Toads and Great Danes and Blood Drives, oh my!

As the title might imply, Tucker had a marvelous encounter with toads a few nights back.  I was walking by the "boiling spring" with some friends and he spotted one on the sidewalk.  After following it as it hopped for a few steps, he decided to taste it.  He picked it up, Uncle Derek popped his head and he dropped it, and then he licked his lips and looked down at it as if to say, "Ewwwwww."  Then he slapped it.  Let's just say it was one angry toad.  We proceeded to the "boiling spring" and Tucker got to listen to the toads sing, which warranted several intense head tilts. :)  He continued to try to "taste" frogs, though he decided every time that they were icky. 

My friend Kara had her Great Dane in town this week, so Tucker got to play with her, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  We finally figured out that we can close all the gates to the baseball field across the street, so they actually had room to romp around safely.  They had such a good time, and it was so amusing to watch a lanky 10 month old puppy goof around with a big ole Great Dane. 

Yesterday I did something I never thought I'd do - I gave blood!  One of our associate provosts passed away on Tuesday, and while the blood drive was originally scheduled to help defray the costs of her blood transfusions, they chose to continue to hold it in her honor.  Before I came to GWU, Dr. Price was part of the English department.  So, even though I didn't know her terribly well, I felt like I should go to support my English professors who were mourning.  I took Tucker with me as moral support (I'm terrified of needles) and while I assumed that it would be no problem passing him off to a friend when my turn came, Tucker had other ideas.  He refused to settle down, and it got to the point that as I was lying on the chair trying not to pass out I had to get someone to call my old roommate to come get him.  I don't know if he was just bored or if he really thought something was wrong with me, but whatever the reason, he was NOT a happy camper.  (Thankfully, most of the faculty and staff in the waiting area seemed to believe he was just upset about me and were willing to let the bad behavior slide.)

On a better note, Tucker was really good for me last weekend when my friend Suz and I went out to Outback.  So good, in fact, that the waiter didn't even know he was under the table until we got up to leave!  (Also, when we walked in the bus boy said, "It's Tucker!"  He is apparently a student at GWU, but it was still fun to have someone off campus recognize him. :) The couple across the aisle from us also recognized him from church, and asked a lot of questions about his training.)

As I believe I have mentioned on this blog before, not everyone loves Tucker (hard to believe, I know).  However, I discovered Tuesday the one thing that makes everyone want to be friends with the future Leader Dog... armed robbery!  We had an armed robbery on campus Tuesday night, and although the police department was on scene almost immediatley, they were unable to apprehend the subjects.  So, everyone wanted a guard dog. :)  Obviously, Tucker is in no way aggressive, yet, enough people have jumped at the sight of him on campus, that we were willing to bet he would be a nice deterent.  Unfortunately, the feelings of anxiety flowing through campus apparently made Tucker feel a little on edge too, and when I took him out to pee at about 11:45, he saw a shadow, and decided to let loose with the most ferocious string of barks you've ever heard.  My GRD threw open the door to her apartment thinking Tucker had located the fugitives, and several people in the dorm apparently had similar reactions.  :) 

This pic is from last week, but this is pretty much what we look like right now.  Enjoy. :)