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Besides being a humble, wise, playful and not to mention worldly young dog, I'm a fairly picky socialite. I've met lots of interesting characters so far. There's Luna, the gray-and-white cat that belongs to my pet's older sister and brother-in-law. The whole troupe stayed with us for awhile, but they've recently moved into a new apartment when T.G.M. came to stay. Then there was this big malamute across the road named Cody, but he got sick and had to be put to sleep. I'll miss talking to him on my walks. And there's a family of quail living out in the field, along with a family of four red rabbits. I tried to go and talk to some of the rabbits, but for some reason they didn't really want to stick around and chat. Must be shy. There are lots of other dogs and cats in the area, but I haven't deigned myself to talk to them yet. I'll think about it some more. Most of them don't seem like they're my type. After all, a handsome young dog like myself must be careful who he socializes with. Why, there might be a dog nearby that doesn't have a home! I feel sorry for those dogs. They're missing out on a perfect opportunity to get pets of their own and gain some worldly experience. And being pampered by pets isn't a bad bonus, either. ;) The lovely people at Dogs for the Deaf in Central Point, Oregon, found me at a pound and thought I had potential, so they took me home with them. After months of training, I was tested and was listed as a Home Hearing dog, which pretty much does everything a Certified dog does, but has something that would prevent it from being fully certified. I didn't get certified because I bark too much. Anyway, my pet sent in an application, and DFD thought we would go together nicely. So they delivered me here, and the rest, as they say, is history. If you're wondering what it is I do, I act as a second pair of ears for my pet. I am trained to respond to a variety of things: the oven timer, the smoke detector, the doorbell, someone knocking at the door, my pet's name, and the phone ringing. When I hear one of those sounds, I run to her and put my paw on her leg to let her know something's up. Then she follows me to whatever is making the sound, and she gives me treats or (my favorite) a squeaky toy to play with for awhile. It's fun work, really, and I get to sleep while on duty. :) I haven't missed a single one yet. |
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