We Joined the Military - Part One

It must have been the perpetual soreness I had all over my body; or perhaps it was the black circles forming under my eyes; or possibly the scowls I was receiving from other dog owners.  Or more likely than all of those reasons… it was that ONE incident when all I could do was helplessly scream as another dog came after Koda with such force that he broke his rope, ferociously jumped on top of her growling and snarling with every evil intention known to dog!

  

Whatever it was, I’d had enough!  I was tired of being afraid of the dog parks, tired of crossing the street every time another dog was approaching and frankly tired of being muscled along on our walks.

  

So, I completed the paperwork, paid the fee and signed us up for ... OBEDIENCE SCHOOL.

  

At the “human only” orientation, I read (and signed) an agreement.  Item No. 3 states that if your dog shows “unprovoked aggressive behavior toward the other dogs” it is your responsibility and if not corrected could be grounds for expulsion.  (Great, I thought, expelled from beginner level obedience school.)  I tried to discuss the issue with the instructor, but she replied sternly, “Your dog is YOUR responsibility.” 

  

After I had some time to ponder her answer, I realized I had been hoping for something more along the lines of “Don’t worry, we’ll teach you how to handle your dog so that she won’t attack and kill other dogs.”

  

Sitting in the orientation, I started to get the feeling that I was the one in obedience school.  The instructor slapped her hand with a leash as she emphatically stated: “You will spend TWENTY minutes EVERY day practicing with your dog... and we KNOW who has not been practicing.  You will use a leash like THIS.  The right side is the WRONG side for heel.  You will NOT be late.  You will clean up if you dog does his business.  We will not chatter after class… class is done when class is done.  I have never met a dumb dog…it’s always the trainer.”  (Etc.) 

Completely intimidated, I went home determined not to be humiliated the following week!

... to be continued...

Wheel 'n' Paw

At the suggestion of a friend, who once cared for a large dog like my Koda Bear, I strapped on my roller blades for what was to become our first Wheel 'n' Paw adventure.  My feet had not been strapped to inline wheels for over five years (or perhaps ten); but I wasn't necessarily thinking about that... It was just going to be a GREAT way to get Miss Dog some exercise - exercise I couldn't give her while on foot.

After a bit of wheeling around alone while Miss Dog was tied to a post, I felt that I had regained my skill sufficiently to take up the leash.  Miss Dog was leaping from paw to paw with happy excitement!!  

We went tenderly at first, I thanked God for grass (which slowed me down and upon which I could "walk") and the brake (which of course helped me to stop before rolling into oncoming traffic)!  

Destination:  Bethany's house, 2 miles due East.  

We kept to the sidewalks.  At first, it seemed Miss Dog instinctively understood that she should not cross in front of me.  Then, occasionally a scent caught her attention, and I had to jump to the other foot or slow down to avoid rolling over her paws.  Uneven sidewalks, sticks and rocks on the pavement were all somewhat of a threat, but the worst threat of all:  Miss Dog's incorrigible addiction to squirrels!!

Looking back, I realize, I presumed too much upon her loyalty to me, her owner of only 1 week.  I thought  she was tuned in and aware that her new master was on wheels and thus chasing a squirrel would NOT be a good idea.

After a short while, I dared to venture into a non-busy street - we could really pick up the pace and Miss Dog broke into a full out run.  (NOTE: To any concerned reader, I never allow her to pull me, we go at the same pace and each carry our own weight... I'm not training her to be an Alaskan sled dog!)

We were going at a pretty good clip... and then... "SQUIRREL!"

Before I knew what was happening, Koda darted from my right side, crossed in front of me and over to the left side of the road... I was braking, yanking her leash and yelling "NO!"  It must have been exhilarating to Miss Dog that she was finally going at the speed she needed to actually CATCH the squirrel...

Well...

Eventually, she stopped; and thanks to the rubber brake, so did I.  We did not collide into the parked cars, nor did I fall over when I hit the curb.  Additionally, Miss Dog did not catch the squirrel.  There were no oncoming cars to run us over... but... I knew then that I had to watch more diligently for squirrels if we were going to make it alive to Bethany's house.

Soon after that incident (and it happened more than once on the trip); there was a downward hill heading straight into Lexington Ave (a busy boulevard).  Koda and I resumed our journey on the sidewalk.  Once again over sticks, stones and cement blocks pushed out of place by protruding tree roots, I rolled and she ran.  We picked up speed heading down, down, down... ahead I could see cars flying by.  The old rubber brakes were original to the blades and I didn't know how much I had left to slow me down.  As we neared the Boulevard, I slowly shortened Koda's leash, braking now and then... soon I saw a grassy patch and a telephone poll.  Much to my relief I was able to slow down in the grass, and support myself with the poll until Koda and I had a green light.

Besides an occasional squirrel ... or plastic bag floating in the wind (highly resembling a small critter that really ought to be chased, caught and eaten), the remainder of the trip was uneventful.  We arrived safely at Bethany's house and enjoyed the company of both canine and human friends ... oh... and a feline too, but he got banished to the west wing.  

Wheel 'n' Paw had been a dashing success... still, I was relieved when Bethany offered to drive us home.

Name Tags!

Miss Dog received her official name tag in the mail today:  "Koda" B.  (B is for Bear.)  We ordered it at an incredible price from http://loveyourpets.com/ and it came in only a few days.  Miss Dog now sports a beautiful brass bone with her name and phone number on it!  I'm so proud!!

Naming Miss Dog

It took me about a month to settle on Miss Dog's name.  She was "Miss Dog" online to all my face book friends, but in person, she was a few things: Cesca (pronounced Cheh-ska) as in Francesca as in St. Francis... she was Honey Bunny, Sweet Pea, Scruffy Bubbles, Oatmeal, Penny.  I had tried to officially name her Magnolia Pearl, Penelope Pearl, or Francescan Ghita di San Charles (yes, really...).

She came with the name "Koda" from the humane society foster family.  I don't know if she had that name her whole life or if they gave it to her, but it seemed wrong for her somehow... to me, it felt like the name that should be given to an Alaskan Husky dog...  So, I couldn't settle with that name.  I tried Opal, Lucy, Lucci, Ginger, Pooh, Dot and finally I added Bear to Koda... she became Koda Bear; but I didn't even like that.

One night, when we were out walking - it was dusk and therefore a little dim - a large SUV stopped in the middle of the road and a woman called out to me, "Excuse me!?  Can I ask you what your dog's name is?"  (I nearly choked because it was so ironic... I DIDN'T HAVE A NAME for her at that time!)

Without answering, I stepped a little closer to talk to the woman and she continued, "My son has seen you and your dog walking around and he tells me, 'Mom, its the CLEANEST dog I've ever seen, I wonder what its name is!!'  he says he's going to have to wash his dog more often!"  I laughed at the story and then told her about the irony that she should ask about the dog's name!  We had a nice chat, and I told her that if her son comes up with any ideas of what to call my dog she should let me know!

In any case, after several weeks of half-heartedly trying a few names, I asked God to help me name my dog.  After some basic prayers, I threw "Penny" "Koda Bear" and a few other names in a dish; shook it up and drew... I was thinking the best 2 out of 3 would suffice.  It came out Koda Bear.  I was bummed.  So, I ignored it.

Then the next day, I kept trying to call her Penny... (which happened to be my favorite name choice of the day)... it sounded so nasally that I didn't like it.  At that point, I realized, I liked Koda.  NOT necessarily Koda Bear... but just plain old Koda.  That was it.  She was going to be Koda.  That night I ordered her name tag and liked how it looked:  "Koda" B.with our last name and phone number.

"Koda" from what I have found online means, "friend", "last born", "mother's pet", and "little bear"!  All very fitting meanings for my Miss Dog.