Macs & I are on the local K-9 drill team and we performed in a parade this past weekend! To do this I use a carpenters/construction belt to attach the leash to, and he wears a head halter (Gentle Leader), which helps him heel. He walks along next to my wheelchair; very similiar to how a person on a bike and a dog do it.This way my hands are free to push my chair. It's taken a lot of work to make it so we are truly workikng together- he's not pulling me and I'm not doing the same to him. However, I think we are there now!
I'm the only person in a chair and he is the only Border Collie mix dog on the team, so we kind of stand out- which is OK, but I don't really want to be the center of attention! I hope that we educate a little on what people that use wheelchairs are truly capable of. :)
The others on the drill team say that it is a good challenge to modify their routines so that Macs and I can take part. According to them, we do a good job! I'd reccomend Drill Team to any service dog and handler team;the extra training and performances help a lot!
Hi everyone! I just wqant to wish you all a happy May!
Grant wants me to shAre how I trained my service dog, which I'm happy to do- it's just that I have no time! Bear with me. . . it'll come. "All good things take time", or something like that, :-) Meanwhile, if you're interested the website for the service dog organization that I went with is www.topdogusa.org They are in Tuscon, AZ.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 06:39 PM MST [General]
Why did she put "Undead" as her ethnicity in her profile?
If your wondering, it is because I am of mixed heritage (half White/half Hispanic) and as I'm proud of them bdth, it seemed wrong to favor one over the other in the ethnicity choices. I have found that, many times, in the answers given for questions like that, they never offer the answer I like, so I usually put "Other". Also, "Undead" seemed like a good way to point out the fact that I'm decidedly not what society thinks I should be:-)
