Fantine

This pretty girl is Fantine, and we are puppy sitting her until late next week. She's over a year old, and is due to go back to Boring in about a month or so. She's a perfect dog in public and has some pretty good house manners. I'm having to separate Ardella and Fantine because they like to roughhouse, although when Fantine first got here, Ardella wanted nothing to do with her. Ardella seems to have a "thing" about black Labs and somehow associates them with boisterous, pushy behavior that can overwhelm her. Fantine was rather polite with Ardella initially and I think that helped Ardella get used to her. Now I have to either separate them or keep them on drag lines to keep them from playing. This is good practice for Ardella - plus she needs to get used to black Labs.



Yesterday Keri came over and we went to Kohls for some baby gifts (for a friend of Keri's) and to Red Robin for lunch. We took Fantine and she was fabulous. She went straight under the table, lay down, and didn't sniff or hunt for food at all.The waiters loved her and came over to see her and to show us pictures of their dogs. Red Robin is a great place to take dogs in training. Fantine didn't even react when the waiters were clapping hands and singing a birthday song. We went for coffee at Tully's after lunch and once again, Fantine had great behavior. Fantine has a bit of hesitation about relieving herself, although I haven't had a lot of trouble with that. It is nice to know that she won't relieve on outings and I feel confident taking her out in public.

Another thing I'm impressed with is that I can give Fantine the "Down" command from a stand position and she does it.



My favorite thing about Fantine, though, is how she reacts to cats. She's great! Especially with Willow. Willow loves to chase and play with Fantine's drag line and Fantine will just lie there patiently while Willow tries to "kill" the line. The other cats aren't afraid of Fantine, either, but Willow especially likes playing with Fantine.



We're really enjoying this puppy sitting experience. Having an older puppy in the house has been a good situation for us.

Dog Scouts?

I just ran into this looking over a class list at a dog training facility in town. Check it out. I could see getting involved in this with Ardella. I think it would be fun.

Today was a VERY BAD DAY! The weird thing about today's news is that the threat of my job ending doesn't bother me as much as the thought that there may be an interruption in puppy raising down the road. However, I have good news coming in this blog in a few weeks, and I'm getting to puppy sit Fantine, a black Lab from the club, for about 5 days. That will cheer me up, at least a little.

Yes, this is a repost. I'm getting spam that I can't erase, so I'm putting on the approve function before comments can be made. Sorry about that.

Lexidog All Lab Playdate

Today was the Lexidog All Lab playdate and Karren and I attended with Annalynn and Ardella. After a ridiculously long drive via instructions from MapQuest (I have issues with Mapquest), we arrived in Lake Oswego about half an hour late. However, as we arrived there was a light yellow Lab walking across with street pulling her owners toward us and I realized it was Lani (who used to be known as Avani). So, the sisters had a reunion.

Lexidog was crowded today and there were a lot of dogs and people. Predictably, Ardella was a little freaked out. We put Ardella and Lani on the other side of the fence together so they could greet without being stressed out by other dogs, and then added Annalynn. Annalynn and Lani wanted to play on the floor, so Ardella and I went to a secluded fenced-in area where she could adjust to the large number of dogs. We added another dog named Catalina (I think) who was also a little unnerved by the all the new dogs. Eventually we were joined by Annalynn and Lani and their raisers. So of course we did what everyone does when littermates get together, we took pictures.

We attempted to get them to sit together:



and these were our most successful attempts:





I think we were more interested in picture taking than the girls were.



Eventually Ardella ventured out on her own onto the big floor and initiated some contact with dogs. Mostly she stayed on the periphery and discovered that if she stood between two people who were talking, she could remain safe from dogs who were more boisterous and assertive. Lani left around this time and Annalynn began to search out Ardella for play and they began to play chase together a little bit. It has always been a thrill to have had littermates in close proximity and I'm amazed how they remember one another even though they are often separated for long periods of time.

Finally, Ardella discovered the activity that will make her come out of her shell - food! She discovered the treat jar and then a couple of other dogs did too. Kim had 5 dogs at the treat jar, so she decided to have them sit and give out treats (duck and potato kibble).



I think it's pretty amazing to get 5 Labs to sit and wait.



So did the other dogs - they kept coming over to get treats:



And all the raisers kept coming over to take pictures. We decided to make them line up for a picture. We all had food, of course:



It was a miracle! Ardella is the only one lying down - she thought she was supposed to behave like she was playing the "Wait" game. (Enlarge the picture - I don't think the medium size will fit on this page).

It was fun to talk to other Lab owners, a large majority of the people there had career changed dogs from GDB. It was fun to catch up with people still in clubs and raising and to hear how their puppies were coming along. It was fun to meet people, too. I can't wait for the next play date!

Ardella had class this afternoon and did well on stay and heel up. Stand was new and she kind of shut down and we ended early. We'll practice for next week and hope she's not as as overstimulated since she won't have had as exciting a morning as she had today.

Something about Ardella

Ardella and I have had two busy days doing dog work. Yesterday, we got together with Karren and Annalynn at a tennis court where we were able to let the dogs run after balls and work on recalls using long leads. I was so proud of Ardella. She came to me every time I called her, even with Annalynn around.

Today we started an obedience class at Animal Enrichment Center - it's the next-up class after beginning obedience. We'll be learning to heel, heel up, work with distractions, among other things. Ardella did very well in this class, too. In fact, she won the "wait" contest where she stayed in place until I reached the opposite side of the room and called her. She did really well with distractions, too, and Emily, the instructor, tried very hard to distract her. Fortunately, the class is small - there are only 3 of us, and 2 of the dogs have been in some sort of service training. The other dog is a collie, who I will call Drop Dead Gorgeous. Then we have a dog that's just too cute that's a Schnoodle.

We decided to wait a bit on agility. Ardella did this class well and it was great way to encourage her to do things that were challenging. However, I can't see her doing competition, and we have a more pressing need to work on obedience these days.

I've been seeing such a change in Ardella lately - a good change - in that she's more calm and follows commands much more reliably. She's just much easier to teach these days. There are times when I've wondered if we'd just been able to wait a little bit longer, maybe she would have made it into training. But then, I'll do something like take her to the dog park where she starts immediately drooling and frothing at the mouth and cannot respond to one command if she tries because she is so freaked out. We started worrying about her hearing the one time we took her there. We could not get her out of the dog park fast enough! It's times like this I see that she could never have been a guide dog. It's not just dog parks, which I think are very stressful places for a lot of dogs - it's any place where there are larger dogs that invade Ardella's boundaries.

Lyn and I picked up some Ex-pens at his sister's house today and visited with her and her husband and two Lab teenagers. We had wanted to introduce the dogs. They are still very puppy-like and are on the exuberant side of Labdom. Linda and Dave have an Invisible Fence and Ardella quickly learned that if she stood in the area where the Invisible Fence was, the dogs would not come anywhere close to her. However, she stood there frozen like a log, so once again, we called the visit short and left. How did I get such a fragile flower?!

Next week Karren, Annalynn, Ardella and I are going to an all-Lab play date. We're hoping to have a sister reunion with another littermate. I'll see how long we last; somehow I think I'm going to enjoy this more than Ardella, but I still want to expose her to fun situations with other dogs. Karren and I are also planning to continue working with the dogs at the tennis court.

I worked at the animal shelter yesterday in the cattery. I learned that the shelter confiscated 80 snakes and are keeping the 10 nonpoisonous ones, plus a large alligator. Fun times! Why people keep snakes as pets is beyond me. I want to hug my pets - I prefer fur and hair to scales!

New Book I'm Preordering

I heard this weekend from Betsy, mother to Rebecca Skloot (remember the article about nontraditional service animals?) that Rebecca is publishing a new book in February. Amazon will put more into book promotions if books are preordered, so I'm putting the title and cover blurb on this post hoping it will inspire others to get the book, too. This book is so up my alley - biography, medicine, and the South, not to mention some social commentary. The book is called "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." The book will be released February 2, and Rebecca will be interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air. She's also coming to Powells to read some time in April.

Excerpt from back of book blurb:

"Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first 'immortal' human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though Henrietta has been dead for more than sixty years. They were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the effects of the atom bomb; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the 'colored' ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950's to the small, dying town of Clover, Virginia--a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo--to East Baltimore today, where Henrietta's children, unable to afford health insurance, wrestle with feelings of pride, fear, and betrayal. Their story is inextricably linked to the birth of bioethics, the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, and the legal battles that could determine whether we own our bodies.

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences."

The book is available in both hardcover and audiobook for pre-publication orders at amazon.com.

An anniversary

A year ago today, I waited in the rain and hail at Guide Dogs for the Blind waiting for my Female A puppy from Bruna/Bingham. It seemed like we waited for hours while waiting for the puppy that turned out to be Ardella. I feel a little wistful and sad about today. Last year was a magical year in many ways and I'm so glad we still have Ardella, but also sad that she didn't get to go into training. Even though it will never be like the first time, I so want to repeat the remarkable experience of raising a guide dog puppy!

Ardella then:

Scarf reblocked

I'm as satisfied as I'm going to be. The scarf has improved and I'm going to leave it be. It's leaving me tonight so I'll let it go! Click on the pictures to enlarge the detail - I can't put medium-sized photos from Flickr on here without a lot of the picture being cut out.



I remember some of my 2010 plans - I signed up for the Knit 10 shawls in 2010 forum and joined a few shawl knit-alongs to help encourage me to keep up. I haven't decided on 10 shawls yet, but know that many of them are going to be the shawlettes or shoulder shawls that have been exploding like wildfire in Ravelry. The other plan is to finish projects I started this year, so I have at least 3 socks to complete a pair, some scarves, and that Advent calendar scarf to work on.

I also hope to read 52 books this year - didn't make it last year, and really, really hope to raise another puppy; if that happens, there go all the plans I made for 2010 knitting and reading!

Paws to Remember

I've been busy knitting and neglected to post a New Year's post. I think I made some resolutions, but I doubt I'll keep them. 2009 can be summed up as raising Ardella and planning and having Keri's wedding. There's a lot of emotion behind those events and 2009 was certainly a defining year for me, but the things that mattered most were pretty much summed up in my blog.

At any rate, the leader of my puppy group is retiring and will be around, but not in a major way. I missed her retirement party (due to the wedding), but wanted to do something for her retirement even though I have only been with the group for about a year and don't have a strong history with it. Still, I decided to make her something and I chose the Evelyn Clark pattern Paws to Remember. I've wanted to do this pattern for some time and my leader's retirement seemed perfect for it. I think my leader has raised over 20 dogs and certainly has a lot of paws to remember. Anyway, here's the scarf:









The pattern has some V chevrons in the center that are supposed to represent the river of life. The paw borders surrounding the river represent the dogs that have accompanied us during our lifetimes.

Alas, I'm not happy with the blocking. We went to Home Depot tonight to get a foam insulation board and I'll reblock the scarf tonight. I'm pretty sure I can improve how it looks. I'm excited about having a blocking board. The ironing board just doesn't work well.

The yarn is Fibre Company's Canopy yarn, a blend of baby alpaca, merino, and bamboo. It's a fingering weight and I think it has become my favorite yarn for scarves.

I got the final WoolGirl sock club package today and am sad that it's my last package. I always looked forward to each shipment and every single one was a surprise. I'm not renewing because of the expense and because I need to knit from my own stash this year.

The theme of this package was sweets. I love the little stitch marker and the little stirring thing that came with the hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows. The soaps look good enough to eat and I love the color of the yarn. Here's a picture of the swag:



Here's a picture of the patterns:



I need to go reblock a scarf. I'll post a new picture if it looks better tomorrow.

Charles Burchfield Exhibit

I finally got around to seeing the incredible Charles Birchfield exhibit at UCLA's Hammer Museum, on the closing day. Birchfield mainly worked in watercolor, depicting Americana and Nature-- I found it very interesting that he worked for Birge Wallpaper Company and American Greetings early in his career. During his illness at the end of his life, his paintings developed into  landscapes of a much looser unfinished quality, conveying a sense of freedom if you will. 

{above: artworks by Charles Burchfield}