Spring Retreat Savannah

After Easter break, Tucker accompanied me to the Who's Who banquet.  I knew that I would be recognized for my inclusion in this group, but what I did not expect was for Tucker to receive a plaque as well. :)  Dr. Hunt, Dean of Students at GWU, created a plaque for Tucker that names him to the Who's Who Among Dogs list. ;)  I was really surprised and couldn't hardly stop laughing.  It was excellent.

Dr. Hunt reading Tucker's award.

Dr. Bonner after presenting Tucker's award.  When the President of the University decides to bend down and pet the puppy in jacket... you just call it training for the unexpected and move right along... ;)

Looks pretty legitimate doesn't it? 

The following weekend was my last spring retreat with the honors program.  We drove down to Savannah, GA and stayed on Tybee Island.  While Tucker did very well in jacket, he was a lot harder to handle out of jacket than normal.  As it turns out, the people of Savannah love dogs.  They're everywhere.  When you've got a dog whose biggest obstacle is dog distraction and they're so full of hormones that they can't see straight, this makes for an interesting outing.  He wasn't horrible by any means, but he did end up in the gentle leader a few times because he was killing my shoulder. 

Tucker also got to see horses up close for the first time because they had horse-drawn carriages everywhere.  He really disliked them at first (big ugly dogs?) but by the end of the day, he could walk past without getting excited.  He also had the opportunity to go to Paula Deen's restaurant.  How many dogs can say they've been to Paula's? ;)  Due to the age of the city of Savannah, we also had to learn to tackle a variety of new surfaces and stairs including really awkward cobblestone stairs that led down to the old cotton exchange.  He did a wonderful job.  On Saturday night we went on a ghost tour and the guide kept saying that if there was any ghost activity, that Tucker would probably react.  I had to laugh.  First of all, I'm what you might call a skeptic about ghosts - wasn't expecting to see anything anyway.  Second, I really wanted to say, "You don't know him very well, do you?"  This puppy has slept through an earthquake (a small one, but nonetheless), concerts, movies in the theatre, dormitory shenanigans, and take-off - I can pretty well guarantee you he won't be responding to ghosts. ;)  Sure enough, he proceeded to flop over on the pavement for a short siesta each time we stopped, thus disproving this woman's theory that animals are always sensitive to these areas of high magnetic activity...

On the island, Tucker discovered Spanish Moss.  Though I tried to keep it out of reach, there's still no telling how much he may or may not have ingested.  He also taught Dr. Jones a valuable lesson in puppy containment.  Sunday morning, as I was trying to get ready, Dr. Jones decided to take him for a walk (I was told by other students that Dr. Jones was tyring to educate him along the way, ie, telling him the scientific names for all the plants he ate or peed on).  When they returned, I was still getting ready, so Dr. Jones decided to tie Tucker to a post.  Although I tried to tell him this wouldn't work, he proceeded to try to secure Tucker's leash to this post using a stick.  That's like trying to tie a person's hands with a nerd rope - not happening.  Almost instantly, Tucker had removed the stick and freed himself.  As he dashed happily back and forth between our beach houses, I tried not to freak out so he would come back to me instead of thinking it was a game.  Thankfully, we had him back in short order.  Lesson learned - you can't restrain a puppy with anything made out of wood... We went to the First African Baptist Church that morning and Tucker did so well that there were several church members who didn't realize he was there until we left. 

Since that weekend, Tucker has been to two awards ceremonies with me.  Of course, he always waits until we're in the middle of the room or stage to stretch so it looks like a bow.  He also tends to cheese it up for the camera man. :)  We've also been to an elementary school in South Carolina.  My honors professor's wife is their librarian and she invited us to come.  Over the course of two hours, Tucker saw almost 200 children (second and third graders and a few special needs children).  He did an excellent job staying calm and being gentle when we did take the jacket off so they could pet him.  I'm very thankful to Miriam Ash-Jones, their librarian, for reading them books about service dogs prior to our arrival, because that meant the kids actually asked good questions!  I mean, there's always the occasional, "Does Tucker have a girlfriend?" or something similar, but for the most part, they did a really good job. 

TUCKER'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! 

Picture time:

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington

Oh, and we also went to Derek's Psi Chi Induction.  Note the bow tie. :)

Also, this is what Tucker thinks about his gentle leader... he knows he's in trouble. lol  Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington