[nagdu] gPoodle Tales WAS RE: Crisis Averted!
Tamara Smith-Kinney
tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Sun Feb 6 22:27:33 UTC 2011
Julie,
I love your attitude! I actually share it, so the tail grows. I see less
and less of it as time goes by, but with a jet black dog in a house with
white walls and pale carpet, I still get the silhouette several times a day.
I love it, because It makes me giggle. /grin/ Especially now that I can
catch a glimpse of through against a window with the sun actually peeping
through, after I've forgotten to brush and comb it for a day or two because
we haven't been going out in the rain. Then I just go ahead and laugh like
a maniac, which makes it do some really funny things of its own, which makes
me laugh harder. Which makes Daisy sing, which, well... As long as us
girls are having fun, that's all that counts, right. /lol/
Also, in the right light, I can see the silhouette of the tail by the light
shining from my office window through the office door to the light shining
beyond the dining room window... I'ldd be doing my thing on the computer,
hear a jingle, glance toward the door and know exactly what is going on by
the activities of the floating black ball. Mitzi doesn't even need to come
in to poke me to inform me of things when the light's at the right angles --
which she has apparently figured it out. She'll just walk into the hallway,
wag her tail, then go back to whatever it was the others are doing in the
living room that she thought I should know about. When the light is not
right, which is more and more of the time, I have to get up and go check for
myself, then come back. /smile/ Who has who trained around here, that's
what I want to know.
Some of social interaction from others, I can exaggerate somewhat for comic
effect, especially the way I perceive it in my own mind. But I have changed
the way I schedule my travel plans somewhat to take the added social
interaction into account. A lot of the extreme friendliness from others,
especially when there's a dog of any kind involved, really is cultural, and
it's something Portlanders and the City of Portland brag about. So when in
Rome.... /grin/
Still, being a guide dog user who goes around leaving a trail of giggles and
chuckles and snickers and snorts is not exactly what I had in mind when I
started. Aren't guide dogs supposed to give us dignity? /lol/
Tami Smith-Kinney
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 10:55 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Crisis Averted!
Tami,
This is all JMHO so do with it what you like. *smile*
I'd trim her however you like, what works for you or what you personally
find appealing. I wouldn't give a hoot about what anyone else thinks.
I've long ago stopped worrying about what others think when I'm walking down
the street. It seems a recipe for insanity. I do what I do and others can
like it or lump it, makes no difference to me. I'm not at work, or the
grocery or the bank to make friends or increase people's knowledge of guide
dogs.
I'm happy to answer questions if I have the time and the asker seems
genuine. I'm also happy to do presentations for groups if asked and my
schedule is open. However my needs come first, if I have an appointment in
10 minutes I'm not going to be late just so I can discuss somebody's
grandmother's next door neighbor's hairdresser that has a dog just like
mine.
Anyway it's what works for me. I think everyone has to find their own
balance and that takes time.
Julie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 12:25 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Crisis Averted!
> Julie,
>
> Most of the time, I'm used to it, and have my pat answers to the usual
> questions and comments to deliver with a smile without having to put in
> much
> effort. People are pretty good about keeping their hands to themselves,
> since GDB has the populace pretty well trained, but they do flock to the
> Adorable One. I swear there are days Mitzi sends out some sort of
> irresistable magnetic force. /lol/ I've had friends like that, and it
> used
> to crack me up all the attention they would get and graciously handle much
> the way Mitzi does just by walking down the street. With them, however, I
> could just sort of blend into the background and watch the show. I didn't
> have to stand around and answer questions for them. /lol/ I'm more of a
> people watcher or a listener than a center of attention type, so I'm still
> not entirely comfortable knowing I'm part of a traveling show. Then there
> are those days when one is in a funk and doesn't want to smile and wave
> like
> a bleeping prom queen in the local parade. /smile/
>
> So I decided to let Mitzi's tail grow out some, first in the pom pom,
> which
> saves saying, "She's a poodle" every third step, since the people who
> would
> be asking are telling others for me. Which cracks me up until it starts
> to
> give me the willies because everybody is watching, or so it seems. Also,
> I
> think the pom pom is ridiculous! So now I'm growing it out into a fan
> tail,
> which can be combed out into a fan shape or combed down to resemble a
> waving
> horsey type tail -- say like that of a happy Arabian. So I must have
> that,
> naturally. Only it works really well on some of the poodles I know with
> the
> thinner, more wiry show coat. Only Mitzi has a super thick, soft working
> coat that you can get lost in (literally if you put off grooming a couple
> of
> extra weeks). It's getting pretty long, but does not comb out straight
> and
> fall nicely in to a horsey-tail fan. In silhouette, it looks more like a
> Japanese paper fan or a French fan or some such. Before it starts
> returning
> to something more like a pouf. I keep trying, in case I can get it
> figured
> out.
>
> Only people now walk behind me giggling! Mitzi's expressive with that
> tail
> -- I call it her happy meter -- and apparently even when we're just going
> along doing normal guide dog stuff like forward, left, right, halt like we
> know what we're doing, the tail is carrying on a separate life of it's
> own.
> /lol/ Took me forever to figure out what the giggling was about. I had
> become convinced there was a traveling mime troupe in the area that just
> happened to be performing somewhere in front of me wherever I went. What
> a
> great thing! I could pretend I was in Paris! That is just so... Then
> finally someone went from giggling to gushing... I caught the words
> "poodle" and "service dog". Oh, you have got to be kidding me! I did a
> lot
> of checking out what we could possibly be doing that was so hilarious and
> was please to discover that we were both in proper position and that I was
> much more aware of her position throughout the length of her body than I
> realized, because we do that without thinking now. Never thought that
> would
> happen!
>
> Took me three weeks to figure out what the cause of all the public
> hysteria
> was. That freaking fan tail. OMG! I do not know what to do. Do I go
> back
> to having the tail cut short like the rest of her coat, in which case it
> looks like a docked retrieving breed tail? (Is that a Portugese Water
> Dog?
> No, she's a poodle!) Do I go back to a small pom pom to answer the
> question
> on everyone's mind? Ugh! I mean, of course, it's cute on her, but...
>
> When I was choosing a dog breed and then a dog, it did not occur to me,
> not
> once, that I need to include "not cute" in my specs. I swear! Maybe part
> of the problem is the absurdly weirdly wonderful (most of the time)
> culture
> around here, especially in the Portland Metro area, but still! What kind
> of
> self-respecting guide dog user spends months of her life trying to solve
> the
> dilemma of what to do about her guide dog's tale?
>
> If I ever get the budget to travel just because, I want to go to New York
> or
> Boston or somewhere else with a reputation for unfriendlines, just to see
> what happens.
>
> For the record, someone did once ask me, nervously, if my dog is a pit
> bull.
> For one wild moment, while I supressed my own outburst of hilarity, I
> thought of saying yes. She's the curly, skinny variety with the long
> pointy
> head and nose. They're the *really* dangerous ones. I didn't, but it
> would
> have been fun. /lol/
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Julie J
> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 9:48 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Crisis Averted!
>
> Tami,
>
> I've had a few people think Monty is a pit bull, but then again I've had
> people think my long ago pet Beagle was a pit bull. *smile* I can't
> remember anyone running screaming when they see Monty, but I also don't
> get
> a lot of interference when he's along. I get a lot of comments about how
> beautiful he is, but it's rare that anyone gets real close or touches him
> without asking. I should say tries to touch him without asking because he
> will duck petting from strangers.
>
> I appreciate this more than words can express. I don't think I could ever
> work with a Golden Retriever because I don't think I could deal with the
> unwanted attention.
>
> Julie
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 11:33 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Crisis Averted!
>
>
>> Doug,
>>
>> There have been a couple times when Mitzi's been in super rock star mode,
>> I've actually found myself standing around waiting for her adoring fans
>> to
>> let her move on the adoring fans waiting just ahead and actively mulling
>> over the pit bull option. /lol/ I might be a nice change to have people
>> run screaming out of my path everywhere I go.
>>
>> No, I'm not seriously going to do any such thing! Not because I think
>> one
>> couldn't get a pit with a suitable temperament, but the public reactions
>> would be a nightmare, and you would have to put in so many added safety
>> precautions and this and that to protect the dog from the public and the
>> public from the dog (they are heavy machinery, so a boo boo can be
>> disastrous) that it wouldn't be worth going anywhere with it. Plus, I do
>> strongly believe that due to the power of the breed, you need to be
>> neurotic
>> about your fences and stuff if you're going to have one as a pet, even if
>> it's the sweetest creature on earth. I'm too lazy! /lol/
>>
>> Just saying. Using one would give you the sidewalk, bike lane, middle of
>> the freeway, pretty much every path you want to walk, all too yourself.
>> /evil grin/
>>
>> Tami Smith-Kinney
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Doug Parisian
>> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 8:50 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Crisis Averted!
>>
>> I suspect the answer for not training certain dog breeds to perform
>> specific
>>
>> tasks, whether that be working as a guide, therapy dog, bomb and drug
>> detection, police work, etc--these tasks require specific temperaments
>> not
>> found in many breeds.
>>
>> Doug: Ya think many folks would want to pet my guide pitbull?
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Alysha" <anjeans at att.net>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 8:35 AM
>> Subject: [nagdu] Crisis Averted!
>>
>>
>>> Hi everyone,
>>> I just wanted to give you a quick update on my issue with my coworker's
>>> allergies. We bought 6 air purifiers that we scattered all around our
>>> working space, and they seem to have done the trick. He's no longer, to
>>> my
>>
>>> knowledge, complaining of any allergy-related symptoms, and management
>>> has
>>
>>> assured me that me and my dog won't be restricted from common areas in
>>> the
>>
>>> building. So thank you all for your responses, and I'm so relieved this
>>> turned out alright! I wonder why guide dog schools don't train more
>>> hypoallergenic breeds to prevent these things from happening altogether.
>>>
>>> Alysha
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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