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Likes: I like long walks on the beach (and off!), training and playing with my best friends Saki and Snowy!
Pet-Peeves: Other doggies running over to me and barking at me when I didn't do anything to them... especially when I am behaving myself on leash and they are illegally off leash!
Favorite Toy: A blue fishy that has three small blue balls with squeakers hidden inside! I love to pull the smaller toys out and sqeak on them!
Favorite Food: Ham and hotdogs and cheese and pepperoni and baby food and, and, and... yum I love training! I also like raw chicken a whole lot! I used to eat Innova Evo which I think is the best kibble on the market, but now I'm a raw fed girl!
Favorite Walk: Wildcat canyon, the Bay Trail
Best Tricks: I bring my mom her medicine twice a day, I like to spin, lay down and catch treats, I recognize mood swings in my mommy and help her not get too depressed or manic or panicky, and I can do lots more!
Arrival Story: I had to live in the Orange County (North Carolina) APS animal shelter twice! The first time I came in, I was a stray. I was adopted by a woman who worked two jobs. She left me in a crate for 8 hours a day during her first job, then came home and let me have run of the house for four hours during her second job. I was very bored and also worried about being forgotten so I developed some bad habits and separation anxiety. We got kicked out of our house because of me. She took me back to the shelter after I got into some paint. I thought no one would pick me when I went back to the shelter, but there was this nice lady who came around every afternoon at the shelter and would take me for walks. She even held me while my picture was being taken to go on the APS website (you can see this picture to the left). I was very nice when she came around, and I made her fall in love with me. Every time she tried to walk me I just sat down and leaned up against her asking to be pet. The next thing I knew, she brought this man to see me. The nice lady, who became my mommy, kept talking with the man, who is my daddy, about bringing me home. They couldn't decide, so I suggested they take me for a walk. I behaved very well on the walk and kept trying to cuddle with them. My charms worked, and they took me home the next day!
Bio: When my parents brought me home, I had really bad separation anxiety. I chewed up a LOT of stuff! I was so worried they wouldn't come back that I couldn't help myself... I ate textbooks and movies and their wedding album and orchids... Once I got some raw sweet potatoes that my mommy had thought were high out of my reach and I ate three or four of them. My poop was very orange for a few days! Anyway, my mommy and daddy helped me calm down by leaving for only a second and coming right back, then leaving for a minute, then for five minutes and so on. After about six months or so I wasn't chewing things up anymore. Around that time my mommy realized that I noticed and alerted her when she was getting depressed or manic or having a panic attack (my mommy is bipolar type II and has a panic disorder) and that I was trying to either cheer her up or calm her down depending on the situation. She encouraged that behavior and also taught me to bring her the medicine case twice a day when I get my breakfast and dinner. Sometimes I'm sneaky and try to bring her the case an hour early, but she just tells me to put it back and wait until my real dinner time. I guess there's no fooling her! When she starts getting anxious I lay my head on her knee and petting me helps calm her down before she gets out of control. I do lots of other things, too, like tell mom when it's time to get on or off the BART train and I can even lead mom home from the station. On August 11th, 2006 I passed my public access test with a score of 100% to become a certified service dog. I've been working full time for a while, and while it's fun to have a job, it's also a lot of work! My knee started to hurt last winter, so I officially retired on November 6th, 2008. We recently added Ollivander to our family, and he is training to replace me-- well, no pup will ever really replace me. He'll just be going to work and stuff with mom. I'm enjoying my life of retirement, and sleeping all day means I have more energy to play with Ollie and go on walks and play tug with mom and dad.
Forums Motto: To break injustice we must break silence Dogster Local Spots I've Marked: Creature Comfort Holistic Veterinary Center, Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, Gregoire, Farmer's Kitchen Cafe, Dr. Karen Rettig, Alternatives for Animals The Groups I'm In: Service Dogs Group
The Last Forum I Posted In: Gentle Leader comfort.
Links!: youtube videos of me, flyer about me and other service dogs
On Wednesday I had a visitor! My good friend Jessica who is one of mom's co-workers came by just to see me. She must have really missed me a LOT! I showed her what a good girl I was, while Ollie was barking at the door I just sat there and waited. And while Ollie tried to jump on her, I just snuggled up and asked for petting nicely.
Unfortunately mom decided to hog up Jessica's time by doing some computer program thing. BORING! Apparently it is a program that helps them do their research, though, so I guess it was OK. I just sat in front of Jessica the whole time, being happy about my visitor!
After the computer stuff, Jessica ate lunch and played some Wii with mom and dad. It was so much fun! I was very sad to see her leave, and spent the rest of the day telling Ollie about how special I am that someone from the lab came just to see me and no one else!
Whenever daddy plays on the Wii, I make sure to help him by standing right next to him or in front of him and watching him. I have to make sure he doesn't trip or anything, you know? I don't quite trust this whole Wii thing with flailing arms and stepping on this white board thing and stuff. It just seems dangerous to me!
Well, I guess daddy is trying to make me like the Wii more, so he used the new doggie weighing feature to make me a character and weigh me in Wii Fit Plus. I was not pleased to have to be picked up and weighed, but I thought it was cool that a dog like me appeared on the screen! Now whenever dad is playing the Wii, I can be right next to him in real life, and in some of the games, too!
Mom and dad got an early Christmas present from my grandma. They seem to think it is a lot of fun, but I think it is not! They keep standing around and acting like they are hitting things or something. It is scary! I run and hide in the bedroom when they start throwing imaginary things around the room. They say I'll get used to it soon, but really, who wants to? Why don't they just take me for a walk if they want some exercise?!