You're getting married, Jim?
No, I signed off for "until death..." - Joan won't let me date, so I'm sure rounding up another wife is probably off the table.
Steph is off today and planned to take Dicha on an outing to improve her socialization. Plus, she needed to get a new watering can, so off to Home Depot. I asked her if she'd like some company, and she welcomed it.
Currently, Dicha has received her vaccination and will be allowed to walk outside by this weekend. In the meantime, she has to be carried if outside, but can walk through places like Home Depot. Also, it is getting too hot to let one of these fur babies walk on pavement outside, unless they are wearing booties. Dicha will be getting fit for booties soon. (And for the record, we don't take Murphy outside in the middle of the afternoon - mornings and early evenings, now that we are into "the hot months.")
So, Steph carried Dicha from the car to just inside Home Depot. Dicha is about 27 pounds now, with gangly long legs. Judging from my viewpoint, she is a handful to carry. Once inside Home Depot, we looked at the watering cans, then went up and down most of the aisles so Dicha could have a variety of experiences: people walking by, a folklift, boxes in the aisles, many different smells. It looked to me like Dicha was doing great: matching Steph's pace, stopping when Steph stopped, some practice "stays, sits, and downs." At her tender age of around 4 months, she seems very smart.
I mostly stayed a step or two behind them, observing. It was interesting watching other people: first that expression of "a dog in Home Depot?", then they'd see Dicha's vest... and usually give a nod. It is pretty clear that Dicha is a puppy (well, a growing puppy), but her vest says "Guide Dogs for the Blind, Puppy in Training." Nobody asked to pet her - when the vest is on, she is "working."
A good outing. Dicha was tired by the time we were done (about a half hour of walking); OK, I was getting tired, too.
2 comments:
Nice outing! We are used to dog booties too, but for a different reason. Iditarod mushers use them to protect their sled dogs from ice build up in the paws and pads. I have one bought as a souvenir around here somewhere...
I may have told you that for a while we lived in San Rafael, CA home of one of the Guide Dog Academies. We got used to seeing dogs in training around everywhere.
Hi Earl. One of Stephanie and Dan's pups (Rubina) is now in San Rafael, about half way through her final training. Guide Dogs for the Blind has 2 west coast campuses, as I understand, but I only hear about San Rafael through Steph. They plan to go there for Rubina's "graduation" if/when it happens. Here's another level of connection: one of the naturalists that worked on the whale watch boats I drove is one of the final trainers there.
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