Most of the time Doc has a lot of patient’s with other people’s behavior. In other words, it takes a lot to get her riled up. When we come home after a hard days work, the last thing we want is to be bothered by a salesman. Especially the salespeople that try to frighten you into buying their products by telling you all the terrible things that will happen if you don’t buy bug killers, burglar alarms or gutter repairs at their one-time special offer. It’s enough to give you nightmares. But that is what happened on a semi-regular basis at our house until the day Doc reached her limit and put a end to it.

It felt like we had tried everything. I  would bark and growl when they rang the doorbell, but that didn’t deter them until Doc opened the door and they saw how big I was. We tried ignoring them by not answering the door and staying out of sight, but they would just stand there and continue ringing the bell. One time we had to crawl under the window on our bellies like we were hiding from the Feds, so that the man at the door couldn’t look in and see us. It just doesn’t seem right that the simple ring of your own doorbell should put you into a state of panic.

We thought we would have to go on living in fear forever until one day, while Doc was perusing social media she came across a sign that someone else had posted. Doc wasted no time. She went to the garage, found an old piece of plywood and some left over paint and created her masterpiece with a few modifications. As soon as the sign dried, she posted it on the front porch admiring it like it was a work of Shakespeare for goodness sakes. I eagerly came with her to check out what it said.  In bold red letters she had written;

Don’t Bother Ringing the Doorbell,

We Don’t Have Any Money Left To Buy Anything

We Have Already Decided Who We are Voting For

We Have Already Found Jesus

Unless You Are a Neighborhood Kid Selling Candy, or Girl Scout Cookies, Go Away!

It worked. Months went by and nobody rang the bell. Slowly we lost our fear and even became excited when the doorbell rang because it was going to be someone we wanted to see. We now live in peace. It just goes to show you, that if you think hard enough there is a solution to every problem.

Even though it is only March, Doc and her family are making plans for their summer vacation. I am always taken aback that they never ask me what I would like to do. They just assume that I will be fine with whatever they decide. So this year, I have come up with my own bucket list of what I would like to do on vacation and I hope they don’t wait until they think I am ready to leave this world to use my suggestions.

1. I would like to travel to the Black Forrest in Germany. (It’s called the Black Forrest because it is so dense with trees, it is really dark in there). I would run around and pee on every tree to my heart’s content, lay down, take a nap, drink more water and then do it all over again.
2. Spend a week vacationing in a furniture/bedroom store where I could sleep on and relax on every sofa and bed in the place. Then I would rate them according to their comfort level, so that humans could take that into consideration when buying a new couch or mattress. I would invite some of my dog friends with me so that they could rate them as well.
3. Go to every summer festival or fair and run free without restriction. I would follow humans eating junk they drop on the ground and sniff their butts without restriction as I slink through the crowds unnoticed because the humans are too busy looking for the fried Twinkie booth.
4. Go to a secret location by myself on vacation and live a create a secret life that Doc would not find out about. I don’t yet know what I would do, but at least it would be something only I would know about. (Even dogs need some privacy).
5. Spend an entire week baying and barking violently at each and everything I want to without being told by Doc, “That’s enough barking Grover, quiet!” What Doc doesn’t understand is that there are a lot of dangerous things in the world like rouge squirrels roaming the earth that can be a danger to those that I love.

I hope Doc and the family take my list into consideration. I would like to experience some of my list while I am still young enough to have fun.

My visit to the Zangmeister Cancer center must be getting close because yesterday I had my nails trimmed and I heard Doc talking about a bath. It’s important that I am clean and presentable for my visit as it is a great privilege to be able to spend time with those being treated for cancer as well as spending time with the people who support them.

On a visit not to long ago, Doc was caught off guard when a distinguished looking man we were visiting asked Doc, ” Of all the places you could bring your dog to visit, why do you come here?” No one had ever asked us that before. After a brief pause Doc said, “My parents both died due to complications from cancer and as I get older, more and more people I know are diagnosed with it. I hope that Grover brings some happiness while people are getting their treatment.” The man seemed satisfied with the answer and soon he was stroking the back of my head and talking about a dog that he had loved as a child.

When Doc picked me and decided to have me trained and certified as a therapy dog, she sensed that I had extra love to give. Just like my ancestors that were bred to work as hunters and retrievers, my job is to love humans unconditionally, giving the people we visit a chance to love back and forget their troubles and afflictions for a while.

Doc says that therapy dogs lead by example and without judgement. We approach people with loving-kindness without any thought as to what we may get out of the relationship. It is such a beautiful thing to be a part of, I don’t even think of it as a job.

Love from a dog is so uncomplicated and that is why it is so easy for us to make friends at first contact with a total stranger. With dogs, there are no emotional strings attached. With dogs it is simple, we love and give affection and ask for nothing in return. It is the best gift that anyone can give to another.

 A few weeks have gone by since the Westminster Kennel Club picked its winning dog, but I’m still feeling miffed about the whole thing. Rumor, a so-called pure breed German Shepard took the top prize.

For those of you that don’t know, the Westminster Kennel Club was formed in 1877 by a bunch of men in a bar in New York City. They owned hunting dogs. Named after the hotel that they drank in, they formed the club and then bought a training area and a kennel. It wasn’t long after that the members decided to stage a dog show and in 1877, 1,201 dogs entered the first show.  Not the type of beginning that you would expect for such a prestigious club, but never the less that is how it began.

It’s history is extensive and colorful, except for one thing, it does not let dogs that they label as “mutts” compete. That includes me. The product of mixed parenting, half labrador and half standard poodle, I am excluded.

Boooo! I cry foul. You know why? Because I have it on good scientific authority that every one of the breeds allowed to compete in the show was cross-bred over and over until the breeder got the qualities they were looking for. In other words, they are all a bunch of mutts masquerading as pure breeds.

I know this may sound bitter, but I think humans love to make rules about what is considered acceptable, they even project it on to the dogs that they own. Doc asked me why I even worry about it, but you know what, no one likes being excluded because of a stupid label. The one consolation is that when I had my free annual physical that Med Vet gives to all therapy and service dogs, the orthopedic doctor told Doc that I had the bone structure and stance of a champion show dog. “Take that Westminster!”

Until Westminster changes the rules, I will have to watch the dogs on TV, reminding myself that those dogs may have miserable lives having to perform in dog shows all the time. I bet it’s stressful having to be perfect all the time. Maybe I’m luckier than I realize.

Photo by Mrs. Black

There is nothing better than a good nap. Although others try to shame me by telling me I am too old for naps, I disregard their words and float off into blissful dreamland. The only downside of sleeping during the day is that you may miss something important. Like the other day for instance, a large package arrived and I slept through the whole thing, including getting to see my favorite UPS man.

When I awoke, Doc told me there was a package delivered with my name on it. I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself while Doc helped me open the box. Inside all of the bubble wrap was a single picture frame. It had been sent by someone that had adopted one of my brothers. With a wide grin on her face, Doc lowered the picture so that I could see it. Gazing upon the photo, my eyes filled with tears. It was a picture of my mother and all of my brothers and sisters after we were first-born on the farm. Emotions bubbled up that I had not felt in a long time. As I sat gazing at the picture, Doc asked me if I missed my first family. ‘In a way, but there comes a time when you need to grow up and move on, I am happy to live with you Doc,” I told her as I nuzzled up next to her hand and gave her a soft lick.

If you are lucky in life, you have parents and extended family that prepare you to go out into the world. Unfortunately that doesn’t always happen for everyone. Hopefully someone will come along, either a teacher, neighbor, grandparent or mentor that will pull you up and cheer you on. I was lucky. I had good mother that cared for me until I was old enough for Doc to adopt me. Now here I am safe and sound in a good home with a wonderful job where I comfort people when they need support.

After all of the excitement of my package arriving and reminiscing about the past, I started feeling tired, so Doc sent me off to bed. Just as I was falling asleep, Doc bent down and placed the picture beside my bed, so it was the last thing I saw before I drifted off to sleep. Feeling safe and loved is the best thing in the world.