Morgan's blog for the end of March

Heyla


I had to spend last weekend alone without Alice. It was hard. I was worried and missing her. She went away without me for 4 days. Don't I look worried?
I tried to be happy with my dad person Wayne. We took long walks, and I even tried meditating with him.


Here is Alice being silly as usual with her bunnies. I tried to join in the fun with "Peeps Around the World" series of photographs of those little cultural icons in trees, bushes, wherever. But it was not much fun without my special person, Alice.


And it was an exciting time for black cat Sophie who on one of our walks(!) got treed by a barking and snapping dog. She was up there for over 3 hours. Finally Wayne had to become fireman Joe and rescue her. That's what she gets for trying to walk with us.

I still get to go out as Alice's service dog, but not always. She is talking of getting me a part-time job! I mean, haven't I worked enough already? Don't I start getting treats for just being? Ommmmm...

Later,
Morgan
Summit Service Dog
(as written through his keyboarding person, Alice)

Morgan's Blog "Movies, Sleeping and not Sleeping!"

Hey dudes,

My people took me to a movie yesterday that was so bad, all three of us ranted and raved after it was over. Wayne wrote a letter to the editor, and Alice added her two cents. It was so bad, I got up from my sleeping place at Alice's feet, and near the end  begged them by panting  my doggie breathe on Wayne, with a please-let's-leave-now-look.

They agree, they should have left the theater, but no, they stayed till the excruciating end. The name of the film had something to do with Bach, music I generally like, but the humans complained about the bad film: script, editing, photography, directing, all that stuff. And, worst of all, they had no popcorn!

Dog dancing is still fun. Some new dogs coming into the program,but I still can't play with any of them. Mary says "no freelancing." That means no nose sniffing, or no butt greeting. I mean come on! We say hello that way! It's all part of being a canine. Lighten up, Mary!

My human sister, Annie is coming to visit again. I like her. That means long walks and hikes and camping! Oh boy, camping, what fun! But we sold our VW camper bus so we currently have no vehicle to camp in, and Alice says she's too old for tent camping. Whatever! I just want to get out there in the wild and smell all the good nature things, and the campfire and stuff. It's so much fun.

To tell you the truth though my aches and pains are still around. I try not to let Alice know, but she knows anyway. I guess getting older and wiser is not all it's cracked up to be. Alice agrees: she has something called insomnia: neither Wayne nor I can figure out how she can NOT sleep.

I'm doing just fine, although I'm told I now snore when I sleep. Do not! It's probably Wayne or one of the cats making that noise. Those people always blame me for fart smells, burping noises, now snoring. I don't really mind: I get secret joy of making those sounds and smells!

It's 4:30 am: Alice has been up since 2: she's getting sleepy, and making all sorts of errors typing. I think she needs a break. Go back to bed, Alice. I need to sleep some more anyway!

Yesterday we had a big wind storm. Alice got knocked over by a gust of wind, and took Wayne down with her. I stayed on four feet. Her balance isn't what it used to be. Sometimes she let's me out in the yard, no walkies. Here I am forlorn, waiting to be let back in the house.

Well, that's about it for now. Life is pretty good:

Walkies, dog dancing, visits to the elementary school,good food, and treats! And lots of napping for this dog!

Yesterday, Alice and I practiced some dance moves. I got hotdog pieces for my reward. Way to go, Alice!

Woof!

Morgan,
Summit,graduate of 2002,
(as helped by his human counterpart. Alice.)

Notes from a Volunteer Puppy Raiser

Hello everyone.  I have good news - my hoped for, and expected new puppy to train for Summit is 'in utero' and should be born middle to end of this month.  That means I'll get her towards the end of May.  The mom is a lab and the dad is a collie.  Their first two litters have been very successful in the training program, so I'm looking forward to some good results.  So far, I have had mostly standard poodles, and Summit feels, (I agree) that they are not the best breed for service dogs.  None of mine have graduated.  They are a little too alert, curious, and into their own agenda for a service dog.  As a personal pet, I think they are the best.

I have been going to weekly obedience classes with my Summit pups in training.  I go in Gig Harbor to Jeanne Hampl's class which is for basic obedience, but she gives me more specific service dog  tips during the lesson.  She started the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound which is for people partnered with assistance dogs.  It is a support group, a training group and a social fun group.

The club will be having a very good workshop on May 31, a Saturday.  It will be held in Gig Harbor and I'm sure it would be worth your time to attend it.  Sue Meinzinger will be presenting on canine temperament for program dogs.

I'll be there and hope to see you there, also.

Donna

Suzanne and Gusto

Many of you know that I lost my precious Sadie (my dog) last summer - well, this guy

was a service dog for a wonderful place called Summit Assistance dogs and the human he was with for the past couple of years died a few months ago and Summit decided not to place him back into service.  They knew about Sadie and contacted me to see if I would be willing to take Gusto - a 4+ year old male, who, like me, was rather a lost soul.  So, Gusto has joined the group and he performed spectacularly for his first snowshoe trip ever.  He quickly learned about not stepping on the back of your shoes!  He is quite well-behaved.  I think he was as ecstatic to be out with us as we were to have him along!  You will be hearing more about Gusto.  I can't thank Summit enough for being so caring for me and Gusto.

By now, it had warmed considerably from our start of 22 degrees and the snow was getting soft.  So soft, that it was balling up terribly on Gusto's belly and legs, making it hard for him to climb and plow through the deep stuff.  We decided that with another 900' of gain to make Teanaway Ridge, we would call it good.  Besides, we had probably already come a good 4 miles and with a decent amount of gain and this was Gusto's first snowshoe.  I didn't want him exiting quite this soon!

All-in-all, a great day in the mountains.  It had "warmed" up to 35 back at the car.  Someone had a good day!

Morgan's Blog "Woof, woof! It's Spring"

Woof, woof!

It's spring , kinda. The birds are singing, the new smells are everywhere.

Alice is happy. She works in her garden when it's warm and sunny. Sometimes it's still cold and windy, and snowy. I go with her to her class on Tuesday mornings. It's like the old days when I was at the college, soaking up the knowledge.

This is a gardening class. She's is learning about gardening in New Mexico which is a whole new ballgame compared to gardening north of Seattle.

She also took me with her to the community college for a workshop. There were about ten people in the room and about ten service dogs. I was not allowed to greet any of them, just watch and be the veteran service dog. I got a little upset when she was interacting with some of the other dogs (they call it interviewing.) I mean what's up with that? I'm her service dog!

I really like going out with my humans. When Wayne takes me for walks he usually takes the camera along. Here 's a picture he took recently of the sky.

Alice and Wayne left me behind on Valentine's Day. I stayed with my Auntie Wendy, and though I got to sleep in her bed, I  know I missed a good trip. They saw horses, and llamas and dogs, all sorts of things. I wish I could have gone too.

Just a few more months of healing my knees. Then I can run and play again.

Alice is a good groomer. She's downright picky. She grooms me a lot! I get my teeth brushed (I like that), my ears cleaned (I don't like that),get clipped and brushed , and get my nails trimmed (don't like that, but I let her do it.)

Sometimes the cats butt in and want to be brushed too. Lately Sophie, the black cat goes along for our walks. What's with that? Who does she think she is? A dog? She just wants to see where we go when we take off . She's expanding her world, I guess. Who can blame her?

Well, that's about it for now. Alice and I were interviewed for the local paper recently. Hmm, fame is nice, but bones are better.

Woof!
Morgan, Summit Service Dog, class of 2002(and his human, Alice)