A Working Dog, Even on Vacation, part 2

PET PARADE

Unbeknown to us, it was Folk Fest weekend in downtown Manistique during our annual camping trip last week.  Music, a street fair, food, the "Paper Chase" 5 or 10K footrace, and a "Pet Parade" (sponsored by the Humane Society of Schoolcraft County).

I couldn't roust my nieces to bring cc'd (career-changed) Rosie with us for the Pet Parade after dinner--they were too worn out from a busy day of swimming, tubing, and playing in camp.  So, Andy and I took Gypsy and FLD Mike and went to town.

Vendor booths, positioned along each curb of the blocked-off main drag of South Maple Street, flanked a straight row of picnic tables.  A music stage, ringed by bleachers, dominated the south end.  

The Pet Parade was like a scene right out of "Northern Exposure!"  The Humane Society of Schoolcraft County (HSSC) had a sign-up table behind the stage.  There was no cost to participate; we just had to fill out a form describing our pet.  "Rescued" pets wore a special bandana, which had to be returned afterwards.  Gypsy sure looked smart in hers!  (We got her from the Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo in 2001.)

The HSSC worker directed us, with form in hand, to the end of a long line of all sizes and types of dogs, a stroller full of ferrets, and one horse.  

At the front of the line, a volunteer took each participant's form and walked the person and pet to the center of the intersection in front of the stage.  Here an announcer read the information on the form to the crowd.  The "parade" was a simple stroll around the circle of spectators for petting.

FLD Mike was interested, but remained calm while we waited our turn; so calm, in fact, that he assumed his normal position:  lying down!

 

As I handed my form to the volunteer, she said, "I already told the announcer to alert the crowd that no one is allowed to pet your puppy-in-training."  An educated town!  I loved it.  

Everyone clapped when FLD Mike and I walked leisurely by, and no one reached out to touch him.

As FLD Mike and I exited the HSSC "Pet Parade," I heard the announcer say, "And this is Andy, with Gypsy, a 'brown' dog who was rescued.  Gypsy helps patti raise puppies for Leader Dogs for the Blind."

Lost Power / A Working Dog, Even on Vacation

I am so sorry, but midway through working on my post for today (about FLD Mike "working" during our vacation), we lost power!  It was a brown-out for a while, then complete failure.  Here is the first part--I will post the rest when I finish.  Thanks for reading!

U.P. MORNING

If you are old enough to remember the TV show, "Northern Exposure," you might well have a taste of the slower pace of life above the "bridge" in the U.P. (see "Definitions"), where strangers are met with a smile and a "hello," and talk is local.  "Fish bitin' in Indian Lake?"  "Nah, de May-flies are out."  "Did our girls' softball team make it to the playoffs?"  "Yep!"

Light stays long on summer nights this far north, but Andy and I were the first to crawl into our tents, leaving the youngsters to make s'mores around the fire.  Somehow they slept past the vivacious wake-up calls of pillaging ravens and seagulls at daybreak.

Andy and I got up.

Early morning--our favorite time of day.  A quiet campground (well, except for those pesky winged noise-makers), a cool walk with the dogs, and then a short drive into Manistique for coffee and home-cooked blueberry pancakes at the Emerald City Expresso Cafe (Expresso, in the U.P.?).  Fortified thus, we'd be better prepared to rustle up grub for the rest of the family back at camp.

We asked the young waitress who greeted us (her first customers) at the door, We are raising a Leader Dog for the Blind puppy, can we bring him in with us?

"Oh, I don't think so," she replied, a bit flustered, "I think it's against the Health Regulations or something...ah, just a minuet, eh?  I'll go ask."  FLD Mike, wearing his working jacket, waited patiently.

A few moments later she returned sheepishly from the kitchen, "Oh, of course, bring him in."  We learned later that someone else in Manistique had raised puppies for Leader Dogs in years past.  The townsfolk we met typically asked, "Can I pet him?  I know he's working."  

...to be continued...

Blood Drive

Posted on Leader Dogs for the Blind FaceBook page:

We need your help! Join Leader Dog for our Blood Drive to benefit the American Red Cross on Thursday, July 15 from noon until 6:00 pm on campus in the Polk Residence & Training Center. Walk ins are welcome, but please consider registering for an appointment.

The Sponsor Code is Leaderdog. Make your appointment here: https://www.givelife.org/index.cfm?group=registration&hlc=leaderdog&pos=1

Please contact Doreen Murphy (dmurphy@leaderdog.org) if you experience trouble when making your appointment. Thank you for your support and feel free to spread the word about the blood drive.

With apologies to Leader Dogs for the Blind, I donated blood yesterday at Clintondale High School in Clinton Township.  I had an appointment at Leader Dogs, but on my early morning walk with FLD Mike I spotted the Blood Drive sign by the school.  Since I live just around the corner from Clintondale, I went on-line and switched. 

 

I brought FLD Mike along; he was calm and patient, although he took up a lot of space by my chair during the nurse-interview!  One of the nurses recognized FLD Mike from when I donated blood at Leader Dogs last February.  As she so eloquently told me, when I mentioned that I canceled my appointment at Leader Dogs, "Well, we got your blood anyway, that's the important thing."

Thank-you Leader Dogs, for sponsoring this Blood Drive.  I hope it is successful!

Only One Year Ago

It is our annual family camping trip and career-changed (cc'd) Rosie is back with us; this time she officially belongs to Sofia.  It was only a year ago that the two of them bonded.  A long journey since then for Rosie, "the wonder-dog."  We are all happy that she is now part of the family, even if she wasn't able to fulfill the calling to be a Leader Dog for the Blind.

This year our blended gathering takes place at Indian Lake State Park, just outside the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) town of Manistique.  Andy and I stayed here last August on our return from Green Bay, Wisconsin and fell in love with the beautiful water and clean park.  We had ridden our recumbent bicycles to Green Bay to visit Andy's grandsons--a self-contained tour of about 700 miles!  (but, that's another story...)

Three campsites hold Andy and I (with Gypsy and FLD Mike), my nieces Elaina, Sofia, and Natalie (with cc'd Rosie), and Andy's kids:  son Chris, his wife Rachelle, and their two boys, Keegan and Alec; daughter Jen and her husband Jeff (with their two German Shorthaired Pointers, Gauge and Odo); daughter Mandy and friends David and Sarah.  We're missing my sister Anne this year--she is busy with grad school--and Andy's son Josh, who is living in North Carolina.

FLD Mike adapts easily to his very first camping experience.  He hangs out on his tie-out in our combined campsites, serenely observing the hectic activities around him.  Indian Lake is a family-friendly campground and for some reason we appear to be "kid-central" for bike-riding, foursquare playoffs, ladder golf, Frisbee throwing, badminton, catch-playing, and s'mores-eating.

At times FLD Mike picks up his never-ending-wrestling match with cc'd Rosie, who is just within reach on her own tie-out.  Other times he takes it upon himself to hold onto Odo's leash.  It is a park rule that all dogs must be on a leash, but Gauge and Odo sometimes wander around our sites dragging their leashes, always in verbal control by Jen or Jeff.  We all share a hearty laugh when Odo resists!

Additional camping stories to come!  FLD Mike has more fun, and works a little, too...