ROAD TRIP!

JUST

Let me share two recent experiences with you...  Make that THREE!

1.  I was at the check out of Walmart and the cashier asked me the name of my service dog.  I said, "I'm sorry, I don't give out his name because I don't want you or anyone else that may hear, to call his name and distract him from his job."  She said she understood and was checking out the rest of my groceries.  I noticed Musketeer giving a pre-alert to falling BG levels and that's when the cashier reached out and PET MY SERVICE DOG!!!  I told her to "LEAVE IT!" and finished the transaction and left the store, forgetting that Musketeer had given me a pre-alert and Musketeer forgot that he was about to alert because he was being petted!  I drove home with a dangerous BG level because of that cashier!

2.  I was at our big main doctor's office at the diabetic part of the building, so they could download my meter to order more test strips for the meter since I'm testing so much more now.  The first receptionist had me sit in the waiting room while they did the downloading.  The second receptionist got to her desk, sat down, saw my dog, JUMPED UP, Went through the door from the reception desk to the short hall, through ANOTHER door to the waiting room, ran toward Musketeer, calling out, "SERVICE DOG!!!!"  I gave her the hand signal for "LEAVE IT!" and sternly told her, "Do *NOT* Distract my service dog!"

3.  Took our son to a church school's Trunk or Treat event.  Musketeer did GREAT with all of the little kids running around, until one 8? year old girl POKED him with her Rae(?) from Star Wars stick!  Musketeer and I waited against a wall, out of the way from everyone and this 9 year old Batman boy ran up to Musketeer, hand outstretched and I shook my head and said, "No.  No, get back.  No!  LEAVE IT!  I said NO, he's WORKING, LEAVE IT!" and he finally stopped and ran off.   

Come on, people!  If you see a service animal.. if you see ANY animal...  Smile at the handler and continue on with what you were doing.  Please!

One man approached us with his 18 month old son, "May my son pet your... oh, it's a service dog, I'm sorry."  No no, that's okay, let me get my dog ready to meet your son.  Musketeer went into a down and CRAWLED up to the little boy and let the boy hold his nose while Musketeer wagged his tail.  The man thanked me and I told him THANK YOU for what he did by asking!

Thank you!

Fast & Easy Service Dog Info:

1. Don't distract (no petting, no talking to, no kissy sounds, just smile at the handler). There are TONS of distractions when we're out and about, and a SD's one job is to take care of his handler, so he needs to focus without added distractions.
2. Talk to the handler, not the dog. (See reason above, AND, the dog won't answer you!).
3. Don't ask the dog's name or gender. I'm not going to tell you his name when out in public because I don't want you, or anyone, to call him when I'm about to have a medical emergency and he miss alerting because of your distraction. And gender... do you honestly need to know? I realize you're interested and I appreciate that, but just letting him work is best.
4. No, he doesn't wear his vest at home. We know he's a service dog so the vest isn't needed to tell us.
5. YES, he gets lots of time to PLAY many times every day, and he plays with all of his family members!
6. Please do not give SDs treats or any type of food. That is the sole job of the handler (we are the ones "paying" him to work for us) AND he might have food allergies (Musketeer is allergic to chicken, for example).
7. Service dogs assist those with disabilities. You may not be able to tell what type of disability the individual has, but realize that the person has some medical challenges and at times, just being out in public is all they can manage, so please don't be offended if they don't answer your questions about their service dog. They have most likely been asked those same questions several times already in just that one outing and haven't had the ability to answer anyone. HOWEVER, asking, "Would you mind if I ask you about your service dog?" is a WONDERFUL AMAZING PERFECT question to ask a SD handler! And if we're able, we would LOVE to talk to you about our team mate! Just realize that sometimes we're running late for an appointment, or we've just been alerted by our SD that a medical issue is about to happen, or we're wiped out and just need to get home.
THANK YOU for reading, and if you'd like to ask questions, Dog Blog COMMENTS is the perfect place to do that, so I'm opening the floor to questions here! 

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Aqua therapy, playing with wee ones, getting groceries, playing outside, alerting to medical needs, learning mobility tasks...  Whew!  I'm a HAPPY dog and glad for the chance to rest by the pool!

Working Dog

by

Musketeer Puppy

Hi!  I'm Musketeer Puppy and I have an important place in the Fairport household!

The lady of the house needs me to make sure her blood sugar levels aren't going where they shouldn't go.  I place my paw on her leg if I smell the sugar levels in her system go up too much or go down too much.  If her levels start to get too wacky, I start to whimper to let her know I'm extra worried about her and the humans need to do something fast.  My lady doesn't like to hear me whimper, so she acts quickly to fix things.

When I'm done alerting, the entire Fairport family throws a Puppy Party!  The lady gives me lots of treats and they all praise me and give me LOTS of love and I get so excited because I feel like I won a huge prize for saving my lady.  Right after the Puppy Party, I take a bone into my awesome den so that my lady can fix the sugar levels and I can chill out after such an exciting party!

My lady gives the play time command several times a day and the wee ones and I play with a ball or play tug with a green and yellow rope.  After a 10 - 15 minute high energy play time, I'm ready to just chill next to my lady.

When I'm out and about with my lady, I need to pay extra close attention to her because there are so many distractions when we're out and about!  My lady gets distracted by EVERYTHING, so I have to focus on her to keep her safe.  I'm learning to walk at her pace and I know how to walk next to an electric wheelchair really well.  My lady and I hear lots of comments when we're out and about.  So far, every parent has told their child, "No, you can't distract the puppy, he's working, he's taking care of his lady.".  I'm SO glad everyone we've met so far is so respectful.  Sometimes my lady lets people pet me, because she knows it's nice to meet other people and say hello, but ONLY when my lady thinks it's the right time for that.

The back yard at my new home is AMAZING!  They have grass and leaves and I can run and play.  I do my personal business on one side of the yard.  The man of the house placed a really nice chair in the back yard for my lady to sit on.  It even has a roof in case the shower gets turned on outside (WHO puts a shower OUTSIDE??  That didn't happen to me much while I was in Arizona, but HERE, it happened for THREE DAYS!  I was about ready to place a call in to Noah!).  We had a very nice fur brushing time this morning and my lady goes on and on about how handsome I am.

I have a very nice bed next to where my lady sleeps in the master bedroom.  I stay right by her side, in case I need to alert her to a changing blood sugar level, like the other night.  I woke my lady up at 3:00 am to let her know things weren't going the right way.  I really like to help her!

I'm a proud and happy Musketeer!

Service Dog Musketeer

Is WORKING HARD!

But he also gets lots of breaks

to play and go to fun new places!

There is still a balance

due!

If you are able to give

a few dollars,

Musketeer and I would GREATLY

APPRECIATE it

AND

YOU!

THANKS SO MUCH!

Type in "MUSKETEER PUPPY"

in the description box

after clicking BUY NOW

HERE

THANK YOU

for LOOKING!

THANK YOU

for HELPING!

HE'S HOME!!!

TIRED puppy!  He gave 3 alerts today!  We get tested tomorrow, so praying all goes well for that.

My Musketeer Puppy is

HOME!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!

All My Bags Are Packed...

I'm Ready To Go...

(New song)

I Believe I Can Fly!

I Believe I Can Touch The Sky!

And Now Musketeer Is Breathing

Wisconsin Air So...

HE'S A CHEESE HEAD!

I'll See You Tomorrow, Musketeer!

He's Leavin'

On a Jet Plane...

To Come HOME!

Musketeer will be boarding a plane this afternoon!

Preparing

to

COME HOME!

Musketeer gets a bath before getting ready to board a plane on Thursday, October 12, 2017!  Musketeer will be traveling with Ed, one of the "top dogs" at Diabetic Alert Dogs of America (D.A.D.A.), taking a flight out of Las Vegas and landing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  They'll rent a car and stay at a hotel Thursday night since they'll be arriving late.  

Ed will bring Musketeer to our home on Friday, between 10:00 and 10:30 am local time.  I was given a complete schedule for Friday and Saturday of what I'll be learning!  Right now I'm trying to focus on calm breathing.  =)

There is still a balance

due!

If you are able to give

a few dollars,

Musketeer and I would GREATLY

APPRECIATE it

AND

YOU!

THANKS SO MUCH!

Type in "MUSKETEER PUPPY"

in the description box

after clicking BUY NOW

HERE

THANK YOU

for LOOKING!

HELP IS NEEDED NOW!

I received a phone call from Diabetic Alert Dogs of America yesterday.  I was told money needs to be in by Tuesday, October 10, 2017.  

PLEASE HELP!

Direct donation is the best route:

If you are able to give

any amount,

Musketeer and I would GREATLY

APPRECIATE it

AND

YOU!

THANKS SO MUCH!

Type in "MUSKETEER PUPPY"

in the description box

after clicking BUY NOW

HERE

It's the Final Countdown...

9 MORE DAYS

until...

Musketeer

Comes HOME!

Diabetic Alert Dogs of America, the company that I'm getting my service dog from, is headquartered in Las Vegas.  I sent them an email this morning:
"We've been hearing the horrible news and our thoughts and prayers are with the D.A.D.A. family.  Hoping you and yours are all okay!

(Musketeer Puppy's person)"

I was thankful to receive this reply:

"All of us at DADs of America are safe and as are all the pups! Thank you for checking with us <3"

Love & Prayers

to the victims,

their family & friends.

Service Dog

Musketeer's

22nd Weekly Report Card

I am so happy to hear that you have enjoyed these updates and that it has been a good experience to follow along in Musketeer's training journey.  I am even happier to report that Musketeer Puppy has officially passed his scent training! He has really progressed in his alerts in public these last few weeks and has been doing great with his reaction time to the scent and his confidence alerting in public, at home and during the night. Musketeer will continue to practice his alerts at home, out in public and during the evening until his scheduled delivery. We can't wait for you to meet him!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At time of publication:

1 week, 4 days, 8 hours, 8 minutes and 47 seconds.  

Give or take.

:)