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

Tampa Time

Tucker and I attended our last honors conference the week before Easter in Tampa, Florida.  He was a champ, as usual, and did much better with our 12 hour van ride than I anticipated. ;) 

I let Tucker off his leash in the van so he could move between the seats without getting stuck, and I'm pretty sure that meant he slept on everyone's feet at least once.  At one point, while we were discussing when the next stop might be, I said something about needing it to be around 5 so I could feed Tuck.  One of the girls asked if he would really know what time it was.  I laughed.  Sure enough, at 5:00 on the dot, Tucker came crawling under the bench seats to the front of the van and sat straight up beside me.  The internal clock of a hungry dog is quite amazing. ;) 

I served as a student representative for the SRHC (Southern Regional Honors Council) this past year, so Tucker and I had several meetings to attend during the weekend.  He did wonderfully at each of these, and during the presentations.  Despite the fact that I announced at the meeting last year in Little Rock that I would be training a Leader Dog for the Blind and the fact that his jacket says "puppy being raised for..." I was still asked by one of the professors on the council if I could see... and this was after we had been in meetings for the past day and a half.  It never ceases to amaze me.  Even so, we only had one real issue in Tampa: it was hot.  Tucker did so well with the heat in Arizona last semester that it didn't even occur to me what was wrong when he started begging to stick to the shadows on one of our walks.  Once I realized the pavement was too warm, we stuck to the shady parts and hurried back to the air conditioning of the hotel. 

GWU scheduled the Senior Pinning Ceremony for the Sunday we were supposed to be driving back from Tampa, so the majority of the seniors were allowed to take a van back early so we could make it in time.  This meant we had to drive half of the way Saturday evening and the rest of the way Sunday morning.  Late Saturday night, we were attempting to locate a hotel when the GPS took us to the middle of a wheat field.  There were no lights whatsoever.  One of my friends suggested we were about to be in a real life horror movie.  It was obvious, however, that she missed the mark a little.  We were clearly about to enter an episode of Scooby-Doo.  Think about it.  College kids, a big 15 passenger van, and a dog.  Scooby-Doo. 

Thankfully no masked villains jumped from the rows of wheat, and once we asked for directions in a McDonald's drive-thru, we were able to make it to the hotel without incident.  We made it back in time for Senior Pinning and Tucker did a lovely job there as well, sleeping through most of the ceremony and posing for pictures afterwards.

This past weekend was Easter break, so we went home to Hendersonville.  Tucker played hard with Mattie's puppy Kalli all weekend, except when I made him go shopping with me for a formal dress.  (He doesn't really enjoy shopping, and he has a nasty habit of creeping on the people in the dressing room next to me... )  Even so, he was very professional.  Monday morning, as we sat in the parking lot of the mall, I noticed that Tucker's bottom right canine tooth was chipped.  That night, after I returned to school, Tucker and I went to my friend Derek's house for a cookout.  Tucker played with his Australian Cattle Dog, Buddy, most of the evening (and went for a somewhat unplanned swim in the pool).  I thought everything was fine and dandy until the next morning when I let Tucker out of his crate.  Whereas he normally gets really excited and picks up "glow ball" to carry around the room while snorting, he picked it up and dropped it.  It was strange, but I didn't think much about it until it happened again after he ate.  He had eaten very delicately, which if you've ever seen a lab eat, doesn't happen very often, so when he dropped the toy for the second time, I decided to check his mouth.  To my astonishment, the top of his lower right canine was missing - I could see pulp.  Long story short, we went to the vet, they gave him antibiotics and pain killers, and then we went to Walmart to buy "broken tooth approved" toys (aka, soft rubber toys).

When we got home, I decided to let him have his "freezer toy" (a rubber toy filled with frozen dog food) because the vet said the cold might actually help numb the tooth.  Unfortunately, he was still hurting too badly, and refused to play with it.  Being me, I decided to try to put Orajel on his tooth.  I totally underestimated the speed with which his tongue would be able to take the gel off, and soon my couch and I were covered in dog drool.  Thankfully, once the pain meds really kicked in, he was at least able to lick at the freezer toy without hurting too badly.  In fact, the meds have made him really mellow, which is kind of amusing.  At least he doesn't seem to hurt as badly as before.

Despite his injury and the fact that his meds may have made him a bit loopy, we went to the YMCA today for an AX service project which had the theme of reading to pets (aka, Tucker).  We talked to the kids about Leader Dogs and then read them books about dogs, and finished up with a nice puppy petting session.  Tucker loved it and he was so very, very good.  The Y librarian was very impressed with his poise around so many small children who all wanted to hug his neck.  

Senior Pinning - Photo Cred: Mark Houser

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington

Okay, so let me just explain what's happening in this photo.  Tucker and I have the same routine every time we put his jacket on.  I tell him to wait, I drop the leash and step on it, and then I put his jacket on.  He stands perfectly still for this almost 100% of the time.  This day (as we were driving to Tampa) was not one of those days.  As I leaned over to put his jacket on, he lunged and pulled the leash from under my foot.  We were in a parking lot (as you can see) and my immediate fear was him getting loose or getting hit by a car, so I instinctively reached out to grab him.  As it turns out, I was slower than I thought, and instead of grabbing him by the scruff, I grabbed his tail.  So, before I really knew what was happening, I was hanging onto his tail pulling him back towards me.  Beth Anne, ever watchful, saw the whole thing and snapped my reaction to having pulled my puppy by the tail. :) 

Getting ready to go to the block party in our tie-dye.  Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington - Once again, Beth Anne realized what was happening before I did and snapped this lovely photo.  This is what Tucker thought about sitting in presentations all day.  :)

Photo Cred: Beth Anne Kington.  Well, I look ridiculous, but the puppy looks good!  Presenting "The Furry Side of Service Learning: Future Leader Dogs and the University."

"Now, what is the girl's condition?"

*Disclaimer - I wrote this blog in February but Blogger didn't actually post it... so none of this was recent.*

"Now, what is the girl's condition?"

She loves puppies, that's what. 

Yes indeed, this question was directed at my Provost several times over the weekend while he, my friend James, Tucker and I were attending the Emerging Issues Conference in Raleigh.  Apparently, several times when I left our table, people would lean over and ask Dr. Leslie and James what my "condition" might be.

I was constantly amazed at how many times this question was posed.  Not only were these supposedly highly intelligent people, but I'm pretty sure his jacket says "Puppy being raised for Leader Dogs for the Blind"...  Granted, the people at our table may not have been able to see the jacket, but I still feel like there are better ways to ask that question.

My other favorite moment of misunderstanding came when I took Tucker out for a walk one day.  We had gone a block or two from the convention center and as we were coming back, I decided to put his jacket on early instead of waiting until we got right next to the building.  As we began to cross the last street to the center, the driver of the car that was stopped at the red light looked at me, looked at Tucker, and popped his car into reverse, backing a good ten feet or so behind the crosswalk.  I guess he was afraid that the blind girl was going to run into his car?  I wonder what he thought Tucker's job was...

Regardless, the conference was good and Tucker was excellent.  He sat through endless hours of meetings and presentations and even helped me introduce one of the speakers.  We were accident free and he did a pretty good job walking around the city nicely during our free time, though he would get really excited when he saw grass.  I will say one thing, Raleigh doesn't make it easy to find a place for the puppy to go "park."  He was forced (though it is good for his training) to use the concrete sidewalk a time or two, and even a flowerbed once.  No one in the hotel gave me a hard time (kudos to you, Sheraton) and Tucker did pretty well with finding the room and the elevator. 

Per usual, however, he did have his moments, though they were always away from the public eye.  At one point I stepped out of the hotel room briefly (literally for a second or two) and when I opened the door, he wasn't waiting for me to return as I expected, but sitting atop the queen mattress with my shorts in his mouth. ;)  Little stinker. 

The last day of the conference, the students put on a flash mob.  Again, in typical Tucker fashion, he not only made it on a video recording of the flash mob, but is stretching, which makes it look like he's taking a bow.  :) 

As I was taking this picture, I heard some ladies behind me say, "Oh my gosh look at that puppy!  I can't believe he's just sitting there posing!"  :)

Presentations Galore

Tucker and I have been very busy the past few weeks.  He spent spring break with my parents while I was on a mission trip in Louisiana (oh, the stories they have to tell) and last week he "helped" me present my senior English/Honors thesis. 

For those readers who may not know, "thesis" is a big deal.  My English thesis was a joint project with my honors courses, so instead of being 25 pages, it was 40.  These 40 pages had to be condensed into a 20 minute presentation, which essentially means I had to reduce it down to 10 presentable pages.  I decided that I wanted to have Tucker come to the presentations, partially because I just enjoy showing him off and partially because he calms my nerves.  Knowing that sometimes puppies will be puppies, I planted a puppy-sitter in the crowd (thank you, Christy!) just in case he decided to act up while I was presenting.  He was doing alright sitting beside the podium until he saw my Mom move to take a picture.  As soon as he saw her, it was all over.  He stood up, wagged his tail, and got really excited.  Continuing to present, I leaned over, put him back in a down-stay, and kept going.  He then decided to jump up and bark.  I nodded to Christy who came up and took him from me and led him outside.  The rest of the presentation was fairly uneventful, and thankfully, my professors were all very understanding. 

The very next morning, Tucker and I hopped a plane to Baltimore, Maryland for the Super Regional Alpha Chi Conference.  As usual, he was a champ in the airport.  He did a great job at the security checkpoint, holding his sit-stay until I asked him to walk through the metal detector, and though he did get slightly distracted, he didn't make any noise as we passed by a very angry shih-tzu in one of the terminals.  When we (my classmates and professor) had all bought something for lunch, we returned to our terminal and I sat on the floor with Tucker to eat.  Although he thought he was starving to death (I don't give him breakfast when we fly) he never once tried to get my cheeseburger even though his head was resting on my foot and the cheeseburger was on my knee.  Jaws dropped as people passed and realized that a Labrador was sitting less than two feet away from food and not begging. :) 

Despite the fact that we told the travel agent we had a service dog in training with us, they failed to assign me to bulkhead seating.  Thankfully, on the way up, there was no one else in my row, so Tucker had plenty of room.  (The same cannot be said about the flight home - but more about that later.)

We arrived at the hotel mid-afternoon on Thursday and stayed through Sunday morning.  Tucker did a wonderful job throughout the conference.  When I gave my presentation (The Furry Side of Service-Learning: Future Leader Dogs and the University) he curled into a ball beside the podium and slept, which was a definite improvement from my last presentation. ;) 

Okay, now for the funny stories of what happens when people fail to use the brains God gave them:

Though we had emailed back and forth with one of the hotel managers, the hotel staff seemed completely shocked when we walked in with Tucker.  Dr. Hobbs had to explain the whole situation to them again, and one of the managers said he had a few questions for me.  The strange thing was that when he walked over to ask said "questions," all he wanted to know was if we had arranged for Tucker beforehand (he had just asked Dr. Hobbs this question, so I think he was hoping to catch us in a lie or trip me up or something).  When I told him we had, and let him know that I had an ID and health certificate, he immediately became very apologetic and said everything was fine. 

Thinking we had settled all the puppy confusion, I was very surprised when I was stopped again that night by hotel security.  Around 11pm or so, my friend James and I decided to take Tuck out to park.  As we walked through the lobby, I could tell the night shift was keeping a close watch on me, but I didn't realize that they hadn't heard about Tuck.  When we came back inside, a very large and intimidating man with a Russian accent stopped me.  Our conversation went something like this (don't forget to insert your best Russian accent):  "What is about the puppy?"  .... "What?"   "What is about the puppy?"  .... "Do you mean why do I have him?"  "Yes."  "He's a future Leader Dog for the Blind.  I'm his puppy raiser and he goes everywhere with me."  "You have documentation?"  "What?"  "You have documentation?"  "If you mean his ID and health certificate, then yes, but it's up in the room.   I can go get it if you want, but when I checked in earlier they said it was fine and didn't want it."  "Oh, okay, sorry for confusion."  He then motioned to one of the men working the check in desk who very sheepishly nodded - apparently he was the one who wanted me to be questioned but was too afraid to do it himself. 

The next morning when I took Tucker out to park, the morning shift gave me strange looks as I walked through the lobby.  When I came back in, I was just thinking that if I had to explain myself to another security agent I was going to let somebody have it when one of the employees I had met during check in came up to me.  She said, "I'm sorry if you had some trouble last night."  My first thought - how did you know I had trouble last night?  She continued, "I saw what was going on and I figured I might have to step in at some point."  Keep in mind that she's telling me this at roughly 6:30 am.  I am tired - ergo, not a happy camper - and it was all I could do not to say, "You mean you saw the entire thing, knew exactly what was going on, and still refused to come save me from that lengthy and awkward exchange?"  I told her everything was fine but that I hoped everyone knew about us now so we could avoid going through that again. 

The fun and games continued as I sat in the conference room waiting for my presentation to begin.  One of the judges came into the room and began greeting the presenters.  When she came to me, she looked at Tucker, looked at me, and said, "Will you be okay getting to the podium?"  Tucker was positioned such a way that it was very easy to read his vest, which says, "puppy being RAISED for Leader Dogs for the Blind."  Again, I curbed my sarcasm and simply replied with, "Yes, ma'am I'll be fine."  Then she pulled my certificate out of the folder to give to me.  Again, she looked at Tucker, and then proceeded to rub her hand across my certificate, apparently looking for braille.  Finding none, she just stood there until I reached out and took it.  The look on her face leads me to believe that it wasn't until that moment that she realized I could actually see her. :) 

That afternoon, we decided to visit an old cemetery (Dr. Hobbs, our professor, studies gravestones as a hobby).  As soon as we got out of the cab, I saw the "NO PETS" sign.  I really didn't want to deal with angry cemetery personnel, so I parked Tucker outside the cemetery, put on his jacket, and walked in, keeping my gaze straight ahead.  Dr. Hobb's stepped inside the office to get maps, and when she returned, she said they had immediately told her the dog wasn't welcome, but that she explained he was a Leader Dog (she has a habit of accidentally leaving the "future" part off of that one).  About that time, I saw the woman appear at the window of the office, and she was looking straight at me.  Realizing I was being watched, and feeling slightly peckish, I decided to refrain from making eye contact with any of my peers, and whispered to them not to hand me anything to read.  The woman either temporarily bought it, or just came to terms with the idea of Tucker, and finally left the window.  After we had been walking through the cemetery for about half an hour or so, we inadvertently regrouped and stood talking on a pathway.  Tucker, angry that I was making him behave and wear his jacket in an outdoor setting, had already earned himself an afternoon in the gentle leader collar, and was NOT happy with me.  He flopped (yes, flopped) down onto the pavement, and did his best pitiful puppy impression.  Dr. Hobbs immediately asked me if he was alright, and although I tried to assure her that he was just being dramatic, my classmates weren't quite buying it.  Several of them asked if he needed water and even though I tried to tell them he didn't want it, I went ahead and gave it a try just to show them he was okay.  Each of them poured some of their water into the bowl I had and I put it down next to his head.  He barely lifted his head, looked at the bowl, and then flopped back down on the pavement with a sigh.  Laughter ensued and I made sure to point out that I did try to tell them that would be his reaction.  Not wanting to completely waste the water but having nowhere to store it, I lifted his lip and poured it into his mouth.  This brought on more hysterical laughter as he (head still sideways on the ground) tried to lazily lick up the water.  The group then decided to visit the Booth family monument (yes, John Wilkes Booth).  Tucker and I had already been by this monument with our friend Amy, so about halfway there, I spotted a nice shady spot and told them just to pick us up on their way back.  After a few lazy minutes under the shade of the tree, Tucker was back to his usual antics and all was well with the world. :) 

The next day, we again visited a cemetery, but this time to see the grave of Edgar Allen Poe.  My thesis involved comparing the relationship between Poe's detective stories and contemporary detective fiction, so this was a must see for me.  It was a rainy day, but it was still a fun outing (though Tucker did require a few minutes with the hairdryer when we got back to the room).  We ate lunch after that and then Tucker and I went back to the hotel to avoid getting any wetter than we already were.  For dinner, we went to a nice seafood place and Tucker slept like a rock under the table. In fact, one time he slid out from under the table, stretched, and then put himself right back under my chair. :) 

Sunday's plane ride was not quite as enjoyable as Thursdays.  Tucker still did a great job going through security (and ignoring another small dog), but we discovered that not only were we not in bulkhead again, but we were in the middle seat of a three person row in the "butt" of the plane.  I had a larger older gentleman on my left and good-sized younger woman on my right.  Oh, and did I mention that this plane was even smaller than the first?  Thankfully, Tucker did really well and stayed curled tightly at my feet for the majority of the flight.  We hit pretty steady turbulence for a while, and though he wasn't thrilled about it, Tucker also did a great job of handling it. 

So, overall, I'd say the weekend was a great success - the conference was fun, the people I was with were great, and my puppy was well behaved and didn't have any accidents in the airports or hotel!   

Being pitiful in the cemetery.

Posing at the end of the conference.

Presenting was hard work... so we took a nap. ;)

The plane ride home (before the other passengers boarded).

Visiting the grave of Edgar Allen Poe.

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. :)

Life of the Scholarly Puppy

Tucker went to his first (and more than likely last) golf tournament last week.  My old roommate/best friend is on the women's golf team here at GWU, so we drove down to Spartanburg to watch her play.  While I thought this would be a perfect outing for Tucker (ie, outside, lots of walking), he had other ideas.  Once the tourney began, he whined almost constantly.  I didn't know it was possible, but he whined for roughly 17 holes.  He also refused to stop pulling on the leash, which meant he got to wear the "Gentle Leader" for about five hours.  That did not improve his mood, in case you were wondering. 

Why was the puppy unhappy?  I have no idea.  If I had to guess, I'd say it was partially that he could see Courtney and didn't understand why she couldn't come say hi to him, and partially the start-stop-start-stop pace of golf.  But really, who knows.  Thankfully, it was windy enough that as long as we hung back a ways, the golfers couldn't really hear him whining.  His cuteness also won over the other coaches, which was nice since I was afraid they would see Tucker as a distraction for their players. 

Switching gears somewhat, Tucker and I had the pleasure of presenting at LOTS MC here on Saturday (Life of the Scholar Multidisciplinary Conference).  My presentation focused on what I'm doing with Tucker this year and how puppy raising is in fact a type of service-learning.  To my utter amazement, we tied for first place with Courtney, and my friend Erica!  (I'd say I have somewhat of an unfair advantage.  I think the puppy just gives the judges an extra happy feeling. ;)  )  Although it was a long day, and he had to sit through several presentations, he did a really nice job.  Let's hope he will be so kind when we present this again for Alpha Chi and Honors next month! 

Saturday night, Mom and Dad came to GWU to take me and Courtney out to dinner and to pick up Tucker.  I went horseback riding with Honors on Sunday, so they kept him for me.  They dropped him off Sunday afternoon at the stables in Lake Lure, and we (Dr. Jones and some honors kids) started home.  However, we decided to take a detour first.  Dr. Jones thought there was a fudge shop in downtown Chimney Rock that we might enjoy.  When we arrived, we discovered it was actually an ice cream shop - Homemade Ice Creams or something like that - right next to Coffee on the Rocks.  Due to Tucker's size, most shop owners don't even question his legitimacy when we walk in, and those that do have almost always satisfied when I pull out his Leader Dog ID.  Well, Mr. Ice Cream man was not.  We hadn't been in the shop more than thirty seconds when he jumped down my throat.  I told him Tucker was a service dog in training and that he had an ID.  He angrily requested to see it, and when I handed it to him, he looked at it for a whopping half a second before handing it back and telling me to get out and that Tucker wasn't allowed.  While I recognize that the rules surrounding dogs in training are hazy, there's just no need to be nasty.  Dr. Jones took him from me and headed outside to wait, but I followed him out and took Tuck back.  I don't support people who don't support me.  There are way too many nice restaurant and business owners for me to waste my time and money on one so rude and closed minded.

While I was outside fuming, I noticed that Coffee on the Rocks cafe was right next door.  As I was contemplating asking them if I could come in, the owner stepped outside.  I asked him about it and he replied that Tucker could come in with or without his jacket, whatever he preferred. :)  So, I decided my money was better spent buying coffee from nice people.  So now the Chimney Rock ice cream store joins Papa's Pizza in Boiling Springs for food vendors I never intend to support again.  Yes, I realize that losing my business is of no concern to them - but if no one ever stands up for what they know is right, then nothing will ever change.  There is no biological difference between a puppy in training and a service dog, so why aren't well behaved puppies allowed equal access?  Is it bad that after places give me the cold shoulder or kick me out, I always hope the next day they find themselves faced with a service dog they can't refuse?  People are so incredibly closed minded.  Most children are more of a menace than Tucker! 

Okay, rant over, but seriously, think about it, and if you ever see a raiser and well behaved puppy kicked out of a business or restaurant, think twice about whether you want to support that mindset. 

  I would load a picture of the golf tourney, but GWU internet is being ridiculous as usual.  The photos are on my facebook if you'd like to see them. 

9 Month Birthday!

Today is Tucker's 9 month birthday!  Yay!

The past two weeks have been pretty busy for Tucker and me.  Last week, Gardner-Webb began its four day University Fellows Interviews (scholarship interviews) and Tucker and I spent a lot of time talking to prospective students and helping with the honors sessions.  He did an excellent job most of the time though he got a little fussy during the meetings a few times. 

Last weekend I took him to part of a swim meet and was very pleased with his performance.  By that, I mean I'm really excited that he didn't try to jump into the pool!  I had this horrible fear that as soon as the buzzer sounded and the swimmers dove in, he would decide it looked like fun and want to join them.  As a precaution, I sat behind him and gave him a bear hug until I was sure he was going to be satisfied with watching.  We stayed for a few races and then left to get lunch. 

That afternoon, the attitude came back out and as we were trying to take a nice walk around the lake, he started barking his head off at this poor older couple and their dog.  I felt bad because it seemed to really scare them, but I couldn't do anything with him.  It was like being back in the mall with Allison and Brandon - he was going nuts!  I will never understand how he can ignore geese that are only five feet away, but he freaks out at the sight of another dog 150 yards away.  I decided that weekend that it's pretty much official that Tucker has entered the "terrible twos" stage of development. 
Saturday night we went to almost half of a men's basketball game to see "aunt" Courtney get a scholarship.  He did much better than last time (we only made it five minutes last time) and several faculty and staff told me later that they loved seeing him at the game and were glad I had brought him.  They, like me, understand that the more visible Tucker is on campus, the more our students/faculty/staff will be accepting of service dogs in the future. 

Sunday he went to church with me.  He did very well and even got a shout out from the preacher.  At one point I looked down and saw something red between his toes.  I thought, "Oh gosh.  He's stepped on something and cut his foot."  I reached down to investigate only to discover it was actually a red rhinestone stuck between his toes.  I pointed it out to Chelsea and Lydia who were sitting next to me, and gave them a quizzical look.  Lydia's response?  "He just wants to be BEDAZZLED!"  Love it. 

This entire week he's been quite a handful, and I've had to go back to using the choke-chain even though two weeks ago, he didn't need it.  In fact, he was such a crazy dog yesterday afternoon that I made him wear his jacket while we were on our walk.  Out of jacket, he tries to pull my arm out of its socket.  In jacket, I can hold the leash with one finger.  Go figure.  At least he knows what the jacket means. 

Today at University Fellows, Tucker had the opportunity to meet Lisa Tucker, also known as one of GWU's biggest donors (Tucker Library, Tucker Student Center).  Dr. Jones introduced Tucker as her namesake, even though I honestly didn't name him after the student center, but she thought it was funny anyway.  We talked with Dr. Bonner for a few minutes and then I went back to mingling with students.  Soon thereafter, I met a student named Derek who was very interested in Tucker.  Why?  He's about to apply for a Leader Dog!  Small world, huh?  It was great to meet people who not only know what Leader Dog is, but what I'm doing and why.  It doesn't look like Tucker and Derek will be at Leader Dog at the same time, but I think it would be so cool if Tucker ended up with a college student.  He would love it!

As a side note, it still amazes me how many people at GWU are surprised to see Tucker out and about.  Tucker and I were walking through the Simply to Go getting breakfast this week and a woman I recognized as working in the Caf upstairs was there.  She stared at us the whole time we were walking through, and as soon as I walked out the door I heard, "What's she got that dog for?  Is she trainin' him or something?"  We've been here since August, a campus-wide email was sent out, and yet, we still manage to surprise people.  It's crazy. 

Here's a funny story:
Wednesday night, my friends Derek and Hannah called me at 10pm and said they wanted to go to Cookout.  After arguing with them about how I had an 8am class the next morning, I gave in and said I would go.  Tucker was asleep at the time.  As I tried to wake him up, this is what I imagine he was thinking based on his facial expressions:
Me:  Come on, let's go outside!  
Tucker: You want me to do what?
Me: Wake up, Tuck.  Let's go outside!
Tucker:  Are you serious?
Me: Wakey, wakey!  Need to park?  Let's go!
Tucker:  Ugh, fine.  *stretches*

So, I get him outside, get him to park, and as soon as he finishes, he turns to go back inside. I said..
Me: No, we're getting in Hannah's car.
Tucker:  We're what?  You said we were just going outside!

Finally, I get him in the car and off we go.  On the way back, he passed out in the car.  When I got him up to the room again, he flopped over on his bed and gave me a death glare.  About an hour and a half later, I wanted to take him out one last time and go to bed.  Here's how that went :
Me: Wake up, Tuck.  Let's go outside!
Tucker: *glaring* What?  Um, no.  That's what you said last time and you dragged me to Cookout with you. 
Me: Let's go!  Come on, let's go outside.
Tucker: Did you hear me?  NO.  You lied last time. 

I then proceeded to lure him down the hall with a piece of kibble.  Even then, he would try to lie down every ten feet in the hall, as if to repeat, "No, you're just going to trick me again."  He was not happy with me! 

I was beyond worn out yesterday (maybe from the Cookout outing) so I decided to go to bed early last night.  Epic Fail.  Tucker got sick not once, but twice last night.  Once around 4am and then again about 6am.  He apparently felt bad all night because he woke me up several times tossing and turning in his crate.  I'm suspicious that he just couldn't get comfortable.  You see, I put him in his crate for a few minutes on Thursday and he ripped his bed up and I had to throw it away.  So, he only had a towel to sleep on last night, and if you know my little prince, then you know he was NOT happy about that. 

Tomorrow, Tucker gets to hang out with Dr. C for a few hours while I do some work on my thesis.  Let me make one thing abundantly clear:  I would not be able to survive this semester without my friends and professors who are so willing to take him off my hands for a few hours almost every day so I can get some work done.  They. Are. Awesome.

Our next grand adventure begins on Super Bowl Sunday as we drive to Raleigh with one of our provosts, his wife, and my friend James for a conference.  It's a multi-day conference, so prayers for a patient and well behaved puppy would be appreciated!

Here are some pictures.  Enjoy!

When he wants to snuggle and I need to do work, he becomes my furry desk. :)

After playing with some of "my" freshmen.  I'd say he had a good time. :) 

This is why I never get any homework done.

Handsome boy.

Dreaming Big.

Long sit stay- no worries, he's tethered to the stairs. ;)

Home away from home. 

Checkin' on the progress of "his" student center. ;)

Remember that conversation I told you about earlier?  This was one of the faces. 

Some things never change.