May 31, 2019

White Dog had a touch of pride in her voice when she observed, "You know Zsofia embodies the mastery of the best of both worlds. She was raised as a White Dog and we taught her all of the tricks we developed as circus dogs through the ages; then Trixie showed her she was a big dog and Bailey came to finish her instruction in Sibe-ism."

 She had put a lot of thought into the concepts of countersurfing, a husky thing, and giraffe necking...a standard tool of the Eskie trade. I had to agree with her premise and further acknowledge the high art form giraffe necking is among White Dogs.

Basically, giraffe necking involves innocently positioning your face close to something (usually food) you desire but making it clear you have good manners and of course can't even REACH whatever it is. Then you slowly, with yoga contortionist focus stretccchhhh your neck and muzzle closer and closer to your desire. With enough charm, no one even notices that suddenly you CAN reach the treasure. Before you get called down, an expert either grabs the treat or if you are White Dog LICKS the item so it becomes yours by default. Note below: Zso has cleverly combined both methods by licking the cookie in Steve's hand AND biting off a chunk.

Here is the process in action as demonstrated by Zsofia coveting Steve's cookie.

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May 30, 2019

White Dog gently cleared her throat and got no response from her sister. She moved a little closer and touched paws. Still nothing. WD bumped her head against Bailey's side. Bailey was sleeping soundly across the doorway and White Dog had just about exhausted polite options of asking her to be let through.

White Dog looked at me.

"Well, you COULD just jump over," I suggested.

White Dog tried one more "Ahem" then backed up two steps and nimbly jumped across Bailey's midriff. Bailey never even knew.

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May 29, 2019

White Dog cautioned me to not over-react. "Opal is the one who gets along with everyone. I agree she cannot be allowed to intimidate little Bella and take her treat. But I wonder if there is something troubling her that she is acting out."

Opal had followed Bella to the edge of her crate and stood staring her down until Bella dropped her treat and walked past. Opal scooped it up and was about to trot off in triumph when I grabbed her collar and took the cookie from her mouth.

Opal shot me a look of defiance and started to utter a growl. "Oh no, Sparkling One, we do NOT talk like that."

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Book Review: Hero the Golden (children's book, golden retriever family, Thankful Paws, a mobile foodbank for pets)

Hero the Golden: The Most Kind and Most Polite Dog That Ever Was, by Lynn Molnar with illustrations by Alina Kurbiel (LifeRich Publishing, 2018, 30 pages, $16.99, ages 5 and up)

Beauty. Wonder. Appreciation. Amazement. Self-worth. Self-control. Compassion. Peace. Strength.

All wrapped up in a wonderful golden dog. What more can we say?

A Golden Hero

Hero, The Golden is a mostly true story about a grandpa dog who reads a bedtime story to his litter family of grand pups, about Hero a legendary golden retriever (just like them). This is the pups’ most favorite story!

Hero was polite and kind to people in chairs with wheels, to older people, to university students who are hurting inside, to everyone. Sometimes he would meet someone who did not like him but Hero always remembered that “What matters most is that you like you.”

 Words AND Pictures Make a Children’s Book

A children’s book is composed of illustrations (besides words) and DogEvals simply adores the cover of Grandpa Golden reading to his three grand pups, AND the pups in their puppy dog bed (together!), AND the woman in the chair with wheels, AND the little boy who is Hero’s size, AND the hurting student – illustrator Alina Kurbiel has superbly captured the essence of what a dog is and what a dog can do like how they teach us humans about picking ourselves up and starting all over again. And, of course, about being polite and kind.

We would love to see posters of some of these Hero-pictures!

Hero’s Legacy and Hope

 

Hope

And maybe the best thing about this book is the legacy of hope: Hero and his human, author Lynn Molnar founded the pet nonprofit, Thankful Paws, a mobile foodbank for pets (read the DogEvals article here). You can follow the real-life Hero on his Facebook page, Hero The Golden, and Lynn - on their Facebook page, Thankful Paws. Molnar teaches at Johns Hopkins University when she isn’t distributing dog food donations to those in need in the Baltimore area with her new assistant, Hope.

If you are looking for a charity to support, Thankful Paws is worthy of your time and efforts. Hero passed away earlier this year of Cushings Disease but his work is being carried on by little Hope.

And follow the illustrator, Aline Kurbiel, on her Facebook page, Alina Kurbiel Art!

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May 28, 2019

White Dog responded to the high-pitched squeal and the sudden quiet of the motor instantly. "This is not a drill! Momma protection mode, stat!" In less time than it took for me to assess and pick up the phone, I was surrounded by the entire White Dog Army.

Calmly I said as Steve answered his cell phone, "There is a problem with my oxygen concentrator. No air." "I am out the door," he replied.

I reached for my little emergency aerosol can of 120 hits of oxygen and put my gauge on my finger. The Army breathed with me...deep inhales through the nose, slow steady exhales through pursed lips. We went through our trouble shooting checklist as the machine continued is alert.

Electricity to house...functional.
Off then on again switch...no response.
My saturation rate...a bit low but holding steady.

The WDA offered furs to pet and nuzzles to keep away panic; others watched at the window for Pumpkin, the van. Roman pressed against me as if his thoughts alone could solve the problem.

Eight minutes later Steve ran into the house and the Army parted to let him get right to the machine. There was a yellow warning light on. In a flash, he disconnected the hose from the malfunctioning machine and moved it to the nighttime/backup where he quickly changed out lines and turned on a flow of oxygen.

We were safe and back in control. With the supervision of White Dog, Steve moved hoses around so they were not a tripping hazard. Then he called the medical supply house.

They promised to send a new unit over this afternoon and to call Steve's cell as they neared so that he could be home to help manage pups and moving units around. I was fine. Steve double-checked all the connections. My numbers were normal.

"I am going back to the office," he said reluctantly, "But will be back when they deliver a functioning model." White Dog and The Army promised they would not leave my side.

The new unit arrived late in the day and when Steve came in he announced to the relief of all that he was going to work here for the last bit of his workday.

White Dog called for a round of jerky to reward the excellent response and focus of my team. "Momma is pretty high maintenance but we all got her through this. Wonderful job! And please note, the new machine is MUCH quieter."

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May 27, 2019

White Dog pointedly looked at the clock and then at me; in case I did not get the hint she lined everypup into formation and tapped my leg.

"I do not think that it being a holiday guarantees hourly treats," I told her. "Even if you are supervising...technically working. You have already had THREE treat breaks today; two more than normal before dinner."

"And just for the record WDA, we ARE having duck appetizers with stir fry veggies for dinner, doesn't that count for something special?

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May 26, 2019

White Dog laughed. "This is the little house that thinks it is a mansion," she said. "No matter what we need space for, there always seems to be a way to make it happen."

"You mean like conveniently having the repair and painting done so the sun porch was empty when we needed room to stage the organization and inventory for the upcoming Paws To People Auction?"

She wagged. "Exactly like that. Because you can help without dad running up and down from the basement and we can supervise."

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