. These items are later collected and donated to charitable organizations.



Now about those dog nostrils



To avoid cracks in the stone due to temperature changes, La Dow included an air vent inside the monument. This is a rather clever design as the air is released through the dog’s nose. It is true that if you hold your hand near the dog’s nostrils, you can feel it “breathe.”  In cooler weather you can see steam coming from the nose.
What’s really surprising to me though, in that in spite of the legends of this boy and his dog (I’ve only shared one story), we don’t know the dog’s name. This is lost to history as well as the dog’s breed. I don’t know, it seems disrespectful to me to even nickname this boy’s dog. But what kind of dog is it? 
Isn’t it obvious? Love, responsibility and never ending devotion? It’s got to be a Golden/Lab cross, don’t you think?

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