Hi Everyone,
OK so this weekend my girls got something I've been wanting to get them since April! I got the girls a small plastic pool! Well it's not that small as they can both play in it at the same time. There is a tiny plastic slide that Fossey loves for me to roll her ball down. She likes the splash and bubbles it makes when it hits the water.
Oddly, Marie is unsure of the pool. She doesn't realize it's a big huge puddle that she can play in! She will get in, but then she freezes. Silly dog! And she's the water loving one.
Fossey, who normally hates water, was in and out of the pool all yesterday afternoon. She'd play with her two balls, sliding the small one down the slide once she saw me do it a few times. She loved prancing and dancing and making waves in the water. When i blew on the water and caused bubbles, she'd try and eat them! I'm going to have to get video of her in the dog pool. It's too cute for words.
I couldn't believe how happy Foss was playing in the kiddy pool! I really did not expect her to love it as much as she does! Maybe she really is a Labrador. Go Fossey!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
New for Marie, a Tuffy Ring!
Marie was eager to play fetches with her Tuffy Ring in the hall upon arriving at work this morning. Back and forth she went until the heat got to her where upon she came into our office and sprawled out on the tile floor with her Tuffy ring within easy reach of her mouth, just in case.
For miss Marie, the Tuffy Ring is truly an ultimate toy. It can be used for both of her favorite games - fetch and tug. It is a nice bright yellow. So, both Marie and I can see it with ease. Well as close to "with ease" as I get with any toy. I also like that the squeakers are quiet. This means Marie doesn't disrupt the entire building when playing.
So far, we give the tuffy ring 3 out of 4 paws for its entertainment factor. Marie shall give it a propper Lab test for durability and we shall return with a report.
After all, what's a Labrador Retriever without something to retrieve?
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Dark Glasses
Alright dear readers I ask you to draw up in your head a picture. This is a picture of a person. This person is blind. What does your picture look like?
No, wait! Let me take a guess. Your person is of average height, has short hair or hair that is very long and pulled back in a ponytail, He or she is probably wearing jeans and a big floppy T-shirt and holding a long white cane in his or her right hand. He or she is also probably wearing dark glasses.
A coworker once told me that until she met me, she thought all blind people wore dark glasses. When I asked her why, she said that it was something she learned from TV and books and photos. When I asked her to dig further into the why, she came back with to hide their eyes. I just said "oh really? Interesting."
Let me, dear readers, tell you the whole story about dark glasses and people who are blind. But first, let me ask you a question... why do you wear dark glasses sometimes?
Oh really? Interesting.
Guess what? People who are blind or visually impaired wear dark glasses for a variety of reasons too. Many of our reasons are the same as yours. Those of us with residual sight might wear sunglasses to reduce glare. Sometimes we wear dark glasses because our eyes might be very photosensative due to a particular eye condition. Don't get me wrong; some blind people do wear dark glasses to hide their eyes. Again there are a variety of reasons including someone who may be awaiting a prosthetic.
Additionally, we might wear dark glasses to protect our eyes from damage from the sun or foreign objects. We might never wear dark glasses at all!
Over the last few years I have needed my sunglasses to be darkir and darker. I've gone from being able to tollerate being out without sunglasses to needing to wear them even on overcast days - sometimes especially on overcast days! Sometimes, I even need to wear sunglasses indoors.
You know why?
I wear sunglasses out of doors to protect my eyes from sun damage. Acquiring occular melanoma is something I would like to avoid! Especially when it is preventable, or at the very least I can reduce my exposure related risk. I also wear sunglasses outside and even sometimes inside to keep a civil expression on my face because the intensity of the light in a particular setting is painful. On a similar note, I might be wearing sunglasses indoors because I have a migraine.
I, personally, never wear sunglasses to hide my eyes! Nor do I wear them to get attention. They have a specific medical function to keep me functioning.
My eyes are sensitive! So what? They also happen to be a very pretty, natural, blue-green hazel - the changing colors of the ocean.
No, wait! Let me take a guess. Your person is of average height, has short hair or hair that is very long and pulled back in a ponytail, He or she is probably wearing jeans and a big floppy T-shirt and holding a long white cane in his or her right hand. He or she is also probably wearing dark glasses.
A coworker once told me that until she met me, she thought all blind people wore dark glasses. When I asked her why, she said that it was something she learned from TV and books and photos. When I asked her to dig further into the why, she came back with to hide their eyes. I just said "oh really? Interesting."
Let me, dear readers, tell you the whole story about dark glasses and people who are blind. But first, let me ask you a question... why do you wear dark glasses sometimes?
Oh really? Interesting.
Guess what? People who are blind or visually impaired wear dark glasses for a variety of reasons too. Many of our reasons are the same as yours. Those of us with residual sight might wear sunglasses to reduce glare. Sometimes we wear dark glasses because our eyes might be very photosensative due to a particular eye condition. Don't get me wrong; some blind people do wear dark glasses to hide their eyes. Again there are a variety of reasons including someone who may be awaiting a prosthetic.
Additionally, we might wear dark glasses to protect our eyes from damage from the sun or foreign objects. We might never wear dark glasses at all!
Over the last few years I have needed my sunglasses to be darkir and darker. I've gone from being able to tollerate being out without sunglasses to needing to wear them even on overcast days - sometimes especially on overcast days! Sometimes, I even need to wear sunglasses indoors.
You know why?
I wear sunglasses out of doors to protect my eyes from sun damage. Acquiring occular melanoma is something I would like to avoid! Especially when it is preventable, or at the very least I can reduce my exposure related risk. I also wear sunglasses outside and even sometimes inside to keep a civil expression on my face because the intensity of the light in a particular setting is painful. On a similar note, I might be wearing sunglasses indoors because I have a migraine.
I, personally, never wear sunglasses to hide my eyes! Nor do I wear them to get attention. They have a specific medical function to keep me functioning.
My eyes are sensitive! So what? They also happen to be a very pretty, natural, blue-green hazel - the changing colors of the ocean.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Meet the Dog: Marie
Favorite toy: anything fetchable or tuggable. She's a huge fan of tennis balls that squeak!
Favorite food: beef
Raised in: Grant's Pass, OR
Status: Working Guide/Service Dog
Nicknames: Honey Bee, Monster, Ree-ree
She is the dog I knew it was time for. The dog who had huge paws to fill. She is the genius of the Guide Dog world - breezing through formal training in two months! She is my rocket dog.
Marie is a teeny tiny black labrador retriever weighing in at a touch under 50 pounds sopping wet. She stands just 20 inches at the sholder, but wht she lacks in size, she more than makes up for in attitude. When we met she clame flying out of her crate where she had been patiently waiting for me with a bounce and a wiggle that has since become her trademark.
My trainer repetedly told me "They don't get any cuter than this." He was right. Marie packs a lot of dog into such a little body. She is incredibly proud to be working at my side every day and is full of energy even when she is tired. Marie is like the kindergarten-age kid who is so smart she skipped a couple grades but still can't say her "R's"!
Miss Marie does almost everything fast. She went through training fast, eats fast, guides fast,and plays hard and fast. There is one thing she does very slow though and that is trust people. Marie was actually raised by two different families and then trained by two different trainers. In the first 18 months of her life she had lived with her mom and siblings, two raiser families, two training kennels, the Guide Dogs dorm, and my apartment! That's a huge number of transitions for a little puppy!
It took this little dog quite a long time to realize that I was her forever person. For more than the first year, it was like she kept waiting for the day when she would be taken away and plopped down with some stranger again.
As of today, Marie has been with me for 20 months. The longest she'd been anywhere else was about eight months. After this long, she is finally confident enough that I can leave a room and she won't need to follow. She still doesn't like for me to be out of her sight, but she can now deal with my absence without needing to be in her kennle/crate.
It never fails to amaze me that Marie can be such a confident worker in harness and vest and be as insecure as she can be out of harness. Marie is not a social dog. She is sensitive and loves to play, and will play if someone she knows initiates with her and I give her permission, but she still looks to me for permission every single time.
Marie is a one person dog. She doesn't hide behind me anymore, but she is very cautious and doesn't like strangers aproaching her or touching her. In harness and vest, she is very proud and business-like. She can come across as aloof until she gets to know you. Once she does decide to let you into her pack, look out! You're likely to have a bouncy lab come flying at you with a tennis ball in her mouth ready for MORE FETCHES!
Favorite food: beef
Raised in: Grant's Pass, OR
Status: Working Guide/Service Dog
Nicknames: Honey Bee, Monster, Ree-ree
She is the dog I knew it was time for. The dog who had huge paws to fill. She is the genius of the Guide Dog world - breezing through formal training in two months! She is my rocket dog.
Marie is a teeny tiny black labrador retriever weighing in at a touch under 50 pounds sopping wet. She stands just 20 inches at the sholder, but wht she lacks in size, she more than makes up for in attitude. When we met she clame flying out of her crate where she had been patiently waiting for me with a bounce and a wiggle that has since become her trademark.
My trainer repetedly told me "They don't get any cuter than this." He was right. Marie packs a lot of dog into such a little body. She is incredibly proud to be working at my side every day and is full of energy even when she is tired. Marie is like the kindergarten-age kid who is so smart she skipped a couple grades but still can't say her "R's"!
Miss Marie does almost everything fast. She went through training fast, eats fast, guides fast,and plays hard and fast. There is one thing she does very slow though and that is trust people. Marie was actually raised by two different families and then trained by two different trainers. In the first 18 months of her life she had lived with her mom and siblings, two raiser families, two training kennels, the Guide Dogs dorm, and my apartment! That's a huge number of transitions for a little puppy!
It took this little dog quite a long time to realize that I was her forever person. For more than the first year, it was like she kept waiting for the day when she would be taken away and plopped down with some stranger again.
As of today, Marie has been with me for 20 months. The longest she'd been anywhere else was about eight months. After this long, she is finally confident enough that I can leave a room and she won't need to follow. She still doesn't like for me to be out of her sight, but she can now deal with my absence without needing to be in her kennle/crate.
It never fails to amaze me that Marie can be such a confident worker in harness and vest and be as insecure as she can be out of harness. Marie is not a social dog. She is sensitive and loves to play, and will play if someone she knows initiates with her and I give her permission, but she still looks to me for permission every single time.
Marie is a one person dog. She doesn't hide behind me anymore, but she is very cautious and doesn't like strangers aproaching her or touching her. In harness and vest, she is very proud and business-like. She can come across as aloof until she gets to know you. Once she does decide to let you into her pack, look out! You're likely to have a bouncy lab come flying at you with a tennis ball in her mouth ready for MORE FETCHES!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Naturally, Blind
Recently I saw a post over on No Bones About It that got me thinking about self-identity and how i describe my ability/inability to see. The blog post was an excert from a fellow graduate's book, "Traveling Blind," that shows legal blindness in a very different way than I see my own legal blindness.
I grew up with innumerable medical issues yet I was every bit treated as sighted. My family knew I had "vission issues," but given everything else we were facing with my health, the status of my sight was the least of my family's concerns. So I was raised, for all intents and purposes, sighted. I had never seen any differently. So, I didn't know I saw any differently. I had no reason to think I saw any differently than everyone else.
As a uyoung child, they had tried all kinds of tests on my eyes, but could never pin-point anything actually wrong. There wer signs that something was wrong, but it wasn't until the invention of the computerized visual field test along with the emerging microspecialty of Neuroopthomology that anyone had the means of finding out that not only did i have "vision issues" - I was blind! At least by the legal defanition.
To this day, we can only assume that my visual field has always been the size of a pin-hole in what is now my only usable eye. The visual field in my other eye was the size of a paper punch the first time we tested it, but I've since lost the functional sight in that eye entirely due largely to muscle attrophy and other neurological complications. I can get something semi-recognizable as input from that eye if I block out all feedback entering my now good eye, but the visual messages i receive are too garbled to be distinguishable except under very select conditions.
As a matter of course, I have learned over the last fifteen years not to trust what I see, period. I have no way of knowing that I'm seeing something at all accurately. So, for all intents and purposes, I rarely even try. The messages that travel from my eye to the part of my brain that processes visual immigry are just tiny peices of a puzzle that my damaged brain must try to fit together. More Often than not, the immage i "see" makes no sense. So, I just don't try unless I have to.
Seeing takes emence amounts of concentration for me. Even recognizing color can be impossible as color perception is dependant on lighting, angle, how neurons in my brain are firing and a host of other things. Instead I learn what color things are through memorization and a series of tactile markings on my clothing. Yet I rarely see the same thing the same way twice.
At home, I turn lights on just like a sighted person does when it starts to get dark. Not because the light helps me see, but because it's something i was tought to do at night and old habbits die hard. People often joke with me that I probably save a bundle on electricity since I don't need light to function. I might not, but the dogs do!
Since I essentially grew up sighted, I never learned to read Braille like most other blind people my age. This backfired on me in college when I found myself completely unable to compete with my visually tipical classmates. I was clearly smart enough to do the work, but i was running out of steam before the work was done. It was at the end of my first year of college that I reunited with a friend from elementary school who is toally blind. Heather helped me dispell the myths I'd been living under for almost a decade. She told me that even though I had some sight, it was OK to use a cane and to use things like screen readers so I could keep up in school. At the time, Heather was working with her first dog guide. She told me that as a "partial" I could, in fact, get a dog guide but that knowing how to travel safely with a cane was the first step.
Shortly after I began my second year of college I started Orientation and Mobility training with a woman named Jessica. She would change my life in more ways than one. Jessica tought me not only how to use a cane for travel, but how to explain to people why I ws using a cane now and hand't before. She tought me how to travel on the St. Louis public busses and lightrail system. For the first time in my life, I could go off campus without my friends or parents. I could even take the bus home to my parents' house.
Heather also introcuced me to the Braille code and encouraged me to learn and use it. I started with a corispondence class, but found such methods ineffective for my own learning style. Instead I bought a set of braille contraction flashcards from the American Printing House for the Blind and worked with those cards for a month solid. Then I bought Harry potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Braille from National Braille Press and read my way through my first Braille book ever. It took forever, but closing the last volume that summer was the best feeling of self-confidence I had experienced in years!
Before I knew it, I was applying for, then interviewing for, accepted and traveling to receive my first Guide Dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. I had embraced my identity as Blind.
Today I would never dream of leaving my house without my Guide Dog at my left side, and my purse full of assistive technology. I couldn't do my job if I hadn't learned Braille. I wouldn't havehad the self-confidence to take a job 300 miles from my family if I had not embrased my identity.
No i don't consider myself as living between the world of the sighted and the world of the blind. I live in the world of the blind in a unique way because I have lived in the world of the sighted.
I grew up with innumerable medical issues yet I was every bit treated as sighted. My family knew I had "vission issues," but given everything else we were facing with my health, the status of my sight was the least of my family's concerns. So I was raised, for all intents and purposes, sighted. I had never seen any differently. So, I didn't know I saw any differently. I had no reason to think I saw any differently than everyone else.
As a uyoung child, they had tried all kinds of tests on my eyes, but could never pin-point anything actually wrong. There wer signs that something was wrong, but it wasn't until the invention of the computerized visual field test along with the emerging microspecialty of Neuroopthomology that anyone had the means of finding out that not only did i have "vision issues" - I was blind! At least by the legal defanition.
To this day, we can only assume that my visual field has always been the size of a pin-hole in what is now my only usable eye. The visual field in my other eye was the size of a paper punch the first time we tested it, but I've since lost the functional sight in that eye entirely due largely to muscle attrophy and other neurological complications. I can get something semi-recognizable as input from that eye if I block out all feedback entering my now good eye, but the visual messages i receive are too garbled to be distinguishable except under very select conditions.
As a matter of course, I have learned over the last fifteen years not to trust what I see, period. I have no way of knowing that I'm seeing something at all accurately. So, for all intents and purposes, I rarely even try. The messages that travel from my eye to the part of my brain that processes visual immigry are just tiny peices of a puzzle that my damaged brain must try to fit together. More Often than not, the immage i "see" makes no sense. So, I just don't try unless I have to.
Seeing takes emence amounts of concentration for me. Even recognizing color can be impossible as color perception is dependant on lighting, angle, how neurons in my brain are firing and a host of other things. Instead I learn what color things are through memorization and a series of tactile markings on my clothing. Yet I rarely see the same thing the same way twice.
At home, I turn lights on just like a sighted person does when it starts to get dark. Not because the light helps me see, but because it's something i was tought to do at night and old habbits die hard. People often joke with me that I probably save a bundle on electricity since I don't need light to function. I might not, but the dogs do!
Since I essentially grew up sighted, I never learned to read Braille like most other blind people my age. This backfired on me in college when I found myself completely unable to compete with my visually tipical classmates. I was clearly smart enough to do the work, but i was running out of steam before the work was done. It was at the end of my first year of college that I reunited with a friend from elementary school who is toally blind. Heather helped me dispell the myths I'd been living under for almost a decade. She told me that even though I had some sight, it was OK to use a cane and to use things like screen readers so I could keep up in school. At the time, Heather was working with her first dog guide. She told me that as a "partial" I could, in fact, get a dog guide but that knowing how to travel safely with a cane was the first step.
Shortly after I began my second year of college I started Orientation and Mobility training with a woman named Jessica. She would change my life in more ways than one. Jessica tought me not only how to use a cane for travel, but how to explain to people why I ws using a cane now and hand't before. She tought me how to travel on the St. Louis public busses and lightrail system. For the first time in my life, I could go off campus without my friends or parents. I could even take the bus home to my parents' house.
Heather also introcuced me to the Braille code and encouraged me to learn and use it. I started with a corispondence class, but found such methods ineffective for my own learning style. Instead I bought a set of braille contraction flashcards from the American Printing House for the Blind and worked with those cards for a month solid. Then I bought Harry potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Braille from National Braille Press and read my way through my first Braille book ever. It took forever, but closing the last volume that summer was the best feeling of self-confidence I had experienced in years!
Before I knew it, I was applying for, then interviewing for, accepted and traveling to receive my first Guide Dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. I had embraced my identity as Blind.
Today I would never dream of leaving my house without my Guide Dog at my left side, and my purse full of assistive technology. I couldn't do my job if I hadn't learned Braille. I wouldn't havehad the self-confidence to take a job 300 miles from my family if I had not embrased my identity.
No i don't consider myself as living between the world of the sighted and the world of the blind. I live in the world of the blind in a unique way because I have lived in the world of the sighted.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sometimes I read Something That Makes Me Wonder About My Fello Humans
While reading through my RSS feeds this morning, I stumbled upon a very strange post from a posative dog training blog. Clearly the author, Sophia Yin, found the practice as disturbing as I. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS posted the article as a revision of a San Francisco Chronicle pet column article that originally ran in October 1999. More than a decade later it's odd enough to revamp and repost. That's saying something!
Testicular Implants in Dogs Make Dr. Yin Wonder… Who’s Looking?
One of my favorite quotes:
I am a huge supporter of spaying and neutering cats and dogs. There are so many homeless animals in the United States alone, that to not spay or neuter is irresponsible in my view. We have several rescue's here in Indiana that have spay and neuter as a requirement for adoption. Yet I can't wrap my head around this desire for fake balls. Like the author says, who's looking and what is the point?
It's certainly not for the benefit of the dog!
Testicular Implants in Dogs Make Dr. Yin Wonder… Who’s Looking?
One of my favorite quotes:
"There's only one downfall says the inventor, "In a few dogs, you occasionally hear a thunk when they sit."
I am a huge supporter of spaying and neutering cats and dogs. There are so many homeless animals in the United States alone, that to not spay or neuter is irresponsible in my view. We have several rescue's here in Indiana that have spay and neuter as a requirement for adoption. Yet I can't wrap my head around this desire for fake balls. Like the author says, who's looking and what is the point?
It's certainly not for the benefit of the dog!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Twuz a Dark and Stormy Morning
So in case I haven't mentioned here, Marie was raised and trained in and around Portland Oregon. Raised in Grant's Pass, trained on the campus located in Boring and did more training in Portland propper. So, Marie dog is no stranger to rain and puddles. As a matter of fact, she derives great pleasure from splashing in puddles. If you want to make marie really happy, let her play in a puddle for even a few seconds, or let her walk through puddles while working. Marie is a water dog through and through. She will prance her paws in puddles just like a little kid.
Fossey, on the complete opposite side of the coin, despises water with all her being. She doesn't even like walking on grass that is damp with dew! As she has aged, she has developed an increasingly strong fear of storms. To give you an idea of how much Fossey hates water and getting wet, she once held her need to relieve for three days because it was pouring rain every time I'd take her outside. If the grass is damp, she will place one paw down on it and then quickly pick it up and shake it off with a look of total and complete disgust. When working or going out on a potty break, Fossey had to wear a rain coat even if it was just drizzling. She also, when wet, gives off the best pissed off vibes I've ever witnessed.
We live in Indiana. We get our fair share of rain and snow. True nothing like Oregon or Seattle, but it can be quite wet here. I'm not a big fan of the smell of wet dog, who is, right? So given that, I baught Marie her own raincoat when we were in class training. She hates it! I mean really really hates it. I put it on her, reward her, give her her favorite things, and still she will remain statuesque. She won't eat wearing her raincoat. She won't play fetch wearing her raincoat. In class she would work wearing her raincoat though. So I have held out a tiny sliver of hope.
This morning I have thrown in the towel completely on her ever wearing a raincoat! Like I said it was raining; storming in fact. Loud noisy thunder and crashing lightening. We waited a few extra minutes until there was a lul and then I let Marie do her business on the way out of the house instead of before we leave officially. Because of how hard it was pouring I decided to try the raincoat. Bad idea! Marie stressed out big time! She turned in tiny circles, kept pulling me off the sidewalk etc. It took us nearly seven minutes to go as many feet! Eventually I put down my umbrella and took the raincoat off the poor miserable little dog. All of a sudden it was like i had a different dog! She was wagging her tail and whole back end franticly, giving me her tiny kisses at down curbs when I praised her, and moving at her normal trot! We walked the remaining 0.45 miles to the bus stop with a bounce in our step, and a wag on Marie's tail.
Moral of the story: Labradors are truely water dogs; Fossey just missed te memo.
Fossey, on the complete opposite side of the coin, despises water with all her being. She doesn't even like walking on grass that is damp with dew! As she has aged, she has developed an increasingly strong fear of storms. To give you an idea of how much Fossey hates water and getting wet, she once held her need to relieve for three days because it was pouring rain every time I'd take her outside. If the grass is damp, she will place one paw down on it and then quickly pick it up and shake it off with a look of total and complete disgust. When working or going out on a potty break, Fossey had to wear a rain coat even if it was just drizzling. She also, when wet, gives off the best pissed off vibes I've ever witnessed.
We live in Indiana. We get our fair share of rain and snow. True nothing like Oregon or Seattle, but it can be quite wet here. I'm not a big fan of the smell of wet dog, who is, right? So given that, I baught Marie her own raincoat when we were in class training. She hates it! I mean really really hates it. I put it on her, reward her, give her her favorite things, and still she will remain statuesque. She won't eat wearing her raincoat. She won't play fetch wearing her raincoat. In class she would work wearing her raincoat though. So I have held out a tiny sliver of hope.
This morning I have thrown in the towel completely on her ever wearing a raincoat! Like I said it was raining; storming in fact. Loud noisy thunder and crashing lightening. We waited a few extra minutes until there was a lul and then I let Marie do her business on the way out of the house instead of before we leave officially. Because of how hard it was pouring I decided to try the raincoat. Bad idea! Marie stressed out big time! She turned in tiny circles, kept pulling me off the sidewalk etc. It took us nearly seven minutes to go as many feet! Eventually I put down my umbrella and took the raincoat off the poor miserable little dog. All of a sudden it was like i had a different dog! She was wagging her tail and whole back end franticly, giving me her tiny kisses at down curbs when I praised her, and moving at her normal trot! We walked the remaining 0.45 miles to the bus stop with a bounce in our step, and a wag on Marie's tail.
Moral of the story: Labradors are truely water dogs; Fossey just missed te memo.
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Grocery Game
I have this really good habbit of eating what my body wants rather than ignoring that and eating what emotionally sounds good. I haven't eaten red meat - or more specificly "four footed animals," since sometime in 1997. I'll grab a handful of cashews or pine nuts instead of a handfull of M&Ms for a snack. I eat at least three oranges a day when they are in season and go through a quart of strawberries a day this time of year.
Things like this mean I have been considered by many to be a health food nut. I don't really like chocolate and only eat a piece or two when I'm PMSing. I have a dairy allergy and tend to feel really sick after having any dairy. So I've found substitutes over the years that fill the need - sherbert instead of ice cream for example.
Lately listening to my body means I've been eating less and less meat - chicken and turkey just haven't sounded good - and this recent dislike for such things really showed in the contents of my grocery cart on Saturday. With the exception of a Thai style noodle bowl with chicken from Lean Cuisine, my entire cart was vegan! I've recently acquired several vegan cookbooks and am excited to try out some of the recipes in them.
For those who may be interested, I have the following Vegan cookbooks: How it all Vegan by Tanya Barnard, Tany Barnard; The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau; and Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson.
My grocery bill was quite a bit lower than I'm used to seeing as well which was an interesting observation. We're talking $55-60 lower than usual and I didn't use any coupons! In the past I've had around $10-25 worth of coupons to get my bill in the $180s. I would have been able to do even better if I had gotten produce at the farmer's market rather than at the grocery store, but the market didn't fit in with my schedule this week. I've always known my bills to be lower when i eat fresh food but have slacked off living alone and ended up with pre-planned meals more than I'd like. I didn't realize how much this was contributing to the size of my grocery bill though.
Truth be told, i love to cook but have become lazy about it over the time I've lived in Indiana. I blamed it on my sucky kitchen at my apartment, but that was just an excuse that I carried over to the new condo with the fabulous kitchen. So, my goal this week is to cook fresh foods as much as I can. This may mean I don't eat as soon as i get home. I might need to flop on the couch and watch the news before i have the energy to cook, but I can train myself that this is ok and ultimately better for me.
I find it somewhat amusing that i have to change when I expect to eat over most people's need to change what they eat. I see myself snacking on baby carrots when I first get home. Maybe I should have baught more than 2 pounds!
Things like this mean I have been considered by many to be a health food nut. I don't really like chocolate and only eat a piece or two when I'm PMSing. I have a dairy allergy and tend to feel really sick after having any dairy. So I've found substitutes over the years that fill the need - sherbert instead of ice cream for example.
Lately listening to my body means I've been eating less and less meat - chicken and turkey just haven't sounded good - and this recent dislike for such things really showed in the contents of my grocery cart on Saturday. With the exception of a Thai style noodle bowl with chicken from Lean Cuisine, my entire cart was vegan! I've recently acquired several vegan cookbooks and am excited to try out some of the recipes in them.
For those who may be interested, I have the following Vegan cookbooks: How it all Vegan by Tanya Barnard, Tany Barnard; The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau; and Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson.
My grocery bill was quite a bit lower than I'm used to seeing as well which was an interesting observation. We're talking $55-60 lower than usual and I didn't use any coupons! In the past I've had around $10-25 worth of coupons to get my bill in the $180s. I would have been able to do even better if I had gotten produce at the farmer's market rather than at the grocery store, but the market didn't fit in with my schedule this week. I've always known my bills to be lower when i eat fresh food but have slacked off living alone and ended up with pre-planned meals more than I'd like. I didn't realize how much this was contributing to the size of my grocery bill though.
Truth be told, i love to cook but have become lazy about it over the time I've lived in Indiana. I blamed it on my sucky kitchen at my apartment, but that was just an excuse that I carried over to the new condo with the fabulous kitchen. So, my goal this week is to cook fresh foods as much as I can. This may mean I don't eat as soon as i get home. I might need to flop on the couch and watch the news before i have the energy to cook, but I can train myself that this is ok and ultimately better for me.
I find it somewhat amusing that i have to change when I expect to eat over most people's need to change what they eat. I see myself snacking on baby carrots when I first get home. Maybe I should have baught more than 2 pounds!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Meet the Dog: Fossey
It's quite confusing to read a blog about people and dogs you don't know, isn't it? So here I am to introduce to you, dear readers, the dog who started it all.
Favorite toy: anything that squeaks - the louder the better
Favorite food: sheep heart
Raised in: Davis, CA
Status: Retired Guide
Nicknames: Bug, Foss, Fossarelli
She was the dog I could not get off my mind even before I knew a thing about her. The wait between finding out I was going to receive a Guide Dog and actually meeting her felt as if it was years long. In reality I only had to wait six months - a short time when speaking of waits for canine partners.
Fossey is an average size female black Labrador Retriever weighing about 75 pounds and standing 23 inches at the shoulder. She has shiny black fur that is short and straight on the sides and so wavy it's almost curly along her spine. Her fur has become wavier as she's aged. She has a chin that is almost entirely grey, and is starting to get grey hairs speckled throughout her coat and even on the underside of her tail. She gives some of the largest, wettest doggy kisses ever. By the time she's finished giving kisses it's very likely your entire arm will be dripping wet.
When describing Fossey, the first phrase that comes to mind for most people is a small bear! She is a solid, stocky barrel-chested Lab with a defined waist and enough fur for four or five dogs her size. Her coat is thick and dense and I love to run my hands through it. She has a feathered tail and some feathering on the backs of her legs. At first glance, or close study, she looks like she is a Lab Golden Retriever cross, but Miss Fossey is all Lab.I have the papers to prove it.
Fossey has brown eyes the color of caramel that have become clouded by cateracts. I have been told repetedly that she uses her eyebrows like a human. I agree. She can be very expressive. Those who encounter her know exactly how she is feeling at any given moment. Fossey is a social dog who loves to be with her pack members whether they be human or canine. The worst punishment in the world for Foss would be for her to be able to hear her pack members but not get to us. The best thing in the world to Fossey is to be curled up around my feet while I'm sitting at the table working. She loves to be in physical contact with me as her main handler.
I made the statement that Fossey is all Labrador. Well that's not quite true. You know when you're reading the breed standards and there's that disclaimer that not all dogs of a breed have 100 percent of the breed characteristics? Fossey's nonconformities are this: She doesn't retrieve/play fetch and she HATES WATER!
We joke that where water is concerned, miss Fossey didn't get the memo. She hates baths, puddles, and most of all, rain. When she was working, Fossey would even go so far as to try and turn us around and go back inside if it was so much as sprinkling. In her younger days, Fossey hated rain so much that she once gave herself a bladdar infection for holding her need to relieve for THREE DAYS because she wouldn't potty in the rain! If we go out to relieve in the morning and the grass is wet, she will place one paw down on it, then lift the paw, look at it with a disgusted expression, shake it, and place it back down with a sigh. If it's really wet, she'd rather relieve on concrete than get her precious paws wet. Now as an almost 11-year-old retired guide, she has become afraid of severe thunder storms. Again, the "I refuse to be a water dog" attitude rearing it's head. I'll talk about our natural remedies for this fear/anxiety in a future entry.
Fossey worked as my guide for a touch over seven years before she just decided one day that she'd had enough. It wasn't until months later that I'd find out the explanation for that somewhat uncharacteristic distaste for guiding - cateracts. The cateract on her right eye is so big and thick that vets doubt she can see through it. She also has a small cateract on her left eye. So, we'd hit a point of the blind leading the blind and Fossey is a smart enough dog to realize she didn't feel safe guiding me any more.
I mentioned Fossey's smarts. By the time her working years were over, Fossey had an object identification vocabulary of about 90-95 individual words! One of her favorite tricks was for me to hide several toys around the house and then ask her to go find a particular toy. 99.9 percent of the time, she came back with the right one. Hide and seak is still one of her favorite games. Although now I do the hiding and she comes to find me.
Foss is a dog in a million. She is extatic to see Marie and me when we come home from work at the end of a long day. She's ready to stand by me when times are rough. She will have been retired for two years this August. While her sessions are shorter, she still loves to play and spend as much time outside sniffing the smells as she can wheezle her caretaker into giving her.
So now you've met the Fosseydog.
Favorite toy: anything that squeaks - the louder the better
Favorite food: sheep heart
Raised in: Davis, CA
Status: Retired Guide
Nicknames: Bug, Foss, Fossarelli
She was the dog I could not get off my mind even before I knew a thing about her. The wait between finding out I was going to receive a Guide Dog and actually meeting her felt as if it was years long. In reality I only had to wait six months - a short time when speaking of waits for canine partners.
Fossey is an average size female black Labrador Retriever weighing about 75 pounds and standing 23 inches at the shoulder. She has shiny black fur that is short and straight on the sides and so wavy it's almost curly along her spine. Her fur has become wavier as she's aged. She has a chin that is almost entirely grey, and is starting to get grey hairs speckled throughout her coat and even on the underside of her tail. She gives some of the largest, wettest doggy kisses ever. By the time she's finished giving kisses it's very likely your entire arm will be dripping wet.
When describing Fossey, the first phrase that comes to mind for most people is a small bear! She is a solid, stocky barrel-chested Lab with a defined waist and enough fur for four or five dogs her size. Her coat is thick and dense and I love to run my hands through it. She has a feathered tail and some feathering on the backs of her legs. At first glance, or close study, she looks like she is a Lab Golden Retriever cross, but Miss Fossey is all Lab.I have the papers to prove it.
Fossey has brown eyes the color of caramel that have become clouded by cateracts. I have been told repetedly that she uses her eyebrows like a human. I agree. She can be very expressive. Those who encounter her know exactly how she is feeling at any given moment. Fossey is a social dog who loves to be with her pack members whether they be human or canine. The worst punishment in the world for Foss would be for her to be able to hear her pack members but not get to us. The best thing in the world to Fossey is to be curled up around my feet while I'm sitting at the table working. She loves to be in physical contact with me as her main handler.
I made the statement that Fossey is all Labrador. Well that's not quite true. You know when you're reading the breed standards and there's that disclaimer that not all dogs of a breed have 100 percent of the breed characteristics? Fossey's nonconformities are this: She doesn't retrieve/play fetch and she HATES WATER!
We joke that where water is concerned, miss Fossey didn't get the memo. She hates baths, puddles, and most of all, rain. When she was working, Fossey would even go so far as to try and turn us around and go back inside if it was so much as sprinkling. In her younger days, Fossey hated rain so much that she once gave herself a bladdar infection for holding her need to relieve for THREE DAYS because she wouldn't potty in the rain! If we go out to relieve in the morning and the grass is wet, she will place one paw down on it, then lift the paw, look at it with a disgusted expression, shake it, and place it back down with a sigh. If it's really wet, she'd rather relieve on concrete than get her precious paws wet. Now as an almost 11-year-old retired guide, she has become afraid of severe thunder storms. Again, the "I refuse to be a water dog" attitude rearing it's head. I'll talk about our natural remedies for this fear/anxiety in a future entry.
Fossey worked as my guide for a touch over seven years before she just decided one day that she'd had enough. It wasn't until months later that I'd find out the explanation for that somewhat uncharacteristic distaste for guiding - cateracts. The cateract on her right eye is so big and thick that vets doubt she can see through it. She also has a small cateract on her left eye. So, we'd hit a point of the blind leading the blind and Fossey is a smart enough dog to realize she didn't feel safe guiding me any more.
I mentioned Fossey's smarts. By the time her working years were over, Fossey had an object identification vocabulary of about 90-95 individual words! One of her favorite tricks was for me to hide several toys around the house and then ask her to go find a particular toy. 99.9 percent of the time, she came back with the right one. Hide and seak is still one of her favorite games. Although now I do the hiding and she comes to find me.
Foss is a dog in a million. She is extatic to see Marie and me when we come home from work at the end of a long day. She's ready to stand by me when times are rough. She will have been retired for two years this August. While her sessions are shorter, she still loves to play and spend as much time outside sniffing the smells as she can wheezle her caretaker into giving her.
So now you've met the Fosseydog.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Natural Dog - Our Raw Feeding Story
So, let me say one thing right off the bat, biological research shows that dogs are carnivores. Do they eat other things in the wild? Sure! What animal would survive if they didn't eat what they could find when they were hungry. But dogs are anatomically designed and biologically equipped to be meat eaters. It took a lot of reading, study, and evidence for me to realize and internalize this. After all, I have grown up listening to TV ads just like the rest of the country. Commercial pet food manufactures have us convinced that every single meal a dog eats must be "completely balanced" in order to meet their nutritional requirements. Yet fundamentally this makes absolutely zero sense when I stop and think about it. I don't eat a perfectly balanced meal every single meal. Some mornings my breakfast is just coffee! (the horrors!) Yet I manage to remain healthy.
For years I fed my dogs "natural" dog kibbles. This was the absolute best I could do for them given my knowledge and lifestyle. But then I started learning more about what goes into pet foods and realized that even grain-free kibble wasn't fulfilling my dogs' needs. Despite this realization, I still felt there was something inherently "weird" or "wrong" about feeding my dog raw meat. It wasn't until I met Rox and Lisa at the National convention of the American Council for the Blind in 2009 that I woke up. Their Dog Guides were not only solid workers, but very very healthy. Most importantly they were solid evidence that raw feeding works.
So I left Orlando and returned home vowing that my next guide would be raw fed if I could find a way to pull it off. I read everything I could get my hands on about raw feeding and dog nutrition. In November of that year I returned home from Dog Guide training with Miss Marie. To say Marie had kibble issues would be the understatement of the century. From November to March I tried grain-free kibble, natural kibble, even canned grain free food. Finally in mid-March I realized if I was ever going to try raw feeding this had to be the dog. That day, I went to the store and bought a few whole chickens and we've never looked back. Marie has been eating raw since March 2009 with Fossey following in early May f that year. Also in May, I found the Raw Paws Co-Op which made feeding raw even more economical. The girls could eat locally raised, sometimes certified organic meats, bones and organs and I could save one heck of a chunk of change.
Now, a year later, I receive endless complements on the health of my girls. Marie is a healthy confident Guide Dog, and Fossey is healthier in her retirement than she ever was in her working years. Best of all, the health issues experienced by both dogs pre-raw have all but disappeared. That works for me!
For years I fed my dogs "natural" dog kibbles. This was the absolute best I could do for them given my knowledge and lifestyle. But then I started learning more about what goes into pet foods and realized that even grain-free kibble wasn't fulfilling my dogs' needs. Despite this realization, I still felt there was something inherently "weird" or "wrong" about feeding my dog raw meat. It wasn't until I met Rox and Lisa at the National convention of the American Council for the Blind in 2009 that I woke up. Their Dog Guides were not only solid workers, but very very healthy. Most importantly they were solid evidence that raw feeding works.
So I left Orlando and returned home vowing that my next guide would be raw fed if I could find a way to pull it off. I read everything I could get my hands on about raw feeding and dog nutrition. In November of that year I returned home from Dog Guide training with Miss Marie. To say Marie had kibble issues would be the understatement of the century. From November to March I tried grain-free kibble, natural kibble, even canned grain free food. Finally in mid-March I realized if I was ever going to try raw feeding this had to be the dog. That day, I went to the store and bought a few whole chickens and we've never looked back. Marie has been eating raw since March 2009 with Fossey following in early May f that year. Also in May, I found the Raw Paws Co-Op which made feeding raw even more economical. The girls could eat locally raised, sometimes certified organic meats, bones and organs and I could save one heck of a chunk of change.
Now, a year later, I receive endless complements on the health of my girls. Marie is a healthy confident Guide Dog, and Fossey is healthier in her retirement than she ever was in her working years. Best of all, the health issues experienced by both dogs pre-raw have all but disappeared. That works for me!
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