Back to School: Week 6

Hightlights of week 6:

1. Being stopped by the campus security:  "You can't bring a dog in here," said the head honcho, approaching us rapidly down the still deserted hallway--deserted except for the three of us, that is.  "This is my service dog," I said calmly.  I had my backpack slung over my right shoulder, Gracie's leash in my left hand and the handle of my briefcase on wheels clutched in my right hand.   It was 6:30 a.m., and Gracie and I had been up since 4:50 a.m., taken two walks, had breakfast, and driven for 50 minutes through not quite rush hour traffic.  We were alert, in other words, and looking our best.  "Oh," the security office said.  "I didn't know."  Then he bent down and patted Gracie on the head. 
2. Taking a poetry walk at the Silver Lake Regional Park: Dogs are allowed on paved paths, so Gracie wasn't the only dog there.  I'm still avoiding other dogs a bit because Gracie is definitely nicer to people than she is to other dogs.  We walked on the paved trails, stopping now and then to listen to local poets read their work.  It was delightful.  If we had thought to bring her life jacket, we could have gone canoeing too.  Drat.
3. Getting a compliment from a colleague:  While I was sitting at the instructor's table in the campus writing center and Gracie was on her bath mat under the table, another member of the English department stopped and said, "I wish my students were so well behaved."  I assumed she meant Gracie though I was well behaved as well.
4. Going to the Unitarian Society to watch Nate's documentary film:  This was a new place for Gracie since we stopped attending before she joined us--years before, actually.  The film was all ready running when we arrived, so we slipped in quietly and sat in a chair by the door.  Gracie sat in my lap.  Then she sort of guarded the door, growling softly each time someone came in, peeked in, or even passed by the door.  Though I'm sure her intentions were good, I had to tell her no each time.
5. Going out to eat after the film with Nate and Bruce:  I wasn't sure how this was going to go since Gracie not only sat through the film and the question and answer session afterward, she had also gone to school with me earlier that day for what is out longest day: an hour in the writing center, an office hour, and a three hour class.  She was terrific though.  Gracie knows what a restaurant is--even this one where she had never been before.  She settled right down under the booth until we got up to leave.