Hello, World!
I suppose since this is my first blog post I should introduce myself. My name is Lucy aka "Lu" after The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds". I am a two-year old yellow Lab in training as a service dog for Asperger's Syndrome and mild cerebral palsy.
My human's name is Adria Nassim. She helps me write this blog and she is a huge Beatles' fan. It's all thanks to her I know how to write. She got a degree in English, you know. Adria and I have been together for almost two years now. We were paired up at a kennel called Dixie Run Labs. Adria held me in her lap and stroked me and sung songs to me asking me questions like "Would you believe in a love at first sight?" and "What do you see when you turn out the light?" She never gave me a chance to answer though. She just held me and kept stroking my neck and telling me how she gets by with a little help from her friends. I loved her immediately. and Gosh, does she love me. We go everywhere together and almost every day she tells somebody,
"This is Lucy. She is my best friend!" and boy, is it worth it.
This blog is set up to tell my side of our story because people never ask me how I like going for a coffee break at Starbucks, or what I think of trips to The Gap to buy new spring clothes, or how I liked the Taylor Swift concert last weekend they only tend to ask Adria that stuff. I never really have understood why either. I do belong to one of the smartest breeds out there, you know and I have an opinion too, for goodness sake! Who made the stupid rule that the Declaration of Independence only applies to those of us on two legs? "WOOF!"
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."
Do the dogs count too, Mr. Jefferson? What happened to evolution?!
As of four months old, I have been privately trained to become Adria's special helper. I LOVE my job! I am trained to find home on command when we are out walking someplace and get lost and am learning how to pick up and retrieve dropped objects and bring them to her.
Today Adria taught me a new game at playtime called "Find It!" I really like this game. Adria went and got my Kong out of my toy box she keeps high on the shelf in her closet, brought it in the living room and placed it on the floor in plain sight.
"Find It, Lu!" she said.
Find What? I thought. staring blankly at her. It would help if I knew what to be looking for.
Dismissively, I put my nose to the floor, suddenly picking up the scent of BACON FLAVORED TRAINING TREATS!
Must. Find. Bacon.
I kept circling the room trying to hone in on the scent of my beloved bacon but I couldn't find it! Finally, I flopped to the floor in a dejected heap brooding on my insufficiency as a working dog. I can't even find something for her. Geez. What would Jag think?
Jag is my trainer John's German Shepherd. He is quite the stud and I want to be like him when I grow up. So well behaved and handsome. I pant just thinking about him! =)
Anyway, after sulking a while I decided to give "Find It!" one more shot. I could hear Adria still encouraging me across the room: "Find it, Find it, Lu!"
I ambled over to the corner where my Kong was and thought I'd lie down and have a nice chew, but as soon as my jaws locked around it, I heard Adria shout: "Good Find It! Come, Lu!"
If there's one rule I learned as a pup it's that you always come when called. If not, the consequences can be rather unpleasant. I sprinted back toward her and dropped the Kong at her feet, and out came BACON TRAINING TREATS from her hoodie pocket!
I understood now. Go find the Kong. bring it back when she calls and get BACON!
We played "Find "It!" for a long time and then I curled up for a nap. I really do love this job.
Love,
Lu
No comments:
Post a Comment