HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2018

NEW Service Dog Vest

in

MY FAMILY TARTAN (PLAID)

is on the way!

(PLAID is my favorite color!)

A Surprise Gift

from

Diabetic Alert Dogs of America

(The folks that trained Musketeer Puppy)

For Our One Year Anniversary!

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

of

LIVING WITH US AND

TAKING CARE OF ME

MUSKETEER PUPPY!

I sent this email to

Diabetic Alert Dogs of America

today:

Hi Christy!

D.A.D.A. made sure I not only had the perfect dog that fits into my life but also the perfect dog to save my life!  Today, Musketeer alerted when my level was a 128 and I told him I was fine, check back in 15 minutes.  Usually, he checks back at EXACTLY 15 minutes!!!!  But today, he checked back (placed his paw on my leg) after only 11 minutes.  I told my husband I'll go ahead and test, just to see what direction my levels were going.  After only 11 minutes, my blood sugar level had gone down to 78.  My husband was commenting on my slurred speech and slowness of thinking by the time we had the puppy party a moment later.  Musketeer does such an amazing job at his job!  And he LOVES doing his job SO MUCH!  Our children could be having a major play session with tennis balls and tug ropes and everything in the other room and Musketeer could be having the time of his life, but he will STOP playing with the children (teenagers) and come to see me if my levels aren't where they should be!  Helping me is the BEST GAME EVER for him!  Tomorrow is our 1 year anniversary of having Musketeer home with us!  He has saved me from serious lows/needing an ambulance a dozen times or more, not to mention the zillions of times he's alerted to high levels or mild lows!

My old internal medicine doctor had told me a D.A.D. would only be a waste of money.  My current internal medicine doctor told me she wouldn't take care of my diabetes without me having Musketeer to assist her!

I am so blessed to have Musketeer at my side.  My husband is more confident about leaving the house for a bit longer period of time.  And the entire family LOVES having Musketeer Puppy as a very VERY important member of our family!!!

Thank you AGAIN!

Minnesota Renaissance Faire

2018

Musketeer got "baptized" by some very yummy forest berry mead.  Sorry for the spillage upon thy head, Musketeer.

Even with LOTS of people around and LOTS of smells coming from all of the food booths, Musketeer kept his focus on me!

All dressed up for the official Ren Faire Photo:

HIP HIP HUZZAY

for the

MUSKETEER PUPPY!

HAPPY LABRADAY!

(Our daughter made that up!)

I wrote this back in November and thought it was worth posting again.  THANK YOU for reading!

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! 

NATIONAL DOG DAY

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Happy National Dog Day, Musketeer Puppy!

(I gave him an ice cream pup cup for the day.)

Pre-Season

GO PACK, GO!

Musketeer is chill about tonight's game.

A BEAUTIFUL Day

To spend at the State Park...er... State BARK beach!

HAPPY 4th of JULY

from

Musketeer & Me!

(Musketeer has a happy tail - it's blurred from wagging!)

Musketeer Puppy

Is Now Ready To Attend

The Renaissance Festival!

Hip, Hip, HUZZAY!

We went to the State Park, ONLY going to stay on the boardwalk so not to bring sand into the vehicle.  RIGHT, Musketeer???? 

Musketeer has been trained to alert for anything over 172.  WOW, he's GOOD!!!

Just getting out about, but look what we found!

I don't want this post to sound like an advertisement, but I wanted a water bowl for Musketeer that could be in the vehicle, but not splash or spill.  I found the Buddy Bowl and Musketeer LOVES IT!  I'm beginning to think he'll wait until we leave so he can take a drink from his Buddy Bowl instead of his bowl that's in the kitchen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK9e7qRwTT4

We have discovered Musketeer REALLY enjoys popping large sized bubble wrap that comes in packages.  He LOVES when the mailman/UPS/FedEX delivers a package, loves determining if we should open it or not (he ALWAYS wants it open), trying to HELP us open the box and then popping the large bubble wrap with his teeth (under very VERY close supervision).

Kiva and I were at Wal-Mart yesterday and passed the packing items to get to another part of the store.  Musketeer froze in his tracks in front of the bubble wrap!!!  Yeah, no, Pup.  Not today.  

Musketeer got his nails trimmed today.  He was also VERY HAPPY to donate to the PTSD Service Dogs for Vets fund!

I'm having cards made.  I've grown tired of telling a zillion people NOT to talk to my service dog.  "Do Not Distract" not only means, DO NOT PET, but also ANYTHING that might distract service dogs!  I sometimes just don't have the energy to ask folks to stop talking to Musketeer, but I need him to focus on me, so I need them to know NOT to talk to him.  So... after these arrive, I'll just be handing them out without needing to say a word:

Picking up wee ones after school is ALWAYS a happy time for Musketeer Puppy!

At the State Park This Morning!

Finally Back to the State Park

2018 Park sticker has been bought and is on the car!  We're ready for a State Park get-away any time the mood hits (there's a state park a ten minute drive from the house).  SOMEONE was really glad to be back:

Thanks for looking!

Musketeer Vet Day

Monday, April 16, 2018

This was the first time I have taken Musketeer to the vet.  He weighed in at 74.1 pounds.  The vet said that's a perfect weight for him, doesn't want to see him go too much above 75 or too much below 70 pounds.

He got oral medication, several shots and blood drawn to see if he had heart worm before starting heart worm preventative medicine.

I felt like we weren't being listened to at that vet, or paid attention to or that we were worth their time.  Silly them, they sent a "How did we do?" email.  I answered.  (I received an email from the owner of the vet clinic today with an apology and asking how they could do better).

Musketeer was so listless that entire afternoon and evening, basically sleeping the entire time.  He missed two alerts (but I was paying closer attention because Musketeer wasn't doing well and everyone is allowed an off day every now and again).  However, my Musketeer became himself again at 4:15 am!  All HAPPY and ready to help me and WANTING to help me (because he views helping me as the BEST GAME he can play!)!  It was so good to have him back to being my Musketeer!

He started his preventative heart worm and flea & tick medicines and hasn't had any negative reaction to those.  YAY!

I believe 8 days from today will be the anniversary of the very first time I saw a photo of Musketeer and fell in love with him at first sight!

Thanks for reading!

It's been a long time (Since February 26th) that I posted any puppy updates, so I thought I'd fill in the blanks!

Musketeer has been AMAZING as usual, alerting me to blood sugar levels that aren't in the right range.  He has started barking if I'm getting too far off range or if I'm not paying attention to him.  

We traveled to Madison the end of March and he was perfect in the crowded mall and in the hotel.  Musketeer still amazes us every single day and shows each one of us so much affection.

Watching Yellow Lab videos with the wee ones:

Thank you for looking!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY

MUSKETEER!

Today is his birthday!

Peanut butter pumpkin safe for dogs birthday cake!

And what is left after breakfast dessert:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUSKETEER PUPPY!

Why I'm Not Myself

After three years of battling ovarian cancer, my Mom won the gift of going to heaven to be with my Dad, her parents & brothers, and with God.  I got the call, minutes after she passed on Monday, February 5, 2018.

Musketeer has been an AMAZING puppy, more than usual.  He's had a LOT of messed up blood sugar levels to help me deal with and he's been very protective of me, leaning into me and looking up at me with his kind eyes.

The moment we sat down at the funeral, he placed his paw on my knee to let me know my blood sugar level was going up again.  The rest of the funeral, he was asleep at my feet.  He did a fantastic job holding a sit/stay out at the cemetery, even though it was SNOWING and that normally means TIME TO CATCH SNOWBALLS for the puppy!  After the graveside service, we played catching snowballs right there in the cemetery.

Two weeks later, I have bad dreams and Musketeer has been whining, waking me just enough to get me out of those bad dreams and I place my hand on his fur and I can fall asleep again without bad thoughts in my head.

Thinking is difficult.  Grief sucks.  Blood sugar levels are still all over the place.  Musketeer is at my side, as well as my family and we're all going to be alright.  It just takes time.

Thank you, Mom, for making

Musketeer possible!

I've had enough. I'm sorry. I'm tired. I'm sad. I'm angry. I'm exhausted. Musketeer has been in my life for four months. I've had to speak to a manager at Wal-Mart at least nine times due to employees there either trying to pet, interact with, talk to and distract a vested service dog. I called Wal-Mart Corporate HQ last night and I was told, "We'll send a ticket to the manager and they'll go over it with their employees.". That has been happening for four months. I had one Wal-Mart employee start telling Musketeer, "I know I'm not supposed to talk to you, but you're such a good dog that I just had to tell you all about it!". I think I already mentioned the time when the check out gal asked me what Musketeer's name was and I told her, "I'm sorry, but I don't want you or anyone else who might hear, to call his name and distract him.". She went on, checking out my groceries and I noticed Musketeer giving a pre-alert (startling to lick his lips and slightly wag his tail because after alerting, he gets rewarded with treats). At that moment, the check out gal reached out and started petting Musketeer, making him and me forget all about the pre-alert, which made me drive home with a low blood sugar level. So today I decided to go to the federal level and called the ADA. Talked to them and I was told without a doubt I have a case against Wal-Mart. I had one employee tell me she had a service dog... that was SIX MONTHS OLD and makes her "FEEL BETTER" (feel better dogs are ESAs - Emotional Support Animals) and she showed me a photo of her dog on her phone, it was wearing a service dog vest! Told a Wal-Mart manager about that one too. So I filled out the federal report and I hope folks at Wal-Mart will start treating Musketeer like a pair of glasses or a cane or something like that. I'm sorry for babbling .. just want to have this somewhere.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

2018

BEST Conversation

I have EVER heard

at Walmart

I went shopping on my own today (with Musketeer, of course) and this is what I heard:

Child: PUPPY! PUPPY! PUPPY! I WANT TO PET IT! I WANT TO PET IT! PUPPY! PUPPY! PUPPY!!!!!

Mom: Grandma has hearing aids, right?

Child: Yeah.

Mom: The hearing aids help Grandma, right?

Child: Yeah.

Mom: That service dog is helping that lady.

Mom continued: When we go to Grandma's house, do you yell, "HEARING AIDS! HEARING AIDS! HEARING AIDS!"?

Child: *giggles a bit* No!

Mom: Do you want to PET Grandma's hearing aids?

Child: *LAUGHING* NO!!!!

Mom: Well, a service dog is like Grandma's hearing aids.

Child: *slight pause* Can we go look at toys?

That was MAJOR HAPPY for me!

I made some patches

to Velcro onto

Musketeer's vests

(Yes, I know I have lots of threads to trim

and stiff Velcro backing to add.)