Hi Friends –
Last week was a rather interesting week. It wasn’t really too far out of the normal stuff but there were some real tail waggery and ear scratchers, so I thought I’d share a few of them with you.
I have to start by telling you that I really can’t call the cats “basement monsters” anymore. (Except for maybe Pixie Kitteh; I can still get her to run from me). One of the things I’ve wanted ever since I moved in was to be friends with them. The problem I’ve found is that we really don’t speak the same language. Dad said my play-bow looks like attack position and when I try to run and play, they run and hide (and not the seek kind). So far, Lucy tolerates me on the couch with her as long as she is sits-ing with Dad, otherwise she is a grouchy old lady who is plain angry that I even exist. Then there is Winkie, the boy cat who looks a little like me (he’s black and white too). He has decided that I’m pretty okay. He plays with me as long as I don’t get too rough. If I forget my paws are bigger than his head then the sharp claws come out and tattoo my nose. Well guess what? Winkie and I got to lie on Mom & Dad’s bed together. You can probably see the Instagram pictures on my page; it was the closest we’ve been without me getting hurt; it was pawsome!!!!
Later in the week Dad stayed home because he was a bit under the weather. The cuddles were great until he ruined it and decided that if we were home I needed to go to the doctor to get my shots updated and heart worm treats. I guess it was okay but I really didn’t like that they took me into a room without Dad to trim my nails and stick me with ouchie pins. They got me three times in the same day. I told Dad I didn’t like it much, but he said they had to do it to make sure I was healthy enough to do my job and keep all my certifications so we could continue to be together all the time. I guess it’s a fair enough trade. Now I have all my updated tags from the doctor and the town. After we did that, we went and got a brand new 35 pound bag of noms. I tried to talk him into a letting me have a snack for the road but he didn’t buy in.
Dad was starting to look like he needed a nap (like I said he wasn’t feeling well) but it was a weekday afternoon out around town so we made one more stop. We went to a groomer for Dad. This was a new place that we haven’t been to before and we just walked in. (The old place had an owner that was afraid of me and she always hid in the back.)Dad thought since it was mid afternoon on a weekday that they’d be slow; he was wrong but was lucky and got his clip. The best part was Paulie’s professional barbershop has a doggie! His name is Teddy. (I think Dad called him a different name on Facebook, but I’ll cut him a break, he’s silly) Teddy is a pawesome guy. He’s a Staffordshire terrier mix (and a rescue – love that!) He greeted us at the door and took Dad by surprise; he acted like he didn’t even see him coming. I asked later if he was playing too and Dad said that no, he really didn’t see him in the shop. This turned out to be for the best. If we had known about Teddy being there I don’t think we would have gone in because Dad is very protective of me and very concerned about how we’re perceived by other owners. It turns out that it couldn’t have been better. Everyone in the shop was super nice and when nobody was concerned with our play and Dad asked to let me off lead and they let us play right there! Customers were even taking pictures and video; it was fun. The only scare we gave them was when one of my chin pimples popped and bled all over Teddy’s white coat. We thought it was funny, but it also showed how much our humans love us when they stopped everything until the source was found. When they decided it was nothing to worry about, we just got toweled off by our corner men and let back at it for another round. Teddy even shared a snack of his Blue Buffalo and water. Everyone treated us all like we were respected guests in their home. It was pretty amazing for a business. Needless to say, we love this place! The human puppies are even asking me to take them to meet Teddy, and Mom looked at their site to see if she could get a trim there too. As it turns out they don’t do women’s cuts, but she still wants to meet everyone just because of our stories.
Casper the Friendly Dane 
Hi Casper. Roh Roh. My mom is on her second service dog and she just wanted to offer some friendly advice to your dad. From reading your wonderful blog we know it’s hard for you not to be distracted by other dogs when you’re working. By letting you play with Teddy, the next time you see a dog in a place where you are working, chances are you will want to play with them. And won’t understand why it was OK with Teddy but not OK with the next dog. You are getting mixed messages and one of the keys of dog training is consistency. Especially for dogs with important jobs like us. Sort of like when your people had to adjust the rules for who can pet you out in public and when. Sometimes it takes a while (and trial and error) for your people to learn these things when you are their first service dog. So just something to think about and we want you to be the best service dog team you can be!
While we appreciate your input, ultimately, this is our choice. Everyone person and service dog is different and we do not feel that he has to give up being a dog just because he is working. In this case the owners were more than happy to allow him to play and Dan was sitting so Casper did not need to be on duty. Had he still been on lead and Dan was requiring him to work he would have. The amazing thing about dogs, especially him, is how he can understand the difference when he is strictly on duty and when he has been released from duty. Dan makes a point to give him a command that releases him so he knows it is ok to play.
Additionally, I (Lauri) would like to say that we make it a point to share all comments that are made on this page. We put our lives out there in the open because people are interested and because it sometimes feels nice to share. When and if we have concerns about Casper’s training we go to his trainers. If we ever wish to have advice from our readers we will make it a point to ask people how they feel about a situation. We are not writing this as a way to seek unsolicited advice.
You have a point and we respect that, however, it is not something we feel applies in our situation. Casper is completely different than any other service dogs we know about, including from SDP. He was younger when he came to us so there are situations that he has worked on and he is used in a way most service dogs in the world are not, he is for mobility and only when Dan is in motion.
This kind of reminds me about our post about whether we could do the work they do. When you are at work (only 8 hours a day and not 24/7 like a service dog) does your boss expect you to do nothing but work for each moment of every day? Are you not allowed to socialize with coworkers? Are you not given breaks? We feel Casper deserves those perks too.
Hi Casper. Sounds like you had a great week. Hope you are having fun in the snow.
Way to go Casper. You are growing up so quickly and learning so much. The basement monsters will eventually become your good buddies as time goes on. You are doing very well with them. keep up the good work and have a Great Dane Day.
What a pawsome week you had, Casper! So happy that you are making friends with the kittehs and happy that you had a great time and made new friends, a furry one and some humans. It’s so great when you find a new place and the humans respect you and your dad. I hope your dad is feeling better, too. Have a wonderful weekend and another pawsome week ahead. Love you, Casper…..<3
Hi Casper! Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. It’s really cool that the basement monsters (love that name, btw) are making friends with you now. It’s about time they realized how very wonderful you are. I hope your Dad is feeling better and that you and Teddy have many more play dates ahead!
Sounds like you had a truly pawesome day at dad’s groomer. So nice you made a new friend to play with. And see, having a bit of patience w/the “basement monsters” has paid off. You may never be best of friends or speak the same language, but sounds like you have found a way to live together peacefully and I’m sure that makes the rest of the family happy. You are still the top secret service dog in my book. Keep up the good work. Big hugs to all.
Casper, in case I haven’t told you before, you Da Bomb! Love your reports and can’t say how happy I am that you are finally making friends with the rest of your housemates. It sounds like things are going great for you and your family, and your patience and humor with all things human and animal are standing you in good stead. Keep up the good work, you sweet boy!
I am so happy that you had such a pawsome week. You are trying hard to make friends with all your furry family members. Thanks for taking such good care of your dad. Best of all you made a new friend in Teddy with new friends for mom and dad. Love hearing about your adventures.
Wow Lulu, sounds like you and dad had an excellent day. Like Karen said, good job on that patience with the basement monsters. I like that nickname you have for them even if they are coming out of the basement. Sounds like you and dad found a cool new place to go and a new friend for you to play with while you wait for dad. Speaking of chin pimples, one of my “basement monsters” had chin pimples too. We found out he was allergic to food with fish in it. Now the pimples are all gone and he only gets fish once in a blue moon. I look forward to hear about the next adventure you and the family have.
Did you confuse me with my sister? We love Lulu, but that’s not me! 🙂
I just have pimples because I am a teen. A lot of danes get that.
I knew you and the ‘monsters’ would make friends!! Good job on that patience, Mr. Casper!!