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Today I was unscrewing a piece of wood from my synth module rack. I had to sit on the floor to do it. Frankie was right there, "helping" me. He positioned his head right under the elbow of my left arm, the one I was using to hold the screwdriver. Maybe he was helping me hold my arm up. Or maybe he thought "if mommy's arm is touching me, and it's moving, then she's petting me!" Oy.

Two engineers wanted to go duck hunting. They got a lease and bought a good dog. Opening day they were in the blind for about 4 hours. "We haven't even one duck after spending all of this money on the lease and dog." "I TOLD YOU, YOU AIN'T THROWING THE DOG HIGH ENOUGH."

Since I've taken over the training (and bonding) of Frankie, I've primarily taken him out to only two places: Petsmart and another pet store called Pet Connection, which is a small pet store with reptiles, rodents, fish and birds. Both of these stores are chock full of distractions, smells, sights and sounds. Frankie is highly distracted at these places, and unfortunately I found myself getting very frustrated with him. And as we all know, these frustrations go right down the leash to the dog. It's just not a good training environment to start with. Finally a lightbulb went off in my head. Why am I making this so hard? Why am I starting my training with the most difficult places? Because I'm a dummybell, that's why! Doy! So, yesterday, I took Frankie to a nice, normal WalMart. And it was great! He pulled consistently, his turns were spot-on, his down/stays were solid. The overall experience was one of happiness and fun for both of us. And I actually was able to do ...

One of the many rituals I've had with my Service Dogs has been the "undressing ritual". This is when I remove my sdogs gear after working and basically say Thank You for helping me. JoJo, my first sdog, would jump up (the one and only time she was allowed to jump up), put her paws on my shoulders and give me a hug. Willie's ritual is to rub on my legs like a cat. He makes happy grunting noises while he's doing it. Snort snort! Frankie has the same "hug" ritual as JoJo had. I actually had Rick teach it to him because I think the "undressing ritual" is an important bonding behavior for them. It's something that no other dog gets to do with the human and it gives them that special thing only they get to do. Unfortunately, being the kind of wacko he is, Frankie has started to test the boundaries of this ritual. Yesterday, he jumped up onto my neighbor's daughter Catherine. He did it very gently, as he's been taught. But he towered over...

One of my past lizards was a Texas Alligator Lizard. His name was James and he was kind of mean. He would always try to bite me, but because he was a smallish lizard, it didn't hurt much and I'd pick him up anyway. I used to keep the top off of his tank so I could easily change his water and feed him. But this led to the inevitable, but rare, Lizard Escapes. One time I found him on the kitchen counter (his tank was on the bar above the counter), and another time he had apparently fallen down to the floor (carpeted, soft landing) and crawled across the living room to a plant by the window. All this while dogs were roaming about the house. What made this funny was every time he would escape, he would get meaner. When I'd try to pick him up to put him back in his tank, he'd hiss and attack my hand big time. I think he thought "Dude, I'm loose, I'm free, I'm tough, I'm wild". Not so tough. He'd always be returned to his tank, where there were n...

Remember I said I'd fired a shotgun a few weeks ago... skeet shooting ? And that I enjoyed it? Well, since then, I've been going to the local firing range and target shooting! And still enjoying it! So far I've shot a 9mm pistol, and a Ruger .22. And today, I actually ordered my own handgun! The rental guns are very dirty and have a tendency to jam a lot. Plus, when I go to the range with my shooting buddy Michele, we fight over the pretty red .22! But all this fun has a downside too. Here's an activity that I've found I can do, one that I'm actually good at, but I have no choice in the matter... I cannot work a dog. I simply cannot take a dog to a firing range because it would be damaging to their hearing. It's one thing to train a hunting dog... that's done outdoors and you build up the sound with starter pistols and small caliber guns before getting to the big stuff. But an indoor firing range is louder, very echoy, and some folks are using high-power...

Week 3 of Migraines. Hopefully this will be the last week. Got diagnosed with a sinus infection yesterday, started antibiotics and also got a script for Imitrex Injectable. All the blinds are down. Bright light. Oy

Frankie Says Hi!

So, yeah, like I shot a gun yesterday. But this story didn't begin yesterday, it began a few weeks ago at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo. While wheeling around the Expo, I could hear gunshots going off. I knew there were a lot of different demonstrations going on, so I thought I must be hearing a demo for hunting or the NRA or something. I soon found out that there was an area setup where anyone could try shooting at skeet. I had to try it! First, I had to go over to a table for the "orientation". This was a joke. The "orientation" consisted of two underwhelmingly-in-shape men handing me a 2x4 card with the "rules" printed on it. Stuff like "don't point the gun at anyone", "don't hit anyone with the gun", "don't steal the gun"... stuff like that. I had to read the rules and then get a stamp on my hand. I guess at that point I was legal. Then I went over the to skeet range. The instructor was a little concer...

Intrigued? Good! To Be Continued....

I missed a blog posting yesterday. I've been dealing with pain-induced migraines for almost 2 weeks now and I'm getting pretty tired of it. I did get a new mattress for our room (our = me and Frankie). The old one was so "firm" that it felt like I was sleeping on the floor. Definitely not conducive to a good night's sleep. Today, I feel the migraine stewing behind my right eye. It'll probably blow up my head in a few hours. It's times like this I'm glad I record lots of movies. I'll probably watch a few today. Meanwhile, how about a joke? Here ya go: (Click image to enlarge) Courtesy of Dog Eat Doug

One day a little girl asked her mother, "Mom, may I take Lucy for a walk around the block?" The Mom said, "No, because she's in heat." "What's that mean?" asked the child. "Go ask your Father. I think he's in the garage." The little girl went to the garage and said "Dad, can I take Lucy for a walk around the block? I asked Mom, but she said the dog was in heat, and that I should ask you." Dad said, "Bring Lucy over here." He took a rag, soaked it with gasoline, and scrubbed the dog's butt with it. "OK, you can go now, but keep Lucy on the leash. And only go one time around the block." The little girl left and returned a few minutes later with no dog on the leash. Dad said, "Where's Lucy?" The little girl said, "Lucy ran out of gas about halfway down the block. There's another dog pushing her home."

While laying in bed this morning, Frankie accidentally "punched" me in the eye. With his foot. That's gonna leave a mark. Ow.

Erik Weber said... "Nice blog. My name is Erik, I am disabled and a friend of Kati's. She's a wonderful person. I've been disabled for the past 5 years. I've had multiple spinal fusions. All of which have failed." "Even though I have breed reptiles for over 20 years. It really hit home, being confined mostly to home, how therapeutic caring for these beautiful creatures have become. Can't leave my cat out of the picture, don't want to upset her. I recommend working with these geckos. They bring a lot of joy and inspiration to my life. I cherish all of them. They help me get on my feet and look forward to each day." I received this wonderful comment about my article on Kati's Crested Geckos . This is the type of comment that really makes my day and helps me realize that writing this blog is important. We disabled folks are really just like everyone else, but I can't help to think we are also given a special way to view the world. S...

A few weekends ago at the Austin Reptile Expo, I had the opportunity to meet a really neat woman who breeds and sells Crested Geckos. Since I have lizards as pets and have written before about how great they are as pets for disabled folks, I thought I'd write about the Crested Gecko in particular. The woman I speak of is Kati of Kati's Crested's . She's here in Austin, TX. I had never held a crested gecko before this Expo, but I had seen them in a tank at a local reptile store. They are very kewl lizards! Soft to the touch, almost like suede. The one I held jumped from one hand to the other and held on with it's prehensile tail! The crested gecko originates from New Caledonia (an island east of Australia). Adults range from 6-9" in total length. In the wild, they are nocturnal, arboreal animals living in the forests. Most wild specimens are tail-less, presumably because they dropped their tails while escaping from a predator. All of Kati's cresteds are c...

Today I was doing a small load of laundry. When the load was done drying, the dryer buzzer went off. I started to get up to unload the dryer, but Barney was laying down by my chair. I got distracted and started petting my little old man (Barney, that is!). Next thing I know, Frankie's bumping his nose against the laundry room's door knob. Loudly. What's that about?! Is he reminding me that the buzzer just buzzed and my laundry's gonna wrinkle?? He's so demanding.

Currently, Frankie and I are going thru our bonding period . It will probably last at least 6 months, mainly because of the fact that he's VERY bonded to the hubby. Since Frankie's trainers have been primarily male (the hubby, our SWAT friend), and because up until now I've been mostly hands-off when it came to his primary training (I was only doing retrieval work), this new bonding period may be prolonged. But that's ok, I'm enjoying it and it's going well. Recently tho, I noticed that occasionally we'd have some set-backs. There would be occasions where suddenly Frankie was back to his tunnel-vision ways when it came to the hubby. I'd feel like second fiddle again. I thought these set-backs were just part of the process. But then one day I looked out into the backyard and saw the hubby kneeling down talking to Frankie. WTF?! That's against The Rules! The hubby isn't even supposed to look at Frankie, let alone speak to him! When the hubby comes ...

TALK TO THE DISABLED TUESDAY! The first Tuesday of every month is hereby proclaimed as Talk To The Disabled Tuesday . NOW, THEREFORE, I, The WillaWoman, do hereby proclaim the First Tuesday of every Month as TALK TO THE DISABLED TUESDAY . I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, parents, and all the people of the World to observe this day with the appropriate actions outlined below. Pretty official sounding, eh?! Goals : Raise awareness of the Disabled's plight of feeling invisible or feeling like a circus freak. Demonstrate to the abled-bodied that The Disabled are just like everyone else. Cause a generational avalanche of knowledge to the abled-bodied 's children. Make the day of a lonely, ostracized Disabled Person . Actions : Say "Hello" to a Disabled Person . Nod and smile to a Disabled Person . Strike up a conversation with a Disabled Person . Have your child say "Hello" to a Disabled Person . Look a Disabled Perso...

Q: Mike C. said... "Do you have some sort of special toilet at home? How difficult is it to get out of the chair and onto the pot? (I have a visual of some crazy pulley system or something)." A: Mike, in my case at home, I don't have to transfer from my wheelchair to the toilet. I walk about my home, usually with a cane. (Ok, not "usually", I'm predominantly a "wall-hugger" at home!) I have two Home Depot Comfort Height toilets installed. These have a taller base so I don't have to bend my knees a lot to sit down. In addition, I have a grab-bar mounted next to each toilet, also from Home Depot. Funny, when my shorter friends sit on my toilets, their feet barely touch the ground. Makes them feel 4 years old!

Overheard at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo: Little Girl (pointing to a bearded dragon ) : Is that the lizard that shoots blood out of it's eyes? WTF?!