Leave it Doc to sign us up for a lecture titled Ghosts and Paranormal Investigations.

I think she drug me along because she was scared. After all, it was close to Halloween and it was one of those dark and windy nights where the moon casts an eerie shadow on everything that goes bump in the night.

The lecture hall was packed, so I lay down next to Doc and tried to stay still.

The person giving the lecture started by listing his credentials. That included experience with haunting’s, excavating ghosts, and run of the mill paranormal stuff.I was most impressed when he said he was a member of the Bigfoot Society, as “Finding Bigfoot” is one of my favorite shows on TV.

Many people in the audience were having problems with ghosts and I am sure glad that I don’t live with them. The speaker gave us some helpful information on how to address paranormal problems and as a public service I feel I should pass it on to you in case you ever have a ghost in your house.

Rules for Dealing With Casper

1. Do not handle your own ghost situation. It is best to call in a professional.

2.Do not attempt to contact the ghost by asking questions, demanding to be left alone or getting angry. This could agitate the ghost. 

3. Do not attempt to gather your own evidence. Leave this to the professionals as they will be more objective.

4. Don’t assume the ghost is someone you know. It could be anybody that has passed over and has some unfinished business at your home.

5. Don’t blab about it on social media. You may get bad advice from others or made fun of.

6. Don’t allow just any ghost busters into your home. You could set yourself up to be exploited.

When the lecture was over, we stayed and talked to some of the people who attended and then slowly made it down the hall and out the door to our cars and drove home.

After hearing all those things about the supernatural, I decided to play it safe. So, as soon as we got in the house, I crawled under Doc’s bed to sleep for the night. If any ghosts showed up, I figured they would see her first and leave me alone.

Happy Haunting’s!

I have heard some humans say that they have a superior intellect to dogs, but after living and working with you for the better part of three years, I think you could learn a thing or two from observing dogs.

1. Work things out and move on.

Dogs are good at working out problems with each other. Usually we play together nicely, but if one of us acts up we either shun the dog or correct them with a nip, growl or nudge. Most issues between dogs last only for a few minutes and then we move on. No grudges, no ruminating about the situation.

2. Greet everyone with kindness and acceptance.

One of the greatest gifts I give as a therapy dog is unconditional love, acceptance and a happy wagging tail when I see you. I hope that the way I treat humans reminds you to always be kind to others without judgment and to greet each other with a smile.

3. Watch out for others. 

Have you noticed that dogs watch out for each other? Recently in the news there were two stories that prove that point. One was a story about a dog that stayed with his friend, the Basset Hound for one week until  he could summon a human to come and get him out of a cistern he had fallen in to. The other story was about a Rottweiler that came to the rescue when his buddy, a much smaller dog was grabbed by a coyote. Dogs don’t wait and analyze a situation, we just act. Everyone needs someone to watch their back.

4. Stay quiet and observe.

Dogs know what humans and other dogs are communicating by observing body language and reading energy. It’s the nonverbal’s that tell the truth about what is going on. You can learn a lot by being quiet and observing.

5. Find joy in the small things.

Canines don’t care about material possessions like humans do. Dogs are happy with the basics. A good day for a dog is spending time with their humans, going outside and exploring nature, a nice nap in the sun and a treat now and then. The more stuff you have, the more you stress over it. Even I get anxious if Doc gives me too many toys to play with at once. Go back to the basics and just relax for awhile.

I hope some of these tips help you. If you can think of any more you would like to add, you can contact me on this blog or on my Facebook page.

I admit that I stuck my big head inside her bag, but only to inspect for hazardous material. Ok, that’s a lie, I smelled food.

Beef jerky and Jolly Ranchers are a strange diet, but I was willing to share with Kate if she would unwrap everything for me. Instead, she took them right out of my mouth. Obviously she didn’t pay attention when her mother was teaching her manners.

Then, without even asking me, she posted the incident on Facebook for the whole world to read. Doc sure got mad at me when she read that post. She gave me a lecture about putting my nose where it doesn’t belong. She’s one to talk.

When I reminded Doc that she asks people personal questions all day long, she scowled, looked me in the eye and said ” Grover, I’m a therapist, that’s my job.” Gee whiz, so touchy.

Then she used the word I hate the most, consequences. Doc said because of my behavior I would not get any treats for a day and made it very clear if I eat something that doesn’t belong to me again I will be grounded. Good grief, doesn’t she know that I’m a dog and that we are always looking for food?

Lesson learned, I vow to keep my nose and my mouth where it belongs…  at least for today.

When Doc’s family arrived, I was outside in the back yard. There was a lot of commotion inside the house and at first I didn’t notice the plastic bin that Emily was carrying. I became curious when she opened the sliding glass door and approached Doc with a little brown and fury creature that was sound asleep.  Doc’s face lit up as she reached for the creature and then held it close to her chest. It was so tiny, not much bigger than my head. She placed it on the grass for me to inspect. When I got close enough to see I was horrified.

It was a new puppy and it’s name was O-Ren. I immediately began to panic. Was I being replaced? I had read about this kind of thing in the tabloids where Hollywood stars replace their old spouse with a newer, younger version. Was Doc going to do the same thing with me? My anxiety shot through the roof and I did what I always do when I’m anxious, I started running around the yard in circles at break neck speed.

“What’s wrong with Grover?” her nephew asked. Right away Doc understood and said “Oh he’s just nervous by all the attention we are paying to O-Ren. Then she looked at me and said “don’t worry Grover, he’s not coming to live here.”  That calmed me down right away, so I went over, sniffed the puppy again and decided to be nice. Soon we were laying side by side in the grass playing.

I was surprised at how I could have felt so insecure. Doc has always loved me so much and I should trust that love. Even a cute new puppy can’t change that.