Midnight at Ten months

Well the boy is now ten months old, actually he was born on the 3rd of June 2010.

I found his pedigree papers the other day, 

I had forgotten his registered name is --

SHERTONA SPECIAL EDITION.

He was the only puppy, hence the name.

This picture was taken when he was about 14 weeks old, 

it was his first day in a "working harness".

He still had his baby haircut and was so small.

Last week I wrote a new article  for Pet Stock,

here it is -------

                               Midnight at Ten Months

I cannot believe Midnight is now 10 months old, he is no longer a “little puppy”, now he is an adolescent, that challenging time all dogs  [and children]  go through!!!!!

 He is pushing the boundaries constantly --- never heard the word “Sit” in his whole life, and as for walking to “heel”, I am obviously talking to another dog, not him!! 

Just as well he is not my first dog, I know adolescence is just a stage, he will grow through it.

I think this is the time when I need to remember all the things that Midnight and I have achieved in seven months ----------

We have learned to trust each other enough to travel 7kms safely alone.

We can catch trains and ride in hoist buses with a carer. 

Attend council meetings and conferences, without Midnight moving from the side of my chair.

He has learned to stand still when I have a bad episode and not interfere when strangers come to help me.

My disability makes it very difficult for me to put on his collar and harness, Midnight knows when I give the command ”paws”, he must place his front paws on the chair I have chosen, push his head through his collar and harness and keep still while I slowly do up all the buckles!!

We have been working on the command “leave it”, an assistance dog must never pick up anything from the ground  or table, and definitely never ask for food. Sometimes it is really hard to walk past a piece of chicken lying on the ground, but he is now doing it.

An important thing I have learned, is how to protect him from potentially dangerous dogs. Because he is always attached to me and cannot defend himself Midnight can be a target for other dogs, a dog attack is a very scary thing when you are in a wheel chair.

This week my trainer – Chris, brought a manual wheel chair to our lesson, she wanted to replicate as much as possible, my limited movement  and possibly make training easier for me. It was very interesting for me to watch Middi working with someone else in a chair, thank goodness he was just as cheeky for Chris, as he has been for me lately.

Of course Middi and I have learned other things since we started on our long journey towards Assistance dog registration , but this is enough for now I think!  

Easter holidays are coming up soon, please remember chocolate is a cumulative poison for your dog, please don’t let him join in the egg hunt!!

Remember, if you see us roaming the area, come and say “Hello”, Middi and I love to chat, we can tell you about our holiday on Phillip Island – a puppy paradise.

                       Anne and Midnight.

Its interesting to look back on what we have done, and see how "the Boy" has grown and matured.

Like all children he can be very good 

and also very naughty,but I certainly love him!!!!!!!

                  Until next time --- Enjoy Autumn

Thinking outside the square!

Acquiring a disability later in life is definitely a challenge,

many of the things I took for granted I can not do now. 

I guess walking is one of them, 

funnily enough, its not really important any more,

as my friend Reen says --

"Walking is highly overrated. Reading is not" 

She like me, is a great reader, 

now of course I read with my ears not my eyes,

when the nights are long there is nothing better than a book 

to keep you company.

No, I am wrong, a cold nose and a warm fluffy neck,

beats everything else hands down.

In case you still haven't realised, the best thing that has happened to me in the last few years is Midnight!!

Remember, he is that large, black, peanut butter lover!!

He is now too big to fit on my bed,

and definitely too heavy to climb on my lap, 

so no more cuddles.

I think I miss the cuddles more than anything else.

Being me, this is a long rambling story, so be patient! 

[just like I am supposed to be] ---   :-))

I have a new piece of equipment,

This is my ceiling hoist, 

it runs on a track from the corner of the room to my bed.

It is used to get me in and out of my wheel chair.

Stupidly I refused to use one,

until my arm got too weak to hold me. 

Now of course I realise how silly I was

not to get it  a long time ago.

It is much more comfortable than my old manual hoist, 

that made me feel so sick that I would only use it 

when I was very unwell, 

that of course made the ride even worse!!

The great thing about the ceiling hoist is - 

I CAN OPERATE IT MYSELF 

=  INDEPENDENCE!!!!

Now back to my curly haired boy.

Sometimes I need to give him a cuddle,

just like everyone else, 

when we have had a difficult day

and nothing has gone right, 

I need to be able to show him how much I love him, 

but I cant, 

that makes me so sad that I feel like crying.

Lying in bed the other night I was feeling so low,

that I knew I had to find a way to get closer to My Boy.

The hoist was the answer, 

with a little help from Jessika I maneuvered myself out of bed and down near the floor

[first time I have done that voluntarily, for a lot of years!!!!

This was the result ------ 

Our first real cuddle as equals.

So many kisses on that beautiful face.

Licking off my tears of happiness.

Next I pressed the button and lay on the ground with my dog next to me.

I might not have looked so good, but the feeling was wonderful.

Here is a last hug

before I got back into my bed.

Do you know what the best thing is --- 

I can do it whenever I want.

 Isn't life wonderful when you have a puppy to love.

Enjoy the Day!!

Midnight's Castle.

This is Midnight's Castle, 

everyone else would call it a dog crate.

He loves it so much, it is his own little space that not even Nacho is allowed to take over.

As you can see it is huge and very comfortable,

two double bed size woolen blankets 

and his large fluffy sheep skin.

Sometimes he reorganises it and you will find his "sheepy" on the floor with his kongs and favourite toys.

He always has trouble getting them back in again,  so he will sleep half in and half out of his castle, looks really uncomfortable, but it doesnt worry him.

Yesterday half the family came to visit 

and this is what he found when he went to have a nap -

three girls and a robot!!!!!

When we were at Ventnor he found something that was even more comfortable than his castle --

Niki's trundle bed.

What a life for a puppy.

Until next time ------ hug a puppy!!

I could not resist this picture of Indi and the boy,
the castle is becoming a favourite spot for cuddles!

Who will I find in it next?