Good Old Days With Melanie

I decided to take Melanie to watch the parade which kicks off Good Old Days in PG. It starts only blocks from where we live, so I thought I'd see how Melanie handled all that noise, crowds and dogs. She did great. She seemed to really like looking at all the activity around her, the noisy parade with fire engines, motorcycles, marching bands, floats, and horses. She seemed more comfortable in the "down" position than sitting, but her ears were cocked and head moving. There were many dogs on leashes walking past us, but she behaved herself beautifully. On our walk home, we took the quieter street and about 6 horse riders were coming toward us in the middle of the street (which had been blocked off). They had been in the parade and were heading toward the downtown area. Melanie was so excited to see them, she seemed fascinated by their size; so I just stopped on the sidewalk and let her get her fill of the sight. One of the riders gave us a cheery hello. After they passed we made out way home. Melanie has been in a great mood all day, just fun and loveable like a little kid who went to the circus. The weather was perfect, clear, sunny skies and a little cool. If I feel comfortable tomorrow, we might go downtown and check out the music, booths, etc. It will be really packed with people and dogs, but I'm feeling more confident with the way she's been handling herself, so, we'll see. Anyway, today was a fun day for both of us.

Luncheon and Table Scapes

It was a busy week for Melanie and me. On Tuesday, we attended the BVIC's fellowship luncheon, held every Tuesday. This day a reporter and photographer from our local Monterey Herald newspaper was there to interview staff, volunteers and members of the Tuesday group to get the word out about what the BVIC does for the community. Of course, Melanie and I were part of the interview and she got her photo taken. Not sure when the article will be in the paper but will keep my followers informed. On Wednesday, we took a two-hour walk to my doctor's office to pick up some paperwork. I wanted her to get a lot of her energy out before we attended the fundraiser in Pebble Beach on Thursday. Thursday was the day Table Scapes was held, an anuual charity for the Boys and Girls Club. Other non-profit agencies create an attractive table highlighting their own organization, as did the BVIC. This year Melanie and I came hoping to lure more folks to our table to pick up brochures, check out some low vision items and get some freebies. It was a pretty big room and the tables were full and many people came. We were at one end of the room and the FEMA service dog table was at the other end of the room, just so things would stay calm with Melanie around. One of the ladies from that table came over and said they had put doggie treats near their dogs on a low table where they could get them, but were trained not to touch them. Well, I can only hope that Melanie would have that self-control when it comes to food. But, really, she was her calm, loving, friendly self to all who wanted to see and/or touch her (with permission, of course). It was quite a long, busy week for us and we fell asleep exhausted last night. Neither of us had much energy today, even though we still went for a brisk walk in the morning. This weekend is Good Old Days in PG and I'm thinking of walking downtown to view the booths and street shows; however, many people bring their dogs so I'll have to decide if we're ready for that type of fair.

Kisses for the Kitty

Melanie is a real kissing fool. Now she's after our youngest cat, Minime. The other day, while I was working on the computer and had Melanie on her mat beside me (not tied down), the cat was in her usual place at the end of the bed. Minime is pretty comfortable with Melanie now but still doesn't quite know how to interact with her boundless energy. Melanie got a little restless, as she usually does when I'm not paying attention to her and decided to get up, walked over to Minime and kissed her on the nose. Minime didn't move and I reminded Melanie to be careful and quiet. Melanie did, but again went over and kissed her on the nose and Minime gave her a little hiss, nothing serious, just "what the heck are you doing". I told Melanie to sit so she wouldn't look so big to Minime, which she did, but, again, gave her a little kiss, and another hiss from the cat, but she still didn't jump off the bed. Melanie settled back in her bed and I gave her lots of praise for being such a sweet big sister. Yesterday, while Melanie was "sleeping" in her mat by my arm chair, Minime came in, tiptoed over to Melanie and pecked her on the nose. Things are getting just too sweet around here. She ran off, but today, Minime was in the kitchen doorway and Melanie went over to her as gentle and quiet as she could be and gave her a big lap on the top of the head. Melanie's kisses are pretty wet and Minime ran off; however, the other cat came out of the closet and looked at Minime and they seemed to be talking over what was going on. A little while later I checked on Minime and touched her head and, yes, it was still a little sticky from Melanie's kiss. I'm thinking of putting a booth outside the house and charging $1.00 a kiss from Melanie. At this rate, we could be millionaires in a month. Love that dog!