Service Dog Slumber Party

A couple weeks ago, Isaac and I took a short trip to Kansas with my friend and her service dog Jake.  Jake's mom had to go to a business thing and Isaac and I went along for the drive.

Isaac and Jake are good buddies.  They love to play tug, so both myself and Jake's mom packed toys to tug with for this trip.

We got to our hotel about 9 pm.  Jake's mom and I were both tired.  Jake and Isaac were tired too, but not too tired to play. 

Isaac really loves tug and he hasn't had a chance to play tug for quite a while.  I think not since we last saw Jamie at our old dog park in Ohio.  For some reason, Isaac never wanted to tug with Daisy or Lulu.  Probably just because they were not particularly interested in tugging.  But Isaac and Jamie would play tug for an hour if given the chance.

And so they tugged.

We finally got them to settle down about 11 pm for bed. 

Before bed, though, I took both dogs outside to go potty.  Isaac found a nice bush to pee on and of course Jake wanted to pee there too.  While Isaac was still peeing, Jake sidled up beside him, kind of like he was parallel parking or something, and lifted his leg.  I pulled on Isaac's leash to get him to move just in time.  Otherwise, Jake would have peed right on him!

So after peeing, we went back inside and got the dogs settled down for bed.  Jake slept in bed with his mom but Isaac doesn't like to sleep with me, so I put a blanket on the floor for him.  And soon everyone was asleep.

Until 1:30 am, when Isaac woke me up insisting he had to pee.  I tried to tell him it had only been a couple hours since we went out, but he didn't care. 

You know why he had to pee already?  Because earlier he and Jake slurped up a lot of toilet water.  That's right, as soon as we got into the hotel room, Jake went right to the bathroom and helped himself to a long drink.  Isaac thought that was a fine idea so he had a good long drink when Jake was done.

So.  I got out of bed and took Isaac out to pee, as quietly as possible, because I didn't want to disturb Jake or his mom.

After Isaac peed for a really long time, we went back to the room.  I opened the door as quietly as possible, felt my way inside in the dark, and removed Isaac's leash.  I tiptoed toward my bed.

Isaac, on the other hand, ran toward the bed where Jake and his mom were sleeping.  He leapt onto the bed and pounced on Jake. 

Of course, this woke both Jake and his mom.  Isaac explained that he wanted to play and Jake thought that was a fine idea, so he jumped off the bed and chaos ensued.

We finally got them settled down again and everyone went back to sleep.

The next thing I knew, Isaac was telling me he wanted to go out.  I told him it wasn't time yet, but Jake's mom said actually it was, she had to get up and get ready to go to her business thing.   After a quick trip out to pee, the boys were back at it again.

Isaac had a very good time.  He says he loves slumber parties with his buddy Jake!

When the Service Dog Sneaks a Sniff

Yesterday while my car was at the tire repair place, Isaac and I walked over to a convenient store to get some coffee. 

While I was trying to get the lid on my coffee cup, Isaac tried to sneak a sniff of the woman standing next to me, getting her coffee. I corrected him and she said, "Oh, he probably smells my dog." I said I was sure he did, but he knows he's not supposed to sniff people in stores, he can sniff at home.

About that time, an employee approached me and asked if he was a SD. I said he was and she said "I wasn't sure since I didn't see a tag, but he is so well-behaved I thought he must be." 

I said, "he's well-behaved except for sneaking a sniff," and she laughed and said she once saw a drug dog hit on a lunch box because there was beef jerky in it. She said "That just goes to show you, they are still dogs."

I was thinking either there was something else in that lunch box with the beef jerky or else that drug dog needs retrained, but I just said "My dog would probably alert to beef jerky in a lunch box too!"

Hotels and Service Dogs

Hotels fall under Title 3 of the ADA, just like Walmart does.  That means they must allow service dogs and, just like at Walmart, hotels can only ask if a dog is a service dog and what tasks the dog is trained to do.  For some reason, people sometimes think hotels would be different and that hotels can ask for some sort of documentation, but that's not the case.

On my recent trip, I stayed in two hotels. At the first hotel, I had Isaac with me, in his vest, when I was checking in. The clerk explained to me that there was a $10 pet fee.

I explained to her that he was a SD so there is no pet fee for him.

She turned around and asked a coworker, "Do we charge a pet fee for service dogs?"

I was about to tell her that she doesn't since the Dept of Justice says she's not allowed but her coworker told her they don't, so it was fine.  I've been charged pet fees several times at hotels but they've always corrected it and removed the fee when I tell them they aren't supposed to charge a fee for a service dog.

At the second hotel, again I had Isaac with me in his vest and the clerk asked "Any pets?" I said, "No, just my service dog" and she knew not to charge a pet fee.

Update on the Whisker Cat

Whiskers did not enjoy the move to Nebraska one bit.  What I mean is, she did not enjoy the drive.  She was sedated nicely for the trip but she would wake up from time to time, realize she was still in the car, remember she did not like it, and yowl for a few minutes before going back to sleep.

Once she got to the new apartment, though, she was fine.  She loves the big windows that look out on the parking lot because there is a lot more to look at than there was in our old place.  Isaac likes them, too.

Whiskers is on a diet because she now weighs a little over 12 lbs.  She is actually not unhappy about the diet.  She is generally a happy cat.

Packing

Me (trying to pack): Geez, Isaac, why do we need so much stuff to go away for a week?

Isaac: Don't ask me. I'd be fine without half this crap. I don't need the nail clippers, the ear cleaner, the tooth brush, the comb...."

What's New?

I haven't blogged in a long time.  Lots has been going on, I've been busy, and I guess I just haven't felt like blogging.

What's new?

• I moved.  I move to Nebraska.  I've been here almost three months now and I like it a lot but wow.  What a change!  Why I moved is kind of a long story and it will be a post of its own.
• Next week I am going to court, small claims court, suing my former landlord for a number of things.  I will wait to write about it until after the case is heard, but part of it relates to my service dog and part of it relates to being disabled.  It's why I moved, or at least a big part of why.
• Isaac got a scratch on his eyeball and his eye got infected.  He's fine now but he had to get antibiotic eye drops and some other eye drops and he did not care for that at all.  
• Whiskers is on a diet.  She has officially been declared a fat cat and our new vet here in Nebraska recommended she go on a diet.  She actually doesn't seem to mind too much.
• I have perfected a new dog treat recipe, Chicken and Apple flavor treats.  I'll share the recipe in a later post.