Flora, Fauna, Fur and Fiber

Ardella the Thinking Dog

2012-01-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon Ardella wanted my attention, but Yumi was beside me and Ardella didn't want to share space with Yumi. Ardella ran into the kitchen/family room, grabbed one of Yumi's bones and came back to the living room and dropped the bone on the floor. Yumi dived for the bone and Ardella ran over and took the place beside me where Yumi had been. My brilliant Ardella!

I started volunteering at The Cancer Center doing some clerical odd jobs, and I met a pet therapy team. Besides visiting where I was volunteering, this team also goes to a pediatric dentist clinic where the dog is used to comfort anxious children. He will sit on a child's chest (he's a small dog) while the child getting examined, and he is used to lure anxious children into the dental chairs. I want to be a pet therapy team one day.

I have started a Pike puppy group on Yahoo. Pike is Yumi's sire and he is on loan to GDB from a guide dog school in Australia. He has sired at least 7 litters (that I've counted) on his 6-month loan and I've started a group for all the Pike puppies born in the last 5 months or so. If you are a Pike puppy raiser and are interested in joining, send me a comment and I'll send you an invitation (comments are monitored and are not posted until I approve them, and I won't approve those comments sent requesting a group invitation). Tell me the name of the dam of the litter so I can ensure this isn't spam.

And The Band Played On

2012-01-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

We're talking about the immune system in my Survey of Disease class this week, and on Monday we began watching And The Band Played On, a movie based on Randy Shilts' book of the same title. We're only watching portions of it, enough to see that it was known long before the public knew that AIDS was transmitted through blood. I read the book about 20 years ago, so instead of going to class today, I went to Barnes and Noble and bought a copy of the book and I'm rereading it. I also got the movie from the library and watched it this afternoon. I wanted the whole story, not just the part about blood. The movie ends with a few photos of the Names Project. Does anyone remember this? What has happened to it? I can't find any recent mention of the Names Project anywhere. I remember the book as one of the best I've read, so it's time for a reread. I believe this is the book that began my interest in books about medical journalism - or is it medical narratives?

Yumi is 5 months now. I've been asked to do a talk about puppy raising in my disease class as part of a group project on diseases of the eye. I'm waffling simply because it's a huge class and I'm not sure that I'll get enough time to do justice to the subject with so many people. I fear there is going to be a 1-minute limit for talking, and if so I'll change my topic to something unrelated to puppy raising. I wanted to say more than "this is Yumi, I'm raising her for GDB, where I hope she'll be able to be a guide dog one day." Truly, I'm afraid it's going to have to be like that.

Here's Yumi (5 months now) on her new bed in her colors. It's still kind of overstuffed and Yumi keeps sliding off.

It finally snowed last week, though we weren't hit as hard as Seattle and Olympia.

Finally, my favorite backyard birds (bushtits) are back. I just love them - they come in swarms and I always know that when they arrive, it starts getting lighter in the evening.

Classes and Information about Madeline

2012-01-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

Yumi still likes her Jolly Ball. She also stopped playing with it and posed with her tail wagging when she saw me pointing the camera at her. I have a camera ham and I'm in awe! I really should take advantage of this and get more pictures. At almost 5 months, Yumi is about an inch shorter than Ardella, so it's hard to believe she's as young as she is. I already can't lift her and she was 30 pounds about 3 weeks ago, so I'm sure she weighs more now.

School is great this week and I'm liking my schedule and classes. My time is split up so that Yumi is never in a crate longer than 4 hours at a time and I only have 1 day that where I have to really split up the day for her. Classes are interesting and will be challenging. I love my Business Math class, although if my first test is any indicator of my final grade, I won't be repeating the Vice President's Honor Roll! Still, I'd rather be enthusiastic about the class than make an A. Homework is still a beast, but I feel like I'm not just doing busy work this quarter.

I heard from Madeline's newest person and was sent the most beautiful pictures of Madeline with her children. I got a little teary eyed with happiness seeing how well she interacted with them. Unfortunately, things didn't work out due to a reason that has nothing to do with Madeline, but out of respect for privacy I won't post. You don't know what this does to me! I'm sitting on my hands - I will not call GDB and it's too late anyway. I have no say in this, but after seeing those pictures (which I can't show, but trust me, they were unbelievably moving to me), I think Madeline belongs in a home with children. K9 companion maybe? Sigh - it's out of my hands!

Last Day of Winter Break

2012-01-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

Today is my last day of winter break. The break has been just what I've wanted since I was laid off in August and it's been the first time I've been able to rest and relax and just process all that has happened since then. I feel rested, I've been able to knit, read books, browse at the library, go to Portland, and spend time with family and pets.

I saw War Horse at the theater, which I didn't really like other than the photography and the horse, and I watched the first season of The Wire (which I love). In fact, for one week Yumi and I sat on a nest of dog beds and watched 3 episodes a day. Here's a picture of 2 of the 3 beds with Yumi and Aidan lying on them together. They adjusted the beds so that they are layered and each dog has a level. Of course Aidan has the top bed - he's like that.

Yumi has been busy going on outings this last week. She's gone to Portland 3 times visiting people in coffee shops and attending a welcome party for new members at Multnomah Monthly Meeting. She's also gone to restaurants, grocery stores, houses to visit friends and family, and she participated in a puppy sit weekend. She's done very well on these outings and I'm proud of her. Ardella would like to avoid Yumi as Yumi would love to play rough with her. Ardella has no skill in telling a puppy to back off, although Aidan does a good job of that. We're working on how to behave around dogs. We're having success with Aidan and Yumi lying down peacefully together in the same room, so we're making progress. Aidan, unlike Ardella, knows how to tell a puppy to knock it off.

Yumi got a Jolly Ball at our last puppy club meeting and she spent 20 minutes playing with it nonstop the first night we gave it to her. She paused to look at the camera when I asked her to, just long enough to take her picture. That blur behind her is her tail that was wagging nonstop.

One outing this week entailed sewing crate blankets for a local rescue. Karren and Marian were gracious enough to help me, and in fact did most of the sewing while I ironed, cut, put right sides together, laid batting, and pinned. Yumi lay peacefully (for the most part) in a crate right beside us, but she was able to take periodic breaks and had an extended break at lunch where she was able to see us and play with her Jolly Ball. We made 6 crate blankets and added a 7th that we used as a model.

Classes resume tomorrow and I'm actually looking forward to returning. I really don't want a repeat of last quarter when I was just staying on top of assignments and studying constantly. I realize that to stay inspired, I'm going to need to take time out to work with Yumi, exercise, read, and knit. My reading resolution this year is to spend at least half an hour reading something other than a textbook every day and to end homework by 9 o'clock every evening in order to wind down from studying. I'm potentially taking 18 hours this quarter, but the classes are related, so I'm hoping that the overlap helps. I still don't know what this year is going to bring us, but I do know that I need to be in school and I'm just taking it a day at a time.

Goodbye 2011, I Won't Miss You

2011-12-31T20:40:00.000-08:00

This was not a year I want to live over. It was a year of goodbyes and anxiety about the future. It might not get better and I'm trying not to obsess on my husband's statement that this Christmas might have been the last we spent in our home. There are uncertainties about his job now and I just don't want to think about what that might mean tonight. So, in spite of the experience of 2011, these things brought me hope and inspiration: Occupy/Arab Spring/Global Protests against economic and social injustice, hearing from Madeline's new family, getting to raise Yumi, and getting a 4.0 GPA for Fall Quarter.

This U-Tube interpretation of this Mary Chapin Carpenter song is another treasure I found recently and it resonates with my year's experience Happy New Year. I hope 2012 is a year of hope and good things for us all.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

We spent last evening with my daughter and husband and had an untraditional but lovely Christmas Eve dinner of chorizo dip with tortilla chips, paella, pickled vegetables and pumpkin pie, plus had We gave Keri and Ryan a Spanish cookbook once for Christmas, and Keri has been using it. The paella (shellfish-less) is a recipe they have frequently returned to. It is wonderful to have a daughter who entertains!

Gizmo and Isis are the dog and cat, respectively.

We took Yumi, who at 4 months is pushing 30 pounds. Here she is in the crate in the care before leaving. Her first trip where she isn't on the floor in the front - she's just too big now!

Here we are with Yumi, who was a pretty good girl in a new house with another dog who really wanted to play with her. The crate was a lifesaver when Yumi wanted to play with Gizmo in her larger dog manner.

I'm waiting for the family to arrive and then we'll be celebrating a quiet and simple Christmas together. I hope that the solstice holiday season has been peaceful and enjoyable for you all.

GEOCC Christmas Party

2011-12-16T22:09:00.000-08:00

We had a Christmas party and gift exchange tonight for the puppy club. I didn't get a picture of every dog there, but I got a picture of most of the newest puppies.

Lorna (who I puppy sat this summer). She's 8 months old now and is quite a ham!

Yumi (not in costume like everyone else):

Kaya (my leader's puppy):

Limon, who arrived at the Fall Luncheon and came up to Oregon the same day as Yumi.
Her raiser is the same raiser who raised Kiva. Limon's mom is Molly who was raised in our group.

Sherbert, who is the dog Ardella and I were sitting beside at the Lions Club fireworks stand this July. She was recently career changed and her raisers took her back. She is the sweetest dog! I just love her!

Cleveland, who is a recent transfer to our club. He's a Lab/Golden cross and is really sweet:

Goleta, a career changed dog who is Sherbert's "sister." You can tell they belong to the same raiser by their fancy costumes.

Vista, our newest addition to the club. She arrived just a week ago. I had more pictures of her, but for some reason my camera didn't record them.

This next picture needs an explanation. Chanelle (career changed) got my career change gift in the gift exchange. This toy was supposed to be chew proof. It had a picture of a Rottweiler and a tiger on the cover and I was told there were 7 layers of material so that it would be durable. Well...they didn't Lab test it!

It took her less than 5 minutes! Never trust advertising.

Yumi pictures

2011-12-16T21:21:00.000-08:00

School is out, thank the gods and goddesses and universe! It was a humbling experience being back in college and it was the most intense 3 months that I've experienced in a long time. Let's just say I've exercised my brain and I should be good for Alzheimer prevention for a little while. So far, my grades have been good so I guess I learned a thing or two, though it doesn't feel like it.

After spending nearly 400 or 500 dollars on books, I got a mere 30 dollars back when I resold them. What a racket! I'm looking into e-textbooks for next quarter.

Anyway, now I'm off for 3 weeks and I can devote attention to Yumi, Ardella and Aidan, knitting, and reading. I've been to the library already. Oh how I've missed it all!

The following pictures are Yumi at 15 weeks on tie down. Lyn stayed with Yumi on Monday and Wednesday mornings in November until this Wednesday while I was in class, and I think he took these pictures of Yumi.

Yumi is 4 months old today and we're beginning to take her out more since she has had her shots. We are still keeping outings to short outings and we're timing them around relieving periods. So far we've been successful. This is her before we went on an outing to sell back books and then have lunch downtown with Lyn this afternoon. I love her wrinkles!

Madeline Has Gone Home

2011-12-11T22:11:00.000-08:00

I saw today on Facebook that Madeline returned to Seattle and has a new family. It looks like a wonderful situation and I couldn't be happier for her. She grew up to be a beautiful dog. Lyn brought home a Christmas card from a Christmas craft fair at the Meeting House today that had Madeline's picture on it when she was about six months old. It was nice remembrance from a circle of people who were fond of Madeline.

Yumi is still wonderful. She is 16 weeks old and is growing like a weed. This is final exam week, and once this horrible week is over, I'll return to this blog with something a little more susbtantial about Yumi and her development.

The Phone Call

2011-12-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I got a phone call from my puppy club leader about Madeline. She was career changed in phase 3. I was asked about my interest in adopting her, but due to unemployment and inability to take on the expenses of another pet, plus the responsibilities of raising Yumi which I would have to give up if adopting Madeline, I had to say no. I don't know what the second raiser's response was (I always hope it's yes), but I know that the placement program at Guide Dogs is excellent and that they will find an ideal home for Madeline where she is loved and can develop into being the kind of dog she is meant to be. I am going through the typical stages of having made this decision. I know I take a chance of never hearing about Madeline again, but I do hope I hear from her new family once Madeline is "home." After all, I have cute puppy pictures!

Say what?!

2011-11-30T20:22:00.000-08:00

In today's mail, I got a very stuffed envelope from Clark County Environmental Services. Inside the envelope were 5 calendars:

Do you recognize those bandanas? Ardella got one in April at the Canine Clean Water table at the Farmer's Market when we signed a pledge to always clean up after our dogs. They took a picture and she made the April calendar picture.

There's a slight problem... I'm not sure how they got that name!

We just got back from taking Yumi to Panera. She did a great job and I'm hoping I can take her to Clark College club pizza gathering in about 2 weeks.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at our house this year. Keri and Ryan went to Spokane to be with Ryan's parents, so it was just our boys, Kevin and Tim, and Lyn and me for the occasion. I was feeling overwhelmed with school demands and insisted that we go out for dinner this year - no leftovers, no dishes, no hours in the kitchen - but Lyn, bless his heart, still doesn't want to deprive our children of tradition, and he cooked everything. I pulled a moratorium on studying for the day and enjoyed knitting a hat. I like the hat, but it's not really for me. I'll add a picture after I've found buttons I want to sew on and then any of my relatives can claim it. We ended the evening by watching the first of the last two Harry Potter movies, which I really liked (it might have been that dancing scene to Nick Cave's Oh Children - love that song). I'm hoping we get the second half tonight. I might be disappointed if there is no Nick Cave song.

Lyn got two pictures of some outside visitors to the yard. He's been filling the hummingbird feeders and the hummingbirds have been visiting.

In Yumi news, she is now 14 weeks and is still as cute as ever. She went to visit my puppy club leader last week at his workplace while I was in class, and he deemed her to be a "very good" puppy. Really, the only issues I have with her are house training issues, and this experience has been a mixture of success. She was doing great until the torrential rains started this last week. Let's just say that Yumi is slow to warm up to pouring rain. She will run to the door when she is near one, but we don't get a lot of time to act sometimes. I believe we are going to have to crate her more often until this problem resolves (she doesn't go in her crate). The complaining in crate when we leave has lessened with putting Yumi in a downstairs crate and turning on the radio. She listens to NPR because of the amount of programs with talking (calm talking).

Since Yumi has only seen my puppy club leader and been on no other outings, Lyn took Yumi to return the Harry Potter movie tonight. It was a quick in and out trip and she did very well and people were respectful of requests not to pet. I'll leave you with pictures in her jacket, which she received the day she visited my puppy club leader. We'll be upping these outings starting next week.

Please Help Find Jamaica

2011-11-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

I hate when this happens, but alerts have helped find many dogs in the past, so I'm copying the GDB announcement from Facebook. Praying for a safe return!

"Hello folks near Portland, Oregon: Please help us find Jamaica, a career change dog that has gone missing. Jamaica is a female black Lab, and was last seen on 11/19 at 10PM in the Charbonneau area, just south of Wilsonville. Her tattoo number is 47VO. She has white hairs on her stomach and weighs 50 lbs. If you have any info or leads, please call Andy Fitzgerald at 510-418-9863. Please help us spread the word!"

Yumi at 13 weeks

2011-11-15T18:11:00.000-08:00

Everything is going well. Yumi had her 12-week shots last week and weighs 20.8 pounds. She was the smallest of the litter, so I imagine she'll be the smallest for a little while. I think Yumi is going to be a big-boned dog, so who knows what she'll weigh when she's full grown. The vet loved her, by the way, and said he'd have chosen her from a litter if he had been getting a pet.

My heart has belonged to Yumi since I first got her, but especially since she started interacting with my dogs. Ardella was a little shy when Yumi first approached her one day in the kitchen, and she went to sit in a corner in the kitchen. Yumi gave up trying to play, but just sat down right beside her as if to say, everything is okay - I'm just going to sit here for awhile and be with you. It's working. She'll do this from time to time and I'm going to have to get a camera to capture it before she grows up. Ardella approaches Yumi on her own now and will sniff and yesterday she initiated play with Yumi. We let her do this for about 5 minutes. It's been easy to be in the main living areas with all 3 dogs. Everyone just lies there chewing on bones or sleeping. It's so peaceful and I love having everyone in one area of the house.

Yumi remains easy to handle. I'm wondering if she learned bite inhibition in the kennels with other puppies or if she was worked with specifically on this issue by people at GDB. Yumi might try to bite my clothing or play with my hand, but a gentle correction usually stops it right away. Even if she does try to play bite, it's not hard, which makes me wonder if puppy interaction up to 12 weeks helped her learn not to bite hard.

Kennel behavior is improving. Yumi still doesn't like being crated, but she's very good in the ex-pen or on tie-down. Even fussing is being extinguished. Lyn has been staying with Yumi 2 days a week on the days in school the longest, and on Tuesdays she's in the crate for an hour, then I come home for lunch for 2 hours, and then go back to school for 2 hours, so her day gets broken up. It's time to sign up for classes again, so I'm trying to find a schedule where Yumi isn't in the crate longer than 3 hours on any given day. I think I'll be able to take a few evening/late afternoon classes next quarter.

Relieving is getting better, but I think this is going to take awhile. I don't know if it's harder to house train an older puppy or not, but I hope to see some bigger changes in the next week or two (there has been some improvement, especially since Yumi is getting better about going downstairs).

Yumi learned the sit command and comes most of the time when I call her name during our FIR exercises. She walks well in the house on a leash and I'm going to take her out to the back yard to walk on trails to get more practice at staying beside me when we're walking. We're learning "that's enough" with tug. Yumi loves her toys and is the only dog I've ever known to actually play with a Goughnut! She's just easy to please.

Anyway, we love raising our newest puppy. Yumi is a happy, relatively calm and even-tempered dog and is very easy to be with. She still has puppy breath! I doubt that will last much longer, but I've loved every minute of it!

Fall Leaves at Clark College

2011-11-15T00:15:00.000-08:00

Last week I arrived at school and the leaves must have been at their peak because color just leaped out at me everywhere I looked. I didn't have my camera with me, but I took a risk that despite rain and wind this weekend, I might encounter some of last week's brilliance. Five days later, the campus was not as brilliant, but there was still some charm, and the mood matched the Death with Dignity theme we are discussing in Health Law. We've been watching a Bill Moyer video on the topic called On Our Own Terms. It was made in 2000, but the topic is still relevant. I'll always remember that video when I see Fall leaves now. Here's my slide show - I went a little crazy with the camera.

Yumi meets Aunt Karren

2011-11-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Karren brought Ardella home early this afternoon. Karren and her father stopped to visit for a few minutes before going to GDB campus for graduation. Of course she wanted to meet Yumi. I think they like one another.

We had Yumi in an ex-pen we set up in the family room area so we could manage the meet and greet with Ardella. That went well. They sniffed noses and wagged tails, and when I let Yumi out of the ex-pen, Ardella got excited and they were play bowing at one another and then Ardella started barking, which set Yumi barking, but that was stopped and then Ardella decided to ignore Yumi. She's been sulking a little bit, but I can manage Yumi's behavior with Ardella so that she isn't jumping in Ardella's face. Yumi would love to play with Ardella, and Ardella may be more accepting in time, especially if Yumi maintains calm around her.

Karren has taken Ardella to the dog park a few times in the last month and the last time she visited a dog park with Karren, Ardella showed interest in a Rottweiler and Greyhound who were very calm dogs. She hid under a bench when an excited bulldog wanted to play and migrated to the woman who had the Rottweiler and Greyhound when the bulldog was approaching Ardella and Karren. I'm a little more optimistic that Ardella will adjust to Yumi.

Yumi is picking up her name and sit. We've had a few more accidents but she's back to eating and drinking on a normal schedule after the trip up here from California. She's so responsive and willing to please. I think Yumi looks huge in her pictures, but she's really quite small. Oh - she has puppy breath. How can I study when there's a puppy around with puppy breath?! I actually read a book this weekend - first in months for pleasure - and read Thunder Dog. I read it out loud to Yumi and we have chats about what would Roselle do when Yumi gets fussy, like right now when she's in her crate and shrieking because she hates it. She's still sleeping through the night and I'm still grateful for that!

Ardella's birthday

2011-11-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Ardella's birthday and she is now 3! She's a young adult and I can't believe how fast the time has passed. Ardella has taught me so much and I'm so happy that I get to spend the rest of her life with her. Ardella did not spend her third birthday with us though. She went to Aunt Karren's and celebrated with sister Annalynn by eating Banana B'oats (dog cookies Karren baked) and bones stuffed with peanut butter. Lyn and I were doing something else and I wanted Ardella to have a stress-free day with one of her favorite people to help the transition she is about to come home to.

The reason Ardella is at Karren's:

Meet Yumi (Not pronounced Yummy)

She's 11 weeks old, a left hip female, and is an Anjou/Pike puppy. I've located one raiser that has sister Yakira, but know the names of all the littermates: Yakira, Yancy, Yasmin, Yuma and Yumi. I believe Yumi was the smallest as the litter names are done alphabetically and go in the order of the shave. We had a calm ride home, and about half an hour of protest in the kennel at bedtime, but once moved to a larger crate (she was too big for the crate we usually use for 8-week-old puppies), she settled down nicely and slept through the night. I woke up before she did. She doesn't relieve as often as an 8-week-old puppy, and I think we've only had one accident so far. She seems to be catching on quickly because when I take her outside, she heads straight to her relieving spot. Yumi is the most polite eater I've ever had!

We have to limit socialization until the 16-week shots, and so we're learning house manners and relieving. I took a day off from class to spend it with Yumi and today we've worked on the improved FIR protocol. I do have to use luring, but I think that will only be for a few days. I'm also attempting to teach sit (not successful yet) and we'll add on things like seeding the floor and learning to leave unacceptable toys alone. Aidan is still home with me and only having one dog to meet has been helpful. Aidan is setting his boundaries and I'm letting him. Aidan has offered a play bow or two, and even was excited about teaching Yumi how to climb stairs. Yumi is listening. I hope it goes as smoothly with Ardella tomorrow.

I promise we didn't get Yumi for your birthday, Ardella! You're still the privileged pet. Remember you get to sleep on the bed!

Yumi playing:

How many ways can I procrastinate?

2011-11-01T00:42:00.000-07:00

Still going through the humbling experience of learning that my mind doesn't stretch like it did when I was 20. I have 3 chapters to do this week in anatomy, a midterm exam with take-home questions to do by Wednesday morning, a boat load of Excel exercises to learn, and a lot of textbook reading, too. I swear the threat of budget cuts is making all my instructors feel they have to prove themselves by loading on busy work. I wouldn't do this, except I got commissioner-approved training and I have to go full time or go back to looking for jobs that I'm not qualified to do. I don't know which is worse! I have my days of panic and meltdown and not being able to sleep because I'm so wired (like tonight), and then I have times where I can't process one more piece of information. So, occasionally I procrastinate and take pictures without rhyme or reason.

Our pumpkin reflecting sympathies with Oakland occupiers (quite a few Trick-or-Treating parents recognized it and made favorable comments:

Stealing a few moments to knit a row or two - a crate blanket:

And another crate blanket:

A basket on the table:

Evidence that I'm learning Word 2010:

A suspicious look because I won't give her what's in that basket on the table:

Phase 0

2011-10-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

I saw a picture of Madeline recently and I didn't recognize her. She's a stranger, but at the same time she's not. She's had a good life in another home, and because of that person's excellent work with her, today I saw something I've been waiting to see a long time.

Madeline 4Z78 LAB F 0

I'm proud of her.

Knitting for Penguins

2011-10-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

To my knitting readers, New Zealand is calling for penguin sweaters to protect the penguins affected by the recent oil spill. here's the link to the pattern.

Occupy Vancouver, Washington, October 15, 2011

2011-10-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

I've followed the Occupy Wall Street occupation for a month now, and I've been thrilled to see this movement spread to a worldwide event. Today was the first Occupy Vancouver Washington event and I went by myself. I believe the count is at 700 attendees now, and I'm very proud of Vancouver. It's not the last event, so I hope to see it grow. We heard lots of voices from all kinds of people, which is great because it shows how this movement has touched people across all political persuasions. My favorite message was the one from the former city/county worker who recommended that instead of our taxes being stored in banks, that they be stored in state banks or coops that are owned by taxpayers. State banks are what they are using in North Dakota, the state with the lowest unemployment rate in the US. It's not the end of the demonstrations, we've just begun. It feels good to take a stand and raise a voice!

I concentrated on taking pictures of signs.

My entry into Esther Short Park. I was happy to see a crowd for once!

The signs:

Signs of quotes from Goethe, Thomas Jefferson, and Jimi Hendrix:

Creative and colorful signs:

And of course there were dogs! Loved this wolfhound named Dine. He didn't like having his picture taken, but he was a very friendly giant.

My favorite and final dog picture. The dog's owner put the sign down by the dog so I could get both in the picture.

It was a nice hour and a half. I had to leave to go to the humane society and couldn't join the march, but there will be other opportunities.

School days

2011-10-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

This is Lorna who came to stay with us last week. She's a 6-month-old puppy in the puppy club I attend. She's very, very cute!

Lorna arrived during a very busy week - my first week of college in more than 7 years. I'm sort of shell shocked with regard to what is in store this quarter, so if I don't write much, school is the reason. I didn't think I'd have to attend college again unless I wanted to take a course for self-interest. However, if I want to work again in my lifetime, this is where I need to be. It's actually pretty invigorating to be back in a classroom, and I've loved every minute I've been there, except for finding a parking place. College class enrollment is skyrocketing and I'm not the oldest person in class these days!

I took the kittens back last Tuesday or Wednesday. I started a new volunteer position at the humane society where I work in receiving helping out with tasks like taking people back to look for lost pets and a few clerical odds and ends. I also get to see foster people and start people filling out forms for releasing animals or applying for free food programs. I understand that it can be pretty emotional in this department, but it will be great experience for me and certainly will give me a side of the humane society I don't experience much. At any rate, after my shift I went back to see my kittens and there were only 3 left and all had been adopted. I left feeling a bit uplifted.

Time is limited, so maybe I'll write again soon, but it might be December before I write again. Meanwhile, back to anatomy!

Oregon Flock and Fiber

2011-09-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

I went to my yearly Oregon Flock and Fiber pilgrimage on Saturday and restrained myself in comparison to other years. I didn't go see the animals, although I had intended to look at goats and talk to goat people. It was extremely hot and humid, and I kind of wilted towards the end and had to call it quits. However, I came home with roving, yarn and patterns.

This roving is Douglas Fir colorway in Blue Face Leicester and Tussah silk from Wolf Creek Wools in Montana. I visit this vendor every year and they remain one of my favorites.

This papaya colorway really drew me in and I wanted to knit something cheerful for me for this winter. I settled on this lace weight wool that I'll make a small shawl out of. Yellow isn't a color I can wear, but this one will be okay because it's an orange-yellow. I was so tempted to buy 2 of them to make one of the weight-lace sweaters that have become popular on Ravelry, but I restrained myself.

Finally, I got more roving from a vendor new to me called Greenwood Fiberworks in a colorway called Copper Road. It's also a BFL and silk blend. There was a shawl displayed in this colorway that I fell in love with and just had to have some roving. I doubt there's enough for a shawl, maybe a nice cowl.

Puppy Lorna comes to stay with us this week, starting tomorrow, and I start classes. I continue to struggle with unemployment and my independent streak has gotten me in trouble with bureaucratic rigidity again. I need further training if I am ever going to work again in my lifetime and I'm afraid these trendy 60-second informercials aren't going to get me a job. End of story. I also am finishing up paperwork to volunteer at a local cancer center to help me get further ahead in my skill deficit. I may migrate to hospice later in the year. I don't know where I'm going, exactly, but I do so much better when I have more say in what I do in my life.

After a fall shower

2011-09-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

It's been raining all day after another week of hot weather (guess I was wrong that the hot weather was gone), but we got a break in the rain this evening and I took a few pictures.

Lyn made the scones from the scone mix in the gift package Cindy gave me earlier this week this morning, and this is what remains. Just enough for breakfast in the morning if they last the evening. We also had the strawberry honey with cornbread the other day and it was so delicious I will need to find who carries this honey.

Lyn went to a rain barrel class this week and came home with a rain barrel that we'll use to water the garden (if the water draining from the roof tests okay). This big blue barrel used to hold soy sauce and it still smells like soy sauce inside. Fortunately, we won't be drinking the water.

Lyn is working on a picket fence to separate the garden beds from the dogs. This is the beginning of the fence. Lyn has been working on it all afternoon.

These are the slats that I stained, at least one side of them.

The two plant beds have been planted. This one has the romaine lettuce, Swiss chard and kale.

This one has broccoli and cauliflower. We thought we were getting 2 flats of broccoli, but they were intermixed with cauliflower. The nursery person told me not to plant cauliflower here, but we did accidentally. I've learned that leeks are a good cooler weather vegetable and we'll have to look into getting some of that, too, if there's room.

I walked around the yard and here are a few things of interest.

Fig tree with tiny figs. By November these will be gone.

Swiss chard, basal and tomatoes ready to be harvested:

Our sole pumpkin, at least I think it's a pumpkin.

We still have a few flowers left. Morning glory

Autumn sedum - one of my favorites in the yard.

Goodbye to Kiva and late summer garden

2011-09-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Kiva and Pegasus are both gone and I miss them both. I have that sort of empty feeling when an adult child goes home or a great guest leaves. Both dogs were so much fun and I had a great time with both of them. We took Pegasus up to campus on Sunday afternoon, so she didn't stay very long. She knew a lot of tricks and almost learned how to turn before she left - that won't take long to learn. She was an excellent fetcher and just a very nice dog all around. I envy her new owners and I'm sure she'll be with someone soon. Kiva was just plain fun and entertaining, and it was a joy to take her places. I miss her and it's only been an hour! Her raiser brought me back a very generous thank you from the Puyallup fair seen below. I love scones, honey, and goat milk soap, so this was a fantastic thank you.

I'll be seeing Inez in a week or so, so the house won't feel empty for long.

Here is the garden with 2 raised bed boxes. We are going to plant broccoli, Swiss chard and romaine lettuce (so far). I want to plant beets, but I think we need to wait. I also want Kale. The center bed will eventually have a raised box, but I think Lyn will build it in the spring.

A week ago Sunday the temperature was a sultry, humid 96 degrees and then the very next day the temperatures dropped into the 70s with rain and it was suddenly Fall. Here are a few pictures of the yard on that sultry 96-degree day, our last day of summer.

The Ashiyu with the lid off.

A little bit of color left:

Roses - still blooming in late September. They were late starting and the summer hasn't been that hot.

Scarlet runner beans and currants:

Huckleberries which are a little more tart than blueberries and I like them more.

The straw bale garden with the only successful crop this year - tomatoes. I think we're not going to do straw bales next year.

Doggone weekend

2011-09-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

I've been spending the last two days with Kiva, a beautiful black Lab who arrived on Fun Day 2010 along with Madeline. I had arranged to puppy sit while her raiser was away this week, and it ended up that Kiva needed to go to Boring for hip x-rays and a heart exam, so I didn't pick up up until yesterday. I'm really enjoying Kiva. I don't know the outcome of her exam, but I'm keeping fingers crossed that she becomes a breeder. Kiva is more interested in following me around than in interacting with the dogs or cats. She has met the kittens (when they bolted from the room) and was very appropriate with them.

I love the way Kiva plays with toys. This is a play position I've seen frequently. She'll eventually lie down, but will stay in the play-bow position for some time before doing so.

Karren went with me to pick up Kiva, but before she arrived I told Ardella Karren was coming over. Karren is a Favorite Person and the response to hearing Karren's name is for Ardella to wait by the window until Karren arrives (or look down the street for her car if we are outside).

I got another treat this week by agreeing to pick up Pegasus from a transport to Vancouver this afternoon. Pegasus also came to Oregon on Fun Day 2010 and she is Ardella's half-sister - Bruna is their mother.

Pegasus is being career changed and she will be going up to Boring early in the week (unless I can manage a way to keep her a wee bit longer). I love this dog too, but she's like a younger Ardella and so she's more special. I don't think dogs know or care about half-siblings, but their energy is so similar and Ardella actually tolerates Pegasus better than any other dog that has visited this year. I have to look at their noses to tell them apart, plus Pegasus is slightly more gold-yellow than Ardella. Pegasus is a little more playful than Ardella and knows how to fetch reliably. She will be a wonderful pet for someone.

As far as the rest of the 2010 Fun Day girls, Sherbert is in training and I hear Madeline is due to go back very soon and apparently has been doing quite well. I can't wait to follow her on the phase list.

Foster update

2011-09-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

Remember these kittens?

I still have them. It turns out those tiny kittens I brought home were only about 3 weeks old at the time, so I've had a long-term kitten foster. Thankfully, they've been healthy and incredibly friendly kittens, and now that they are 8 weeks old, they should be leaving me within the next week or 2. They aren't quite the 2-pound limit that they need to be to go back to the humane society. The striped kitten (named Bob) is going home to a friend's family, and my son Tim drew a lot of attention to the kittens when he posted a picture on Facebook (all women - I accused him of using the kittens as a babe magnet). It would be nice for the kittens to go straight from my home to new homes instead of staying in the humane society, so I'm posting pictures in hopes to get some adoption interest. The humane society has over 200 cats right now, and are lacking space. There is a special this week of name your price, anything goes, with cats and dogs. I think the special ends today, unfortunately, but if it's been successful it could be extended.

I took up one of the cat stands for the kittens to play on this week, as well as give them a place to learn to scratch appropriately. These pictures are of the kittens being very playful. Lyn and I also took the opportunity to clip nails because I want the kittens to go to new homes without razor-sharp claws and to get used to that kind of handling.

The kittens have been socialized with the dogs (they really like Aidan) and are comfortable around them if the dogs don't get excited or rush at them. They've been handled every day and are compliant with toenail clippings and paw handling. They're also litter box trained, and have eaten the same food since I have gotten them (no food brand changes in other words). My cats have ignored them, but they should be able to live in multicat households without much problem.

Urban Farming Fever

2011-09-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

Lyn's cousins, Christopher and Brendan, and Brendan's girlfriend Angela, stopped by in August to visit us on their drive cross country to a permaculture program in Northern California called Regenerative Design Institute. This is the kind of school I would want to attend if I was 20 again. I would love to take the sheep to shawl course!

Christopher also told me about Wilderness Awareness School in my neck of the woods. I'm interested in the bird sound course. Then there is Fresh Loaf Forum. Baking break is a skill I hope to master in our lean days. Winter always is more bearable by the smell of baking bread.

Needless to say, I enjoyed visiting with Christopher, Brendan and Angela. We were able to have dinner with Lyn's 2 sisters and offspring, and Brendan gave Lyn files of memoir notes that his grandfather has written (some day I'll retell the part about trying to find John Birch in China after WWII (Yeah - that John Birch).

Hearing about the permaculture program rekindled my interest in living simply and making our yard a bit more of an urban farm with edible landscaping, raised bed gardens all over the yard, and hopefully the addition of chickens and goats. We've made a little progress. Lyn and I bought wood last week for the raised garden beds and Lyn built the first bed this afternoon. Here it is after I stained it.

Lyn also built a shed this week:

Lyn's birthday was a few days ago and I gave him 2 books on chickens - on building coops and on raising - and I hope we can at least get the coop built this fall and get the chickens in the spring. The goat... well, we'll have to see. It will have to be a pygmy goat if we get one. Chickens and goat will be pets, by the way. I have no intention of eating an animal I know.

I finished a pair of socks for Lyn. These were socks that were supposed to be anniversary socks, then father's day socks, and finally I finished 2 days after his birthday. They're made from Zauberball Crazy sock yarn, Earth colorway, I think. I did the garter rib sock pattern again. The yarn isn't ideal for socks, but I thought it was really pretty. I'd use it again, but not for socks.

That's what I've been up to this summer. The changes are a bit of an economic necessity, but I've always wanted to simplify, stop spending on things I don't need, and be more involved in our food production. I dream of adding on a tiny house in the back and having one of our kids buy this house. I also think about intentional communities and I wonder if this will become a common alternative for retirees in the future.

August puppy club outing

2011-08-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

We had every intention of doing the puppy club outing today, since it entailed a lot of public transportation, but got kind of a rocky start when Lyn didn't turn off on the correct exit to the MAX station. We had to circle around somehow and we missed the group by about 5 minutes! We had bought all-day passes, so we decided we needed to spend time on public transportation, group or not! The plan was to take MAX to downtown Portland, ride the trolley to the sky tram that goes up to Oregon Health & Science University, and then take that up to OHSU and walk around a little bit. Long story short, Lyn and I drove to OHSU, I got out with Inez while Lyn parked, and I went to the tram waiting area, where I ran into the puppy group as they were getting off the tram. Whew!

Group picture taken on a shaded, relaxing balcony with a great view:

We visited for a few minutes, had lots of admirers who wanted to pet the puppies, and so talked to people about raising guide dogs. The group had 2-hour tickets and had to leave, so we parted ways. Lyn and I still had a MAX ride to take.

We parked near the stadium and took MAX to Beaverton. This is Inez and I standing waiting for the Green line.

We caught MAX and went all the way to Beaverton where we got off and went to a restaurant. We ate outside in the shade so Inez could drink some water without getting the floor wet (she's a bit messy drinker). She enjoyed a few ice cubes, too.

It started getting really hot, so we decided to go home. MAX was crowded on the way back, and a very nice man got up from a seat and called us over to sit down. We chatted during the ride. This man was a Delta pilot and he asked me if Inez had flown on a plane yet. He told me that he sometimes gets guide dogs on his flights, that they sit in the bulk head, and he has been known to take dogs to "anoint the tires" when there is a long waiting period. He also said that on oversea flights, raisers or handlers will bring a pad for the dog to relieve on. I imagine those 18-hour flights can be pretty hard for dogs. It was fun to talk to him. Delta seems to be a dog-friendly airline for service dogs.

Inez was a great traveler. I think she would do fine in an airplane. I think she was pretty tired on the way back as she slept the entire way.

We've enjoyed taking Inez to restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores. She's so trustworthy that I feel comfortable taking her everywhere. She's been very patient while I've been filling out applications and forms and will lie patiently on a mat and either chew on a toy or sleep. We've taken a lot of nice walks. We have her until Friday.

August Company

2011-08-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

We have a few guests here for the month of August. Last week 5 of these joined our household.

There are 3 females, 2 males, and they're all healthy. They're just very young (3 weeks when they arrived) and need to gain weight. Four of the kittens are Himalayan or Siamese mixes with blue eyes.

There is one striped male kitten, who has already been claimed, and his name is Bob. It's easy to keep track of him.

This is the yellow-collared kitten that I am especially fond of. She loves to cuddle and stay in my lap, usually lying on her back. She'll play with other kittens if they get up in my lap too, but mostly she likes to claim a human and lie there. She's one that I think would be especially good with children.

They're all really nice kittens and I think they'll be hard to let go! I'm glad we'll be able to keep track of Bob.

On Monday I got a nice surprise - Inez! She's here for almost 2 weeks this time. It's been wonderful having her here! She's very happy and a dream in public. It's so nice to have a predictable puppy!

Fun Day, August 6, 2011

2011-08-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

I went to Fun Day without my camera! I can't believe I did that, but there you go! I saw no new FIR training film, saw no litters, saw no kennels, etc., but I had a good time visiting and catching up with people, and bought 6 raffle tickets! Lunch was good but I completely forgot to get an ice cream cone!

I went to Fun Day with Karren and took Ardella who did so well! Right before we left I gave her a dose of a natural calming product called Happy Traveler and I saw absolutely no panting in the car or on campus, and she was actually interested in other dogs and people. There was some increased urination, but still such a huge improvement over past experiences up on the GDB campus! Happy Traveler isn't something I'll use every day, but I sure will use it when we travel long distances. I'm also on the lookout for something called the Calming Cap, which was recommended to me by Carol, trainer at CJ Dog Training.

The new puppies were adorable, mostly black Labs, K, J, and L puppies. Guiding Eyes club got 2 yellow males, John and Lexington. There were some really good names, but I can't remember them all; Kenya, Kabuki were two I liked.

Here's my new puppy!

I won it in a raffle basket! The first one called, actually.

It was a lavender-themed basket from Puppy Pilots, a club I'm acquainted with since Kristin came from there. Missing from the picture are the lavender sprigs and the signed copy of The Art of Racing In the Wind, which are upstairs in my room.

Edit: I have since learned that the hand knit hat and wash cloths were made by the mom in the family that raised Kristin! I think the basket was predestined to be mine.

I also picked up a few things from other tables where clubs were selling merchandise. I love the handmade things, especially. Big this year were cooling scarves and collars. Karren's club always makes go-to-bed mats and I think this is our fourth mat. I also bought a cool elephant purse. I bought the GDB 2012 calendar and a collapsible bowl in the store.

I can't really say I did much today, but I enjoyed myself.

I have enrolled in a four-quarter certificate program at our local community college, and I'm looking for part-time work. My challenge right now is proving that medical transcription is not an in-demand job. I hate being on unemployment, especially hate the communication I get from the state which always sounds so intimidating and threatening. I can't imagine anyone enjoying this situation. I'm glad it's available, but yuck!

The pond

2011-07-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Guiding Eyes of Clark County had a social gathering at a raiser's home this afternoon. The gathering was in a beautiful setting and we had access to 2 ponds. Lucky Labs!

It's been a cold year and many of the puppies haven't had a lot of experience with swimming. Everyone seemed eager to see what their dog would do when given the opportunity to swim.

This puppy (Art) got in, and he has not gone swimming before. He looks like a pro already! He was excited when he got out of the water. I bet he would like to do it again!

Ardella is at the front here with Lyn who is trying to encourage her to go in.

He tried to entice her with food.

No swimming for Ardella, but she did stick her feet in the water which was an improvement.

It was a nice afternoon. Ardella seemed comfortable most of the time and it was nice to see puppies and raisers I haven't seen in a long time. There are 3 new puppies coming to the club on Fun Day.

Now I'm home and back to form hell. Looking for work is definitely a full-time job!

Inez

2011-07-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

This is where I was last week - on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University - attending North Pacific Yearly Meeting, a gathering of unprogrammed Society of Friends (or Quakers). I started a page of concerns and web sites that I gathered from interest groups, plenary sessions, book stores and tables that had been set up to represent organizations like American Friends Service Committee, Right Sharing, and Water for the World. I think this was the first year that the entire yearly gathering worked for me. I found the plenary process meaningful (decisions are made through the process of consensus, which has often seemed tedious to me), and I was able to relate everything I did with the theme (Being Practically Spiritual: The Integration of Inward Life and Outward Action). The session was 5 days, and I think I shut down after 4 (that's progress). The fifth day may have been my favorite day though as I sat around with fellow knitters and we had great conversations. Another benefit of attending is that I am now in a book group that meets at Multnomah Monthly Meeting in Portland. We met last night and read The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. This was an All Portland Reads choice this year and we had a good discussion.

I came home to a request to puppy sit for a guide dog puppy that just arrived in Vancouver last weekend. Her name is Inez, she's not quite 7 months old, and I just kept her for a day and a half. Her new raiser had been out of town and got back into town last night and had to work today, so I had the privilege of turning her over to her new raiser this afternoon. She is the perfect guide dog puppy!

She is happy and a little excited when she first meets people, but she can be directed. She has good self-control and is confident, happy and laid back. She respected my dogs. Ardella, as she often does, froze up and didn't want anything to do with Inez, but Inez didn't push Ardella to interact and even seemed to be trying to comfort her and put her at ease. Inez has the ability to self-entertain and she's cuddly and likes to have me hold a bone while she chews on it and to place her paws on my leg while we're cuddling on the floor so she can be in contact. I love paw placers! Kristin was like that. So was Madeline.

I was impressed that she had no relieving issues. I was confident taking her anywhere I went and I didn't panic.

She had great recall, even outside off leash.

Inez is a lovely dog and she has a lucky raiser! Gosh, if all puppies were like Inez... I hope to see more of Inez in the coming year.

Fundamentals of Animal Massage class

2011-07-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Northwest School of Animal Massage offered a Fundamentals of Animal Massage class today through Dove Lewis in Portland. I signed up for this a few weeks ago, thinking I could add it to my ever growing beginning skills of things to do with Ardella and humane society animals. I thoroughly enjoyed this class. I liked the instructor (Rubi), the location (Dove Lewis) and the course. We learned 4 basic touches and got to practice on 3 different models (I was ready to kidnap one of those models and take her home - she was a rescue dog from Galapagos Islands).

We got to tour Dove Lewis and I was amazed at how sophisticated this facility is. It has a CT scan, room for ultrasound, a radiologist, multiple specialty doctors, an amazing grief support system, a wonderful, soothing comfort room for people saying goodbye to their animals (I got a little choked up in there), and a sophisticated blood donation program. They also have a pet therapy program. I have this on my list of places to volunteer.

I learned more about Northwest School of Animal Massage, and about the certification programs there. We learned about Galapagos Preservation Society and the work this organization is doing to protect wildlife from the street dogs running rampant around the island (this was not part of the course, we just asked about the dog Rubi adopted). They're working to protect the dogs, too. Some people from Greyhound Pet Adoption Northwest were in class and I learned about the second Sunday dog walks they have. Tomorrow's walk is in Vancouver and I plan to be there. So, I came home with a CD and book to reinforce what I learned today, and I am all in favor of taking the level 1 class, adopting a dog from Galapagos Island (since I couldn't take the one in class today) and adopting a greyhound. It just never ends!

Lyn and I went to Ruby Tuesday for dinner to celebrate my new beginnings. I remain pretty excited about the future, despite all the scary stories in the news.

New Library Tour

2011-07-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

There was an event held today to view the brand new Fort Vancouver Regional Library. It was a ticket-only event and I had 2 tickets given to me (thanks, Mike) so I invited Karren to go with me. We hurried downtown after I got off work and spent the next hour and half thoroughly enjoying ourselves. It wasn't until we were halfway to the library that I realized I had forgotten my camera, so pictures will follow once the library opens to the public in about 10 days or so. It was a camera-worthy event and I don't think I've been so impressed by a building in Vancouver before.

There are 5 floors to the library. The main floor has CDs, public computers, a computer classroom, magazines and check-out cubicles. There's also a young adult area which will be very popular. A new feature at the library called My Lucky Day (books in high demand that are set aside for first come, first serve) is downstairs, too. I discovered we could check out books today and I scored the new Ann Patchett, State of Wonder. The second floor is an administrative area.

The third floor was my favorite. It's the children's floor. This is where I really wished I'd had my camera. I'm not sure I can describe it without pictures, but let's just say the overall message is explore, learn and share with your child. The children's area is like a children's museum with multiple stations for discovery, most of which require some type of cooperation with another person (parent, another child). There is a lot of texture with tiles on the walls and shelves used for matching games, nursery rhyme quotes, covered see-through shelves with miniature collections, teepees where you can read to a small group of children and one that has a play kitchen. There are quiet places to sit and read in privacy, and there is a shelf for adults displaying books pertinent to child raising and other topics about family, cooking, creativity. There is a beautiful painting on the far east? wall that is a mixture of acrylic paint and decoupage. In it there is an assortment of children reading in trees, and there's a yellow Lab. There are an assortment of book titles and covers decoupaged throughout the painting. We spent most of our time on this floor and I know this will be a favorite place to visit with grandchildren (one of these days) or other young children we know.

The fourth floor is the nonfiction floor and besides nonfiction books, there are microfiche machines, more computers, and research material. A very nice employee helped me find career-change books and introduced me to the library's computer job search database. I found 3 career books up here and a few nonfiction books that caught my eye.

The fifth floor was the fiction floor. The books are separate from the indoor reading area (which also houses a fireplace) and there's a magnificent outdoor reading deck facing Mt. Hood and the Columbia River. I was a little cautious about going out on the deck because it's high, but the deck is landscaped and you can be out there without feeling like you have to look down.

I left feeling very excited about having this library. I know I'll be spending a lot of time there. So much thought and planning went into this library and I'm so proud of it! I hope the rest of Vancouver loves it like I do. It's going to be getting some national attention - it's just that special!

July 4, 2011

2011-07-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

I had the day off and had a lazy morning having breakfast at Panera with Lyn and taking the dogs for a walk in Cascade Park (the park that has the dog park, not the neighborhood). We came home early from the park because Ardella was not connecting with us at all. I think the fireworks are taking a toll on her and we'll stay close to home this week. I watched a video on using the Gentle Leader for class and I adjusted the nose part of the GL for Ardella and fed her venison while she wore the Gentle Leader and lay beside me on the couch while I watched the video. I took her for a short walk down the street and back and she did great. I think I'm switching to the Gentle Leader for awhile.

I took off for the humane society about the time the awful band on the loud street behind us started up. I'm afraid we're in for a horrific night tonight between the fireworks (some of which I know have to be illegal) and the band, and I'm sure obnoxious drunken behavior will be part of the package, too. I wouldn't be as grumpy about this, but I have to be up at 6 a.m. tomorrow for work.

The shelter wasn't busy, so I got acquainted with a few dogs. I first took out Aimtree ( or something like that). He was a big red Lab mix and he reminded me of Madeline. He was 11 months old and he barked a lot, but he was very excited to be out and I thought he was sweet and would be great once he went to school. I walked 8-year-old Gloria, another Lab mix. I don't know what else she had in her, but she had a brindle coat. I liked her, too. Then came Casey, my favorite. She was a 6-year-old black Lab mix (yes, I like Labs) and I think she has a temperament that would work with Ardella. I doubt she'll be there when I get back, but I'm keeping an eye on her. The puppies that were born in the surgery clinic when I was there were back. They are a Springer spaniel/border collie mix and look very much like their Springer mother. They came back from foster on Friday and, not surprisingly, are all adopted.

I'm asking for more volunteer time and I talked to the volunteer coordinator about a new volunteer position she created today that will entail giving adopted dogs and cats to their adopters after surgery. I would be going over instructions about after surgery care, among other things. I had asked for something that would give me more public contact because I didn't get that when I worked in medical transcription. I'm on the list and training will start once we have a whole team. I like it because it's an extension of the surgery clinic duties.

Just three more working days! I hope the week goes fast.

Lion's Club Fireworks stand, July 2011

2011-07-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Ardella and I spent 4 hours at the Lion's Club firework's stand today with Sherbert and her raisers helping to sell fireworks. We had spurts of business, and business was picking up in the early afternoon when we left. This is Guiding Eyes of Clark County's main fund-raising event. It was fun to see people come in excited about the 4th of July, and even though I don't love fireworks (because Aidan suffers so much from the loud noise), I caught a little of that excitement. We talked about dogs with people and at least one family inquired about puppy raising.

Once again, I was so happy with Ardella. She only panted in the sun with one exception when someone came in with a cane, but she responded quite well to the focusing exercise we've been working on all week. It helped keep her calm and it kept her engaged with me. She and Sherbert got along well, too. If only all dogs were as calm as Sherbert! Sherbert also did really well with me doing food rewards with Ardella - it didn't phase her. She's a beautiful black Lab. I missed Kristin after spending time with Sherbert today.

Here's sun-loving Sherbert (really, she kept trying to lie down where she could reach the sun):

Here's Ardella, who preferred the shade:

After I left and got Ardella settled at home and talked to Lyn, I went to the library to pick up a book I had on hold. I decided to stay and browse because I haven't done that in awhile. I did come home with more books than usual, including a book called Men Who Knit and the Dogs Who Love Them. There are a lot of dog sweater patterns as well as beds, kerchief, treat bag and toys. I also got 2 other knitting books and a variety of novels and I picked up the list of the July through December book group list. I've missed the luxury of browsing. I need to do it more often. There will be another special library post this week. I can't wait!

Upcoming weekend

2011-06-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

I just finished the end of week 1 before layoff. It was kind of a tough day and felt weird knowing that people are training for responsibilities I (and other teammates) have done for almost 6 years. I'm not resentful, it just feels weird to see life will go on without us. I imagine this is what it felt like for others who have been laid off the last 2 years or so. I feel like we're sort of living a version of The Hunger Games! I have a fear that I'll only be able to search for medical transcription jobs when I start searching, which will just lead to more of this layoff drama as this is a dead, dead, dead end job!

Ardella started a beginning class at CJs dog training this week. It's a beginning class, but is different from other click classes in that the emphasis is on making the dog-human relationship and not so much learning sit, stay, and down commands (most of the dogs seem to know these commands already). Our first task, which we received before we started, was to work on getting our dogs to look at us and reward them for doing so. We're using this exercise to help our dogs settle while waiting for others to arrive. We aren't encouraged to interact with one another and we aren't to let our dogs interact with other dogs - all the attention is on the dog. This is a little hard for us because Annalynn and Karren are also in the class! Ardella was quite distraught that her other favorite dog/human did not look at her or acknowledge her presence and she barked her hurt feelings. They had a brief greeting at the end of class where Annalynn immediately tried to hump her and Ardella started doing the Labby Scoots, which prompted the instruction that we were not allowed to let dogs play together. We'll have to work on learning to ignore sister in class! Fortunately, we have assigned seating and AL and Ardella are sitting in a row and can't see one another most of the time. They both did well with the class exercises, however.

I return to surgery clinic tomorrow and on Saturday I am putting in a shift for Guiding Eyes of Clark County/Lions Club fireworks stand (yeah, me). It's the main fundraiser for the club. It's also the first time I'll have been to a club event since late January. I'll be looking at this as job training - everything is going to start looking like that!

I'm fighting the desire to eat myself out of house and home, so I'm off to the community center to walk fast around the indoor track.

Planning free time

2011-06-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

I found this Wiki-How article on my Google page today. I'm embedding it for future reference. It has some good advice on how to spend free time, which I'm going to need, especially when it comes to spending time on Facebook. Am I crazy to feel excited about this change?

How to Fill Your Free Time With Useful Things

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Sudden changes in our lives can open up periods of free time that we didn't have previously. Lots of free time might come about through change of lifestyle, retirement, career changes (getting laid off, etc.), having your kids leave home, or graduating from school or college. Or, it may be that you've decided to take out time to find yourself amid the constant structure and hubbub of daily life and you're purposefully making more free time available. Or, as is the case with many people, you may simply be seeking a way to make better use of the free time that you do have, in between everything else you do in your busy life.
However much free time you have and whatever the reason behind it, filling your free time with useful pursuits is a way of increasing your creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and sense of fulfillment from life. Using free time productively can help you to overcome the inability to relax because you're scared of "just doing nothing". And ultimately, using free time in a way that feels beneficial to you will ensure that you feel well-rounded, engaged fully in life, and very much a productive human being. In this article, you'll have the chance to explore various ways of filling your free time with useful and fulfilling activities.

Steps

Make a plan for your free time. Free time will only become useful to you if you've focused on it and how you'd like to use it. Simply expecting free time to turn productive, creative, or fulfilling won't bring it about because you haven't thought about the process needed to fill that time effectively. Your first realization should be that it is up to you to "do something" about making your free time work better for you; it isn't going to come from somewhere or someone else, only from your choice to make it useful time. Your second realization is to make up your own mind as to what you define as "useful". Relaxing, doing nothing, rejuvenating, and thinking are all "useful" activities if they lead to a better, more fulfilled life. Don't couch your "usefulness" in terms of what you think you ought to be doing but what you know will make you feel more productive, engaged and contented in life. Here are some possible planning ways for you:
- Write down a list of the things you'd like to be doing in your free time. You can rank it any way you like, or treat everything as equally important on it; that's up to you.
- Keep a journal about your life and include how you'd like your life to be. Be sure to describe the activities you're trying out in your free time so that you can evaluate whether or not they are worth continuing to do.
- Create a visualization board that sets out the ways in which you'd like to spend future free time.
Leave certain things out of your free time. If you want your free time to be truly useful, don't allow non-free time things to bleed into it. The reason for this is that your free time is needed to refresh you and improve your energy, your creativity, and your sense of self. If you let the usual mundane activities of everyday life creep into your free time under the pretense of being "useful", you won't gain anything from your free time and you will have very loose boundaries between free time and the rest of your time, thereby devaluing your free time. Some of the things that it is suggested you don't do during free time include your usual work or chores, answering emails and voice messages, watching TV, constant action (free time needs to include some spaces for daydreaming and reflection), and playing with electronics if you tend to lose your sense of time with "gamer brain". Instead, set aside "catching up on work time", "internet time", and "responding to emails time" as distinct and separate activities from your free time.
Expand your comfort zone. One of the great ways to use free time usefully is to discover new things and to find out that you have dimensions to yourself that you weren't even aware of before. By stepping beyond your usual comfort zone, your free time becomes a useful journey of self-discovery and helps you to grow. Moreover, it helps you to stay interested by sparking your curiosity and broadening your awareness. Some of the things you might consider doing to expand your comfort zone include:
- Trying new things that you've always wanted to try but make excuses for not doing, including by saying you haven't "got the time" – use your free time!
- Doing things you loved doing 10 years ago but have let go by the wayside since. Pick them up again and see where they take you this time. It will probably feel odd getting used to something you haven't tried for ages and possibly time has caused things to change considerably but enjoy the challenge involved in renewing your interest.
- Write down the things that excite and energize you. Look for activities and experiences that will bring this about for you.
Change your approach to media usage. Turn off the TV and leave it out of your free time. Think about creative ways to use media in your free time instead. The internet allows us to be in charge of the input that is circulated through media, providing you with ample opportunities for turning your free time into a useful means for getting out creative, practical, or informative messages that you'd like to share with the world. How about creating a video that highlights something you're passionate or concerned about and then setting it free on YouTube? Or perhaps you can write some poems or short stories and add them to a blog. Maybe music is more your thing and you'd like to compose a song and share it with people online. These useful uses of your free time will tap into your creativity and give other people something they can cherish, enjoy, or learn from as a result - a win all around!
Try volunteering. If you've already volunteered, you'll be aware of the benefits it can bring. If you have enough free time to give of your time to others in need, this can be a very fulfilling way to give back to your community or society. And even better – you get to choose what to volunteer in according to what you believe in, and what you think is most important. Search for volunteer opportunities through asking people you know who already volunteer, by searching online or in the volunteer pages, or asking people who work in places you'd like to volunteer for. Whatever your level of experience, there is likely to be a volunteer opportunity for you and with time, you can build knowledge, expertise, and reputation through volunteering and find it becomes an incredibly fulfilling experience that helps many others.
- Some ideas for volunteering include web work/newsletters/wikis for charities, thrift store helper, fundraising, soup kitchens or cooking/catering, animal work (wildlife reserves, zoos, animal rescue or training, etc.), joining a conservation crew, volunteering overseas, making things for people in need, running a club's museum/display/tour activities, etc.
- Volunteer as much or as little as you like; even consider volunteering in different places at different times, to give yourself some variety in both experience and the people you meet.
Consider downsizing and reorienting your lifestyle. If you find your free time has been hampered by having to deal with a large house and all its maintenance and cleaning, gain more free time by removing the clutter and even consider purchasing a smaller residence. Perhaps move closer to a place where there are plenty of activities that you'd rather be doing and that are not on offer where you currently live to make up for a smaller residence.
- It can take months to clear long-accumulated clutter from your life. Give yourself the time but also set a deadline by which everything is to be sorted and out of your life for good.
- Hold garage and yard sales to get rid of things you no longer need to keep. The money can go toward your free time activities.
- Avoid seeing downsizing as depriving yourself of a certain standard of living. Once you've freed yourself of high maintenance requirements, you'll soon learn that the additional free time you've earned is worth a great deal more.
Learn for the sake of learning. School, college, university, and continued learning on the job are usually focused on getting us into gainful employment. Sometimes learning for the sake of learning is lost underneath all the deadlines, necessities for grades, and fears of keeping jobs. Learning within free time can be free of these constrictions and can be completely left field from our chosen professional path in life, free from the usual reason of honing skills to a specific job or promotion. Always fancied yourself getting involved in archaeology, ballroom dancing, jewelry making, wilderness first aid, or hang-gliding? Use free time to immerse yourself into learning these things for the sake of learning them, without having the pressure to achieve beyond the goals you've set for yourself.
- Even consider going back to college to broaden your knowledge.
- Ironically, even though this type of learning may seem unrelated to what you do in the rest of your life, it will still be beneficial because it increases your ability to understand the world better, provides you with new ways of seeing things, and equips you with new skills that may well be applicable laterally, allowing you to "think outside the box" and come up with new, creative solutions to your everyday activities.
Indulge your hobby or pastime. Free time is an excuse to get fully involved in doing something that you consider to be a hobby or pastime. Hobbies are useful because they give you the opportunity to expand knowledge, improve skills, and to be focused, diligent, and switched on. Moreover, a hobby allows you to enjoy yourself as you immerse yourself in the intricacies of it. Be sure to reach out to others in the same hobby so that you can connect, share ideas, and brag. This is one area where showing off now and then does no harm provided it's all in good fun and you return the favor by complimenting the efforts of others in your hobby too.
- Even within one hobby there are many roads to take to keep yourself occupied. For example, art and craft is a filled with ideas for possible hobby angles; within painting alone you could investigate acrylics, enamel, encaustic (wax), frescos, gouache, inks, oils, heat-set oils, water miscible oils, pastels and dry pastels, oil pastels, pastel pencils, spray paint (graffiti), tempera, watercolor, sketching.
Turn cooking and gardening into joys instead of chores. These two activities can be a burden or a major source of therapeutic unwinding and inner joy; it really depends on how you approach them and giving yourself free time to explore them will open up the possibilities for seeing them as useful and enjoyable things to do in place of a chore.
- Pull out a cookbook and try some new recipes. Or look in your fridge and cupboards, then search online for a recipe that uses those very ingredients (for example, search for "broccoli pineapple jalapeño recipes"). Spend an afternoon baking and learning how to use new techniques you've never tried before. Throw a casual dinner party for people you really care about.
- Redesign your garden or change your approach to what you grow in it. Cacti are amazing plants that grow gorgeous flowers, and they're almost impossible to kill. Or you could try herbs which are easy to grow, fun to use (in cooking or in crafts), and keep coming back year after year. Or how about creating a meditation garden or a Persian garden?
Spend more time with your pets. If you haven't already got a pet, now might be a good time to get one. Pets require regular care and can help you to create free time simply because of their need and that can only be good for you, especially if you have workaholic tendencies! Look for a pet from a local animal shelter and you'll save the pet's life and become the center of each other's world.
Focus on your spirituality. Free time is the perfect time for all things spiritual because you give yourself the space to unwind, reflect, and think about the bigger picture and life's purpose. Whether or not you're religious, spiritual time is an essential part of being human and tending to this side of yourself is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. There are many paths to learn about and acknowledge your spiritual self and you can begin by reading and learning all you can. Other things you might like to consider doing with your free time to increase your spirituality include:
- Learn to meditate. Sit quietly for 20 minutes and breathe naturally. Count your breaths, up to 10, then start over again. The idea is to have something on which to focus, so that you stay holistically present and don't drift off mentally (which you will do, by the way!). Centering prayer uses similar methods in a Christian context. After several weeks of daily prayer or prayer, you may begin to notice positive results in your life: more calmness, better concentration, more focus, more understanding of how negative the usual mental chatter can be.
- Join (or return to) a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple. This is a safe way to meet interesting people and to get involved in your community. (You don't even have to be all that religious if you aren't already – Unitarian Universalists, while coming from Christian roots, are known for welcoming and including people of other beliefs, including agnostics, atheists, pagans, free-thinkers, secular humanists, and liberals of all types.)
Get friendly. Finally, but most importantly, don't hide yourself away all the time when it comes to free time. Reach out to others and spend time with people you care about. Make regular get-togethers with friends, hang out spontaneously now and then, and catch up with family members you haven't seen for awhile to see how they're doing. Even if you're not keen on spending a lot of time socializing, build at least a small amount of it into your week to ensure that you're connecting with others in ways that are free of the constraints of time, obligations, and work/self-imposed deadlines, so that you have a chance to share ideas, have fun, and be re-energized through your connections.

Video

This video explains how to find that free time and then how to honor it.

Tips

Stay in good physical shape. Free time provides a good opportunity to keep up your fitness levels, whether it's a daily walk or a gym workout; how you stay in shape is up to you.
One way to appreciate life more is at the end of the day, before you go to sleep, write five things from that day for which you are grateful. It may be hard to think of five things at first, but it's okay to repeat things from previous days, and you'll find yourself looking for good things throughout the day to write down at night. This will improve your outlook on life.
Take your time trying out new experiences. Something that initially seems hard may start to grow on you and it's more rewarding when you've stuck with it.
Don't over commit. You don't want to ruin the fun by piling on too many things to do. Free time should be enjoyable, not frantic.
It's your time. If you decide to move on from a church or volunteer group, or to discontinue a hobby, that's okay. You are the first and last judge as to what is a good use of your time; other people's opinions are only their own opinions. Remember, it's your life, so make the most of it!

Warnings

Some organizations like the I.R.S. (USA) require that you save financial papers going back 7 years, so don't declutter paperwork without looking at it first.
Shred paperwork with personal information such as Social Security numbers or bank account numbers before tossing, to prevent identity theft.
When keeping a journal, don't be strict about punctuation, handwriting, how often you write, etc. You'll only discourage yourself. Write whatever, however, and whenever you like (unless you're also trying to improve your writing skills).
Check with your doctor before you start any fitness program or strenuous physical activities. By the same token, don't let you put this off; your doctor will be pleased to learn you want to start something new and will only prevent you if there is good reason to do so.

Things You'll Need

Planning book or visualization board
Journal
Volunteering opportunities
Hobbies and associated gear

Related wikiHows

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Fill Your Free Time With Useful Things. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

All Lab Play Date, June 2011

2011-06-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today was the early summer All Lab Play Date at LexiDog in Lake Oswego. It was a gorgeous day and many, many activities were going about around the city. BJ and Saul met us at our house and I drove us to Lake Oswego. It was hard to find parking because there was an art festival and a farmer's market in downtown Lake Oswego, and we had to circle a few times before we found a city building that allowed public parking.

I had arranged to have Ardella be in a room with another calm dog so she wouldn't feel so overwhelmed by the activity on the floor. She was put in a room with GDB puppy Kelga (I think that's how her name is spelled) and she seemed to like Kelga, but after being in the room a few minutes, she wanted to get out of the room and join the other dogs! Kelga stayed by herself in the room because being a guide dog puppy, she can't be involved in rowdy play or play with a lot of the toys that the other dogs could play with. She sure was calm and patient and seemed content to watch.

Ardella went on the floor with her tail wagging, which was a change, and the first thing she did was to stand between a series of 2 people so she could watch safely, as is her typical pattern. I think that's pretty smart. However, she ventured out on the floor with the other dogs, first observed and then even approached a few to sniff and get acquainted.

Everyone commented on how much happier Ardella seemed today and I think part of the reason she was happier was this wasn't a busy day and there weren't as many dogs as usual. She's had two good visits in a row now, so I hope she will continue to feel more comfortable in group settings. She has yet to initiate play with a dog, or accept an invitation to play, but we'll get there. She definitely likes people and will seek attention from people before any dog. She alternated between being on the floor and resting beside people, as seen here resting by BJ and Kelga.

Saul was a happy boy and really got into playing tug. I love Saul - he's got the same sweet personality as his brother, Santino, and he's so adaptable in all kinds of situations.

I made a new friend who liked the smell of food in my treat pocket. This is Riley, another GDB career changed dog that I really liked. I love his smile.

It was a relaxing and enjoyable Lab play date. I got to enjoy talking with other people and met and interacted with more dogs than usual. I'm looking forward to the next time. BJ wants to go again, and I'm hoping we'll be taking Karren and Annalynn with us. Many thanks to Lexidog staff who helped make today a good experience for Ardella!

Not making lemonade yet

2011-06-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

The dreaded meeting was what I thought it was. It's the end of the Salmon Creek team and that was sad. I emoted all the way to Portland by listening to Dixie Chicks full blast in the car and was downright cheery when I got to the meeting. The doomed feeling of my job ending for the last 2 years was about to end and that was a huge relief! I'm a little more sober and sad this evening. So many possibilities in the future - a new job, possibly going back to school, possibly taking the summer off, being able to read, knit, and catch up with friends, take a small pet massage class, work more often at the humane society, puppy sit, go back to Friends Meeting, go swimming every day at the local community center. So many fears - will we lose our home and be homeless, what if there are no jobs (search this evening wasn't promising)... So much information to process, so many forms to fill out!

I'll survive.

Now for some Dixie Chicks music:

When Life Throws Lemons...

2011-06-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

Bummer. Looks like my short summer vacation may be an endless one. I got a notice to attend a mandatory meeting tomorrow...

This year sucks, plain and simple!

Swim with the Sharks card group project

2011-06-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

My mother has a group of friends she plays cards with every Friday. When they were initially planning the group, one of the friends told her husband about it and he declared it sounded like "swimming with sharks." Thus, the name of the group.

One of the group traditions is to give one another 5-dollar gifts on birthdays. My mother asked me to knit dish cloths to give as gifts and I've been asked to knit about 30 of these. This is what I've been doing all year. So far, I've knit 5 or 6 but I sent them on before I took a picture. Here's the latest:

I'm trying to find green cleaning recipes to send along with the cloths and I may expand to dish towels and grocery bags. I haven't been motivated to do any big knitting projects this year, but the cloths have been the perfect short project and they're fun to knit. I may do this same thing for neighborhood gifts this Christmas.

Now that it's summer (tomorrow), I hope to expand my knitting projects for Christmas. I also have a niece giving birth to twin boys and I'm determined I'm not doing another Mason-Dixon baby blanket. Any suggestions for twin blankets would be welcome, I'm just not seeing any patterns I like.

I'm also planning some things for a puppy club auction basket for Fun Day and I've got several projects I need to finish from last Christmas. It should be a busy summer.

A mystery solved

2011-06-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

For the last 6 months, or even longer, we've been getting mysterious objects in our yard. It started by being food, followed by toys. We thought it was children in the house behind us throwing things in our yard, but they moved away and we still kept getting weird things in the yard. Then we started getting one garden glove, several months later we started getting pairs. These gloves would not be in the yard in the evening, but would appear in the morning when we got up. We soon began to suspect someone was coming in our yard at night, though the dogs never barked and we never heard anything, and there were never any tracks. We started getting a little uncomfortable, especially when the garden gloves became pairs and were rolled up together. Lyn contemplated calling the police several times, but he always put it off. We kept trying to figure out what kind of message someone was trying to send us. Did we have a Boo Radley in our neighborhood? Were teenagers daring one another to deposit things in our yard? Was someone using garden gloves to signal to someone that our house should be robbed? We had a few weeks' reprieve and then we got a pair of gloves two days ago that disappeared the next day. I consulted Facebook friends to see if anyone could help us figure out what garden gloves in the yard meant and everyone was stumped. We started thinking about sensory lights and hidden cameras.

Well, the mystery was solved today. My 2 neighbors, Jana and Olga, came over to our house with a pair of gloves and these toys in hand:

They saw the thief with their own eyes:

It was our cat Theo. He's been stealing objects in yards all around the neighborhood and depositing them in his friends' yards. He brings them to the front and back yard, usually makes a "look what I found" sound, and leaves them. Jana has lost several pair of garden gloves, and has gotten other objects in return. Olga got toys. We always get garden gloves. I have no idea what Theo is thinking, but I'm amused that he's bringing us gloves - I guess he notices Lyn working in the yard a lot.

I'm amused and certainly relieved that we don't have a mysterious person watching our house waiting to cause us harm. My son was telling me about a cat thief on a You Tube video where the family had to have an "ungarage sale" to give back stolen objects to neighbors. It looks like we'll have to start saving the collections and put a sign out for people to come and collect their missing items.

Salmon Creek Trail

2011-06-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

We're a little bit weary of bad weather and decided to thumb our noses at the horrendous pollen count and venture forth on a new (to us) trail. We had to stop at Ardella's vet office to get her vaccination record for a class we'll be taking with her, and we were closest to the Salmon Creek Park Trail and decided to go there.

Ardella and I at the beginning of the trail:

The trail course follows Salmon Creek:

We enjoyed this pond where we saw many turtles sunning themselves, including this little guy on a log close to the shore:

We also saw a heron perched in a tree. He's right in the middle of the page, toward the lower part where the trees meet the blackberry bushes:

We saw a lot of nesting boxes, Lyn was thinking they might have been for owl, but I'm not sure.

We enjoyed wild flowers:

We walked about a mile and then had to abruptly stop. You may have heard we have had a lot of rain in the Northwest this spring. There was water on the trail as far as the eye could see, so we turned around and went home.

Salmon Creek Park is very nice, and I'd like to walk further on the trail. I think we'll return again on a cool summer or fall evening, after the weather has been drier.

First kitten foster, 2011

2011-06-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

Lucy has gone and the day she left I got a call about a foster kitten. Kitten season is off to a late start; we wondered if our spay and neuter program was making a difference, but I think it's weather related. This is a singleton. He's 5 weeks old, seems to be healthy, and just needs to get to 2 pounds before he's allowed to live in the humane society.

He's very active and hard to photograph. I'll have him for about 2 weeks, and hopefully will have a name soon.

Hey, Madeline!

2011-06-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday!

I hear that no news means good news, that you must be progressing well and are on track to return to campus. I look forward to seeing your name on the phase list and tracking you from there in a few months. Meanwhile, I hope you have a special day!

My Heart Dog and Hero

2011-06-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here is Ardella, resting in her favorite chair and sporting a new blue and pink kerchief after donating blood this afternoon.

Ardella was a brave donor and did fabulous for her first donation. Ardella recognized the doctor and technician who worked with her last time and went willingly to the donation room and sat down immediately in front of the food jar. She was given a few treats and then was lifted on the table and restrained while an area on her neck was shaved. The area was cleaned and the needle inserted (she didn't even flinch) and she donated about 2 cups of blood without much of a fuss. She seemed pretty relaxed and resigned to staying still in one position for the 7 minutes she was on the table. I stood at her head and did T-Touch circles on her mouth and ears and we talked to her. After it was over, Ardella got a big purple bandage wrapped around her neck and was fed a meal of canned turkey dog food that had a lot of water in it. She also got water and a few biscuits.

Ardella blood got spun and separated into platelets and red blood cells. What she gave will help 4 other dogs. All the handling work we did when raising Ardella through Guide Dogs paid off in making her an easy dog to handle for situations like blood donations. Also, being a Lab, she's very food motivated and loves attention from people, further qualifications for this kind of job. I was told that not many Labs have the universal negative blood type, but she definitely did, and it's likely that her brothers and sisters have it too.

We left with NW Veterinary Specialists Lifesaver Blood Bank stickers for our car window, a year's worth of Heartworm medication that also is a flea, hookworm, round worm and whipworm preventative called Sentinel, and a record to keep of blood donations, vaccinations, etc. I was told to not let her run for 24 hours, and to let her veg on the couch all afternoon. As you can see above, that is what she is doing.

I was very proud of Ardella. She still doesn't like car rides, and got anxious in the car, but she was a champ once in the clinic. She will next do this again in 3 months.

Edit: Here is an article from WSU that talks about the blood donor program and that corresponds with the information I received.

Four months ago, when I had Ardella evaluated to be a therapy dog, I was told that we needed to work on improving as a team. I had not realized we needed work, but after observing dog/people teams at an Canine Good citizen/pet therapy dog evaluation, I realized what that meant. Our relationship was rather wooden and mechanical when we were out walking and it was quite easy to tune each other out. I worked on rewarding Ardella for looking at me when we were out walking, and we talk and play and work on enjoying each other's company when we're together. I think it's paid off. I am not ready to have Ardella be part of a pet therapy team, because I don't think she'd like this at this point in her life, but I am enjoying Ardella a great deal and I feel we communicate much better now. She's my heart dog and teacher. I feel lucky to have her in my life.

Postscript on Memorial Day

2011-05-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 pet-related resources for veterans that I have been following.

Pets for Vets - I recommend the U-Tube video.

This is a service that offers foster care for vets while they are serving:
Guardian Angels for Soldiers' Pets

The reunion videos are wonderful!

Memorial Day post

2011-05-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

I finished the book by Luis Carlos Montalban Until Tuesday last week and I'm making it a Memorial Day book recommendation. It's about a Gulf War veteran and his service dog, Tuesday, their life before and after they met, and their lives together after training. I learned a lot about PTSD and how debilitating it can be, and also learned about work the Army did in Iraq. The author has a great love of the Army and for the men and women who served in the Army, and is an advocate for those who have been physically and psychologically scarred by their time in service.

I was fascinated by Tuesday's upbringing and want somebody to read this so I can hear more opinions (not criticism - the method works but is a new concept to me). He was raised for a service dog organization East Coast Assistance Dogs that uses multiple trainers to avoid the dog becoming attached, saving their big attachment for the person to whom they'll eventually be partnered. Part of the training is with children through the Green Chimneys' Program in New York, which was a thrill to me, since I became familiar with Green Chimneys a number of years back when I was learning about service dogs and animal therapy. My feeling has been that dogs learn to love people by forming close relationships in puppy years, and I don't see how delaying an attachment can help a dog form a strong attachment as an adult dog. I know there are a mixture of ideas about working dogs and attachment out there.

I loved the book, loved the way the author told his story and Tuesday's story, as well as the connecting stories of the people who touched Tuesday's life in his beginning years. The book is apparently making the NYT best seller list and I'm glad it's getting attention.

Anyway, I'll be thinking of the dogs that have served in wars in the past and all the ways they continue to serve home and in the field.

Lucy will be leaving us this week at my request as she really needs a foster home with fewer animals and more one-on-one attention.

I have been asked if I'd like to puppy sit a GDB puppy this month and I've said yes, I would. I have been watching Growing Up Guide Pup to freshen my memory (up to episode 54) and, quite frankly, I was gobsmacked by this series. Raising Ricki looked like fun, there was no mention of dog domination or hard corrections or dogs seeking to take over our lives if we let them; there was more work on repetition in exposing dogs to desired behavior and use of watching as a way of desensitizing distractions. There was lots of praise for success. I was impressed that Ricki learned how to not do her business in public at an early age (that part has always been rocket science to me). I loved how her family introduced her slowly to everything and the variety of outings they went on. Everyone was relaxed, enjoyed the dog, and... well... I was in shock. I recommend this series to anyone looking into raising a puppy. Decisions have been made regarding Ricki this week, and that's also why I started watching the show from the beginning.

Surgery clinic was educational this week, as usual. I learned how to give fluids and how to scrub instruments. I'll be learning more about making up surgery packs for cats and dogs in the future.

I have the day off tomorrow - yay! Ardella starts her job at the end of the week. I promise I won't take any pictures of her donating blood.

Ardella's new job

2011-05-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

I worked an evening shift yesterday and needed to get up later this morning since I couldn't go to sleep right after finishing work. I sat down and played Angry Birds on the Nook (I hate that addictive game!) and played until I got sleepy. Around 6 a.m., the time I usually start work, I was starting to wake up, but was still dozing, and this whine started interfering in my dreams and would NOT let up. Suddenly I was playing Angry Birds in my dream and trying to knock out the whine with one of those big birds. It finally dawned on me that the whine was Ardella. Her internal alarm clock said it was time to get up and eat. So much for sleeping in later this morning.

I had coffee with Karren and Ravenna, a lab cross Karren is puppy sitting for her GDB puppy club. Ravenna looks a lot like a Golden Retriever and has a soft personality. I got all verklempt when meeting her, she is a dear soul. Having a Golden Retriever in my life is on my dog Bucket List. After visiting, it was approaching time to work, so I went home and found I had a message on the phone from the veterinarian blood bank telling me that Ardella's blood work was back, everything was great, and they were thrilled to tell me that Ardella has a universal donor blood type. She starts donating in June and will do so seasonally until she's about 7 years old.

Lucy has looked at Aidan and sniffed him a few times since I last wrote and actually lay on the dog bed with Ardella yesterday afternoon. Two of the cats are hanging in there, one won't come home. So, we're making some slow progress. I got the book The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller and I'm going to start the 6-week training program as outlined in that book. Lucy wants to please me and Lyn (especially Lyn) and I'm hoping the training we can start will allow us to do more socialization and desensitization outside the house.

Edit: I looked down at my feet after writing this and found Ardella and Lucy sleeping together in the space under the computer desk. They're actually touching!

Getting beyond my limitations

2011-05-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today in surgery clinic I learned to get beyond an emotional limitation. I brought out a very pregnant cat into the surgery clinic to be spayed. I've done that before - it hasn't been a problem for me to know a pregnant cat is being spayed. However, this cat went into labor while we were medicating and prepping for surgery. Laura and I called this to the attention of the vet and lead technician, but they told us they would just move her up on the schedule. Intellectually I know that there are too many unwanted cats in the world and that spaying is the best solution in controlling the horrendous numbers of unwanted cats. My emotions got in the way because the cat was in labor and I felt the cat would have a hard time physically and emotionally because of being in labor. I did express that this particular spay might be out of my comfort level and I got a lot of support from the staff for feeling that way and they said that they would give me other things to do, that I did not need to watch or even have to take care of the cat during recovery period. The lead tech also took me aside and told me that kittens born in a shelter do not fare well at all. Stray cats that are pregnant often have malnourished kittens and the kittens get sick easily and die even if mother and kittens go into foster situations. The philosophy of the shelter is to take care of the mother cat and help give her a chance at adoption as a loving pet. That perspective enabled me to get beyond myself and continue to stay through my shift. I did take care of the cat after surgery - actually 3 of the volunteers did - and I was even asked if I wanted to learn how to give fluids to cats (which the pregnant cats need after being spayed). Life went on and I had new appreciation of everyone in the Friday clinic. It feels like we have a cohesive working team now and I continue to learn from everyone there and stretch my limitations.

I have to smile about little Nora, a chihuahua we spayed today. She's pretty skinny and had a hard time waking up and maintaining her body temperature. She sat up and stared at me, blinked her eyes, and I thought it was time to take out the tube because she was so alert. However, she went right back to sleep, which is something we don't want the animals to do. I would have to turn her over, or someone would work on her ears to try to wake her up. What did work to wake her up was to take her temperature. She didn't like to be poked "down there" and she let me know this was not acceptable to her. After she was recovered enough to go back to her kennel, I saw Nora sitting up and watching us. It was like she was guarding her tail region, determined we wouldn't dare take her temperature again.

On the pet home front, Theo started urinating blood. We thought it was bladder crystals, but then Willow started doing it. After about 4 visits to the vet in a week's time, my vet decided that my cats are unduly stressed by Lucy. Lucy isn't particularly cat aggressive (really not at all, actually), but she will charge after the cats as they try to get to their litter box and food, which is blocked from the dogs by a baby gate. They're afraid to use the litter box and aren't eating and drinking as much as they should. Stress can cause cats to urinate blood. More than the chasing though, it's Lucy's energy. Lucy is a very unusual dog and she doesn't make the cats or dogs comfortable. After talking about it with one of the surgery volunteers, who is also a dog massage therapist, the best way to describe Lucy is as a dog who "isn't in her body." I think another term for this is that Lucy is not grounded, at all! I came home with some grounding work to do with Lucy and I'm about to go get her a t-shirt to wear. I'm also going to start putting Rescue Remedy on her ears (as well as the cats'), diffuse some lavender essential oil, and get some Feliway and the dog equivalent to help everyone's nerves. We all need to calm down in this house and I hope these techniques work! I can't even begin to take Lucy to training until I get her more comfortable in her own body.

Dog Bite Prevention Week

2011-05-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

It's Dog Bite Prevention Week starting today. The majority of dog bites happen to children and so there has been a push to educate children about behavior around dogs. I'm calling attention to 2 educational websites I'm following on my blog. Doggone Safe is a program that teaches children about dogs, dog body language and how to stay safe around dogs. Take the quiz about dog body language and see how well you do. I missed 2 questions.

I hope to be a grandmother in the very near future and I'm noticing a lot of my children's friends talking about starting families. They often think their dog will love their baby as much as they do, but unfortunately that is not always the case. When I was walking a dog I was puppy sitting recently, a mother with a young child wanted her child to meet the dog I was walking. I didn't really object, but the dog did. Unfortunately, it was difficult to direct the child on how to behave around the dog because he was too young and too excited. The dog did not growl or bite the child, but the body language of the dog was such that I felt that things could escalate if we didn't leave. I sought advice from a forum I frequent about how to help toddlers and babies around dogs. The reply was essentially that I couldn't do anything about babies and toddlers, that was the parents' responsibility, and babies and toddlers really did not need to meet dogs. I was given the url to the site Dogs and Babies. I highly recommend reading the posts on not magnetizing a baby or toddler to dogs. This concept was an eye opener and made a lot of sense to me. I want to call attention to the site because I notice that one of the reasons so many animals are given up for adoption at the humane society is for the reason that parents worry about the interactions of the family dog with their baby after the baby is born. I think the demagnetizing posts offer a way for people to manage the baby-dog mix without having to give up the dog. I don't plan on giving up my dogs when I become a grandmother, but I will certainly manage grandchild-dog interactions and work to make sure everyone feels safe in the household.

The second recommendation was for the Dogs and Babies website author's runner-up Canis Film Festival movie Dogs Like Children They Feel Safe With. I actually used the technique of asking the dog when a child asked me if he could pet Ardella at the Pet and Companion Fair. He asked and then assumed I'd say yes and went forward to pet her before I could give an answer. I had him wait, turned to Ardella, saw that she had her back to the child and wouldn't look at him. She was in a stressful environment for her anyway, so I showed the boy how she was reacting and told him no, it wasn't a good time for Ardella to meet him. Ask the dog! What a concept. I like it.

Northwest Pet and Companion Fair 2011

2011-05-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

Ardella, Annalynn, Karren and I attended the Pet and Companion Fair yesterday. Ordinarily the fair is in April, but the organization changed hands and rescheduled the event. I think this was unfortunate as it was also the day of SW Washington Humane Society's big fund raising event and they couldn't attend (and they are one of the biggest sponsors of the P&C Fair). I think the change of dates threw a lot of people off and there weren't as many vendors, but I enjoyed the ones I interacted with. Here were the highlights.

Northwest Truffle Dogs How cool is this?! Dogs searching for truffles, and there's a demand for it! Ardella and Annalynn both took the evaluation and both did well. Should we go through the training, the likelihood of Ardella becoming certified are very good. I'm always looking for an activity the 2 of us can enjoy and searching for truffles is very appealing.

Dogs Assisting Diabetics was a favorite booth. Karren knew a person in her club who raised Carlos for her High Hopes puppy raising club. Carlos was career changed and went into Dogs Assisting Diabetics. He has now graduated and apparently his match was perfect and we heard a lot about how wonderful the relationship is. Carlos has the ability to alert his handler and the handler's doctor.

It is always fascinating to me how a dog's nose works and what has been done with dogs because of their superior scent ability. The day I took Ardella to the vet specialists blood bank, the blood bank evaluators and I were talking about this and one of them mentioned the story about dogs in the Puget Sound area that were being used to find Orca whale scat in the ocean. The University of Washington is using the dogs to track Orca population in the area and the scat is one of criteria used to track them. I've searched and found this story. Apparently dogs are tracking a specific butterfly in Wyoming and I read a similar story about dogs in Oregon tracking a rare plant by locating the eggs of a particular butterfly species.

I was interested in Deaf Dogs of Oregon because MARS gets a number of deaf dogs due to the merling syndrome like Lucy has. I'm excited that there is a local group of people who get together and work with one another. Apparently, training is not much different than training a dog that can hear, and dogs that are deaf and blind can compete in agility. They also had a pamphlet on a rescue group that adopts "lethal whites" or Aussies with merling syndrome called Amazing Aussies.

I was thrilled to see a long-time favorite organization called Project Pooch at the fair this year. This was one of the original groups that captured my attention when I first learned about the human-animal bond. Sometime in my life, I'd love to adopt a dog from this program.

Ardella did okay at the fair. She was a little nervous, but could be distracted. It helped that there were treats at tables and that she could participate in the truffle evaluation. There was some leash pulling to the point of choking, so I stopped at a table selling Freedom No-Pull Harnesses and had her fitted. It felt a little unusual to me, but it seemed to work like a dream and Ardella seemed to feel more comfortable in the building. The harness reminds me of some of the leashes that T-Touch people work with dogs to help with balance and confidence, which may be why Ardella felt more comfortable. I guess it felt like Ace wrapping or a Thunder shirt to her. I have found that Ardella likes to be bound to something when she's around a lot of dogs. She's more comfortable in dog parks when I put a leash on her, for instance.

It was a fun day. I hope more vendors can be there next year and that the dates don't coincide with other big dog events in the area.

Friday in the Surgery Clinic

2011-05-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

MARS requested that I visit the humane society yesterday to meet Missy, a 6-year-old Aussie that MARS will be taking into rescue. She had a repertoire of tricks and a sweet disposition, had been raised with children, and was obviously toilet trained (she held it until we got outside even though she needed to go badly). She seemed like a very nice dog and she was put on the surgery schedule for next week. Guess who was the first dog on the schedule this morning? Yes, Missy! I was able to be there for her when she was recovering from anesthesia. She did well and will be ready to go into rescue soon.

We had an eventful day, albeit a short one. There was a Springer Spaniel (age 10, mind you) giving birth to puppies in one of the surgery kennel rooms when I arrived. I think she had 5 puppies showing up on ultrasound, and had given birth to 3 or 4 by the time I left. They are Border Collie/Springer spaniel mix. I am so tempted to keep in touch with these puppies. I want a spaniel mix as our next dog and watched some of this litter be born. We'll see. My next dog in a perfect world will also be a black dog.

Miss Lucy is doing well. She has seen an ophthalmologist and has a condition called merling syndrome. This is a congenital syndrome often seen in unethical breeding of shepherds and can result in a constellation of problems like blindness, deafness, cardiac abnormalities, epilepsy, etc. Lucy seems to have a few small cataracts that may or may not grow. Her eyes are very small and are a bit oblong. The doctor felt she might have astigmatism, but she can see and hear. I have learned that Lucy has great recall. She was chasing a squirrel, I called her to come to me, and she immediately stopped chasing and returned to me. She also goes instantly to her kennel when asked to kennel and will hang out in her crate willingly, even if the door to the kennel is left open. She's very trainable and MARS would like me to work with a trainer (they'll pay). I'm very excited about doing this as it will need to be a trainer that uses positive training techniques.

Ardella visited Northwest Vet Specialists in Clackamas today to see if she would qualify for their blood bank program. I was a little nervous about taking her there, but she was a trooper. Actually, it was probably one of the highlights of her life - she was fed cookies by 2 adoring evaluators the entire time and totally forgot about me and the fact that she was having blood taken for CBC, chemistry testing and blood typing. They loved her there. I was so proud. The blood bank is looking for Rh negative blood types as they need universal donors. Should Ardella qualify, she will give about 2 cups of blood approximately 4 times a year. She'll be fed lots of cookies and get doted on while donating, and will get a year's worth of heartworm/parasite preventative medication. She'll be saving the lives of other dogs. I think it's a perfect job for her and I really hope she has the blood type they need.

The Pet and Companion Fair is tomorrow. I'll be going with Karren and Annalynn. I'm hoping to find more interesting things to do with dogs in the Portland/Vancouver area, and will report back what I find.

It's also been 3 months since Madeline left. It's still painful, but I've done a lot of soul searching and I've learned so much about dogs as I have been reading mainly dog books for the last 3 months and put myself on a study program. In short, I'm into positive training and relationship-based methods. I realize that I'm not a person who has ever been able to raise by the book or by rigid rules - I'm not an all or nothing type of person. The long version will wait for another post.

A song I love

2011-05-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

The following song has nothing to do with the stormy events of the last few months - tornadoes, tidal waves, threat of job loss, silly accusations about legitimacy of birth certificates, the bravery of protesters in North Africa and the Middle East, or the killing of Osama Bin Laden - though I acknowledge things have been crazy. I just discovered Dougie MacLean this weekend and I love this song. Love the pictures of lightening, too.

Video doesn't work, so I'll embed a link instead. Here's the man himself singing the song:

Ready for the Storm

Safe for now

2011-04-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have mixed feelings about it, but I was saved this round of layoffs. I'm not immune to future ones, but I have a few months' reprieve. I'm mourning the loss of the ones that will be leaving, including my former supervisor.

Finally spring!

2011-04-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

We had our first 70-degree day today and we took advantage of it. The rain returns tomorrow.

Annalynn came to spend the day and surprisingly, 4 dogs is easier than 3. Annalynn is going to be spending the weekend next weekend and we got a head start in seeing that things will run smoothly.

Lyn and I went to the Farmer's Market with Ardella so I could buy a few local items for a yarn swap that I need to send out Monday. We found this flowering maple (salmon color) and brought it home.

Ardella made a lot of friends and the Canine Clean Water folks took her picture in her new blue bandana. They also gave us a cool scooper. The aim of Canine Clean Water is to have people clean up after their dogs. We always do that, but I really liked the bandana and the pooper scooper is supposed to be handy in cleaning up hard to clean up business.

On the way home from the market, we stopped at Trader Joes and Petco. Ardella and I went inside Petco and the greyhound rescue people were there at an adoption event. Ardella met a male greyhound and really liked him. I am considering fostering greyhounds down the road and think they will be a very compatible breed for Ardella.

When we got home, Lyn and Lucy finished the island and pathway Lyn has been working on for about a week. Here are a few shots of it - Willow helped lead me around.

Lyn took out all the grass, built an island, and rerouted the path.

While I was out taking pictures in the garden, there were a number of hummingbirds in the yard. This is a picture of one sitting in a tree. It's hard to see, but if you look at the tree in the background on the far left and go until the sun stops hitting the trunk, the hummingbird is right at that point. You may have to enlarge the photo to see.

Here is the hummingbird flying to the feeder, and that picture is followed by the hummingbird feeding.

Lyn has been feeding the hummingbirds all winter and I gave him some nesting material for hummingbirds for Christmas. I've observed the hummers taking nesting material so I'm hoping we will be feeding a few more soon.

This evening Lyn and I took Ardella and Annalynn to walk on the Lacamas Lake trail. We went around dusk, and it was a nice end to the day. Ardella did very well on the trail and my work with getting her to pay attention to me while walking worked beautifully tonight. We passed dogs jumping in the water and people on bikes and people passing on the trail and she looked to me each time, even though I know she wanted to go greet or watch the dogs. I could tell she was thinking and that she had learned what I wanted her to do. I was so proud! Annalynn did just as well with the dogs jumping in the water and walked with us without pulling. She only got excited once and Lyn ran with her and that helped get her calmed down. It was a relaxing walk and I can't wait to do it again next weekend (hoping the weather cooperates).

Ardella and Annalynn on a wall at the beginning of the trail. Ardella is sporting her Canine Clean Water bandana.

Paved part of trail:

Lake view from deep-shaded part of forest:

Lake at dusk:

Lyn took Lucy and Aidan for a walk together when we got home and that worked very well. I think it's nice that Aidan has a dog he can see at eye level. We're going to have to rethink this 3-dog limit.

Surgery Clinic Friday

2011-04-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

We've been a bit short-handed in the surgery clinic lately, and today we didn't do any spay and saves for the community - all the animals were humane society animals, including several dogs. We had a dog that had been in lost and found whose people came to the humane society to reclaim her, and since the dog was a pit bull mix, we offered to spay her before she went home. No one knew this dog's name, but I just called her sweetie, because she was a sweetie.

We had a 7-month-old yellow Lab that I found myself gravitating toward and I didn't leave surgery clinic until she had recovered enough to pull her tube. I fell in love with her. She had a black spot on her tongue - she was so cute! She was quite noisy in her kennel, so I took her for a walk, which calmed her down quite a bit, and of course I had more time to bond with her.

There was a Persian kitten there named Radio who had a neurological deficit and could not walk without losing his balance. He is considered a special needs kitten, but it is felt there will be a home for him somewhere. We had 2 other litters of kittens, so I think kitten season is upon us, although it has been slow to get started. We've had quite a few puppies, too. Today some shepherd/flat-coated retriever mix puppies came in. There was a Dalmation/cattle dog mix puppy named Erik, the last of a litter of 5, who was one of the puppies born to the Dalmation that I talked about in an earlier post. It takes every ounce of will power not to come home with a new dog every week!

I have picked up a dog socialization shift on Sundays and have promised more help if I'm laid off. Really, I'm not looking forward to being laid off, but no one will have to threaten to pull teeth to get me to spend more time at the humane society.

Lucy is coming along. She sees an ophthalmologist on Monday and I'm investigating having her spayed at the shelter on a Friday when I can be there with her. Lucy ignores my other dogs, but wants all the attention for herself and doesn't like to share it. She is food motivated and is responding to sit before getting a treat and is learning to sit and wait for her dinner. She follows me everywhere I go and is sleeping by my feet right now. She has such an endearing personality. Once Lucy is neutered and her eyes are checked, we'll be looking into having a few sessions with a trainer. I don't think Lucy will ever be a herder, and I doubt that she can do agility, but I'm sure there's something she can do. I'm not sure how much she can see, though it is apparent that she has some vision loss. Hopefully the trainer can give us some advice that we can pass on to the lucky person who adopts Lucy.

I Love Lucy

2011-04-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Like a lot of things in life, I have a hard time making up my mind. An alert came across on Facebook for this beautiful mini-Aussie and I was available and I'm now fostering for Mini-Aussie Rescue and Support. Meet Lucy:

She's a sweet dog and has basically ignored Aidan and Ardella (Ardella is grateful) and really loves attention from people. She's a little anxious when one of us leaves the room, but she's only been here since about 2 o'clock. Lyn picked her up since I was working, so she has attached herself to him. Lucy has cataracts and has some vision impairment. I'll be taking her to an ophthalmologist at some point to get another opinion. Other things to work on will make themselves known, but right now we're just getting acquainted.

Surprise garden guest

2011-04-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Aidan was frantic to get outside this morning, went straight to the pots by the bamboo and started frantically digging and whining. I didn't see anything so thought it was a mole, but Lyn came outside and told me to get Aidan inside and to go get the camera.

We're guessing this baby fell off mom's back while she was crossing the fence highway. We're hoping she'll come back. In the meantime, I'm Googling what to do with an abandoned baby possum and we're having to keep all the animals out of the back yard. I'm not fond of the adult possums, but I think this is one of the cutest babies I've seen in a long time!

Edit: We consulted with the humane society and my veterinarian and both said that the baby would need to be euthanized, that even a wildlife rehabilitator would put a possum to sleep because they are considered an invasive species. However, when we captured the possum and I took it to the humane society, they felt that the possum was older than I had originally thought and may have started venturing out on its own. I took it home and a neighbor and Lyn released it in a wooded area near our home. At least it has a chance now.

See how it shines

2011-04-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Gracie went home on Tuesday. Laura and Joe had spent 22 hours on a plane flying back from Thailand and were eager to see Gracie, as they had missed her a lot, so she went home on the 12th and not the 13th.

Before Laura and Joe left for Thailand, Laura asked me what I wanted them to bring back for me. I said something crafty. Right before Laura came over to get Gracie, she sent me some pictures of a silk scarf weaver from Chang Mai, as seen below.

In order to get the silk strands are unraveled from cocoons that have been boiled and degummed, and then silk threads are hand wound onto an apparatus like this (there are many varieties of winding machines).

This is what the silk looks like in a skein that is ready to be dyed.

The skeins vary in texture, and I read that the cocoons have 3 layers of silk texture, the outer layer being the softest. I don't know for sure, but I think that's what this picture depicts. I also think they mix the two or three textures in the scarves. They look coarse, but are very soft.

After the skeins are dyed, textiles are woven on a loom.

Finally, this is the scarf that Laura and Joe bought for me. They couldn't have picked a more perfect color. I've been buying this color for clothing all spring and it reminds me of a sunset. The picture I took makes it pink, but it's really more orange, or pink-orange, or coral. I don't know what it's called, but I love it!

I took a full-length picture of the scarf, but it didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. The weather has been AWFUL, and when the sun comes out, I plan to add the scarf in its full length.

I've been reading some about Thai silk since I got my scarf and have a yen to take a trip and do something like a Thai homestay in a weaving village. I'll just have to get over that 22-hour plane ride!

Having Gracie was a lot of fun and I enjoyed having a puppy in the house again. I could get used to being a puppy sitter for people.

Walking with Golden Bond Rescue

2011-04-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

I've been exploring different routes to take in foster dogs and Golden Bond Rescue has been an interest of mine for some time. They have walks in Portland that are open to the public and today Lyn and I accompanied them. We were supposed to walk around the Sellwood bluffs and then go to Oaks Bottom refuge, but the path to Oaks Bottom was closed, so we walked around Sellwood neighborhood and Westmoreland Park. Lyn and I took Ardella. There were about 10 dogs with humans, most not Goldens, but Golden Bond is nice enough to include any breed that is well behaved and leashed.

Walking through Sellwood, enjoying the spring bulbs and cherry blossoms:

Also enjoying homes in Sellwood:

We took a walk through Westmoreland Park and enjoyed more cherry blossoms, ducks, and geese:

We walked about 2 miles, which took about 40 minutes. I did learn a bit about Golden Bond and think I would enjoy fostering for them. I've not made up my mind, but I sure will take more walks with them in the future. The walk was good socialization for Ardella. Although initially a bit excited by the other dogs and smells, she quickly settled down and was a pleasure to walk.

I'm starting to adapt the techniques from Turid Rugaas's book My Dog Pulls, What do I do? and I'm adapting the attitude that walking a dog should be pleasurable and not a demand performance every time we walk. I am starting to tolerate a little bit of sniffing, for instance.

Accompanying this book, I've started reading Suzanne Clothier's Bones Would Rain From the Sky and I think it's the best book I've read, ever, about relationships with dogs. I want to underline everything. I'll talk about it more after I'm finished.

Work news is not good. I really do expect there will be a lot of layoffs in the next few weeks. Lyn and I looked at some park-side trailer homes at an RV lot today to see what a tiny house looks like. It is doable, but we would have a ton of down-scaling to do. I think we'd go with a greener home, too; the formaldehyde off-gassing from the trailers made me feel sick.

We're looking into chickens and more intense vegetable gardening for the summer. Life is going to get interesting.

Save Lennox

2011-04-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

As a follower of Victoria Stilwell's blog, I've been following the story about Lennox.

Follow the link to Victoria Stilwell's blog and learn about the world-wide plea to save this innocent dog and to fight breed-specific legislation. The family is going through a court appeal tomorrow. I hope the court does the right thing!

Gracie's weekend

2011-04-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday was All Lab Play Day and I took Gracie and not Ardella because my daughter wanted to have her dog meet Gracie after she played with Labs.

Gracie was a little overwhelmed with the Labs and we spent a lot of our time in a quiet area practicing tricks.

Gracie was well received, but I wish I could have taken Ardella. Ardella will be there next time.

Gracie and Gizmo were instant best friends!

Gracie and Gizmo play, a photo by mgordon542002 on Flickr.

They had a similar play style which was endless:

205066_1326422856403_1705881288_574524_3570997_n-1, a photo by mgordon542002 on Flickr.

They would play and play and then stop to catch their breaths:

205410_1326423016407_1705881288_574526_5788901_n, a photo by mgordon542002 on Flickr.

200158_1326423416417_1705881288_574529_5258788_n, a photo by mgordon542002 on Flickr.

They played until they got exhausted and took a nap.

208482_1326423656423_1705881288_574531_2249486_n, a photo by mgordon542002 on Flickr.

We also took the dogs to New Seasons for lunch. We took turns going inside to choose our food and holding the dogs outside in the dog-friendly area. Both dogs did very well and people commented on how good the dogs were.

It was tropical fruit day at New Seasons and I got to sample a lot of fruit. My favorite was something known as a "custard apple." I bought one and we ate it last night. It has huge seeds which I later found out were neurotoxic. We had to eat it last night and were very careful to dispose of the seeds. I enjoyed it, but don't think I'll be bringing something like that in the house again.

We had a good day and I'm glad Gracie got to play with Gizmo. We just need to get them together for another weekend day.

Gracie

2011-03-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

This is Gracie. We're puppy sitting her for 2 weeks while her people are out of the country. She's a Goldendoodle and is about 4-1/2 months old.

Gracie is as sweet as she looks. She's a people person and has wonderful recall. I've taught her how to "touch" (or target) already and she's bopping my hand with her nose consistently. Her fur is like angel hair - very spinnable, but doubt I'll get any since she isn't a shedder. She likes to jump all over Ardella, but she isn't biting hard. Gracie likes soft toys and I bought her a bunch so she would have something to do while sitting in my office with me when I work.

It's great having a puppy in the house again. I have a problem of falling in love with every dog I get acquainted with. Now I want a Goldendoodle!

When Mimi put the cork collection dog motif journal covers she was selling on her blog, I had to order one. I also ordered a treat pouch - the purple one with dots. I couldn't think of anything to put on the pouch since I have 2 dogs, so Mimi decided what to put on it. In my order, Mimi added an antler and a paperback book cover.

Here's the pouch inscription.

You were right, Mimi - I loved it! Thank you! All the dogs wanted the antler, but I'm making sure Aidan gets it most of the time - it's perfect for him!

Tallahassee Nursery

2011-03-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

This is my last picture-heavy post about Tallahassee. My mother took Lyn and I to Tallahassee Nursery and I went nuts with the camera. There are no memories here, it's just a great nursery and indicative of what can grow in Florida besides palm trees. My mother doesn't think Tallahassee has a lot of plant variety, but I think these pictures show that it does. Tallahassee is in the Florida panhandle and resembles Alabama and Georgia more than the better known southern half of the state. Tallahassee is a town that regularly gets Arbor Day nominations and it's a bird lover/naturalist's dream come true. Enjoy the pictures.

Wind chimes in yurt-like structure:

Fountains and pools:

Gazebo overlooking large pond:

Resident turtle in pond:

Statues and sculpture for yard:

Lizard - see him?

Benches and rocking chairs:

So, that's our Tallahassee trip for 2011. I think we stayed away from home long enough that everything looks better than it did when we left. I always feel that we were crazy to leave Tallahassee, but now that I'm home I know why we chose to live here in the Northwest. Life has gotten busy again and we have a guest for 2 weeks. More about that tomorrow.

St. George Island

2011-03-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

No trip is complete to Tallahassee without a trip to St. George Island. We went to the island last Tuesday with my parents and their dog, Marley.

St. George Island is a barrier island off the Gulf coast of Florida, about 70 miles or so from Tallahassee. It is about 27 miles long and 2 miles wide at it's greatest width. This is one of my heart places. It was where we came to vacation as a family every August as my father needed a place to get away from it all for 4 weeks. When we vacationed at St. George, the only way you could get to the island was to take a ferry from East Point. We would take 2 cars and leave one on the mainland, the other would go on the ferry. We would launch a motorboat and half of us would go with my father in the boat, the other half would go with my mother on the ferry. We used the boat and the second car to get groceries in Apalachicola once a week. This was a favorite outing. Two of us would get to go get groceries with my father and every trip inland ended with root beer floats and a choice of a comic book. The 3 that didn't get to go on the trip inland would get to go fishing.

St. George was full of wildlife, birds, wild boar (we called the baby pigs The Plump Pigs), sea turtles (it was magic when the turtles came to lay eggs or when the babies hatched), dolphin, sharks, fish, crab, shells, birds ... Sliding down dunes on cardboard was a fun thing to do.

I loved the beach - you could walk for miles on white, sandy beaches and the water was really warm (I will never get used to the Pacific - it's way too cold for me).

Shells were plentiful. My favorite shells were coquina shells which would wash up with waves and bury into the sand. They were colorful and looked like little jewels. There are some coquina shells in this group of shells, but they're open and you can't see color. Shells used to be thick like this all up and down the beach.

Star fish and whole open shell.

Cuttle fish:

We stayed in a cinder block house on St. George. At one point realtors were offering free lots to anyone willing to build on the island. It was a plain house with concrete floors and 2 bedrooms. It had a large screened porch where we spent most of our time when indoors. There was no air conditioning, but I don't recall ever missing it.

This is the house now. The screened porch has been built over and there is a new slanting roof, but I still recognize it. It's pretty small by St. George standards today as there are many houses on the island, some costing 4,000,000.00 on the exclusive, gated St. George Plantation end of the island.

People started flocking to St. George in the late 1960s when a bridge was built. Cinder block houses gave way to fancy 3-story homes and apartments and changed the appearance of the island. Fortunately, a state park was created at the east end of St. George and the beach still looks like it did when I spent summers there as a child.

Gulls congregating on dunes:

Sand piper - my favorite bird on the island:

Dune with sea grass (forbidden to pick this now, though we once loved to run our hands down the wheat-like stalks and pull off as many of the seeds as we could).

Sand crab hole:

We call them sand crabs, but I believe the crabs that live in these holes are called ghost crabs. My father used to tell my brother Dave and I stories about Sandy the Sand crab and we found out the hard way that Sandy Sand Crab's hole is not the way to a wonderworld - if you reach the crab we discovered it has a powerful pinch!

Jelly fish (yuk):

There are 2 sides to St. George - the beach side and the bay side. The bay side is grassy and marshy and has very different flavor to it. The bay side when I was a child was where all the swampy land was, where the mosquitoes were thickest and where we saw snakes when we went to empty the garbage at the dump. People started building on the bay side though, and the state park also built pathways back into the marshland as well as built some camping areas. I've come to love the bay side of the island. This is a pathway that leads to an overlook of the bay:

The view of the bay:

The state park is open to the public during the day and there are a number of pavilions where large groups can gather to picnic. We ate our lunch at a picnic table outside the pavilion because dogs aren't allowed in them.

Dogs aren't allowed on the beaches in the state park, either, so we went to a beach in a residential area where they were allowed. I was upset about that until I saw a sign warning of alligators in the campground. Dogs chase wildlife and the wildlife is protected - of course the rules protect dogs, too. Marley wasn't that impressed with the ocean, but he was very interested in the smells around the sand crab holes.

We had a beautiful day at the beach. We drove away and I took another look at the ocean. A school of dolphin were rolling close to where people were swimming. We went past a few more houses and when I looked at the ocean, I saw more rolling dolphin. I couldn't get a picture, but I'll be back to St. George next year.

Maclay Gardens

2011-03-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

Tallahassee has a gorgeous state park in the middle of the city called Maclay Gardens that I used to visit when I was growing up in Tallahassee. My family left Tallahassee when I was 13, and I have not been back to garden to visit for many years. Lyn and I were looking for something to do on Saturday afternoon, while my parents were attending a neighborhood party, and we went to Maclay. We picked the very best week to go when the azaleas, camellias and bulbs were at their peak. To top it off, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Brick pathway on way to Maclay house:

Big live oak with Spanish moss on the brick pathway:

At the house, I learned that Spanish moss is not a true moss. It is a member of the pineapple family and actually flowers - I believe the blossoms are very hard to see because I've never seen a blossom on Spanish moss. I always avoided getting the moss next to skin as you can get little red mites that we called chiggers that burrow under skin and itch like the devil (voice of experience).

Dogwoods are one of the trees that come to mind when I think of Tallahassee. My mother says dogwoods are dying out, which saddens me.

The path leads to the Maclay house, which was open, and we were able to tour. I didn't take any pictures of it, though I believe there are pictures on the web site I linked to above. The rest of the pictures are of flowers and trees that we viewed along the say.

The wall garden:

Creeping fig growing on the wall - a nice alternative to ivy:

Azalea closeup:

Camellia:

Wisteria:

Then there are the ponds and the pools:

I believe this is the Black Pond, but it really is this color of green:

This is the reflection pool. When I was a child, this pool meant you were at the end of the trail and we could go home. It's very peaceful and faces a lake where there are other trails that we didn't get to explore on this visit.

This picture is of a cabbage palm tree and the stuff that grows on it is indicative of how cellulose turns to fiber. This looked like something I could spin on my spinning wheel.

Here it is on the ground where it looks even more like fiber.

That is a pretty good representation of what we saw in the gardens. There are many other things to do there. Picnicking is favorite activity and so are weddings. There are horse trails, walking paths, bird watching areas, among other things to do in the park. I can't believe I stayed away from this garden for so long. I will certainly make it a habit to return whenever I go back to Tallahassee.

Tallahassee 2011 - Where we stayed

2011-03-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

I've returned from my eagerly awaited yearly spring vacation to Tallahassee to see my parents. They are living in a retirement community there called Westminster Oaks, but it's in a city where they spent their adult years and where they have many friends, including many that live in the same retirement community. Though my parents made some sacrifices (like a big roomy house for family to gather), they gained a lot of security moving to a place that will provide every level of care that they will need, regardless of financial status. Once in, they're in for life. There are levels of care from living in a house or duplex, to garden apartment or apartment complex, to assisted living, memory center or nursing home. The nursing home has some of the highest ratings in Florida, seldom has deficiencies, and the turnover is very low. In fact, there is money set aside for any CNA to further her/his education, something that few nursing homes can offer employees.

Right now, my parents are living in a stand-alone 2-bedroom house.

Like all houses there, it has a screened porch (alternative is sun room).

Picture from inside:

Picture from outside:

We spent a lot of time on the porch in the late afternoon. There are a lot of trees to provide shade. Most of the house properties have a park-like feeling around the property. There are no fences. This is a picture of the side yard.

There is yard maintenance provided to residents, but my mother still has some choice to do some planting and she has a few shrubs and flower beds around the house. This is one of her potted plants on the front walkway to the entrance.

The front porch has a number of potted plants and shrubs, too.

There is a lot to do for residents. My parents go swimming daily, at a time when there is no one else in the pool. I accompanied them this time and the pool was clean and warm. We did pool exercises and then sat in the hot tub with powerful jets that cured every ache and pain in our bodies. I tried to get a picture of the pool on our last day, but there was a class and I hesitated to take pictures of people without permission. This is a picture of the patio outside the pool house.

The grounds are covered with shaded walking paths and I found Westminster Oaks a great place to take a walk. This is the pathway we took on our way to and from my parents' house. We were staying in a room set aside for guests.

There is a lot of entertainment at night. We attended the Broadway Review, a program put on by senior Performing Arts students from FSU. This is a program where they perform the Broadway musical pieces they use for agent auditions in New York City. The school was funded by Burt Reynolds and is considered to be one of the best in the country. The students are all highly sought after, so it's one of the favorite entertainment events. This performance was held in the new auditorium that was being finished last year when we were in Florida. There are many other events like orchestra and musical instrument performances, choral performances, lectures, classes, etc. We are apparently missing a guitar performance this week. Florida State University is a popular supplier of intellectual and musical content. This is my parents and brother Dave at the musical revue. Dave was useful in supplying a Blackberry to look up the musicals where the songs came from. Thanks to Dave and Google, we were able to find one musical and I've forgotten it already.

Note my father's suspenders. They were greatly admired and my father was Mr. Fashion that night.

I didn't have an opportunity to take as many pictures of the grounds at Westminster Oaks as I would have liked, but I'll have more opportunities. I just wanted to give a taste of what it's like where we stay when we go to Tallahassee. It's a beautiful city and there were so many times when Lyn and I asked ourselves why we ever left. I just have to keep reminding myself of the months of June, July, August and September (and then there's that governor).

The Great Santino

2011-03-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm in Tallahassee and have a lot of posts to make regarding the visit, but thought I'd wait for those when I get back to the Northwest. I got to visit with Norine and wheelchair guide Santino today at the knitting shop where we originally met, and thought I'd post about that for Santino's puppy club and puppy raiser.

Santino and Norine are doing very well. Norine calls him her tall, dark and handsome guy, and says he is a wonder guide. They recently went by train to New York City from somewhere in New England on the day of the New York Marathon, so NYC was more crowded than usual. Santino navigated Norine down 15 blocks of 5th Avenue and back again and did not once run into a person or miss a curb. The trip was so successful that they did it twice. Norine says Santino is the best guide she's ever had. She's quite fond of him, and the feeling is mutual.

Santino sitting on command.

Standing in harness.

When Norine feeds Santino, she sets his food bowl on the floor, Santino sits, Norine says a blessing, and says Amen, which is Santino's prompt to eat. This was so enjoyable to watch that he got to eat twice - once for me, once for Lyn. This picture is a little blurry, but it's taken right after the Amen.

We had a nice visit and already have plans to see each other again next year. Norine says to say hello to Lynda and club, and thank you for raising the most amazing guide dog!

Some finished objects

2011-03-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

I've knit 2 pair of socks this year, just finished sock pair #2.

These are the socks I just finished. They are fraternals (don't match exactly) because they were knit with an already patterned sock yarn. They are knit from Opal Harry Potter sock yarn in the Hedwig colorway. I don't know how this pattern relates to an owl, but I like the green/taupe/off-white colors together. Opal is no longer manufacturing Harry Potter colorways, so this is the only one I'll ever get to try. I think Opal is a little scratchy, but there is something satisfying about seeing the color and pattern take shape. The pattern is from one of my Charlene Schurch sock books and it is called Garter Rib. I like rib patterns with variegated yarns.

The second pair is a pattern from my friend/knitting teacher, Betsy McCarthy's book, Knit Socks, the revised version. I think the pattern is called Straight Lace, and the sock yarn is Stonebarn Fibers, 100% merino, in colorway Cat Tails. I love the colorway, but since it's 100% merino with no nylon (unlike the Opal), I don't expect the socks to last beyond a season or two. I've worn them a lot and they're already beginning to felt and pill around the heel flap. I loved the pattern.

It's been 6 weeks since Madeline left and we haven't heard anything about how she is doing. It's like she disappeared into a void. I miss her frequently and hope she's doing well.

We've been thinking about a mini-Aussie for a few weeks and we visited with one on Tuesday and then again on Friday. The dog is really nice, very smart, young and would be easy to train. He has lived with cats and got along with ours, and he has the ability to adapt his play style to another dog's, at the same time will leave the dog alone if no interest is shown in playing. He is being fostered by a professional trainer (operant conditioning trainer) and is learning a lot from her. It's very tempting to want him in our home. He is leash reactive, which I think is his only fault. The visit made me aware that we need to work with our own animals and an additional dog would take away attention I need to pay to Aidan and Ardella. Another thing is the mental stimulation that an Aussie needs and I wonder if I can give him that and again not short-change Ardella and Aidan. I'm not sure what we are going to do. I know we eventually want to add another dog, but I don't know abou the timing. We'll be thinking about it over the next week or so.

In the meantime, I'm looking for dog trainers with CPDT credentials. I've started the book Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt, and I'm going to be making some plans on how to work with Ardella to build our partnership and be more attentive to me. I'd love to see some more improvement around other dogs and I'm thinking about investigating that after we get back from vacation.

Lyn and I are going to Tallahassee later this week - I can't wait. I've been ready to leave town for months!

Zoey update

2011-03-11T11:27:00.001-08:00

She's back at the shelter, damn it! My heart breaks for her. Oh - she remembered me again.

Brigand's Hideout

2011-03-05T18:57:00.000-08:00

I have started investigating getting Ardella involved in our local humane society's pet facilitated therapy group and went to a meeting last week. Karren accompanied me, and for some reason we were the only two to show up, probably due to bad weather and lack of timely information to the public. No complaints - we got the presenter's undivided attention and I made arrangements with AG to have her look at Ardella and I as a team to see if we might pursue this. That meeting happened yesterday. It was a good meeting, but Ardella and I aren't ready yet. AG gave me some good advice on what we needed to work on to be a good team and then invited me to come out to Brigand's Hideout to an event sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Herding Dog Association where there would be sheep herding trials and Therapy Dog International evaluations. AG thought that if I watched the evaluations, I would get a good idea of the behavior they were looking for in a therapy dog, plus it would expose Ardella to a number of dogs and be a good socialization outing for her (yep, we need to work on socializing).

This afternoon Lyn and I took Ardella out to Brigand's and parked beside this red barn where the evaluations were held.

We met upstairs in the barn where the evaluations were being held. The judging took place in the middle of the room, while teams being evaluated sat on the sides. There were many different breeds: Belgian Tervurens, Belgian Malinois, Cairn terriers, German shepherds, Australian shepherds, mixed breeds, Catahoula Leopard dogs, Border collies.

We sat in a corner where Ardella could watch from a distance, though the space filled up pretty quickly. It still gave Ardella a chance to observe from a distance and get comfortable. Here are Ardella and I sitting together. Ardella looks a little cautious, but more relaxed than she often is in settings with dogs. I worked on rewarding Ardella for listening to me and checking in with me even though distractions were everywhere.

The man in the teal coat was the evaluator. He had come down from the Sequim area for the TDI trial.

Teams worked on various things. We were asked to help a Cairn terrier team by being a crowd asking to pet the dog. Mostly we watched people put dogs in sit/stays, then sit/wait recalls, and heeling while walking and turning, ending by having the dog sitting right beside them. Here is a Viszla team beginning the evaluation.

I was impressed about how difficult this really could be. Dogs had a variety of reactions to the crowd varying from nervousness to obvious enjoyment. Some went through the motions but clearly didn't enjoy the testing. Some were very in tune with their handlers and looked to them for direction constantly. This is what AG wanted from Ardella and I. I got an idea of what is wanted in pet facilitated therapy behavior though and we need to work on making Ardella more sound. I'm not sure we can do that, but I think we can certainly improve our work together.

Ardella did okay with other dogs. There was a big Leonberger-looking dog that Ardella felt comfortable with. He was there for therapy dog testing and had a calm manner that Ardella liked. Ardella didn't sit by any Australian shepherds (this was the breed that attacked her when she was a puppy), but she was in the room with them and we thought the exposure would be good for her as all these dogs were well behaved. When we left there was a red Australian shepherd (like the one that attacked her) right next to the door and Ardella cowered and balked about going down the stairs. We just matter of factly kept walking and Ardella followed. When we got downstairs, we realized Ardella was stressed because she wouldn't take the food reward that I offered her (which was freeze dried buffalo - her favorite). We decided to forego returning to the upstairs area and proceeded to just tour the outside fields and watch trials.

Brigand's Hideout is a well-known location for herding dog lovers in Washington and Oregon. People can come out and have dogs tested for herding ability and can sign up to work on herding, too. I heard about Brigand's from a trainer and from Leslie, but this was my first trip. It's a herding dog's paradise!

Here is a picture of a few sheep either resting from herding or waiting for a herding event.

Here is a cattle dog getting a herding lesson:

We had an enjoyable afternoon and I think Ardella enjoyed most of it. Whether she becomes part of a pet facilitated therapy group remains to be seen, but I know we can improve our team relationship and I look forward to doing that. I'll be happy with her as just a pet if it comes to that. I really loved being out at Brigand's, seeing all the dogs and the evaluations, and I'm really happy AG told me about this event. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but I think Ardella had had enough and my experience is that when she reaches that state it's best to call it quits before she totally shuts down.

Favorite Colors swap

2011-03-03T15:17:00.000-08:00

I'm in the mood for a spring yarn swap and have joined one on Ravelry with the Swap Stop.

Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft? I knit and have been serious about knitting for 6 years.

Do you spin? What type of spinning do you do? I don’t know the technical term, just pinch and draw. When plied, I tend to make DK weight yarn. I spin with a wheel, not a spindle.

Are there any other crafts that you participate in? I used to do cross stitch, but since knitting and spinning, that’s all I have time to do.

What are your favorite yarns/fibers? Malabrigo Rios and other soft plied wool (plied doesn’t seem to pill as much as singles do), silk-wool blends, sea silk, wool-cotton, alpaca-silk blends - anything soft and I like fingering, sport, DK and worsted weights.

Are there any yarns/fibers that you don’t like? 100% acrylic yarn; adult mohair and angora make me sneeze, ditto possum.

What is your favorite color? Blue, blue-green, cedar, purple - cool spectrum colors.

Are there any colors you don’t like? Yellow is not a good color for me. I also don’t like neon colors.

Do you have a yarn winder and/or a swift? I have both. I love to wind yarn.
Do you have a blog? You are reading it.

Do you collect anything? Pens, note pads and cards, stitch markers, handmade soap made with essential oil.

Do you like sweets? What are your favorites? Yes. Jelly Bellies, chocolate with crunchy thinks like cookies, pretzels, nuts, crunchy cookies.

What is your living situation like? Any pets? Children? I live with my husband, adult son, 3 cats, 2 dogs and may have other foster animals in the near future.

Are you allergic to anything? Shellfish (chitin), mohair, cigarette smoke.

Is there anything else that you want your pal to know? If there is anything you want to know that I haven’t covered here, please ask.

Ruh-oh!

2011-03-02T14:36:00.001-08:00

Knit Your Own Dog

Search and Play

2011-03-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

Happy March Madness day. I never thought March would get here!

I've read a few dog books this year. There have been a lot written and they're good! I've mentioned Lost Dogs a few times. That is a top 10 read for 2011 and maybe a top 10 nonfiction favorite period. The story behind the Vick dogs, from the team that started the investigation, to the rescue groups and individual stories, I couldn't put the book down. I have since watched the Dogtown second season shows that featured the Vick dogs and it complemented the book very well. I know more than I'll ever want to know about dog fighting, but I can't get enough about dog rehab.

The second book I read was Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership With a Search and Rescue Dog. It was inspiring in a different way. It was about Susannah Charleson and how she got involved in search and rescue, and then how she found the Golden Retriever puppy called Puzzle that she raised and trained to be her partner. This book is about Puzzle and Susannah, their lives at home together with her other rescued Pomeranians, and Puzzle's training in the field with the other team members of their SAR group. There are also search stories that depict what kind of work SAR teams do and how dogs work. I especially enjoyed the chapters about Susannah and Puzzle building a relationship. Susannah perceived Puzzle as a very intelligent yet very independent puppy and in the beginning she felt that Puzzle wanted to do her job without Susannah. How they learned to become a working team was rewarding to read about. I especially enjoyed a chapter on how Puzzle developed a phobia and how they worked through it with desensitization. I was reading this book around the time that Madeline left. One of the things I had wanted to work on was to help Ardella be less sensitive to more energetic dogs (like Madeline), and that chapter was my inspiration (different problems, but both involved fear). I have a lot of respect for SAR groups after reading Scent of the Missing - it's not a volunteer job I could ever do - but I'm glad somebody can do it! I also get goosebumps when I read about dogs helping by doing what they naturally do best.

When I took the Tellington T-Touch class (great class), Ardella actually made social contact with another dog. It was a Springer Spaniel with a softer personality who didn't like a lot of dog body contact. I started becoming interested in introducing Ardella to other compatible dogs because I really want her to have the opportunity to learn to play more. When I first got my Nook, I downloaded Pat Miller's Play With Your Dog and after the T-Touch class I started to read it. I went looking for dog play style information, but got much more than that. Pat Miller does describe dog preference play styles and I was able to identify Ardella as a softer dog, but one who also enjoys chasing games (no body contact). Aidan has a play style much like a shepherd's - he likes to get in the middle of dogs playing and break it up. Madeline was a dog that liked body contact - she would have been a wrestler/body slammer had I let her (and I did not) - but she also could entertain herself in solitary play. Miller suggests getting dogs together who are of similar size and have similar play styles. Aidan and Ardella are not a good play match because of Aidan's size. I need playmates for both of them. Other topics in dog play covered are dog postures and body language, the difference between play and aggression, how to determine if play is leading to aggression and how to break up dog fights safely.

The book builds to the ways that humans play with dogs and encourages more than throwing balls (which a surprising number of dogs really don't like) and playing tug. There are chapters on different kinds of games (object play, shaping, movement, scent games), how to keep play safe, how to play with children and even how to teach a dog that doesn't know how to play to enjoy playful interaction with people. Play is good for dogs emotionally, mentally, and physically. Miller says that families that play with dogs build stronger bonds with dogs and are less likely to give up on them. In addition to learning ways to play with my own dogs, I've gotten a number of ideas of ways to play with dogs at the shelter or in foster care.

I've moved on to another book called Smellorama by Viviane Theby, which is all about nose games for dogs. It has a chapter about teaching dogs to find keys - that chapter alone sold me the book. Smellorama and Play With Your Dog are both Dogwise books. I plan to hit up their table when I go to the Companion Pet Fair this spring.

Happy unbirthday, Kevin

2011-02-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

Kevin is still at 6 birthdays today, though next year he'll get a seventh birthday. Such is the burden of being born on Leap Day.

I started researching Leap Day to find out the statistics of who celebrates on February 28 and who celebrates on March 1, and found out more information than I wanted to comprehend. We'll just stick to February 28, or do what we are doing more and more with our own birthdays and celebrate the whole month.

I also found a web page and Facebook page of the same group called Leap Year Honor Society. They even have a theme song linked below with lyrics such as "You think it's a problem to have your birthday on Christmas..." Kevin didn't appreciate being born on Leap Day as a child, but I hope he's adjusted by now. If nothing else it's a conversation starting subject. Next year it's the real deal. Happy birthday, Kevin. Here's a new song for you!

Find more artists like Rookie Card at Myspace Music

A plug for Independent Book Sellers

2011-02-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

I love Portland neighborhoods. I love the coffee shops, the old houses, the specialty stores and restaurants. I’m very partial to yarn shops and books stores, which Portland has had in abundance. I have been known to choose a place to live or vacation based on how many bookstores and yarn shops exist in a city, and Portland definitely has its share of both kinds of stores. These stores have always had a welcoming atmosphere and are cozy, comfortable, and inviting. I have spent many a rainy afternoon knitting, reading, and browsing in these shops over the years. I also really enjoy going into a store where people are knowledgeable about the yarns/books/local roasts they sell.

We spent some time Saturday going to Looking Glass Bookstore in the Sellwood neighborhood, a bookstore I was delighted to have rediscovered. It had once been open in downtown Portland but moved and I hadn't had a chance to visit. Next to Powells, Looking Glass books had one of the best stocked shelves in town. The bookstore is now located in a red caboose on 13th Street in Sellwood. Though the caboose looks tiny, there is a structure built onto it that enlarges the space quite a bit. Lyn and I both bought a number of books that day and ordinarily I would be delighted with such a score. Unfortunately, we were attending Looking Glass Bookstore's going out of business sale and so our purchases were bittersweet. Going out of business sales are happening far too frequently around here of late, and I imagine other cities are seeing similar events.

I have applied to and become an affiliate for IndieBound. I'm going to be changing all my book links from Amazon links to IndieBound links (which will be slow going). While I get a very small sum of money for any book that is bought through an independent seller when you click on my books, it really isn’t about the money that I became an affiliate. I want to support independent book sellers and I don’t want to lose anymore book stores. I can’t imagine life without Powells or Elliott Bay or Tattered Cover or City Lights or Kepler's in it. So visit IndieBound and order your books/e-books (thank you Google Books) on line from a local bookseller. Look over the extensive book recommendations and find a new favorite or a nearby bookstore to visit. If you want to read a book I post about and buy the book using my links, thank you; but, most importantly, please stick up for the good guys and support local economies and independent book sellers!

A Gift from Zoey

2011-02-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

Lyn and I took Ardella to the dog park on Monday to have Ardella get some experience in meeting other dogs. Surprisingly, it wasn’t crowded on a sunny holiday afternoon, so that was a bonus. We were beginning our walk around the perimeter of the park when we heard a whoosh and then saw a medium-sized black dog run past and then run back to us. She went directly up to Ardella, which Ardella didn’t like, but this dog was persistent. I took a good look, gasped, and then said, “Is that..” “Zoey!” Lyn exclaimed. She took off running and then came running back, and kept this up until we caught up with her owner. He confirmed that it was indeed Zoey, that he had just adopted her, and that they were keeping the name. I told him that I was a humane society volunteer, and had gotten quite attached to Zoey, that I had looked into adopting her, and that I was so surprised that she seemed to remember us. After offering my congratulations and expressing my delight at Zoey finding a home, we walked on. Zoey sped past us one last time and continued running and running and running.

So, thanks, Zoey, for letting me know you have a home and that you can run and play to your heart’s content. Whenever I think of Monday in the dog park, I smile seeing your friendly face. Your happy nature reminds me that life is too short to spend it doing things that cause me stress and anxiety. Since I smile with happiness when I picture you, I know I’m getting better daily, I’m having stress-free dreams at night, my concentration and performance are back to normal, and I feel like life is moving in a good direction. Glad to know you’re in the neighborhood, Zoey, and I hope we run into you again.

A little break

2011-02-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

I learned 2 weeks ago to the day and hour that Madeline was to leave us. I miss having her in our lives, I miss living the dream of raising a puppy to be ready for guide dog training, and I'm depressed as hell. I've gone over e-mail, this blog, puppy reports and I'm just sad, not enlightened. My favorite yarn store closed and all the places that meant the most to me in Vancouver have just evaporated. It feels like I'm living in a new town and I don't like it here. I'm going to be taking a break from blogging for awhile - a week, a month, a year, whatever it takes to be inspired to blog again. I'll journal privately to process this and just stick to filling in my project pages as I complete them or eliminate them (like the one where I find 11 new things to like about Vancouver).

The pressure washer

2011-02-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

Broke! Twice!

So much for my pressure washer. I got 2-1/2 kennel runs washed, but the pressure handle cord exploded and started springing leaks everywhere, so I told one of the tech team leads that I could come back and finish the kennels, but he had to get an industrial strength pressure washer. I was on the last block of concrete, heading toward the finish when it happened. My goal was to push the pooled water out of the kennel at least and then get the moss and algae out and be half-way done with the 6 kennels. The humane society really can justify buying an industrial strength pressure washer and I hope they will get one soon. I love pressure washing, but my little one just isn't made for a big job and 2-4 hours per kennel run is just not fast enough.

I forgot to mention that the volunteer coordinator took me into the volunteer room yesterday to show me a certificate of thanks to me for doing the pressure washing. I was so chuffed! I really do need to finish the job to truly earn that certificate of thanks, though!

Also, the dog that was in labor and not delivering was not in labor. She still has 3 weeks to go. Mom is a Dalmation. I can't wait to see the babies.

I almost adopted a dog yesterday, so it's a good thing I got out of there. I had to do a test meet with my dogs and it didn't work out, Ardella was too shy, Aidan was doing his shrill sharp bark, and Zoey was way too bouncy and displayed a little bit of prey drive that I knew wouldn't work with my two, and I knew it would result in cat chasing, so it's a good thing I got a reality check before bringing Zoey home. When I went back today there was a 5-month-old yellow Lab puppy. I took note, but I wasn't even tempted! Whew!

The Zen of Pressure Washing

2011-02-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

Friday is my day to do surgery clinic at the humane society, so that's how I spent some of my morning. We had a few kinks this week - wilder than usual cats, a dog that had been in heat for several days, was dilated but not delivering, and the cutest Chocolate Lab/Border Collie mix puppy I've ever seen. I got to resuscitate 3 cats before it was 11 o'clock and I had to go.

One of the other volunteers and I started talking about last week and my feelings about it. She gave me 2 good ideas of advice. One was to take at least a month to grieve the loss of a volunteer project that was important to me. The second was not to take anything new on without prefacing the willingness to do it with "provided that." In other words, "Yes, I'll take on this activity, provided that... (whatever specification I needed to make in order to make the job acceptable).

Yesterday, on Facebook, there was a "yelp for help" from the humane society for someone with a pressure washer to come power wash the moss and green stuff out of the kennel runs that are used for socializing and playing with dogs. I thought this sounded therapeutic, so I answered the call and the shelter accepted. I spent a good portion of the day at the HS pressure washing kennel runs. Reflecting on my conversation with Laura, my mantra during pressure washing quickly became "aim, target and wash it away." It was slow going, but seeing small pieces of kennel become clean was soothing and getting large chunks of scum out of the joins in the concrete was surprisingly cathartic. I got one kennel run washed out - they are really long - and I imagine this will be a long-term project. I expect I'll feel pretty grounded at the end.

I did have the Tellington Touch class today and I took Ardella. It was a 2-hour class with another 2-hour class next week. Ardella was a jewel and I'm glad I got the opportunity to work with her. I felt it did strengthen our bond, that she was more attentive to me and that I was more attentive to her. She seemed relaxed in the room with 6 other dogs and was responsive to every part of the body that we worked on (that was ears, head, circular motions all over, mouth and tail). We also did body wraps with an Ace wrap. This is the same idea as a Thunder Shirt, and it is less expensive. You can also use an ordinary T-shirt. Ardella's particular problem of discomfort in a large room with dogs will be worked on next week when we do activities to enhance confidence. One of those is walking a labyrinth - a little different than the ones you see on meditation pages or in cathedrals, etc. The reward of doing T-Touch is that the effects are mutually beneficial to the dog and handler.

I had a busy and productive day today and I'm tired. I'm getting up to do it all again tomorrow. Maybe when I go to the humane society, I'll power wash a labyrinth into the green stuff. (kidding)

Picture of Baby Madeline

2011-02-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

Karren sent me this picture of Madeline that she took right after I left the stage when receiving her on Fun Day in August. She told me she hoped it made me happy and didn't make me cry. It did both. Thanks, Karren!

I also found out the puppy needing heart surgery is not an option right now and I'm relieved. I was worried about transport.

What I am looking forward to

2011-02-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had a lot of things planned and went ahead and did them. Surgery clinic was awesome! There were only 2 volunteers on the morning shift and I was in charge of recuperation, while the other volunteer was in charge of positioning animals for intubation (we're switching next week). I felt pretty confident with the recuperation skills by the time I left, and my ego was certainly boosted by all the thanks I got simply for showing up. I was told I was a "natural" and they appreciated my work. I also walked around the kennels and fell in love with at least 5 dogs that I could have adopted on the spot, if I had been able.

I was with friends on Saturday afternoon, within an hour after Madeline left, and I'm glad we went ahead with our plans. Karren, Ed, Annalyn, BJ and Saul, and Lyn, Ardella, and I went to the Open House for GDB career changed dogs. The open house was the first of its kind with the CC club and we had 2 different talks, 1 demonstration.

The first talk was about a combination of 2 different styles of therapeutic touch - Tellington T-Touch and Acupressure/massage - and dog language, specifically calming signals (See my read booklist from 2009 - Calming Signals - that's the book we talked about).

Second on the program was a demonstration about K9 Nosework, a newish sport that any dog can participate and excel, and one that uses everyday household materials (namely small cardboard boxes). It helps build a dog's confidence and is a nice sport for shy dogs who lack confidence in larger, more competitive dog sports (i.e., Ardella) or older dogs. Here's a picture of Ardella wearing the new ThunderShirt I bought her earlier Saturday morning - I thought she might be more comfortable wearing it in the crowd of dogs. I think it helped.

There are a lot of K9 Nosework You Tube demos on line, here's one that explains the basics:

The third talk was about life in the puppy kennels at GDB. That was a little hard to watch, but I did and enjoyed learning about everything from "the date" to puppies leaving for puppy raiser homes.

We left after 6 o'clock and all three dogs sat in the back of the truck together. They all seemed to enjoy themselves, although they were hungry and needed to go home and eat.

Karren and Ed took Lyn and I out for dinner at a local Thai restaurant and we enjoyed talking about traveling and books, among other topics. It was a refreshing change of pace, I enjoyed myself and forgot about everything for a little while.

I am looking forward to next week when I start a Tellington T-Touch class at Everyday Dog. I had been planning to take Madeline, but I'll be taking Ardella. I'll see how I like this, because I've located Northwest School of Animal Massage with a campus at Oregon Humane Society. I think this would be a useful skill in the surgery clinic to comfort animals when they are waking up, or when working with individual animals at the humane society.

Finally, I've been asked to consider taking in a mini-Aussie puppy to foster who will be recuperating from heart surgery. I need to learn more about the surgery and what is involved in the puppy's recuperation, but I am interested. If this doesn't work out, I may be taking in a shy Aussie to work with and foster at home.

So, I'm going to be okay. I have a lot to look forward to and I'm ready to move on. I still get a little emotional, but most importantly I'm really happy that Madeline gets a second chance and I accept that perhaps I was not the best person to deal with Madeline's personality and issues. The club is going to be meeting to attend Josh's graduation on Saturday to help refocus on GDB's ultimate purpose. I won't be there, but I wish them all good luck going forward. Except for the mystery informants, my club had some nice people in it and many people did help me along the way. In the end, I am grateful for having been given the opportunity to try puppy raising and I'm excited about doing something new.

What I will miss

2011-02-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

The wide, wavy stripe down Madeline's back - it reminds me of inlaid wood.

The little blaze on Madeline's brow, her wrinkles and her dark gold ears.

The way she went into an immediate down/stay position, especially at mealtime.

Taking her to restaurants, ball games, and Meeting. Madeline had many friends and she didn't get to say goodbye to very many of them.

I'll miss her energy in the house. I'll miss so many things and I know those feelings will unfold at odd times and unexpected ways.

I'm disappointed in how the decision was made to move Madeline and how we feel like some of it was made through petty observations relayed directly to the CFR from self-appointed club informants, not through any discussion with us or with our leader. When plan A did not work, the plan B solutions to problems that were promised were never offered. We felt ignored when we offered our observations and felt blamed in the end when the decision was made to remove Madeline. I'll be glad when I can move on. Grief is a process and this grief feels like that experienced in a relationship breakup, which it is.

Last day

2011-02-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

It's been an emotional day and everything is clouded with the fact that it's the last time I'll experience this or that with Madeline. Madeline has hovered over me, putting her paw on my leg, licking my face when I'm visibly upset. I'm going to miss her horribly. I have a lot of emotions about this decision to have her leave and will keep them to myself until I can make sense of them. I don't want to close doors.

Madeline - I love you. I hope you succeed in becoming a guide, but if you do not, our door is always open to your return. I hope I see you again, and remember Friends Never Say Goodbye!

Time to say goodbye

2011-02-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

Things have been tough with Madeline lately, more than I've admitted, and the bottom line is that I want her to be successful and I don't know if she can be successful in my home. I submitted her monthly report yesterday and when the CFR read it, she decided that Madeline should go elsewhere, so Saturday morning Madeline is going to be leaving us. I'm relieved, I'm numb, I'm in mourning...

It's also time for a break from GDB. I'm looking at other options with things to do with animals - fostering, raising for another service dog organization that uses positive reinforcement techniques - there is no shortage of animal volunteer opportunities and I'll be looking for a better fit for me and one that will bring me joy and not infinite stress!

I've been reading dog books lately - the Lost Dogs book was so inspiring. I love the idea of rehabilitating dogs and this was an amazing story. I've also started a book about search and rescue and it too appeals.

In the meantime, I have 2 more days with Madeline, and that's all I can think about now. The rest will have to wait until I've recovered from the latest transfer out of our home.

A first

2011-01-29T21:41:00.000-08:00

Aidan decides to share the bed with Madeline while we're watching Dogtown, 2nd episode of season 1.

Those shoes are not Madeline's toys. I was sitting on the bed with Madeline for awhile and when I took them off and left them there when I got up.

Dog Days

2011-01-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've spent the weekend with dogs, reading about dogs, working with dogs, walking dogs nursing dogs, washing dogs...

I attended my second day in the surgery clinic on Friday and we only had 3 dogs but multiple cats. We'll be doing the low-cost public clinic for cats on Fridays and occasionally some dogs. That's not my favorite scenario, but it's still necessary and Friday is the only day I can work. It's amazing when we get to the male cats. They're lined up on the table, sedated but not intubated, and it's snip and it's done and the cats go back to their recovery cage. It's over in about half an hour. We finished clinic early. I have changed my schedule to the early morning schedule so I'll be there the entire time and out by 11 so I'll have most of Friday.

We were mentioning Jane Fawnda from last week and I mentioned that I was reading Lost Dogs. It turns out that 2 of the people working with me yesterday have been to Dogtown where many of the Vick dogs were sent. I spent an hour or two looking at the available adoptions today and reading about this wonderful dog sanctuary. It ends up I bookmarked the group on Facebook when I first joined, but I never made the connection. As far as the book is concerned, it's slow reading. It's very difficult to read about dog fighting and I'm about to start the part near the beginning of the book about the outcome of the little red dog - the part where the worst had yet to happen. Should I skip that part? I was surprised to read that 80% of dogs tested for fighting don't fight; however the outcome for the the nonfighters is beyond nauseating and the fact that the majority of the dogs were able to be rehabilitated is amazing to me. I also have delayed reading the little red dog's outcome by going to the end of the book to read the Where are they now section. That's a bit more uplifting - well most of it.

I noticed on the Dogtown website that there is a National Geographic series about the sanctuary. I'm going straight to Netflix to see if I can find some episodes after I finish writing this.

Lyn and I took Ardella to Muddy Paws Dog Wash today and she got her first bath in a public setting. She did very well and didn't seem disturbed by the dryers, other dogs, or the spray. The lighting is terrible, but here she is all sparkly and shiny, though still camera shy:

Lyn to Madeline to Portland for another Quaker thing, and I walked Ardella and Aidan separately and worked on commands with Ardella during the walk. Aidan did very well by himself, no barking at cars, responded to the look command whenever we saw people or cars, and responded to sit/stay when I asked him to. I walked Aidan around the block, and took Ardella for a longer walk. She is so easy to walk and it's so relaxing to walk with her. I'm hoping to get her Canine Good Citizen certification and so we practiced sit/wait while I crossed a dead-end street with no traffic and called her to come to me, down/stay and I asked her to do tricks like turn, sit and shake when people and other dogs were walking by to distract her (I haven't mentioned that I've taught her shake, crawl and turn - she learns fast). When we got back home, I took Ardella and Aidan out to the back yard where they played hardcore chase around the yard - Ardella is FAST).

That's my shy flower's story; the wild child has had a busy week, too. Here she is practicing Go to Bed:

I've been stressing basic commands with Madeline lately, as well as handling. She seems to enjoy it and she's getting better with wait and stay. We've had some good times with Madeline lately. She went to IMAX last week with the puppy club and we saw a documentary about the Hubble telescope. She was excited to see the other dogs, but that got manageable after 5 or 10 minutes. She climbed some very open stairs and was a little scared, but she went up them without stalling or balking. We went up to a very crowded balcony, squeezed into tight quarters to watch the movie and Madeline began panting and proceeded to pant quite a bit (it was very hot up there, so she could have just been hot). Madeline sat up and watched the movie during the part where we watched the birth of baby stars - I would have loved to have known what she was thinking! I felt a little queasy and panicky from the tight quarters and the motion from the movie, but once that abated I thoroughly enjoyed the movie myself. On the way home, unfortunately, Lyn tried to go across a street in NE Portland and hit a median he had not seen. We blew one tire and really damaged another to the point that it was bulging by the time Lyn took the car in to get new tires. We also had a bent axle and we're hoping we don't have anymore structural damage. No one was hurt, fortunately, and Madeline was very calm and quiet throughout the whole thing. I held her leash while Lyn changed the tire and she just watched.

So, Madeline is maturing and showing some progress. I've been mostly pleased with her lately, especially in the house. She also is doing very well in public. Her main challenge is other dogs and she's beginning to get nervous around trucks, skateboards, scooters and buses. We still have our work cut out for us, but I wouldn't trade her for anything at this point. We love her to pieces!

All Lab Play Date, January 2011

2011-01-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

Ardella and I were accompanied by Lyn, BJ and BJ's career changed dog, Saul (Santino's brother) on Saturday. It was the first time Lyn, BJ and Saul had attended.

We arrived early and I think this was a great idea because Ardella was one of the first dogs in and wasn't swarmed by friendly Labs who need to greet every.single.dog that comes through the gate. Ardella started out as her shy self, trying to keep in sight of a spot between two humans or a crate to protect her. Here she's staying close by a crate.

Ardella was very good about greeting people; like I said, she saw legs as protection, but she also just likes people and they seem to feel the same way about her. While Ardella started out on the periphery of all the circle, she did venture out on her own, and found someone she liked that she had met before on prior visits to All Lab Play Date.

Ardella's tail is a blur and that's because she's wagging it.

Ardella is looking intensely at her friend because her friend has given her a command and Ardella is waiting for her food reward.

Ardella wasn't the most outgoing dog in the room, but she did initiate a few greetings and most importantly, it was the first time that Ardella stayed on the floor and didn't have to go to the quiet pen area. So, we saw some progress there. Also, we didn't have the stress diarrhea afterwards or relieving issues associated with being stressed out by other dogs. I would say this outing was successful for Ardella and we will return and try it again.

I have to mention that there was a little yellow Lab named Bonnie that really liked Ardella and kept coming over and bouncing on her, except that by the end of the play date, Bonnie would come up to Ardella slowly and give her face a lick and then go away. She seemed to really have figured Ardella out and it was amazing to see her adjust her activity level around Ardella. I hope they meet again next time.

Saul, on the other hand, was in his element. He was out on the floor the second he got in the gate and had immediate best friends. He really likes to play tug! Fortunately, a lot of other dogs did, too. Of course, that's not surprising to people who own a Lab, since everyone seems to be a Lab's long-lost best friend when they greet.

It was hard to find Saul standing still, so excuse the blurriness. He was a busy boy!

And his enthusiasm for tug was contagious as you can tell by the crowd of dogs around the two playing tug.

We stayed about an hour and that was plenty of time. Saul slept all the way home and I imagine he slept well that night, too. I'm looking forward to the next All Lab Play Date. I hope Annalynn can join us.

Day 1 Surgery Clinic Training

2011-01-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

I learned about working in the humane society surgery clinic today. I arrived a little after 7:30 and was put to work right away. It was a busy surgery day, so there wasn't a lot of verbal instruction, but there was a ton of hands-on stuff. I started by going with another volunteer to collect dogs from kennels on the adoption floor, while another volunteer got the cats. I would go get the dogs from the kennel, take them outside for a last chance to relieve and then take them to their holding/recovery kennel.

We netted up and put on face masks and then started getting hot water bottles and packs, collecting towels, and getting clean-up kits ready.

When the surgeon came in the dogs were the first to be prepared. The humane society used to send dogs to Portland to be neutered, but they now have hired vets from the community to come in and do nothing but neuters. Today's vet was wonderful - she talked to us, showed us how to do things, encouraged us to come in and observe the surgeries. Today was a little slower because there were some unusual circumstances, but that was a good thing for me because I could ask questions and learn at a pace that was more comfortable for me.

There was a bit of down time during the first animal's surgery, but once the dog was out of surgery, she was put on a table and we started reviving her. I untied the tube from around the head and then cleaned the surgical area, and took the opportunity to clean ears and clip nails. Once the dog began to swallow, I pulled out the tube. After the tube was out, we'd rub the dog, and let her wake up some more and then return her to her kennel wrapped in blankets with a warm water bottle or warmed rice pack to continue waking up.

This was pretty much how it went all day long. There were a few exceptions, but most of the animals revived quickly. Dog #1 was a beautiful Husky mix and she began howling a mournful howl the minute the tube was out. She didn't let up for about an hour. It was a heart-wrenching sound!

There was a kitten there - an orange tabby - who was an unusual kitten. She was a fighter and it took extra medication to get her down and even then that wasn't enough. They finally got her asleep, but when they brought her back to the table she was awake and fighting within minutes. Back in her crate she was literally pacing in circles - drunk circles - but definitely on her feet and pretty mad about the whole experience.

One of the best experiences was with an American Staffordshire by the name of Jane Fawnda. She was found around Christmas time and the staff wasn't sure she was going to make it. The technician who worked with her had such a strong bond with her that he insisted on being called when she went into surgery. When she woke up, he was there with her and she certainly knew who he was. When we finally had to move her off the table, he lay down on the floor next to her to help her keep warm (she was cold). Apparently Jane is going home to her new home today and the tech insisted on meeting Jane's adopter. He was very happy with the placement and that makes it easier to let her go.

I also fell head over heels for Violet, a little pit bull mix. She was 3 months old and very cuddly. I got to play with her a bit before her surgery and when she was awake in her kennel she would place her head in my hands and wag her tail. It's a good thing she was adopted already!

I'm really excited about this new volunteer job. Eventually I'll learn how to put surgery packs together and make up different solutions. I'm a little disappointed that Friday (the only day I can work) is a cat-only day. So, if I get laid off, I can move to a week day and get the opportunity to work with dogs again. I also talked to one of the volunteers who heads the Delta program at the humane society and learned about more dog-handling skills if I take a Dog 3 class (bathing, helping teaching behavior plans, introducing dogs to multi-dog households) I want to learn everything.

Ms. Madeline is at a puppy sitter's and we'll pick her up in a little while. She's had a good week. I always freak out at the 6 to 8 month period of a puppy's life. I just have to remember that it gets better, and I that I need to enlist the help of puppy sitters more often!

A recipe that we liked

2011-01-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

First new meal that we'll use more often:Almond-&-Lemon-Crusted Fish with Spinach

It was fast and flavorful and low-fat to boot. I love lemon, spinach and fish and love crunchy texture, too. We added Parmesan cous-cous as a side and nothing else. I'm always looking for light meals for dinner since I have to go to bed early.

Madeline is home and I believe she displayed a good representation of her behaviors with Mike and on campus. Mike said Deana was concerned. Not good, but I'm glad someone else noticed what I've been noting! Madeline is a bit stubborn and hard to teach. She has commands down but they're sloppy. On the good side, Madeline is a great companion when there are no other dogs around. She's starting to go to a mat when I'm cooking or reading and I have been able to leave her alone in a room for a short period of time. Mike said she did great at work and had no accidents. However, she displayed some fear of new surfaces. This 6 to 10-month-old period can be so tough!

Ardella and Aidan were very playful and seemed less stressed than they have been. Ardella went nuts over the new cookies I baked and I taught her to turn in a circle yesterday. Due to the dogs' stress, we're wondering about replacing Madeline in a different raiser's home. I love her to pieces, but she's not my dog (as we are constantly reminded) and I want her to succeed. I have mixed feelings about this though because if Madeline leaves us we'll probably never hear about her again (not my favorite part of raising, that's for sure)! Again, if we could come up with a food protocol or something like that I'd prefer it, but whatever is thought best for Madeline is what is going to happen and my preference is not worth beans.

My favorite yarn shop, Stitchcraft, is going out of business as Nicholette feels she needs to be home more often with her family. The store has been for sale for a long time but no one seriously investigated buying it from her. I bought yarn and also got a 5 x 5 cubed shelf and 3-tiered basket shelf for my yarn room. I was sad going to a going-out-of business sale, but Nicholette was downright giddy with the excitement of being free from the business. Now I have no reason to go downtown and will have to cross the river to go to yarn shops. I'll insert a picture of what I got soon.

Baking cookies for the dogs

2011-01-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

One of the presents I gave to more than one person this year entailed versions of this book (some were in kit form):

The kit is 25 recipes, the book has over 100 and all recipes are free of wheat, soy and corn. The kits came with a variety of cookie cutters, and in the kits I included some basic flours (oat flour, brown rice flour, oat bran, etc) and baking utensils to be used just for cooking for pets (like a color-coded mats for chopping, stickless dough rollers) so people could roll out cookies with liver without tainting their own food with the dog food.

I kept a book for myself and bought cookie cutters at Bed, Bath and Beyond (like about 30 of them! I just wanted a bone cookie cutter) and decided to bake today. I'm making a cookie recipe called An Apple A Day and the flours are oat and brown rice flour and a little bit of oat bran and I added apple sauce, low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, honey and an egg with a little bit of water. Very easy, until I rolled out the dough, which was a sticky mess. The cookie cutters wouldn't cut, so I ended up making little balls, flattening them and then filled up a cookie sheet with those. I think next time I'll refrigerate the dough for awhile and pay attention to the that little sentence that says to roll out the dough on a floured surface. I have to find some use for those 30 cookie cutters!

They're baking now and smell delicious. They won't be pretty, but the dogs won't care. Besides, if the dogs don't like them, they smell good enough that I'll eat them. There's nothing in these cookies I wouldn't eat.

Madeline is going to spend the weekend with my club leader and will be going up to GDB to spend the day on Saturday. I'll find out what I'm supposed to do that afternoon, whatever that means. I'm assuming we'll be working on dog distraction and excitement. A food protocol would be nice. I did sign Madeline up for the T-Touch class and got approval.

Lots of fun activities are in store for career-changed dogs in the Portland area in the next few months. I'm looking forward to all-Lab play date and an open house for career changers with some mini seminars. If I develop my cookie-baking skills, maybe I'll even bring snacks to the play date.

A Real Weekend

2011-01-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

I got some respite from being a 3-dog home this weekend. Ardella went to stay with Karren and Annalynn and Madeline went to two all-day meetings with Lyn, both involved Friends Meeting activities. The Meeting has been very supportive of Lyn and Madeline and when he just called me a few minutes ago, the person who drove with Lyn to the worship group was talking to Madeline in an animated, high-pitched voice. Just as it made me happy when someone took an interest in my children, it makes me happy for people to take an interest in my dogs and puppies in training. I'm delighted that Madeline is welcome in the Meeting.

When at home this weekend, Madeline was a different dog without Ardella to pester. She was charming, focused on us, and just more calm overall. I rebonded with her. I think the relieving issue is resolving, but the excitement in public and around other dogs is becoming what we need to focus on most. I just learned that a Tellington T-Touch class is being offered at a local training facility near my house. I asked Deana a few months ago if we could do something like that with our dogs as long as we paid for it, and since it does not involve any kind of interference with Guide Dog training, Deana approved it. I'm going to try and take the class with Madeline. I think it might help calm her down and certainly will strengthen our bond, plus give us something new to do. I'm going to call about it tomorrow.

Belated Happy New Year

2011-01-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

My new year started off with a work mix-up that I hope is not going to reflect the nature of this year! If it is, I'm in trouble! I was convinced I was supposed to work New Year's Day, but to my horror learned I was supposed to have worked the day before. I was able to work some New Year's Day, but I spent a good part of the day worrying about whether I'd have a job the upcoming week. Fortunately, it blew over, at least it appears to have blown over.

I spent Wednesday in a mentorship at the shelter learning about facilitating social meetings between people and potential dog adoptions. I probably will be floating in this as I have a training session to learn how to be a surgical clinic aide coming up later in January.

I took Madeline to Pet Smart yesterday to meet up with Karren and Annalynn. Both dogs were very excited in the setting and Karren and I had to shop separately. Madeline gets excited by children, too, but when she sees someone she wants to meet she will sit down or lie down thinking that is how she meets someone. I do let people approach when she does this, but Madeline has started jumping and licking and nipping when children approach, so I'm having to cut the greeting short. Last night at puppy club, Madeline continued to be very excited by other dogs and really didn't pay attention to Lyn or I at all. We arrived only slightly early and many people were there already, so I opened the back door so Lyn and Madeline could enter without having to pass a lot of dogs. This worked well. Madeline certainly wanted to approach other dogs, but we were in the back away from people and she was able to settle as long as no one came over to see us. During exercises, though, she tried to play with every dog that passed her and when weaving would try to go for dogs' legs or jump on their backs. She continued this with another raiser when we traded dogs. Dog distraction is becoming a problem and I'm hoping to send Madeline on a puppy sitting experience for a week or so to someone who doesn't have dogs in the home who can work with her on paying attention to the handler. She's overdue for that anyway.

We're having a pleasant day together today, but Ardella is at Karren's and Madeline doesn't have another dog in the house to distract her (Aidan is good at hiding). Short outings have been successful and Lyn is confident to take Madeline places for longer lengths of time. I continue to struggle with performance anxiety outside the house. Since I'm feeling well again, I'll get more experience taking Madeline out in public. December wasn't a good month for me to be out and about.

I learned about this song on Facebook this week. It's from the most recent movie rendition of Charlotte's Web. Many people I know are struggling with the blahs, with health issues, employment issues, depression and loss. I also know people who are perfectly happy, and hope they continue to feel that way; however, for the people I know who are suffering, sometimes focusing on ordinary miracles is helpful. I hope you all find some Ordinary Miracles this year!

End of Year Wrap-up

2010-12-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

The highlights were raising 2 puppies and having one make it as a K-9 buddy,and a trip to Florida in the spring where I spent time with my parents, sisters, a brother and 2 grandnieces. I treasured the summer of kitten cuteness and the year of humane society volunteering.

I read 33 books and many of them were in genres I rarely read. It was the year of mysteries, futuristic fiction and girls that kick ass. I also read a lot of historical fiction and only 1 nonfiction, but that book made my top 10.

2010 was a very stressful year in terms of work and 2011 promises more worry as layoffs will continue throughout the year. I may be looking into educational programs for 2011. I'm planning on challenging myself to do some new things next year and I've added pages on the blog to keep track of them.

I'm working tomorrow so will be going to be early. Have a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve, readers!

Holiday catchup

2010-12-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

I've been sick since the last time I wrote, and once again have one of those month-long respiratory viruses. I've been getting by on 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night for 2 weeks now, and that's made me pretty dysfunctional, to say the least, especially at work. I had to take a day and a half off, but that was all I could spare.

Since I was awake a lot, I read a lot, and finished a feel-good book called One Good Dog I loved it and it reawakened my inner humane society volunteer self, so much so that I am now volunteering again. It's legit - I can do it. I have expressed interest in doing the surgical aide program and I'll need to do a full-day program in January and then will have a regular 4-hour weekly shift making surgical kits and comforting animals as they come out of surgery (that's a bit easier to me than having people come out of surgery). I'm also getting mentored in dog socialization next week and I'll just schedule myself for dogs and cats whenever and do the surgical aide program as my regular schedule. I can also bring home healthy adult cats for short stays. I'll investigate kitten fostering with my puppy club leader in the spring.

In addition to One Good Dog, I picked up a copy of Pat Millers Do Over Dogs Do over Dogs: Give Your Dog a Second Chance for a First Class Life (Dogwise Training Manual) I will read anything she writes. Her myth busting statements about popular ideas about dogs is so refreshing! In other words, she's not Cesar Milan!

I'm also sponsoring a dog through Mini Aussie Rescue and Support. I asked for a black dog because Leslie is always telling me how hard it is to place black dogs - everyone wants the blue or red merles. I got Shannon, a dog that is paired with a deaf dog Bailey. Shannon and Bailey bonded very quickly when they got to rescue and Shannon cues Bailey on what she needs to do. They are asking that the two dogs be adopted together. At any rate, I'm sponsoring Shannon and I'll get a certificate and short story about her in the mail as well as be notified when she gets adopted.

In other book news, I went to a local pet shop where I started talking about dog books with one of the people who works there. She ran in the back and brought out the book A Dog's Purpose and asked me if I'd read it. Someone had brought the book as a Christmas present to the shop owners, but no one in the shop could read a sad book about a dog. They vowed that if anyone came into the shop and would be willing to read the book, it would be a Christmas present to that person. I'll read anything, so I got a free copy of A Dog's Purpose. I started reading it after I finished One Good Dog, but it just isn't as good, so I'll put it aside and read it later, then I'll pass it on to anyone who would like to read it.

We had a nice family only Christmas. I had to miss the Christmas Eve get-together at Keri and Ryan's, and I wasn't feeling spectacular on Christmas day, but was glad that everyone could come over. I enjoyed listening to my son Kevin sing some cover songs he's been performing lately. I also enjoyed getting my color Nook. Reading on one is so much fun - so is downloading books. I have to really watch myself. I downloaded The Hunger Games and Sylvia's Lovers (Elizabeth Gaskell) as my first two books - one YA, one classic. I finished The Hunger Games and have to wait a bit before I get the other two books in the Trilogy (I'm not sure I have the stamina to get through a repeat of those games,anyway).

Dinner is ready - we're having leftover turkey - and imagine we'll be having leftover turkey for some time. I hope everyone is having a good holiday season.

Home Alone

2010-12-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

I'm getting a few hours to myself this evening. Lyn and Madeline have gone to the puppy club Christmas party, but I can't go because I'm sick again. I've lost count, but I think this is cold #6 or #7. My voice is almost gone and my throat hurts. I got 2 hours of sleep last night, so I don't think I'm good company. I'll miss the food and the puppies and the raisers. I've eaten a Trader Joe's Shepherd's Pie (it's really good) and I have little sweet potato tarts cooking while I'm writing this.

Madeline has done well with outings this week. We've made them relatively quick in and out the door type of outings, and I've done play time with Madeline outside after she's relieved, which seems to help some with excitement when we go out. The weather hasn't been good for the last 2 weeks, so we haven't had as many outside outings as I would like. I took Madeline to help sell candy with the Lion's Club last week and she was subdued. She really did not like the new Gentle Leader and toward the end was shaking! It was windy, but not really that cold, so my assumption was she didn't like her head collar. Outings have been okay, but Madeline had an accident on a walk around the block last night, so we're back to short walks.

I'm preparing for Christmas and birthday after Christmas, so I've been very busy knitting projects I can't show. I plan to spend the rest of the evening eating 4 mini tarts, drinking hot spiced pear cider and knitting, and if I can't sleep because of this blasted cold, I'll knit through the night.

Help find Guide Dog

2010-12-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

No Bones About It: Guide Dogs' Blog: Help Us Find a Missing Guide Dog in Minneapolis: "Please help us get the word out about a missing Guide Dog named Spalding near Minneapolis, Minn. The following is our all-points-bulletin me..."

Edit: Spalding was found and had been taken in by a neighbor, which is good considering the snow and cold temperatures in Minnesota. My heart sinks every time a guide dog goes missing, but thankfully every story I'm aware of in the last 2 years has had a happy ending.