"This is a photo of Nacho, she is the four legged joy of my life.
I am disabled and spend a lot of my time in bed, Nacho is always with me, lying on my foot cradle, supervising the neighbourhood.
Actually, she really belongs to my daughter, so when she comes home from work I am forgotten.
It doesn't really bother me because I know tomorrow she will be back!!"

Those were the first words I wrote on my blog,

Nacho was the main reason for starting it, she was the joy of my life, and sometimes my sanity.

Even though I did not talk much about it, life was still very difficult for me, I was still trying to come to terms with my change of life style! 

Nachi saw me shed a lot of tears. 

Whenever I was sad Nachi would jump off the foot cradle onto my chest, and there she would lie with her nose almost touching my nose. Sometimes that little pink tongue  would delicately kiss my cheek as I pulled her ears. She listened to a lot of my worries as she looked at me with those beautiful eyes.

Jess loved her feet and I loved her shiny little nose and bright eyes. I can almost hear her breathing and the soft feel of her breath on my face,

She loved us sooo much, if Jess and I were having a hug within a minute Nachi would appear from nowhere, run up the bed and squeeze her little head in between ours. 

It became a game for Jess and me, we loved to see how long it took her to reach us. We were a family of three.

 Those little feet caused me some trouble; 

I bruise very easily,and heavy little feet leave bruises on bare skin, twice the visiting nurses queried where the bruises came from and I had to explain it was Nacho, not abuse!!!

Tonight I looked through my photos and came across some '

'BED' pictures ----------

I often wondered whose bed it was.

Writing is definitely helping me deal with my loss.

as I lie here and see our girl in my head, I am not crying so much, as I tell Jess, she will never leave us, she will always be in our memory, waiting to come whenever we think of her.

 I just wish I could give her one more cuddle,

and hear Jess say "Oh, she's alright".

I miss her warm body lying against my feet. 

On Tuesday 23rd July 2011 our beautiful Nacho died.

She was just one month short of her seventh birthday. 

Unbeknown to any one she had pancreatic cancer, which had spread to her kidney.
She was such a stoic little dog, even though she must have been in great pain for a long time, she never showed it.

I am writing this lying in my bed, a place that Nacho and I frequently shared over the last six years.

These are my memories of the short time we had together.

How do you break the news to your daughter that her most precious dog has only a few days left, and that she, must make the decision when the vet is to come for his final visit.

It was terrible.

Nacho came at a very low time in our lives, I became disabled and my teenage daughter had to take over the role of caring for me.

She needed something to love that was just hers.

I still remember the day Nacho came, if Jess and Bek had got to the breeders house 10 minutes later another family would have taken her.

The next day Jess wanted to take her back, because she was scratching all the time!!!

First visit to the vet, to be told that there was nothing wrong, she was just being a puppy!!

Nachi had the strongest little teeth and she delighted in chewing anything that belonged to ME!

My brand new wheel chair backpack lost the phone pocket the day it arrived.

During the day, if she was not lying on my bed eating me, she was permanently attached to Lucky's left ear, he was a very patient poodle.

Lucky taught her what to do when I spasmed, I soon had two dogs running up my body and lying across my chest.

The last time Nachi did that was about two weeks ago, I suddenly went off and she came racing into the room, ran up my body and straight across my chest.

She took her responsibilities very seriously.

When Jess and I were fighting my agoraphobia, Nachi was wonderful, Jess would take me to Bentleigh and leave me in the coffee shop court yard with her sitting on my lap, nothing would make Nacho move. 

When I spasmed, my fingers would lock onto her body until I came out of it. Sometimes it must have hurt her, but all she ever did was lick my face and patiently wait for her mum to come back.

I am stopping now because the memories are flooding back and the tears are making it too hard to write any more.

Tomorrow I think I will write again, 

there is so much I need to tell about this bossy little angel, with the beautiful eyes.

That boy AGAIN and AGAIN!!

Just in case you hadn't noticed 

I really, really, love that boy of mine,

but sometimes he makes me sooooo frustrated.

Last week his brain was on another planet,

and I had 2 fails in our lesson!!!

I could not get him to "sit/stay" or "wait" when he was told.

He just sat there, poked his tongue out and said --

"naaa, don't feel like working today"!

HONESTLY!

Two nights later, this is what I wrote in my notes --

tonight's funny thing.-------
I sent my coffee cup flying and asked Middi to pick it up for me, he carefully picked it up and brought it nearly to me, but before he reached me the cover fell off and he only brought that.

I asked him for the cup,which is very slippery, 

after pushing it round with his nose, to try and force the lid open, he left it and went into the lounge.

I thought he had given up and was about to call him back, when through the door he came with sparkling eyes and his polar fleece grab rope in his mouth, he then placed that on my tray! I told him he was very clever, but I really wanted my coffee. 

As the cup is really hard to hold with out its cover I was about to pick it up with my grab stick, Middi pushed my stick away and worried the cup with his mouth and paw, until he got it in his teeth, then he placed it very carefully in my hand.

Lots of praise and cheese!!

  What a darling exasperating boy he is!

 

Have a bone Mum!

A sick Girl!

OUR GIRL IS SICK!

Last weekend she was off her food, then she stopped going to the toilet.

By Tuesday morning we knew something was wrong,

rang the vet and got an urgent appointment.

Thank goodness for Chris, 

she dropped everything and took our little darling

to see John the Vet.

Turned out to be an obstruction in her bowel,

or so John thought!

 He hoped he could  help her to pass whatever was causing the trouble,

but by Thursday it hadn't come, so he operated.

It turned out not to be in the bowel at all.

There is a large mass on her kidney, that is pressing on her small intestine.

Now we have to wait for the results of the biopsy.

It is good to have her home again.

I don't think we realise how much we love our dogs

until something bad happens.

Until next time ----- hug your dog!! 

Something to thinkabout!

Chris and I were training this morning,
so this is fresh in my mind.

Whoever is pack leader is the one in control, 
it is as simple as that.

Midnight and I often have a problem with this, particularly around the house.

There is someone else having the problem too -- Nacho. 

She has always been "top dog", 
it has been interesting to watch the relationship between the two dogs.

Nacho shows her status by always being in front, 
when they go to the front door.Midnight straddles her,
but is always just a little behind. 
He is giving his support to the pack leader.

Things are changing, Middi is three times her height 
and more than twice her weight.

The big boy wants to play with her all the time,
I have always left Nacho to tell him where to go [and she did!]

Yesterday Chris watched them "playing" and pointed out that he is now bullying her  -- 
she is now too small to stop him when he gets rough!

When Chris is working with Middi and me, she is definately still the pack leader. 
With me it is because I respect her superior knowlege  
and Middi knows about "consiquences"!!!!

Today I learned something I had not thought of,
When I went out the front door I very carefully made Middi walk behind me, as I had been taught.
Chris then followed behind to close the door, 
seemed good to me.
"Thanks, said Chris, you have just made me inferior to Midnight,
in his eyes, he is superior to me!"
This of course will change the next time she comes but it has given me something to think about. 
In future, I will make Middi "stay"
until everyone, including Nacho has left the house.
Makes sense when you think about it!!
There is so much to learn.

What a clown!!

Until next time ----- who is BOSS???

Still fetching!!!

This entry is dedicated to my wheelie friend, who is always encouraging me to keep going.

Thanks Reen.

Middi is learning to fetch more and more things for me,

he now picks up my I-pod, 
the coffee cup, [though that one can be a problem if it is full of warm coffee!!]

My "grab stick is the most important thing of all,

when that falls off my chair, I am in real trouble - it is the extension of my arm.

Picking it up has been a real problem for Middi,

he could not grab it without getting hit on the face, 

or tangled in his long legs. 

I tried tying a small ball to the shaft,

winding an old piece of knitting on the handle, 

even a purple ribbon.

Nothing worked, until Chris brought an old sock

that she uses with Jai.

What a difference!

Here is a video showing a new use, for an old sock :-))

This morning I was feeling so disheartened,

nothing seemed to be working.

Then something clicked in a boy dogs brain and off we go again.

As Chris tells me over and over again -- be patient.

My impatience is not with him, it is me, sometimes I get so frustrated with my self and my chair.

I guess I need to remember ,if I didn't have the chair, I would never have got my "beautiful boy" 
Good things come from bad.

Until next time ----- treasure your friends!

A tricky boy!

Sometimes that boy of mine is just too smart!

As you know I have been trying to teach Middi to pick up 

 things that fall off my tray.

He thinks it is the best game in the world.

Now he picks up my glasses, pen, mobile phone,

house phone, treat bag! glasses, plastic bags, gloves

and even a wooden rolling pin.

Each time he returns an article to me,

he gets

a very tiny piece of cheese and a lot of praise.

Tonight  we played for a very long time 

and he was having a lot of fun.

When I was tired, I started talking to Gabe.

Middi was still rumbling around my chair,

as we watched, he started to pull my glove 

through the coffee cup hole, 

then he handed it to me and waited for his scrap of cheese!

He is such a cheeky boy, 

I wonder what he will do tomorrow.

A new experience

Chris often talks about the sport of agility,

 So when she said there was going to be a competition at Moorabbin

I decided to go and check it out.

Gabe was to take Middi in the car and Jess and I would go by train and then walk.

The weather was perfect --- blue sky and no wind.

Agility shows the bond between dog and handler.

The only controls you have are your voice, and hand signals.

The dog must follow a course, over hurdles, through tunnels,

up and down an "A frame",

across a dog walk, [which is a very high bridge],

over more jumps and through a hoop,

all this is done at top speed, so the handler needs to be as agile as the dog!

Here is Jess's photo of one course.

I forgot, the dog also must weave very quickly through a series of poles.

Unfortunately the picture is not very clear, so you need to look carefully.  :-))

Jess was in charge of the camera for the day, that meant most of the photos were of Kimmy and Jai!

I noticed Kimmy spent a lot of time enjoying Indie's lap.

But then again, Jai liked my tray, easy to see mum,

when you are up high!

One of the reasons we went to the trials,   

was to mingle with a lot of very energetic dogs,

and to see how Middi behaved, when taken from me.

The next pictures show him interacting with Sarah,

[ mum of the whippets -- Banjo and Spice]

As you can see, there were no separation problems.

Another task completed for Middi's 

"Public Access Assessment"

Last picture -------

See, I can manage all the dogs!!

It was a wonderful day,so many friendly people, 

all interested in the progress of a 

BIG BLACK POODLE BOY.

Thanks Chris, for making the day so enjoyable for all of us.

A sunny winters day.

 Friday turned out to be one of those balmy winter days,

that pop up unexpectedly in Melbourne.

Niki and I had the Moira bus,

so we decided to pay a surprise visit to Gabe,

at "Hausfrau" in Albert Park.

Midnight's new "Assistance dog" coat had just arrived and I wanted to show him off in it.

Isn't he handsome, now he is colour coordinated,

his collar and coat are both purple.

Albert Park is a very interesting suburb, 

it has both mansions and tiny "workers cottages", all of which are very expensive to buy!!!

We parked in St Vincents Place, 

a street of magnificent Victorian mansions,

built by miners who made their fortunes in the gold rush.

Look at this --------

and this ---

Nik and I felt a little out of place, and under dressed!!!

Lunch at Hausfrau was lovely,

we sat outside in the sun and watched the people go by.

Not a good photo of my assistance dog,

he should have been sleeping much closer to me.

I know I was slack, but I wanted him to have some of the sunshine too.

Middi looked wonderful today, 

I am sure he knew that everyone was looking at him because he walked with his head and tail up right by my side.

He can be a great ambassador for assistance dogs, when he is concentrating.

The last photo shows how we both felt at the end of the day,

very tired!!!!!!

Until next time ------ enjoy the sun!

Growing UP!

My boy is growing up so quickly now.

All of a sudden he seems to be cottoning on to things.

When we go out he behaves like an adult,

walks close to the chair, doesn't pull to be the leader,

or even lunge at other dogs. 

Walking has become a real joy for both of us,

well most of the time!

Now we are learning a lot of other things as well.

One of my big problems is knocking things of my chair and not being able to get them back.

Tonight Jess took these pictures,

they are not great to look at 

BUT

fetching my glove,

and the hardest of all - my slippery reading glasses.

I am such a proud mum.

At present, he is sitting near my chair,

not touching his treat bag,

it is full of home cooked dried liver,

his favourite treat.

Now he has dropped down , 

so I will give him a small piece of cheese as a reward.

What a darling boy he is.

WORKING!

Now that Middi is 12 months old and reasonably well behaved, it is time to start trying to push the boundaries.

When I got him , my aim was to train him as an Assistance dog, using Chris from Baybark as our trainer.

The first hurdle to get over is to pass the --

ASSISTANCE DOG PUBLIC ACCESS CERTIFICATION TEST.

On the front page it states --

"The Test is to ensure that dogs who have public access are stable, well-behaved, and unobtrusive to the public. It is to ensure that the client has control over the dog and the team is not a public hazard".

Sounds very sensible to me, 

it is a shame that all dogs and their owners don't have to sit this test!

It is done at a shopping centre, in 14 sections----

1. Controlled unload from a vehicle.

2. Approaching the building  [in our case shopping strip]

3. Controlled entry through a doorway.

4. Heeling through a building [large shop]

5. Six foot recall on lead.

6. Sits on command.

7. Downs on command.

8. Noise distraction.

9. Restaurant.

10. Off lead.

11. Controlled exit.

12. Dog taken by another person.

13. Controlled load into vehicle.

14. Team relationship.

When I first read the requirements I thought it was very hard, 

now nearly nine months later I don't think it is really that bad.

Every time Middi and I go out, we are practicing parts of it.

On Wednesday Chris and I started restaurant training,

this means Middi has to behave beautifully in an eating place.

He must lie quietly next to my chair [with his tail tucked in], and of course he must not scum food!!!!!

It was an interesting experience,

I am used to taking him to coffee shops and sitting outside, I like the fresh air and there is more room for my wheelchair to maneuver.

I was so nervous, Chris keeps saying it is me she is training,

if I am calm he will be calm and do as he is told.

Of course he was good, 

once Chris worked out how to fit both of us into the shop and reminded me to keep praising him and giving him treats, he went to sleep!

The most important thing I forgot, was to stop him shaking himself when he stood up to leave, no one wants dog hair in their coffee!

It was a good experience for all of us, 

now I feel more confident, so Middi and I might join the coffee set!

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

Stop press:

Middi and I went to the park for lunch today,

here is a photo to prove that he does stay beautifully beside me!!

Melbourne on a sunny winter's day is heaven on earth.

Another experience!

Remember Chris suggested we should go to dog school?

I think it is time for an update on our progress.

Before we started It was agreed,
that Middi and I would stay in the beginners group with the least trained dogs,

he and I are learning  how to get on with all sorts of dogs.

We do all the exercises the others do,

but we use our own words and signals.

I cannot believe the change in  Middi and I!
in the few weeks we have been going,

he has calmed right down 
and I am confident that I can manage him.

Here are a couple of pictures showing

"going through a gate"

Compared with the narrow doors we have to squeeze through this is a breeze!!!

Agility is one of the exercises we do each week,
because of his wonky legs Middi can only do part of the course.
He can step sedately over the jumps,
climb carefully along the dog walk,
and sit beautifully on the platform.

Here are the photos to prove it!!

 Sometimes I don't judge distances very well,

look where Middi's tail is!!!!

Now I am really glad Chris encouraged me to go,

Middi and I have such a good time that last Sunday morning 

we got up really  early and attended two different classes.

The people at the school are very supportive of what I am trying to achieve with Middi and the trainers ask me lots of questions about our training.

This week we were asked to visit a different group,

so the dogs could get used to a big wheelchair

and a "working dog".

Dogs are often afraid of this big silent chair.

I am really enjoying the challenges of dog school.

A Special Day!

Friday 3rd June, 2011

was a very special day in Midnights life --

it was his birthday!!

He is now 1 year old.

We had a celebration at Petstock with his girlfriends.

His cake was a community effort --

Helen made it [and covered it in chocolate]

Gabe decorated it

and I put on the M&M's.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY!