The Grim Reality

Posted on July 5, 2008
Filed Under Jasper, Things That Make Me Want To Cry | Leave a Comment

this morning i woke up to the sound of jasper screaming in pain. i had no idea what was wrong with him. i started massaging all over his body to see if he had anything obvious going on but could find nothing. he was in no hurry to sit or lie down, something very unusual for him. so within about 15 minutes of the original howling session, we made an emergency appointment with the vet. they checked him over, he was showing no obvious signs of pain and declared that they had no idea what was wrong with him and to monitor him throughout the day to see if some other symptoms developed. he seemed rather groggy but that was nothing unusual since i had to give him a vallium to get him through the 4th. so instead of going to the store or gardening in the backyard i stayed around the house all day to monitor him. i told him on several occasions that he couldnt have anything wrong with him and he was not allowed to die. it seems to have worked. :) i hope i never ever ever have to hear him in pain like that again. unfortunately the entire episode highlighted the fact that at some point, he will no longer be here. i hope that day comes later rather than sooner because it is going to throw me in such a deep depression that i dont know if i will ever be able to come out of it. sometimes i think i love that dog more than i love myself.

Firecracker, Firecracker, Boom, Boom, Boom!

Posted on July 3, 2008
Filed Under Care, Jasper, Mistakes, Tips and Tricks | Leave a Comment

since getting jasper, any holiday (or the days proceeding and after) where firecrakers might be enjoyed, i am no longer a willing participant. my days and nights are spent in sleeplessness, dealing with an uncontrollable panic that not even 10mg of vallium can deal with. jasper is completely terrified of firecrackers. last night a thunder and lightening storm rolled into town. about 2 am in the morning jasper started freaking out. i had given him melatonin around 6 pm not expecting there to be an issue late into the evening but it turns out i need to start watching the weather reports, apparently washington state can have thunderstorms just like the midwest. i had to end up giving jasper a vallium to get him to settle down. liame on the other hand didnt seem phased at all by the noise – thank god. i hope that in the next couple of days i am able to keep jasper from freaking out infront of liame. i dont want liame to learn that firecrackers are something to fear. my dream is to one day be able to go see the 4th of july fireworks display from the space needle. my strategies for dealing with keeping jasper calm are the following:
make as much noise as possible (fan, tv, radio)
exercise, exercise, exercise
give melatonin at least half an hour prior to the first signs of firecrackers
get a prescription for a powerful sedative from your vet at least a week before the start of the festivities and make sure you have at least several days worth of the medication

A Younger, Less Experienced, Cheaper Model

Posted on June 25, 2008
Filed Under Jasper, Things That Make Me Want To Cry, Todays Mood | Leave a Comment

today i feel like i am outsourcing, like somehow i am downgrading the level of service that i receive from jasper in exchange for a younger, less experienced, more energetic and cheaper model. i feel a bit like i am betraying him. i know, i know, it has to happen but it doest make it any easier.

i almost didnt go to work today. i feel like crap. im glad liame and jasper pushed me to finally get my but out of bed but i dont know how much longer i can keep fighting this episode. all i want to do right now is lock myself up in a closet and stare at the walls. i havent felt like this in a long time. im trying to push through this, hoping its just a temporary set back, that somehow if i just wait long enough and keep exercising and eating right that i can work my way out of it. my meds have been upped to their max and i dont want to be put on another medication just to experience its roller coaster ride. im going to ask my doctor if there are any nutritional supplements that i can take that wont interfere with my current medication load.

Should He Have Been A “Service Dog”?

Posted on June 19, 2008
Filed Under Class, Jasper | Leave a Comment

we started our canine good citizen class yesterday.  there were 5 dogs in the class, of the 5, 3 were dog aggressive and liame wasnt one of them.  the individuals with the dog aggressive pups want to have their dogs become therapy dogs.  i just shook my head in disbelief.  having had a service dog that doesnt pay attention to its owner while other dogs are around i know what they are going through.  i just dont know why they think that the dog will be safe in a therapy type of environment.  i hope they can work through their issues but from personal experience i know that its going to be a tough and almost impossible road. personally i dont think i should have been allowed to call jasper a service dog because he would not have passed the ignoring another dog part of the official test.  its not like jasper was aggressive, he just wants to go play and not pay attention to me.  i know i wouldnt be at the point that i am at without having had jasper serve me, i just know now after having liame, that its important for the service dog community to establish mandatory guidelines for what type of behavior is legally required for a service dog.  i know i will get a lot of flack for this blog but i really do think its important to have a 100% sound dog serving you.

A 100% Perfect Service Dog Doesnt Exist

Posted on May 31, 2008
Filed Under Clubs And Organizations, Jasper | Leave a Comment

today i went to the assistant dog club of puget sounds yearly conference.  although i had never been to one of their meetings and was not a member i was able to partake in the 8 hours of classes and discussions.  what i found most intreguging was that some of the dogs there acted exactly like jasper does i.e. not a 100% perfect service dog.  i give myself a very hard time whenever he does something a service dog isnt supposed to do (for example pay attention to other dogs rather than me).  now that i know others have had the same experience with their rescues i dont feel so bad.

one of the best parts of the conference was the seminar on how to pick out a good service dog candidate from the humane society.  the handout will be very useful when it comes time to start my non profit training service dogs for psychological disabilities.  i am still debating on raising vs rescuing but after today i am leaning towards rescue due to the statistics presented at the conference.

Opening Up The Flood Gates

Posted on March 19, 2008
Filed Under Jasper, Major Steps | Leave a Comment

 

Since my large project ended today at work and I was able to spend a little more time watching Liame than normal, I decided to take down the gate that separated Jasper and Liame.  It went much better than I expected.  I had to spray Liame a few times when he started playing with Jasper but after those first few sprays he got the idea that he wasent supposed to be playing in that environment.

 

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