Bark Back to School

Hello, hope you’re well? I recently received a bunch of fan mail…

...well 29 letters and these are due to the fact L & I visited our local Primary School in Burghclere to meet the Robin class and explain to them about my partnership with L and what I have been trained to do. We visited on 12^th September, as the children started back for the new term.

This visit wasn’t like my visit to the other primary school, as this time I went in to the classroom and we got to talk and answer questions. I even got to show how well mannered & obedient I am. L introduced us and I lay down at the front of the class. The children asked lots of questions, all politely raising their hands first and I was able to relax and snooze during this part.  Some of my favourite questions to L were:

1) Is diabetes contagious?

      2) Can Frodo roll over? 

      3) Does Frodo always have to wear his coat?

      4) Can I stroke Frodo?

      5) If you were a police woman, would you have to have a police dog AND Frodo to help you?

      6) Can Frodo smell your blood level in wind and rain, when you’re on walks?

      7) Can I stroke Frodo?

      8) Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

      9) Can I stroke Frodo now

     10) Does Frodo steal your Dad’s socks?

We stayed at the school with the children for an hour or so. The best part of the visit was when Robin class all went back to their own seats and I got to walk around the tables to get strokes and cuddles off of each of them! Lots of them also had pet dogs so I hope to maybe meet them when I’m out on my walks…

As it all went so well, we’ll be going back to do future visits and the children can ask more questions, share more stories about their own dogs and give me even more cuddles. Their teacher Miss Tucker was also very nice and made me feel quite at home. She was a key part in arranging our visit and hopefully more visits in future. During part of L’s talk the children were very fast at thinking on their feet and gave some great answers to L’s Question: “Name the places where Frodo as an Assistance Dog can go, but where pet dogs can’t?”

A few answers: The shops, the cinema, the library, Tesco, a restaurant, school, the office, the gym, the theatre, on a plane, trains, buses, holidays abroad, the beach, hospital, the dentist…

Apparently my visit and the talk about what I do to help L, was just as fun for the children as it was for us. Miss Tucker was able to use our visit to help with PSHE (Personal, Social & Health Education) & RRR (Rights Respect Responsibility) learning. The charity has provided a resource to show how visits from dogs like me can aid with different parts of the national curriculum & link “teaching and learning opportunities to real life and purposeful learning experiences.” If you are interested to learn more then details of this can be found here: http://medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/schools.html

OR…maybe you can look online and see if there is a Medical Detection Dogs Support Group based near you? I know that several have Facebook pages (with my friends featured) and it may be possible for you to contact one of these groups to see if a dog like me can come visit your school? Did you know it is even possible for School’s to sponsor one of the Medical Detection Dog puppies (who are in training to be partnered with a person in need and be saving lives on a daily basis). The school gets to pick a Kennel name for the puppy (although the dog will also retain his/her training name) and receives updates of what the puppy is doing and other information from the charity. http://medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/sponsor.html

Anyway, I had a great time visiting Burghclere Primary School and I really hope we get to go back and meet my new school friends too to share more stories of my adventures with them. I know that they want to see me too as I have all 29 Thank-You letters (with even more questions) to prove it. AND that also just goes to show how the special job I do not only helps L every day but can also help educate members of the community (of any age). These letters must have helped with their English lessons too!!! If anyone from Robin class is reading this, firstly please tell all your class (& Miss Tucker) that I was very impressed with how well behaved you all were & how friendly and that I would award each of your letters to L & I with a Gold Star.

Hope to see you soon!

Frodo

P.S. I’ve attached some parts of the letters & pictures so you can all see how great they are. How much the children paid attention to what they were told about me and also how great and well behaved I am! Obviously, this is just a sample selection and I haven’t picked any favourites x

I'm now going to be a it busy replying to them all....

Medical Detection Dogs get to wear Ferrari Red Jackets because we're awesome!

Hello followers….well I’ve been having a lovely time recently. I was lucky enough to be taken to a local classic car and beer festival at our local pub The Carpenters Arms on 31^st August 2013 with L&M. The sun was shining and there was the wonderful smell of BBQ in the air <drool> which always makes me feel happy and hopeful that someone will drop some food for me. As always I was on my bestest behaviour as I was wearing my work jacket and it’s surprising how many of these classic cars matched my jacket colour (I suspect this was done specially because they knew I’d be attending, however L says this was just a coincident…but I still have my suspicions). 

The afternoon was spent looking and sniffing at the lovely cars and meeting lots of people. 

I even do impressions of classic cars...

Can I have a burger now please?

Everyone wants to know about the important job I do and to talk to me. People seem to always be looking after me, bringing me some water and making sure I get the best spot to lie in. I did have a little fright though as someone dropped a tray of glasses very close to me, but L and I are cool when unexpected things happen ( I often hear L explaining to people that I am “bomb proof”). She just told me not to move as there was broken glass all around us, she checked me over to see that I was OK and once the glass was cleared from the area she navigated me to a safe place where once again she checked my paws. I really thought I might get a sausage for remaining so calm but no such luck! So I just had to make do with the smiles and strokes I got as I posed for photos. I even had to protect the pint which was put on the floor with me, to capture the fact it was an Ale festival, as well as a car one.

It was a fun afternoon and lots of people attended. I think L said we may get to go back again next year for it, as it could well be an annual event at the pub. Maybe next year I’ll get to have a drive round in one of the red cars. I can picture me arriving, head lolling out the window, ears flapping behind me in the breeze…maybe wearing my sunglasses and impressing all the other doggies there!

Woof woof,

Frodo x

Do I hear wedding bells???

Greetings all,

Thanks for stopping by again or even stumbling on to my blog. I’ve had very exciting events which I want to share with you. Firstly I think it’s fair to say that I have truly settled into my new home and my alerting skills are getting better by the day. I’ve been living with L&M (and Bracken) for 4 months and 5 days or 127 days in total so far and in this time L has recorded 1643 blood glucose tests. So that works out as 12-13 tests a day on average. Now I know that you are reading this to learn about me and all things doggified but the testing of L’s bG (blood glucose) plays an important part in my work. She has a little machine which will tell her exactly how much sugar (glucose) is contained in her blood. All she has to do is prick her finger to get a drop of blood, which she puts on a test strip and then the machine which has the test strip plugged into it gives her the calculation of glucose. L has started to refer to the machine as a Lie Detector as if I perform an Alert she will always check to make sure I’m getting it right. Sometimes though my nose is so brilliant I can warn her that her blood glucose isn’t right up to an hour or more ahead of when her blood glucose drops to hypo level. How amazing is that?

So you may be wandering what I’ve got up to since you last stopped by. Well as always I’ve been enjoying the sunshine and plenty of fun playing in the garden with Bracken. L decided she might start a new garden project by setting up a container pond. Now when I moved in I found the container and it was already full to the brim with water…which although appeared a little green at times made quite a nice drinking bowl. Now however L has assumed ownership of the container and will discourage Bracken & I from drinking out of it. She’s even added a small water-lily, a grass which grows underwater and makes oxygen and a sticky out plant which looks like bamboo grass twisted into corkscrews. Aside from no longer being allowed to drink the water I have also received commands that I can’t chew on the fun looking grass…or even eat the few water snails which have been added. I will often lie near to this ‘not-quite-a-pond-yet-in-my-opinion’ container and watch how the birds bathe in it. And it also has a frog and a toad (real ones too). None of this lot gets in to any trouble for going in it, but if I try to just sip a little I get directed to the ever so boring normal water bowl not far away. I wonder if L is even aware of all these other creatures which are breaking her rules. So anyway, as L got into the container pond project we decided it would be good to visit an aquatic shop to see what suitable plants they had. So we drove to a nearby garden centre which also has the aquatic shop on its premises and we took a look around. I was obviously wearing my work jacket and looked gorgeous as ever as the sun shone down and then we entered the aquatic shop… <der der der>…this place was soooo weird. It was very warm inside and smelt wet. As we walked along the isles we moved towards these big glass boxes and I saw lots of funny shaped things (they had no legs) at the back of the box which was at my level. As I moved closer to sniff the funny things all shot forward at me and I jumped back away from them. L&M told me it was ok and had a giggle, so I wagged my tail to show I wasn’t scared. I kept my ears in an alert position though as the weird things had moved back to the other side of the glass box. How do they move? They have no legs and look like they are floating or flying…I suspect they may be alien life-forms.  L then led me away towards the next glass box and the things in this one were smaller and stayed back. L bent down to pet me and explained the aliens are fish and that they live in the water. Ok, so now I understand what these weird things are but honestly, unless I get taken to the sea or river and the water is clear when I stick my head in it…when else am I likely to see alien fishies? I think jumping at the sight of them was a natural response and when I next see some I’ll know what they are. L then talked to M about whether assistance dogs are allowed to visit aquariums? And what a dog would make of being in an underwater viewing tube? So if I do ever get taken to an Aquarium I’ll guess I’ll have to write and let you all know what I think. All I do know for now is that I don’t think L will be able to fit any fish into her container pond. I’m not scared of fish though, I was soon posing for photos.

The next exciting event was attending my very 1^st wedding. I even got an invitation along with L&M from the wonderful couple Carol & Jules. This was due to be a very big event for me as I would be in my work jacket for a very long time and it was taking place on an island with lots of people wearing very nice clothes (so not opportunity for cheeky cuddles which transfer lots of dog hair). 

L warned me that there was NO WAY I should even think about pulling one of my famed “Frodo manoeuvres” with the bride in her gorgeous white dress. Now for those of you who have not met me yet, my “Frodo manoeuvre” involves finding the perfect opportunity to sneak between body parts and turn the intended activity into a cuddle. For example I am very apt at sticking my head under people’s arms when they bend over to put on /pull off wellies and I have recently perfected the manoeuvre of sticking my head between L’s arms and her jeans as she tries to pull them on in the morning. I have worked out that if I put a lot of pressure with my head on to the waist band she is trying to pull up towards her waist, I pull her down further and then quickly lift my head to get into the strategic cuddle position. So getting too close to the bride in her gorgeous white dress and covering it in my gorgeous black fur was ruled out of things I could consider doing. Next on the “make sure you don’t” list was chasing peacocks. The island had its own resident peacocks, ducks and geese and I was reminded on several occasions that to chase was not an option during my stay at the island. I think at this point however it’s only fair to point out that nobody told the peacocks not to chase the dog did they? One of them also made a point of spying on me through the bedroom window when we first arrived in our room. There I was happily sat on my bed and outside I was being stalked by a peacock. 

Then during the ceremony it spotted me again and made an approach towards me. I wagged my tail like I was happy to see it, but it looked to me as if it was looking for trouble. L whispered the “Leave” command so I turned to look the other way and the peacock changed its mind about bothering me and walked off.

The wedding ceremony was outside with a view of the river. The bride actually arrived by boat which I found quite exciting, as I don’t get to see many of those when out on walks in the countryside. And the next exciting new thing I got to do was go on my very first boat ride, which was kindly laid on for us guests by the bride & groom.

 I was a little reluctant to get on to the boat so the captain kindly lifted me aboard and then I just got to settle down as we pootled along the river. The rocking of the water was very relaxing and I was soon asleep, albeit on top of the groom’s mum’s feet. L tried to get me to move but was told I made a super foot warmer so she left me where I was.  And I was a lot braver about getting out of the boat, and as soon as we docked I jumped out right behind L. And we got back just in time for FOOOOOOOD.

As we entered to view the seating plan for all the guests, I was VERY HAPPY to see my name listed. Name on seating plan = plate of food J We located our table where I even had a place setting…however there seemed to have been a mistake as the duck breast I had been longing for was mistakenly recorded as water. 

As I was wearing my jacket and this was a special event I did the honourable thing and didn’t complain, but lay down next to the table to catch a few Z’s. It worked out quite well as I could smell all the delicious food that was being served and dreamt that I was eating it. Not a bad way to relax while working if you ask me.

After the lovely meal it was time for us to go back outside and relax. I liked this part as I got to go back to our room and have my own dinner. A delectable collection of white fish rice based dog biscuits which could challenge the duck that all the other guests were raving about, I don’t mind telling you! Then we returned outside to watch the boats going past and enjoy the wedding celebrations. This is the point where as an Assistance Dog I showed just how fantastic I can be. It was decided L would make the trips to the bar as she required the training of managing a dog while carrying a round of drinks…so off we set. When I was at the bar lots of people came across to talk to me. And as I like a fuss and L likes a chat, well it’s neither of our faults that the 1^st round took almost 40 minutes to return with. Plenty of people offered to carry the tray of drinks for L, but as we were in training we declined and I walked to heal like a professional.  

After a couple more rounds we decided to let our fur down and hit the dance floor. At first I wasn’t too sure what to make of the dodgy dance moves going on around me…so I sat next to the dance floor and watched. After a short while of that, people couldn’t resist my charms and stopped dancing to come over to chat to me and tell me how good I was being. Soon enough I was proving I was the coolest dog at the wedding and slept next to the dance floor. Too cool to dance if you know what I mean!

As first weddings go (attendance that is) I think this one rocked! I’m not sure if it will ever be matched, so thank you Carol and Jules for inviting me… (I’m sorry that in order to get me along you had to invite L too). I hope if you read this you don’t mind me sharing with people how great your special day was? If you happen to see those two paparazzi again who couldn’t resist taking photos…feel free to tell them I’m available for modelling sometimes…

Maybe they’ll let me share some of their professional photos on my blog too…so my fans can see how well my training is going.

Once again, thanks for stopping by and I will report next time on the classic car show I’m attending and how I am going to the village Primary School to help them learn about Medical Detection Dogs/ Assistance Dogs and other things. Wish me luck!!!

Frodo xxx

Birthday Boy - 13th July

Hey dog fans, how's it wagging? Well yes I know it again has been an age since I've been on here, but with all the sunshine I've been somewhat distracted sunbathing and playing in the big outdoors. I hope that perhaps you've been enjoying the weather too...and therefore I won't have left you in eager anticipation of this my latest blog.

Today is my 2^nd Birthday...

and as edible treats could cause issues with my current type of alert training (L & M have to be quite strict), I was taken out for a nice big walk around 7am before it got too hot and then we did a quick drive to Pets@Home where I was allowed to pick whichever toy I wanted. Well my first choice was a lovely little brown bunny…or maybe the brown and white one or…anyway apparently they weren’t toys so I had to move on to the correct aisle. So next option was the food one and I had fun sniffing all the bags of dog food while L seemed distracted looking for something in her pockets. Unfortunately her mobile phone was out of juice so the photo of me picking a toy didn’t get to happen. I’m not too bothered anyway, sometimes with L it’s like having the paparazzi with me as she always wants to take photos to ‘capture moments’. I found a really cool blue & red fabric football…which had two pieces of rope at each end. The red was very similar to my work jacket and I was sniffing, just about to pick it when a cocker spaniel puppy at the other end of the aisle gave a few excited barks. I think she had the task of picking out a new lead. Anyway as I turned my attention back to my red/blue ball another ball on the other shelf caught my eye and I opted for that one instead. It’s not quite so colourful BUT it did appear to be a bit tougher and as Bracken will also want to play ball with me it seems like the more sensible mature 2yr old doggie choice. So this ball is rubber and has the piece of rope at each end also. As you can see I like it very much…and L has charged her phone since we got home. With it being so hot today we will be spending a good amount of time indoors. I feel quite lucky I’ve moved into a house which has traditional brick/tile floors downstairs. The floor is so cool to lay on in hot weather its bliss. L & M have promised when we do go outside that Bracken and I can have some iced lollies too. And there is always plenty of shade available in our garden, along with two very large bowls of water which get replenished regularly. So as I don’t yet know what the rest of my day/evening holds I’ll update you in the next blog.

As I mentioned last time, I had the adventure of visiting a local primary school to give an assembly presentation with L. It was a lovely sunny day and we had to arrive at the school promptly before 9am. When we arrived I saw a big horse that was all different colours in the car park.  I wasn’t sure that L & M had noticed it so I gave a bit of an excited bark (we would have hated to reverse into it as we parked). I soon found out it wasn’t actually a “real” horse but it was just the same size and I felt it was only fair to let people know it was there. When we got out of the car I rushed to sniff it and find out exactly what it was. M thought that was cute and tried to take a photo but I was sniffing it at super speed and she didn’t manage to press the button in time (as you can see below)…

After the horse statue meeting a nice man came out to greet us and escorted us into school. We signed in to announce our arrival and then got led through a large hall into the staff room where I got to say hello to a number of the teachers who were all very smiley and happy to meet me. Once again I was in my work jacket and so they could all tell I am “something special”. Our neighbour Ali was there too, so I was very happy to see her. But she must have forgotten to bring her dog Max with her cos he wasn’t about anywhere??? After L & M had stopped talking with Ali and the teachers, we were left alone in the staff room. In the background I could hear the noise of lots of children and chairs being pulled on classroom floors. Our big moment was about to begin…

We went into the big hall and there were two chairs at the front. As we were getting settled lots of children started to come in. They walked in in long lines and all sat on the floor in front of me (smallest ones at the front & biggest at the back). They were all watching me as they walked in…I hadn’t expected to see quite so many. As more and more came into the hall, we even had to move the chairs back a bit to make more room for them. L asked me a few times to sit, but when I tried my back legs slipped away from under me (imagine how a frogs legs stick out at the sides) and so I decided it was probably best not to sit if I really didn’t have to. I stood and looked at all the children…who were all looking back at me. Then the assembly began and Ali explained to the children who we were and that L was going to tell them about my very special job. Medical Detection Dogs also have a power-point presentation which has been written to educate children about what dogs like me do. So this was on a screen behind us. L asked who had dogs at home and lots of the children raised their hands. We talked about how well behaved I had to be and how it was important for me to follow commands when out in public working. L asked me to do the sit command, which I did to the delight of the kids but she finally noticed how slippery the floor was, so she asked me to lay down which was more comfortable. After this one of the boys wanted to know if I could roll-over on command? I didn’t get the opportunity to see though as L explained that rolling over wasn’t needed that much when we’re out, but that she was sure the boy must have a very well trained and clever dog at home. The children raised their hands to tell us about all the different assistance dogs they know that belong to family and friends and then it was the children’s turn to ask questions. Lots of the questions seemed to be more statements about their own pet dogs and what they could do…but there were also a few good one’s like “Can Frodo go to toilet in the park?” All in all the assembly lasted for about 30 minutes and as the children stood and left in the same long lines I got a lot more smiles and a few waves goodbye. It was nice to see all the children and apparently it was a good bit of training for me too. In fact things went so well that we have been invited back to help with a couple of classes in the next school year. This is good as Medical Detection Dogs are actively seeking to educate about what they do and have invested time and effort into creating a Curriculum Guide which allows schools to link teaching and learning to real life and purposeful learning experiences for school children. So the school has a choice of what sort of lessons it can be included in and for how long a duration (week long, term long or more). All of this resource can be found on the Medical Detection Dog website 

http://medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/schools.html

I am beginning to adjust to my celebrity status as I get out and about more. L & M took me for a quick shopping trip into Sainsbury’s. While we were walking around, trying to locate all the items on the list a lady approached and asked L if she could take a photo of me. She explained that she follows Medical Detection Dogs on Twitter and thinks the dogs like me are wonderful. So if you happen to be the nice lady who I met in Sainsbury’s and you are reading this…Welcome to my blog. I told L she should have mentioned that I write one. I’m hopeful with your technology prowess that you will have found me! I haven’t seen the photo yet on Twitter but I do hope it’s a good one and I’m looking as handsome as normal.

OK, enough of this typing on my birthday…we’re all going out in the garden to enjoy the sunshine and my new ball toy…

 … well it didn’t survive as long as we’d hoped…but I’m still having fun though…

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and I’ll catch up with you soon.

 Woof woof,

Frodo xx

Sun Dog Millionaire...one day....

Hello world, I’m sorry this blog is late arriving but heck I’ve been sooooo busy recently my paws have hardly had chance to hit the ground, let alone time to type. Busy with what? I hear you ask…well let me think back and share my exploits.

To start with let me ask if you’ve been enjoying the fantabulastic weather we’ve been having recently?

Sun dog who looks like a millionaire pose...

 I have been enjoying it, as it means that I get plenty of chance to lounge in the garden, sometimes chasing butterflies…although the cat tells me that “Cats chase butterflies and you must therefore be a cat”, which I know I’m not as he also tells me “Cats rule and dogs drool” and I do drool, so that makes me a dog right? Hmmmm…anyway, I tend to drool a lot in the sunshine as the likelihood of getting doggie ice lollies (yum, see the pics) or sniffing out BBQs increases. If you don’t know what doggie ice lollies are then you’ve been missing out!!! L & M make them especially for me & Bracken, and they usually have spares should some of our other furry friends pop in to visit on a hot day. Basically it’s a small plastic cup which has some of our dried food added to water and is frozen. They even add cooked vegetables to it sometimes and if the water that the veg gets cooked in is available, well that’s added too. Plus there is a neat trick they do where they add the biscuits and some chopped veg, then half fill and freeze. And when that’s frozen they top up with more biscuits and water. From what I gather this makes sure that the biscuits and veg are stuck in the lolly at different levels so it’s tasty all the way through…otherwise you might just get the biscuits at one end with the rest being frozen water. So, thought I’d mention that to make sure your ice lollies are as nice as mine.

Notice the layering???

If the sunshine melts this I'm gonna be a slush puppy!

SLUUURRRRRPPPP

Well since I last wrote my blog I’ve been doing all sorts of things. I attended my first trip to church on 18^th May as L was going to see her youngest niece perform a 1^st Holy Communion. And that also happened to be her niece’s birthday so after going to the church (which was nice but full to the brim with children & adults) we then went on to a pub for some food, before heading back to L’s sister’s house to open gifts and cut cakes. While I was at the house I got to meet another dog friend called Tink who’s a Beagle and a Golden Retriever called JJ. They were both lots of fun and we had a nice relaxing play in the garden before L & I headed home. That was a busy day for me and I slept lots when I got home…ZZzzzzzzz

Introducing JJ, my new friend

During my first visit to church I had a few pictures taken and rumour has it I was behaving like a furry angel while I was there. 

I think though that the seats can’t have been too comfortable as people just kept sitting, then standing, then sitting, then standing. Up and down and up and down. In the end I just lay down and slept. At one point some of the people round me even knelt on the floor. I will maybe write a thank-you letter to the priest for letting me attend but politely mention that they get the humans some cushions in future…

Lots of people came over to ask L what I did… luckily I had my working jacket stuffed with Medical Detection Dog leaflets so they had something to take away with them after L answered various questions and I got strokes and praise. I also got a few cuddles off of the children there too, which is nice. However, not to speak out of turn, but some children don’t even ask if they are allowed to cuddle me…they just grab hold of me around the neck and squeeze. Now I don’t mind this but I think it would be safer and nicer for all if parents taught children to ask permission to pet a dog before they attempt to cuddle it. I just think that these sorts of precautions can help prevent anything unpleasant happening. I know that not all dogs like cuddles and so if I happened to be one of those dogs, then having a child launch at me could lead me to bark, growl or worse…and that wouldn’t be my fault as the child hadn’t checked I was safe to pet first. But being a dog I know that we are usually the first to get blamed.

As well as visiting Church for the 1^st time in May, I also made a second visit to our local church too. L & M collected some food for their local food bank and we had to drop it all off at The Church of the Ascension in Burghclere. When we arrived we received a very nice greeting from the church wardens and they seemed very pleased to meet me too. This time the church was empty; so while L & M and the wardens chatted I sat in the aisle and enjoyed the peace and quiet. This church seemed a lot older than the one I’d visited before and it has some lovely stained glass windows (if you’re ever in the area and fancy popping in - http://www.ubbnes.org.uk/building/description.htm ). Oh, and if you’re wondering what a foodbank is…well it’s a really great way to help the hungry and those a little less fortunate. All you do is collect non-perishable food items (tinned food etc.) and then donate it to a local foodbank. Then people & families who are struggling financially can come along to the bank and be provided with food they need. If you’re interested, there’s more info in this link . I’m thinking with my weight-loss regime going so well I might have to sign up to a foodbank…being a lab I’m always needing more food.

I also took a visit to L’s doctor’s surgery. When we got there we had to sit and wait in a room where there were several other people sat around in chairs. The chairs are all arranged so that they are sited around the edge of the room and everyone faces each other. When L and I sat down I noticed all the people looked a bit glum and grumpy…but as I looked round I managed to get a few smiles. I think it’s my nice bright red working jacket that cheers people up and makes them want to grin at me. We waited for a long time, and even though they had magazines on a table in the middle of the room none of them were very interesting. Thankfully L had thought to bring along a copy of the Medical Detection Dogs “The Sniff” magazine to give people something interesting to read while they are sat there. The Sniff is also available to read online . It’s a great read and you can find out about all the exciting stuff the charity is up to as well as learning about other assistance dogs like me. 

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, so we’re in the waiting room and the Doctor calls us through to see L. When we get into the room he is very excited to meet me and learn about what I do. I’m still wearing my work jacket so I just sit next to L and act all professional. They talk quite a lot and then he asks if he can bring some of the other doctors through to meet me? So while we waited L let me have a quick sniff of the human organ body model (looks like a 3d jigsaw of a human torso with all the different organs and no skin) and then 4 other doctors came in. Again they all seemed quite excited to meet me, so I sat down next to L and looked professional yet again. One of them even comented that I must have a super nose. If a doctor tells you that well, you know you've got something special! Once they all finished asking questions about what I do and how I do it, L and I went back to the room with the chairs and waited for her medicine to be ready. This time I sat near to a nice couple who chatted to me and told L all about their black lab called Yogi. The lady even sneaked in a little stroke on my head so I wagged my tail and noticed everyone else was watching and smiling.

As I’m getting out and about I’m learning more about where I now live (and the gazillions of walks sat right on my doorstep). We have cows at the bottom of are garden along with a big orange bull called Colombo! Ok, they are in the field at the bottom of the garden sometimes and they move into all the fields around here. We play a little game of Spot the Cows every morning and afternoon, so we don’t plan a walk through the fields with them in and can choose an alternative route to walk. I’ve even met some sheep and lambs out in the field, although I am always on lead around them as otherwise they get a bit scared and worried. When you are a dog living in the countryside you have to follow certain rules relating to cattle and livestock!  And when we popped down to the farm the other day to get some eggs there were loads of chickens with these little fluffy things running along behind them. Bracken told me they are chicks, which are baby chickens but I’m not sure something so small and fluffy can actually grow up to be a chicken with feathers. Here are a few photos from our walks!

I'll sit here and wait for you to decide which way we're going...

Sheep?

Introducing Colombo (who looks a bit like Bracken...I wonder if he's his dad?)

Nosy cows!

I also wrote an article for the local village newsletter, which had my photo in too (see, I’m not just busy writing blogs) and I think I am becoming quite a celebrity... Well I was mentioned on my vet’s Facebook page :  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Falkland-Veterinary-Clinic/143359139021610 on the 7th May and the vet also took my photo. It hasn’t appeared on the page yet but no doubt it will and then even more of the people around here will recognise me and learn about the great work I do on behalf of the Medical Detection Dogs charity.

Right now, back to the great weather and BBQs :)

I love how whenever the sun shines I am lucky enough to lounge in the garden and stalk BBQs. It seems to me that L & M have some sort of BBQ addiction. During the 1^st May Bank Holiday they had five days of eating BBQ food back to back, and then last Bank Holiday they had BBQs for 3 days in a row. At first I thought that perhaps it had something to do with it being a Bank Holiday but this weekend just past, when we had more glorious sunshine shining down on us they had another 3 days of BBQs back to back!!!  What I like is how close I can get to the food  that is cooking and how many different types of food they cook. It makes my mouth water soooo much. Bracken told me when he first moved in with L & M it was September, but the weather was really hot, so they had a BBQ during his first weekend. And Bracken was a bit cheeky and stole a sausage off the BBQ while it was being cooked. He’s lucky you see as he’s a bit taller than me so can reach the BBQ more easily. However he doesn’t seem bothered by BBQ food now though and he doesn’t want to steal it either! He just said that last time the sausage was very HOT and hurt his mouth a bit, plus he says it upsets L & M if you steal food as they provide plenty of food for us so we need to show some gratitude. He also told me that when he first arrived he knew how to open the fridge and the oven and even stole L & M’s lunch that was cooking while they had popped out. He says he had to learn to be able to feed himself from his time living on the streets. He was proudest admitting how he opened the oven, took the food that was in a dish out and placed it on the floor and then ate every last bit…but he didn’t break the dish!

Right now, I shall get back to the sunshine and glorious sunbathing in the garden whilst we write up a presenation to give during assembly at a junior school in a few weeks time!!! Along with that I'll be playing fetch, catch the frisbee, chasing Bracken and Bracken chasing me, running through the sprinkler, eating ice lollies and dreaming of BBQ food.

 Man, I'm just loving the summer so far. I hope you have been having just as much fun as me? Until next time…may the sunshine be with you x