Henry to the Rescue

Mommy and LuLu and I were leaving the house to go for a walk together.  Right when we got outside, I could feel my leash slip out of Mommy's hand and I took off running!  I remembered about the time I almost ran in the street to see my friend Sadie, so I didn't go in the street but I was running as fast as I could down the sidewalk.  "Ethel Frances!  Come!  Heel!  Sit!  Ethel Frances, Ethel Frances!  What are you doing!  Get back here!  Please, Ethel Frances!"  Mommy tried all of those commands, trying to get me to stop running away.  Mommy's voice got softer and softer.  I knew I should listen to her.  I learned all of those commands when I was a puppy, but I kept on running.  I didn't even have a place to go.  I just wanted to run.  Mommy's voice started getting louder and I looked back and saw Mommy running faster than I had ever seen her run.  She wanted to catch me, but I kept on running.

Two ladies were walking and pushing strollers with babies in them and they saw me running towards them and they got scared and moved out of my way.  I felt bad that I scared them, but not bad enough to stop running.  Then I looked up and I saw my friend Henry with his daddy and I heard his daddy say, "Henry to the rescue!"  They were coming towards me and Henry's daddy said, "Ethel, come say hi to Henry!"  I really like Henry so I ran right over to them and Henry's daddy picked up my leash and held it high in the air so my mommy could see it.  Mommy came running and got my leash and thanked Henry and his daddy and she stooped down and her eyes met mine.  "Ethel Frances!  What in the world were you thinking?  Don't you know you could have gotten lost?  Or someone could have taken you away from me!  Why did you do that?  Don't you like living with me and your sisters?"  Mommy was talking so fast and asking so many questions that I didn't know what to say but I did want Mommy to know that I was sorry for upsetting her.  I looked in her eyes and leaned against her and wagged my tail a little.  I wanted to say, "But aren't you at least proud of me for not running in the street?"  but I can't talk.

Henry's daddy asked if I could play with Henry in the tennis court and I knew Mommy would say no because I was naughty and she never rewards naughty behavior.  I sure was surprised to hear her say yes!  Then she asked if it was OK for her to take LuLu home while I played with Henry.  LuLu is afraid of people and she really wanted to go home.  Henry's daddy said yes and when Mommy started walking with LuLu she turned around and said, "Ethel Frances, it was very naughty for you to run away like you did, but I am very proud of you because while you were being naughty you remembered to stay out of the street.  Please don't run away again.  I love you and I don't want to lose you."

I am so lucky to have a Mommy who loves me and understands me!

Valentina, a Guide Dog

Sunday is my favorite day of the week because my mommy takes me to the Hebrew Home to visit the residents. Mommy and I are volunteers in the pet therapy program. I help people just by visiting them. As soon as they see me they smile and reach out to pet me. Some people bend down so I can give them kisses. We visit people in the lobby, in their rooms, in physical therapy, and in the TV room, too. In fact we are allowed to visit any place except the dining room. I don't like that rule because I would like to go in the dining room and lick up food on the floor just like I do at my home. One Sunday we visited a lady named Sophie and when we were getting ready to leave, her daughter was just arriving and she had a dog with her. I noticed that the dog had a leash and a harness and the harness had a handle. I wondered what the handle was for. It looked like a big handle on a purse but I thought the dog was too big to pick up by the handle. Mommy started talking to the lady and I started listening to their conversation because that is a good way to learn. I learned that the lady is blind and I learned that the dog's name is Valentina. She is a guide dog and her mommy holds the handle when they walk and Valentina guides her. She helps her mommy when she walks by showing her where it is safe. She even helps her mommy cross the street by letting her know when there are no cars coming. Then I learned something about Valentina on my own. I learned that she is sweet and that she likes to play. We went back in Sophie's room and Mommy closed the door and took my leash off and Valentina's mommy took her harness off. Sophie was sitting in a wheelchair and Valentina and I ran circles around her. The more we ran, the more Sophie and the mommies laughed. Once I accidentally bumped into the wheelchair and I got upset because I was afraid I hurt Sophie, but Sophie laughed and patted me and said she was just fine. Valentina and I ran and ran and bounced around until we were too tired to even stand so we lay down to rest, but after a few minutes we were at it again.

All of a sudden, Valentina stopped playing with me and ran and sat right in front of her mommy and her mommy put the harness on Valentina. Mommy could tell from the expression on my face that I didn't understand what happened. "Ethel Frances," Mommy said in her teaching voice, "Valentina didn't want to stop playing with you, but when she has the harness on she is doing her guide dog job. She is not allowed to play with anyone and people aren't even allowed to pet her. She is so smart and so well trained that as soon as her mommy picks up the harness she knows what to do without even being told. Isn't that amazing!" I agreed, with my wagging tail, and Mommy knew that I understood.

We visit a lot of people at the Home, but only one dog. We make sure we visit Sophie the same time Valentina does so we can play with each other. I learned something about Valentina and me. Valentina is a guide dog, but she only guides and helps one person -- her mommy. When I go to the Hebrew Home, I visit and help everyone!

Mommy Talked on the Phone Too Long

Mommy loves to talk on the phone and sometimes she talks way too long. That's what happened last night. She came home from work, took us outside, fed us, and just as I was licking my bowl clean, the phone rang. I was not happy to hear the ring-a-ding-ding because everyday when we finish eating, we have play time with Mommy. Mommy throws the ball to Izzy; she plays tug-of-war with me; and, LuLu just likes Mommy to scratch her back. Mommy told us she would just be a minute and she went ahead and answered that telephone. "Hello," she said. "Hi Frid!" I knew that was the end of play time. Mommy and Frid have been friends since they were little girls and when they start talking, they talk forever! Well, it seems like forever. LuLu, Izzy, and I were very disappointed.

After a few minutes, Izzy said, "Wait a minute. We don't have to be disappointed. All we have to do is come up with a plan to get Mommy off of the phone." "What a great idea," I said, "but how?"  Izzy said we should each come up with one way to get her attention. She is so intelligent. We sat and we thought and LuLu said, "I know what I will do! I will sit right next to Mommy and she will start petting me. I know she will because she always does and after a little while, she will stop. When she stops, I will poke her arm and I will just keep on poking her until she has to pay attention to me. I won't poke her hard enough to hurt her -- just hard enough to get on her nerves." Izzy and I thought it was a perfect plan. Then Izzy said,"I know what I am going to do. I am going to run through the house, looking for things that belong to Mommy that I can chew up. Every time I find something I am going to stand right in front of her and chew it up right in her face! That will definitely get her attention!" Wow! LuLu and Izzy had great ideas, but what was I going to do? Hmmm! I got it! I told my sisters, "I am going to bark as loud as I can and I won't stop until Mommy tries to make me stop." We all liked each other's plans and we put and we put them in action.

Izzy ran into the bathroom and came out with one of Mommy's socks and she started chewing it. Mommy kept right on talking to Frid so Izzy walked right up to Mommy and chewed on that sock right in her face. That didn't work so Izzy went to the bathroom and got another sock only this time she danced back and forth in front of Mommy saying, "Na,na, na, na, na, na. You can't get me!" All of a sudden, LuLu jumped on the sofa and sat down next to Mommy and stared at her. Just like LuLu said, Mommy started petting her and then she stopped. LuLu poked her and then she poked her again and again and I jumped up and started barking my head off. Mommy was trying to talk to Frid while Izzy chewed, LuLu poked, and I barked. We were trying hard not to laugh and all of a sudden, we heard Mommy say, "Frid, I'm sorry. I just can't stay on the phone anymore. My very intelligent dogs have ganged up on me and they are telling me that they want my attention and since I was at work all day, I am going to give them the love and attention that they deserve. I'll call you tomorrow." And just like that Mommy hung up the phone, threw the ball for Izzy, petted LuLu, and played tug-of-war with me. Isn't that amazing! We learned a very important lesson: If you have a problem, find someone you trust, and ask them to help. We also learned that Mommy loves us more than she loves talking on the phone.

I Made a Mistake

I was taking a walk with Mommy and I was very happy. While we are walking, Mommy sings songs and talks to me and all of her attention is on me. I love that and even though I can't sing or talk to Mommy, she can tell that I am happy. The happier I am, the faster my tail wags and I have a bounce to my step. All of a sudden I saw my friend Sadie,the Boxer. She was walking on the other side of the street with her daddy. I was going to bark, "Sadie! Do you want to play with me?" And then it happened. My problem with self-control got the best of me. Instead of calling out to Sadie, I started running and if Mommy hadn't been holding my leash I would have run right in the street without even looking. I wanted to play with Sadie so much that I didn't even think about the rules. I stopped heeling, I pulled on the leash, and I was ready to run in the street. "Ethel Frances! No! What are you doing? Sit and stay!" Mommy was so upset. She leaned down and her eyes met mine and she said, "Oh, Ethel Frances. You just did something very naughty and very dangerous. I know Sadie is your friend and you like to play with her, but is playing with her more important than being safe? If I hadn't been holding your leash tightly, you would have gone in the street and you could have been hit by a car! I love you very much and if anything happened to you, I would be too sad for words. You have to obey the rules even when you want to play with your friends."

 I sat and listened to Mommy's words and I knew she was right. I made a mistake-a big one. I looked up into Mommy's eyes and I hoped she could see that I was sorry. I wish I could have told her that I will try my best to never do that again, but since I can't talk I will have to show her by not trying to run in the street ever again. Mommy hugged me and said, "Ethel Frances, I can tell that you are sorry and that you understand what you did was wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. Just please don't do that again. Let's finish our walk now." And we walked and Mommy sang and talked all the way home. I made a mistake, but I learned something too. Mommy always loves me, even when I make mistakes!