Day 100: Milepost!

Today started out like any day...recent any day.  Gracie woke me up when she heard the alarm, and we hurried outside.  Back inside, Gracie passed up her breakfast. No amount of coaxing would change her mind.  I had to wonder if she knew that we were scheduled to visit the vet this morning for a check-up and a rabies shot.  I know that sounds far fetched, but Gracie is amazingly intuitive.  I had an 8:30 a.m. Webinar (in the sun room, how nice!) with my composition 2 students this morning and was tempted to do some online course maintenance after that ended.  But I wanted Gracie to arrive at the vet looking her best, so, instead, we furminated.  We went to the vet on the bike and arrived right on time and so went right in. 

If imagining a trip to the vet dampened her otherwise healthy appetite, you wouldn't know it by the way Gracie schmoozed up the vet's assistant.  "Can I give her a treat?" the assistant asked.  I told her sure.  Gracie snapped up the offered treat before I could see clearly what it was--it seemed good-sized, though.  Apparently, Gracie's appetite had returned.  Then, without anyone asking her to, Gracie stepped onto the scale and sat down, weighing in at slightly over 20 lbs.  I had thought she weighed that when she arrived and said so.  The vet, by then in the room with us, said that no, Gracie had weighted 23 pounds when she arrived.  "She's still a bit chunky," he said when I said I thought our high level of activity had slimmed her down.  "We like to feel her ribs."  I assumed by this that he couldn't feel her ribs, at least not without trying a bit harder to feel them than Gracie might like.  The scale became an elevator, and Gracie was quickly raised up to the level of the vet's waist.  The assistant gave another treat, which Gracie accepted voraciously.  "Not all dogs behave like this, " the assistant said dreamily.  "You should know this.  She's exceptionally calm."  I assured her that I knew this about Gracie and found it a fabulous trait.  After the vet finished with Gracie, the assistant took her away to cut her nails.  The vet stayed with me and told me about his experience training service dogs to work with people in wheel chairs.  It was a long story and still Gracie was not back.  Finally, the vet left me in the examining room and went to track down the assistant.  Apparently, Gracie was not quite as docile while having her nails clipped as she had been while being petted and fed treats, the reason I have avoided doing nail trimming myself!  But finally, the assistant brought Gracie back, and we left.

We ran a couple more errands on the bike and then went home. I was back on the computer working on reading student journals when the mail arrived.  In it was a package from International Hearing Dog, Inc (IHDI)!!  It was the package Gracie and I had been waiting for: her orange leash and orange collar and our team ID.  Again, you might not believe this is true, but Gracie was as excited to see her new collar and leash as I was.  So, Day 100.  Gracie is slightly pudgy (and so am I!) but otherwise in excellent health.  I think I am too.  Her shots are up to date.  And today we are an official team.

Gracie proudly displays her new "hearing dog" leash!

Day 99: A Day of Rest

Actually, Gracie and I don't get a day of rest.  In trying to get the schedule of very early mornings firmly established, we are getting up to the alarm at the same time every day.  We hurry outside first thing for Gracie's toilet.  We then come back inside for my coffee and her breakfast.  After she eats, I either get ready to go to campus or go to the sunroom where the computer is currently residing to check in with my classes in the campus e-mail or course delivery sites.  Gracie likes either option because it means taking a morning nap for her.  Martha called Gracie lazy when she was here, but I think that might be unfair.  Gracie snaps too when called on to do so; however, she is the queen of getting herself comfortable. 

Today, being Sunday, a larger than usual newspaper is on the kitchen table waiting to be read, but Gracie does not like being in the kitchen for too long because it is not very comfortable for her on the cold, linoleum floor.  I had just gotten the editorial page spread out today when she demanded that I follow her into the sunroom with her open-toed "touch."  (The "touch" is when a hearing dog jumps at a person and then away before making full, knock a person over contact.)  She was insistent--her nails need trimming, which we will hopefully take care of tomorrow but which currently add extra emphasis to her "touch"--and here I am.  The course delivery system is  down for maintenance, so I can't do my Sunday class maintenance on my two composition 1 classes until 9.  So, I'm going to end this and take Gracie for an early morning run.  I see the sun on the tops of the trees and, blessedly, no lawn mowers seem to be up yet.  Maybe after we run, Gracie will be willing to curl up in the kitchen while I read the paper.  It's worth a try, anyway.

Days 97 and 98: Week 1

The first week at school is always exhausting for me:  meeting new students and answering their questions, discovering that I left remnants of a previous semester on a course Website, and so forth.  This week, I added Gracie into the mix.  This meant keeping track of even more things, getting up even earlier than usual, factoring in breaks for her, and more.  Friday was especially trying as we had a campus writing center hour to put in during the busiest time of the day followed by a three hour class.  The class lasts until an hour before the building closes and the computer lab people turned off the computers in our classroom when they were shutting down the lab causing us to lose ten minutes of class time.  Some students were then unable to finish the work on the classroom computers before the class ended and were left at lose ends because of it.  By the time Gracie and I made it back to my office, there was just 1/2 an hour to go before the building was scheduled to be locked down.  Facing the traffic jam of Friday afternoon rush hour traffic was not appealing.  I considered spending time on the Wood Duck trail and then heading straight to the U of M campus to meet my youngest son for his birthday dinner, but someone with a large, unleashed dog--a golden doodle perhaps--was heading for the Wood Duck trail.  Besides, it felt both hot and humid.  I decided to brave the traffic.  We made it home just in time for Gracie to eat and then to head out again.  Dinner was in an Italian restaurant and, though a bit restless, Gracie did an admirable job after all the sitting she had done all day on campus.  I wonder how long it will take me to integrate the extra things I need to keep track of for Gracie into my own routine?  Gracie inspires me by how quickly she adapts.  Of course, she is a lot younger than I am. 

Days 95 and 96: Amazing Grace

Gracie and I now have one campus class and all the online classes up and running.  We have just one more campus based class to go. Today, Gracie was very excited to get back to the campus after our Wednesday working from home--preparing class for today and keeping tabs on the online class discussions.  She knew where we were going--up to my office--and practically pulled me up there.  Today, though, instead of going right to class from the office the way we do on Tuesdays, we spent 50 minutes in the Writing Center.  On Thursdays this semester, we need to be opening up and turning on the Writing Center by 6:50 a.m. so the doors can open for students at 7:00 a.m.  I had a little trouble finding a suitable place to attach Gracie behind the desk.  But she has adapted magnificently to the idea that her rug/bathmat is "her place" and is happy to curl up on it while I help students.  Attaching her to something isn't really necessary, though it does signal that I don't want her wandering around.  Our writing center stint might as well have been our 30th session instead of our 1st, leaving me to wonder why I spent any time at all worrying about it.  She was the perfect dog during class too.  After class, she convinced me to take a walk on the Woodduck Trail...and a lovely walk it was.  Tomorrow we face a new challenge: a three hour afternoon class in a different classroom than the one the Tuesday/Thursday class meets in.  We will also spend another class hour (50 minutes) in the writing center during a potentially busier time.  I'll worry about these new challenges because that is apparently what I do.  Gracie, however, is both calm and enthusiastic.  She likes riding in the car, she likes going to class, she likes curling up in the corner of my office while I am on the computer, she likes going to the English department mailroom with me when I jump up to get my printing, she likes walking on the Woodduck Trail, and she likes coming back home.  I like having her with me.  Eventually, I may even have to give up worrying.

Day 94: Gracie Meets the Students!

Gracie says, "4:50 a.m.? You've got to be

kidding me!!"

Though we have been on campus several times, this was the first day that Gracie came to class with me.  The class starts at 7:45 a.m. and the drive to White Bear Lake where Century College is located is a 50+ minute drive from where we live.  Though I teach composition, I am able to do the math.  Adding in the morning routine we have developed so that Gracie is comfortable--fed and toileted at least, I decided we needed to get up at least by 4:50 a.m.  I was a bit nervous because we missed the alarm on Monday and overslept.  Nature must have tuned in and decided to protect me from oversleeping again because about 4 a.m. the wind began howling and a thunderstorm blew in.  We waited until the alarm went off before getting up though.  We got in a walk, Gracie's breakfast, a shower for me, and managed to be out the door, dashing through a new wave of thunderstorm by 6:00 a.m., our goal time!  Once we arrived on campus, we took a brief walk, dodging a garbage truck at the mouth of the Wood Duck Trail, amazingly not flooded today!  We took the elevator to the third floor since I had my rolling briefcase and arrived at the office about the time we need to arrive on Thursday in order to open the campus writing center for the day at 6:50 a.m.  Gracie strolled right in and settled on the bath mat rug from Target.  While she dozed, I went over my class plans another time and had just finished that with the student tutor that will be working with the early Tuesday/Thursday class arrived.  He met Gracie: two calm, friendly souls, they hit it off right away.  We went over the get-acquainted activity and then down to the classroom on the second floor the three of us marched.  I put Gracie's mat in the corner and she again settled right in.  Gracie was terrific.  If my children had behaved this well, I would probably have twelve of them instead of just the two!  If the rest of the semester goes this well for Gracie and me, we might not be ready to take our show on the road, but we will certainly be ready for Spring Semester and just maybe anything anyone cares to throw at us.

Day 93: Off and Running

Oh, no!  I set the alarm for 5 a.m.  It went off, but, of course, I didn't hear it.  Neither did Gracie, apparently, as she didn't wake me up.  Tomorrow we have to get up by at least 5 a.m. to get all our morning ritual completed before starting our 50+ minute drive to White Bear Lake in order to be in front of students by 7:45 a.m.  I guess we didn't practice enough or practice in the right way (without her knowing that we were just practicing--more of the "real thing" though I am not sure how we would have done this), did too many things this weekend, and simply have gotten too good at sleeping enough to feel rested over the summer.  Sadly, all that will have to stop now.  I guess we'll need to get to bed tonight by 9 p.m. in order to get started at the right time tomorrow.  Maybe we need a louder, less subtle alarm--like the smoke detector!  Gracie is very good with that sound.

Gracie says, "Is one of those for me?"

Meanwhile, in an effort to eat as many of the delicious beef steak tomatoes that we possibly can, Bruce barbecued hamburgers last night on our little Weber grill set-up on the driveway while Gracie watched him from her perch up on our deck.  Since Bruce was trying not to use lighter fluid to get the fire ramped up, the process took a lot of time.  Rather than lying down and dozing off, Gracie rested her chin on the deck railing.  Is any other dog as cute as this one?  It's had for me to imagine...now if she'd only hear that alarm clock go off!! 

Days 91 and 92: The Weekend

Safely at the concert, Gracie says, "So that is a cat!"



Gracie was a party animal this weekend.  Saturday, we went to Jeff's 40th birthday party.  It was supposed to be a surprise.  We got lost on our way there, though, and were the ones surprised to find Jeff already in the kitchen!  Oh, well.  Gracie had an exciting time keeping track of the resident cat who, though wearing a bell, felt it necessary to flaunt her freedom.  Gracie was in her vest and attached to me with her leash: in other words, she was working.  At one point, the two of them stood literally nose to nose.  I'm sure the condo would have been in a shambles in no time had I let Gracie go.  All in all, Bette was pretty nice to the canine intruder on her turf--thankfully.

Our next stop was the third annual Blood on the Tracks concert and fundraiser for a group that gives guitars and guitar lessons to veterans.  Fittingly, the concert was in Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in Wolff Park in St. Louis Park.  Gracie was not the only dog at the concert, but I think she was the only hearing dog.  I didn't see a single cat, though, at least not of the four legged variety.  Gracie and I slipped out a bit early, but we spent three hours there...a long time for both of us.

Today, we mowed the lawn and then made killer bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches with beautiful beef steak tomatoes from the vegetable garden that Gracie patiently watched me water all summer.  Afterward, we took a walk to the park where we discovered owl decoys attached to a neighbors fence.  We have noticed before that these people have three chickens: a red one, a white one, and a black one. We suspect they are left over from Easter baskets given to their three little girls.  The owl scared Gracie who jumped when she noticed it and then tried to give it a wide berth.  We turned and crossed the baseball diamond to escape the owl's ominous glare--undoubted there to scare hawks and maybe even a bald eagle as both had been sighted in and about our neighborhood park and swamp and either would undoubtedly love a nice chicken dinner (or maybe one or the other has already had a chicken dinner already and the decoys are there to save the others!)  In the park, a grasshopper jumped right in Gracie's face...and soon wished it hadn't as Gracie snapped it boldly up.  Scared of the plastic owl but fearless when faced--literally--with bugs. This is not the first insect that I've seen her catch and eat, really a fine choice as a dietary supplement for any species requiring protein.  Some red leaves have appeared in the woods and though I wish now that it's not 100+ degrees and humid anymore that summer would last forever, it doesn't.  School starts tomorrow.





Day 90: TGIF

Gracie at the office, ready for duty

The three days we spent going to and being on the campus this week helped both Gracie and me prepare for next week.  She likes to know what's what and what to expect.  Once she does, she gets behind whatever it is.  I learned this about her going to Twins' games this summer.  At the first one, I thought, What are we doing?  What am I doing?  This is no place for a dog!!  But by the second game, Gracie and I had a program, a plan, and the experience was better for both of us.  Last night at the Twins game (Twins vs. Yankees), Gracie performed better than the Twins!  Gracie also caught on to biking and kayaking after a time.  So by Friday, we had a plan for the class days that start next week: park in the faculty lot even though we will be getting to the campus very early, stop on the way in for a "hurry up," go to the third floor to my office to drop off stuff and get her rug (and other materials for class), go to class or, on two days, the writing center.  In the class room, I will put Gracie's rug near the technology cabinet and attach her with her extra leash to the instructor's stool.  This way, she will be able to watch me moving around while I teach the class in the same way she watches me while I mow the lawn.  Our schedule--how we will get ready prior to getting into the car for the 50+ minute drive to White Bear Lake so that we are ready to hit the ground running once we reach the campus--has not entirely crystalized for me yet.  Thankfully, I have the weekend to work on that...and find a good place in the house to hold Webinars with online students.  It's all very challenging. 

Day 89: The Funeral

I could have asked, I suppose.  But asking grieving people if they mind having a dog--even a service dog--at a funeral was just too hard for me to do.  I wanted to go to this funeral because the deceased was my mother and father's doctor in addition to being our neighbor for seven years.  Seven years doesn't sound like a long time to me now, but those seven years took me from age 6 to age 13, pretty important years in a person's life.  They weren't just neighbors either; they were a second family for me, a family where I felt like the oldest rather than the youngest.  I hated leaving Gracie behind today but finally decided that doing so was the considerate thing to do.  I knew Gracie would behave herself and sit quietly at my feet in the church.  But she is a scene stealer, and that didn't seem fair to the doctor or his family.  His oldest son and namesake gave a wonderful talk filled with wit and humor that innumerated the doctor's many amazing achievements in the field of medicine.  Still, to me, the most amazing thing he did was make house calls when my mother was eventually bedridden with Multiple Sclerosis.  Back then, there was no handicap parking.  Getting around was an incredible ordeal for my parents.  Not everyone recognized that or, if they did, recognized it by making things easier for my mother and father.  Even my mother's best friends quit stopping by after a while.  This good man didn't abandon them, though.  He had a presence that exuded calm.  He seemed accepting of what made so many others uncomfortable.  The service was brief, a reflection on a life well-lived.  I enjoyed seeing my childhood friends again too--all younger than me but all in their fifties now.  Still, for a bit today, I was taken back in time.  I had a good childhood and a lot of my fondest memories were thanks to that family.  Of course, Gracie missed me and was glad to have me return and release her from her crate.  And that was good too.

Day 88: Gracie meets the English Department

Gracie got very nervous this morning as I went through my admittedly frenetic routine of packing to go to the Century campus.  Though I only leave her in her box a couple times a week while I go to Body Flow (a combination of tai chi, palliates, and yoga) at the YMCA, she seemed to think this morning that I was not taking her with me.  So finally, I put her vest on to let her know that she was definitely going with me.  I could hardly restrain her on the way to the car due to her extreme excitement and enthusiasm. 

We got to the campus around 10 a.m. and parked in the west campus faculty lot.  I thought a short walk on the Wood Duck Trail behind the campus would do us both good, but when we got to the entrance to the walkway, I could see that it was flooded, very flooded.  Apparently, the rain yesterday was torrential in White Bear Lake too.  We turned and started to walk around the building, which is a great deal smaller than the east campus building.  But we didn't get too far there either.  The walkway was blocked by signs reading "Wet Cement" and the ground bordering the wet cement was wet mud.  Not to be deterred, we took a quick trip around the parking lot.  Once inside, we visited the student services area to introduce Gracie before heading up the stairs to my office on the third floor.  Though I share the office, there was no sign of my office mates today.  Plenty of others were around though, and, of course, everyone wanted to pet Gracie.  I tried to discourage this, but Gracie was being very encouraging, batting her big browns.  Every time someone said her name, Gracie wagged her tail enthusiastically...giving them more encouragement.  Eventually, we staked out a corner of the office for her bathmat/rug, and I poured her a bowl of water.  Then I found a place on the shelf for a box of "office dog biscuits."  As I took one out for Gracie, I could almost hear Martha from IHDI warning me: "Not too many now.  She'll get fat!"  Another thing Gracie and I share is a love of cookies: ginger for me and Milkbone for her.  We're both a bit plump because of this, I'm afraid.  The bathmat was not quite as comfortable as the couch at home, but Gracie was a trooper and tried her best to stay on it and not wander.  I will probably bring the extra leash I have to fasten her to the desk in the classrooms where I'll be teaching.  Hopefully, she will just watch me the way she now watches me mow the lawn.  She seems to know when she's been fastened somewhere and does not struggle with that.

All too soon, it was time for the department meeting.  There is quite a lot of upheaval on the campus for a number of reasons that relate to the general societal upheaval of the moment.  Gracie's presence was definitely something pleasant to focus on.  Everyone seems to have a dog or love dogs and, of course, showed Gracie a lot of affection.  I usually dislike these department meetings.  The department is big and hearing everyone and following what is being said in the large crowded room where we have to meet is difficult for me and very tiring.  Today, though, having Gracie at my feet was relaxing.  After the meeting broke up, I did not have my usual stiff neck and headache.  Back in my office to pack up, I couldn't resist giving Gracie just one more "good girl" cookie.  I think Martha would understand. 

Day 87: A Day of Rest

Today was a beautiful day that culminated in a torrential rainfall.  As much as we enjoyed venturing out yesterday, Gracie and I enjoyed staying home today.  I'm not entirely sure where the day went.  I do know I mowed the front yard while Gracie watched me from a shadey spot a safe distance away.  Mowing with a push mower like we do is very relaxing.  I have tried to convince people that the push mower is not harder to push than a power mower as they insist that it is.  Furthermore, it doesn't use gas.  It doesn't make a hideous nose--like a thousand whining bees--the way the neighbor's power mower does either.  We are currently wedged between that mowing fanatic who likes to mow with his whining bee mower at least twice a week and "the working couple" who have a lawn service along with their other "must haves": two kids, a big show-quality (and therefore high strung) dog, built-in lawn sprinklers that go off even while it is raining, and an air-conditioning unit large enough to house a family of five.  Their lawn service sends one fellow who rides a mower, another who mans a blower, and a third who power edges and power trims.  The resulting bees don't whine; they roar in a very angry way for reasons I will leave you to imagine.  I can't decide which of the two is worse.  I never mow when those folks are out and about if I can help it.  But today, whining bees was at work--I think--and the lawn crew didn't show up until I was thankfully done and the old push mower was back in the garage.  Now the dark is settling in, and the rain has softened to a mere pit-a-pat.  Tomorrow, Gracie and I go back to the campus for more meetings and settling in.  Meanwhile...say goodnight, Gracie.

Day 86: Grrrr-Racy

The word for the day is enthusiasm.  Whatever I lacked in that department as we headed off to White Bear Lake this morning, Gracie made up for--in spades!  From the moment I put on her vest and seat belt harness, Gracie was ready to go.  Sometimes I wish I could get her to move a little more slowly and have even thought that her name is not really Gracie but actually Grrr-Racy because she always seems to be in a hurry.  The drive was long--too long for me but not for Gracie who loves riding in the car.  We parked in the library parking lot.  Before we even reached the entrance, a young woman joined us and said, "She's cute, but I get you get that all the time."  I nodded, and Gracie curled up her tail and stuck her chest out.  Once inside, we put the copy of the campus common book I checked out at the beginning of the summer--Zeitoun by Dave Eggers--in the book drop.  I decided against going into the library as there was nothing that I needed to pick up.  Instead, Gracie and I walked around the building, noting all the landscaping that had been done over the summer, probably by the horticulture department.  Then it was back inside to the IT Help Desk where I had made an appointment to have a program added to the school's computer that I am borrowing.  This required a lot of standing around and waiting--an hour's worth, actually.  Gracie was the model of good dog behavior; she sprawled out and quickly fell into a sound sleep.  As usual the IT guys were very helpful.  Once they go the program loaded, they suggested I leave the computer so they could install MS Office 2010 for me.  Since we were going to have to come back to the east campus before leaving for the day, Gracie and I decided to walk over the bridge that spans Century Avenue North to the west campus.  Our lunch and program wasn't set to start until noon, so Gracie and I went up to the office I share with other adjuncts on the third floor of the west campus.  I was both surprised and pleased to discover that I had been sent additional copies of two of the books I'm using this fall AND a copy of the book from Viking that I've been so excited about: Now You See It: How the brain science of attention will transform the way we live, work, and learn by Cathy N. Davidson, an English professor at Duke University in N. Carolina.  Viking has send me the galley last month, but I wasn't expecting a finished book too!  Gracie tested the carpet for its nap worthiness while I tried less that 100% successfully to peel Starletta's name off the bottom drawer of the desk.  (Starletta was hired full-time at St. Paul College this summer and, sadly, won't be back at Century to brighten up the halls with her passion and energy, great smile, and quick laugh.  Our loss, though, is her gain.  I know she's really pleased.)  When we got down to lunch, I couldn't remember whether I had requested turkey or vegetarian.  Since there were more boxes labeled turkey, I took one of those.  I poured Gracie some water in her collapsible dog bowl.  She drank that down and then lay down and went to sleep again.  After lunch we got into pairs.  Gracie had a little trouble settling down for that, so I ended up petting her under the table.  If my partner noticed that I was less than fully attentive, she was too polite to say so.  Needless to say, both Gracie and I were happy when I break was announced.  We used the time to explored the outdoor, Shakespeare stage, something I've always wanted to do but never have.  The last hour, Gracie was again her settled self.  At the end of the session, the session leader asked me to introduce Gracie.  She loved hearing everyone say her name.  Thankfully, this exciting moment occurred as we were on our way out.  We walked back over the bridge, picked up the computer, and headed home.  I think about a few more days of this, this week, we will be ready to face the students.  Piece of cake, or, as Gracie might say, dog biscuit!

Day 84 and 85: ...and counting

Tomorrow is big day number one, the day Gracie and I go to the campus as an official team for the first time.  Mentally, I'm confident that we are ready and that Gracie will be her sweet, attentive self and I will be calm and focused on what we are going to the campus to do: get a program installed on my computer and attend a workshop that includes lunch.  The trouble is that I get nervous, back-to-school stomach every fall and have since the day my mother brought be to a church basement to attend pre-school.  That was such a chaotic place that I didn't last the day there.  Kindergarten, as I recall, was not a whit better.  It took me several years of saying a sort of mantra to myself--"You are no longer in school. Relax."--after I graduated from college to get over school-related, fall anxiety.  When I went back to grad school, the feeling returned and then intensified when I became a teaching assistant.  The years I've taught a class in the summer, the feeling was actually reduced. This is probably because going back didn't follow a long period of pleasant downtime.  Giving that up is very hard, especially for a reclusive person such as myself. I'm glad, though, that Gracie and I  have this next week to get used to the campus together.  In addition to Monday, we have department meetings Wednesday and Thursday, and a training session with the TLC (Tutors Linked to Courses) tutors (students who are paid to help a specific class of students). I lined up two terrific students in the spring--a long time ago in the life of a community college student--and am now keeping my fingers crossed that both can still be part of this wonderful  program--wonderful for them, for me, and especially for the students that they help. 

Day 83: Teeth

 Until Tuesday, Luis Carlos Montalvan's book about his service dog Tuesday, includes lots of interesting details about how Montalvan takes care of Tuesday.  I've already mentioned the baby wipes to clean Tuesday's paws, which works well, is portable, and seems to be good for the paws too.  It seems Montalvan also brushes Tuesday's teeth, and , from the description, Tuesday likes it!  The key, it seems, is the dog toothpaste, flavored in various meats rather than the mint so many humans seem to go for. 

Yesterday, Gracie and I had to pick up more dog food.  We found the Eukanuba IHDI recommends so quickly and easily that I decided to see what this particular store had in the way of dog, meat-flavored tooth paste.  Beef and chicken came in dispensers that looked a lot like the dispensers Crest comes in!  The toothbrushes, though, looked a little harsh.  Eukanuba had a display that read "Free.  Take one."  So I did.  Inside the little box, I found not only a small pamphlet on  dental hygiene for pets but also what I can only call a "finger brush."  It fits on my finger so I can rub the meat paste on Gracie's teeth.  Neat.  So, along with the bag of chow, we bought a tube of chicken paste.  Gracie doesn't love having me stick my finger in her mouth, but she does seem to like licking the chicken paste off her teeth.  Why not?  It can't hurt her, right?

Day 82: Beautifying!



In the chair at The Chair



Today Gracie and I went to The Chair on 39th and Bryant for a haircut and some color enhancement (for me).  This was Gracie's second visit to The Chair. She's so smart that she remembered what to do--jump up and sit in my lap with only her head sticking out while the stylist worked on me.  Gracie looked into the mirror, but instead of looking at herself, she looked right into my eyes.  When I had to lay back to have my hair washed, Gracie stretched out herself--right on top of me.  She got raves all around for being to well-behaved.  "Better than a child," one stylist said.  I should have had one of them take our picture, but I hated to break the spell.

Day 81: Clean Paws

clean paw

Ever since reading that lawn treatments have been linked to lymphoma in dogs, I have been watchful for those signs that companies put in a yard they have just treated.  When I read in Luis Carlos Montalvan's book Until Tuesday that Montalvan cleans the NYC grime off his service dog Tuesday's paws with baby wipes, I decided that I should be doing that for Gracie after long walks and after going to Twins games and probably simply as part of day to day grooming (like cleaning the goop from around her eyes).  I planned to get a package of the same brand Montalvan uses at Target but then remembered that I had a couple old boxes stashed away.  I wondered if they would still be there and, when they were, just how old they were.  After all, my youngest son is almost twenty-five!  I opened them up and, though drier than one might like them to be, they were still soft with whatever lotion is on them.  I just add a little water like I would to a wash cloth and wipe her paws off, including between the pads.  We'll get Montalvan's brand--Pampers--when we run out of these.

Day 79 and 80: Constant Disruption

Feeling Fallish

I've been reading  a book called Now You See It: how the brain science of attention will transform the way we live, work, and learn (Viking, 2011) by Cathy N. Davidson, an English professor at Duke University.  Her conclusion?  Cultivated distraction is the way to go in the 21st Century or, put another way "refreshing your mental browser."  I like this idea because, I find, I am already good at it.  In the movie Parenthood, the grandmother tells Steve Martin's character that people experience life one of two ways: as a merry-go-round or as a roller coaster.  I'd like to add a third way--as bumper cars: hit one wall, turn and go the other way!

Afternoon Sky: Cool and Breezy

Trying to finish up my summer committments while getting the sixteen weeks of the fall community college semester organized and dated, all while getting back in the habit of wearing my hearing aids all the time has done more to unfocus me than focus me.  Gracie seems concerned.  She keeps putting her paw on my leg as if to tell me something and yet no phone is ringing, no smoke detector is sounding, no clock alarm is buzzing, and no one is knocking at the door or ringing the doorbell.  Maybe she is worried that I am thinking of other things and have forgotten about her.  I have not!  In fact, now that I look at the time, I think Gracie  is telling me that it's time to fix her dinner.

Day 78: Batter up!

Sometimes I think Gracie is disappointed by quiet days at home.  She certainly perked up today when we started getting ready to go to the Twins game.  As is her new way, she leaped into the trailer behind the bike.  Then we were off for the 45 minute ride to and then down the Cedar Lake bike trail--the trail now goes all the way to the river, but we got off at Target stadium.  Keeping up with Bruce is a bit of the challenge.  I think he forgets that I'm peddling for two.  He is helpful though.  For example, once we were parked and had locked the bikes to a post and had hurried into the stadium, Bruce said he would hurry ahead and put Gracie's bath mat down, so when we got there, her place would be all set for her.  He then hurried off.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity to give Gracie a potty break, something I was thinking I should have done before we took off on the bikes.  She's so good about waiting and about telling me she needs to go out that I would hate for her to have an accident that she simply couldn't help.  Instead of following Bruce, Gracie and slipped back out of the stadium and headed for our favorite grassy knoll.  I was right too.  As soon as she got on the grass, Gracie relieved herself.  What a good girl!  Back to the park entrance we went.  But when I gave the ticket taker my ticket, she frowned.  Then it dawned on me.  We had already checked in, so our ticket was in effect spent.  "I had to bring her back out to relieve herself," I said, nodding at Gracie.  Luckily, the ticket taker was young and female.  She smiled at Gracie, then said, "Well next time you have to tell someone that you're leaving the park and get your ticket stamped."  At least that's what I think she said.  Anyway, she let us in.  When we found the seats, Bruce had the bath mat all spread out for Gracie.  She drank some water from her portable bowl; then she lay down with her head on my feet and went to sleep.  She was lucky, actually.  The Twins lost to the Sox 7 to zip; it was not a pretty site. 

Day 77: Jogging Dog

The return of heavy humidity, only one cup of coffee yesterday, and the visit to the audiologist  left me feeling a bit anxious about returning to a heavy schedule of classes at the end of this month, which is not at all helpful.  To counteract this, Gracie and I decided to try the long run this morning, which for me is a little less than two miles.  Up until now, Gracie and I have been running about 1/2 that distance together two or three times a week.  Her predominant breed, King Charles Cavelier Spaniel, is not noted for being a good dog to jog with according to a Web site on dog jogging that I located.  Nevertheless, Gracie is very enthusiastic about these runs.  She gets so excited when I try to put on my running shoes that she nips at my hands and makes the process of tying my laces last twice as long.  When we start out, she tries to run.  Gracie is small--17 pounds--but fast.  (She can also jump like Michael Jordan!)  I've been telling myself that running the shorter distance is for her--so her paws don't get sore.  I have not wanted to think the shorter distance is for me because I've gotten old.  Admittedly, I started running to tamp down excess energy.  In my twenties, this sometimes meant running around Lake of the Isles twice in one day or running around both Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun in a single outing.  Now I run my own neighborhood mostly to be able to keep running (use it or lose it)  and sometimes, like today, to combat anxiety. 

How did it go?  Great!  Gracie kept up with me without trying to race impatiently ahead.  She never tired to stop.  A couple squirrels tempted her into perking up a bit and looking sideways rather than straight ahead, but she didn't try to race off after them.  Best of all, my anxiety has been reduced enough for me to go on combing through my course delivery system class sites, updating assignments and putting current dates on the opening of quizzes and weekly assignment sheets for both my online classes and my face2face classes.  Is Gracie worn out?  Well, no.  When we came in, she made one of her spectacular leaps over the arm of the couch in pursuit of her nylon bone.  Maybe her youth will help keep me a bit younger for a while longer.

Day 75 and 76: The Last 100 Yards

With summer winding down, I find it is time for my back-to-school tune-up.  Yesterday, that meant a message by a student at the message school behind the St. Louis Park post office.  Today, it was a trip to a new audiologist, now part of the MN Eye Clinic where I have been going for eye exams the last few years.  My former audiologist, the one who got me using digital hearing aids and who helped me get Gracie, moved to a new job.  Her replacement, while certainly a nice person, did not seem to have the same level of experimental zest as her predecessor.  That's why, when my eye doctor told me about the new hearing division, I thought I would check it out.  Gracie came with me, and so did Bruce.  In fact, when I made the appointment, they told me that I should bring a person I was used to listening to along with me for the hearing test.  I was pretty excited about that idea.  As it turned out, however, all Bruce did was listen to the audiologist and ask a few questions.  He also committed to nagging me about wearing my hearing aids all the time after we listened to a lecture about a portion of the brain not engaging in listening atrophying...and possibly encouraging the onset of Alzheimer's.  My former audiologist, whom I liked a lot, really said the same thing about needing to wear hearing aids all the time to train the brain to ignore unessential sounds.  None of this was new.  But it was still depressing...as was my hearing test.  Apparently I hear well enough to be able to understand better with the help of hearing aids BUT my brain is just not functioning well enough to accept the amplification and interpret it.  There might be a new hearing aide designed for just this, and I said I would test it...maybe next week or the week after.  However, I feel a bit like my bean plants, now gnawed on by the darn Japanese beetles.  How much of an effort should I put into saving those beans when the end of summer is rushing toward us like a runaway frieght train?

Gracie was very excited to ride in the car.  She wasn't very happy in the doctor's office though.  I decided she was either concerned that we were there to have something looked at or done to her, or she could hear all the high pitched sounds that were painful to even my low functioning ears and didn't like any more than I did.   Oddly, the audiologist had never heard of a hearing dog and actully said, "Service dogs are mostly for the visually impaired."  That leaves me a tiny bit hopeful that he didn't know what he was talking about...a tiny bit.  I don't know why I always hope that someone will say, "I see the problem.  I'll just do this and then it will be fixed' when I go in to have my hearing checked instead of saying, "Your hearing loss is profound."  I know profound means something special when applied to hearing loss, something more than just "profound."  I still hate hearing it.  I'm sure glad I have Gracie here--happy to be home just as I am--to comfort me.  So, from something bad--hearing loss--comes something good--Gracie.

Day 74: Gracie Peps Up

Today was the perfect summer day.  Sunny, reasonably unhumid, cool.  Gracie woke up with more pep than I think I have ever seen her have.  All morning she was urging me to pep up and get going.  We went through our usual routine and then went for a short run.  I could tell that the run wore her out less than it wore me out, though.  Still, she was willing to doze on the couch while I worked on the material for my fall classes and got started on a book review of Now You See It I'm hoping the Minnesota Teacher's of English will put in their (our?) fall newsletter.  The editor told me to make it between 500 and 1000 words.  At 800 words, I decided to stop and take Gracie to the lake for a swim.  She was excited as we packed up our supplies: sunscreen for me, life jacket and purple tennis ball for her, and a towel for us both.  It seems funny to say that it was too hot to go swimming most of July, but it was.  I knew I could get to the lake and swim, but I didn't think I could manage the hot ride home covered in  lake water.

Gracie has decided she likes riding in the cart behind the bike and now jumps in when we go into the garage.  She still doesn't like the sound of the garage door, but she doesn't react to it with dread anymore.  She definitely does not care for the basement, though, and would rather get to the bike through the garage door instead of down the stairs into the basement.

The ride to the lake was slightly marred by the first Wednesday alarm test.  We were right under the thing when it went off, and it hurt my ears.  I can only imagine how awful the alarm was for Gracie.  We survived, though, and the ride along the edge of the wetland was beautiful, the path paved with the dappled light filtered through the trees.  Gracie likes to ride with her front paws hanging over the edge of the cart and, of course, with her tongue fully extended.  People who pass us smile and mutter something that sounds to me like "cute dog."  I hope they're talking about Gracie!

See Gracie glow!  My angel.

The first beach we reached was closed for "Safety Day."  Kids who looked to be nine or ten years old were spread out in clumps with each clump wearing its own color t-shirts.  Taken as a whole, they looked like sorted M&M candies.  We rode on by.  The next beach was populated with several dogs, mostly unleashed.  We kept going on around the lake to what used to be called Hidden Beach, an unofficial beach that had a reputation for nude bathing.  I suspect this was some one's wishful thinking rather than a reality because in all my years of being on, in, and by Cedar Lake, I never once encountered anyone bathing in the nude.  The police must have decided that something unsavory was going on there, however, because a few years ago the city decided to make Hidden Beach an official beach.  They installed outhouses and defined the swimming area with orange floats.  Occasionally, a lifeguard appears--actually very infrequently with the current budget woes, but enough to warrant a place for a lifeguard to perch and a boat to row out to rescue anyone who happens to drown at exactly the right time.  This beach was also busy.  After all, it was a beautiful day and the unemployment rate is currently in the double digits (despite there being no income tax increase on the wealthiest 1% either locally or nationally to offset the revenue shortage--apparently not raising taxes does not create jobs while raising taxes costs jobs.  This is confusing, but I am not counting on either the president or the press to clear this confusion up.  There is simply too much at stake for honesty)  Still, there were no dogs that I could see.  I locked my bike to a sign that said, "No dogs and No glass containers allowed."  Sometimes no lifeguard means an opportunity to exercise the much touted "personal freedom" Republicans in particular are so interested in protecting for us. Then I got Gracie in her life jacket and took out the tennis ball.  She was not a very enthusiastic ball player today, so I decided to pick her up by the handle on the jacket and take her out just far enough for her to have to dog paddle in.  That's exactly what she did.  We did that a few times.  I was hoping that she would like this and would eventually go out as well as come in.  Finally, I decided that this was simply not going to happen, at least for today.  Of course she was too cute in her orange life jacket with that purple tennis ball in her mouth for anyone to point out to us that dogs were  notallowed.  Had they, I would have countered that she is a service dog and can be where I am, which today was knee deep in Cedar Lake.

When I eventually tossed the ball up on the sand, Gracie's morning enthusiasm returned.  She went after it with gusto.  So I threw it until Gracie finally took it into a tangle of tall weeds.  That's when I recalled all the paths through the woods that branch out from and circle around Hidden Beach.  Leaving the bike locked to the sign, we headed down the path.  Unlike the beach, the path was deserted, shady and cool.  I had the bang leash on Gracie and tossed the ball in front of us.  I could tell she was having a grand time, and I was too.  We circled around, finding connecting paths until we arrived back at the beach.  I dipped her paws in the lake to get off the sand.  Then we headed home.

Day 72: Keeping Cool.

Popsicles for dogs!

Our refrigerator dispensers crushed ice from the door.  It's not really a fancy refrigerator.  It's from Sears.  But it does dispense both ice and water--both filtered--from the door.  Once we got it, we quite buying bottled water.  In addition, getting cold water and ice without having to open the freezer or refrigerator door has to save energy.  The ice dispenser part is very noisy.  Being a hearing dog, Gracie is naturally interested in unusual noise--like the refrigerator dispensing ice.  When I get ice, she comes to watch.  One day, I offered Gracie  a small piece of ice because she looked so interested.  She took it and chewed it up with her back teeth.  I offered her another piece, and the same thing happened.   I wondered if this was good for her, so I wrote a quick e-mail to IHDI.  "She might like ice," they replied.  Well, she doesn't just like it; she loves it.  She would rather eat ice than drink water from her bowl.  I thought this was pretty unusual until I saw a Milkbone shaped ice tray at Chuck & Don's Pet Food Outlet one day.  Apparently, some humans are making chicken flavored, Milkbone shaped mini-Popsicles for their canine friends.  For now, though, Gracie is content with little ice chunks.

Day 71: Schedule

It's August 1, time for another heartworm treatment for Gracie.  I love the new heartworm treatment--a chunky, soft treat that Gracie loves so much that she grabs it and runs to her favorite place between the couch and the hassock to savour it.  This beats the old days when we used to have to get the dog in a neck hold, pry his mouth open, stick the pill at the back of his tongue, clamp his mouth shut, and rub his throat until he swallowed.  Not the best way to establish a loving bond with your canine friend!  Though sometimes hard to see, our society is making changes for the better in some select areas.  The heartworm tablet is one of the changes with which I can find no fault! 

Day 70: Pacing

"boring and non-offensive"

Today, Gracie and I took our first walk before 6 a.m.  While that sounds early, we will be on the road by 6 a.m. once school starts.  We took a short run around 8:30 a.m., and already the air was almost thick enough to cut with a knife and other cliches.  Gracie makes it very easy for me to read and work on the computer--a nice way to both retreat from the heat and finish up summer writing committments and prepare for fall classes.  She seems to be sound asleep, but the minute I stand up, her eyes pop open.  If I leave the room, she follows me.  In and out of the air-conditioned room we went today until about 4:30 p.m. when we went for a long walk down along the creek to the falls on 50th Street and Browndale.  The most interesting thing we saw was a sign saying that the creek (Minnehaha Creek) is closed at 54th Street.  I'm not sure how anyone can manage to close the creek, but I'm pretty sure the creek at 54th Street is in Edina.  If any town can close the creek, Edina would be the one I would bet on being able to actually do it.  I've read that current Edina residents want a bike path in Edina but not enough to allow others from neighboring suburbs to ride on it.  If you don't live in Edina--and sometimes even if you do--Edina residents don't want you there.  Maybe Edina residents have also decided they don't want canoeists or kayakers traveling through their backyards either.  I used to live in Edina, so I know all this has more to do with vague fear of "the other" than it has to do with anything that has ever actually happened...at least that I know of.  I haven't lived in Edina for close to forty years and find the persistence of this vague fear troubling, especially since it now seems to have spread to engulf not only the rest of the state but the rest of the country as well.  What's next?  Concrete partitions? When we got home from our walk, I dug out my orange t-shirt from the Walker Art Center that has" boring and non-offensive" written on the front.  Gracie and I like walking up the hill into Edina and wearing this t-shirt when we do might just be enough to calm their fears...at least a bit.  There is a little park up their way with access to the creek. Their boulevards are very generous too, with grass thick and green and inviting to little dog feet.   I think I'll make my orange t-shirt my dog walking uniform from now on.  Besides, it matches Gracie's vest.  Look out, Edina, here we come, rolling in like Carl Sandburg's fog.