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!