Photo dump

I'm working on a long story, which I think you'll all be interested in...but I'm taking a nap on the couch at the moment. So I'm turning the blog over to Score to post some random pics. Enjoy!
~SDS

Hi Guys! Score here! Mom said I should post some pics of the critters...so that's what I'll do! We've got some new critters...I'll introduce you to them.

Here's the new bunny...his name is Castle. He's a tortoise mini rex. He's really F-A-T. He likes to climb the stairs. He climbs the stairs better than some of our doggy friends (like WhoBe).


Fry and Pippin are best buddies...


Thorn is the Queen of the house...


Fry likes to snuggle with all of us...


Fry snuggles with everyone...


Me (Score) n' Pippin taking a nap.


Loooooonnnnng cat:


See you guys later!
Score

Speaking of names

Mom thought I should clear something up about my name. Now, you all know me as Service Dog Sawyer, and my name is Sawyer. My "registered" name is Herart's Once Was LOST...as I was named for a character on the TV show LOST. But when you see me in public, John usually calls me "Bean".


Just don't call me late for dinner...

He's not crazy, no worries...it's just one of my many nicknames. Mom started calling me "Soybean" after I first came home. That's evolved into just "Bean" nowadays. Sometimes it's "Beanie" or "Beanie Weenie" or "Beaner" or "Beans". Sometimes when Mom is silly she calls me "Soya Bean Cake" because she saw that once at an Indonesian restaurant. *eye roll*

I think it confuses people sometimes, when they hear John talking to me, calling me "Bean" and then saying "His name is Sawyer" when someone asks. I don't think John and Mom are concerned about people's confusion however, they usually just laugh.

Mom is a big one for nicknames, she says she choses each name carefully for its nickname potential...can't have a bad nickname for anyone! I think it's because she doesn't really have any nicknames herself...she's addicted to them for us. We all have our "official" names because Mom likes to have a big long name for us for flyball certificates and such. Everyone but Ripley has the prefix of "Herart"...that comes from Mom's art stuff...when she makes stuff it falls under the name of H.E.R. Art designs. The name comes from her first three dogs: Harding, Elwood and Ripley.

Ripley is officially Ripley U Better Believe It. However, he's usually referred to as Rip or Ripples. From there it goes crazy...he's also Reeples, Rip Torn, Reepicheep, Weeples, Fluffy, Fluffy-butt, Fluffy McFlufferstein, Floofy, Fluffles, Fluffer-nutter, Mr. Fluffy-pants, Fuff, Fuffy-butt, Fuffy Fufferstein and more.

Xander is officially Herart's Demon Lover. (Buffy fans will get that reference) However...he's often referred to as Xanderoo or Roo. Then we go down that crazy slippery slope of Mom's crazy nicknames...Xanna-woo, Woo, Woo-woo, Woobie, Xanna-moo, Moo, Moo-lips, Moo-moo, Moobie, Moofles, Moo-man, Moof, Moofy-lips, and Mr. Mandamoo. We can't forget Big Head Todd...another nickname.

Inara is Herart's Serenity Companion (again, Firefly/Serenity fans will get this one). She is usually just called Pretty or Pretty-pretty. A far cry from her first nickname of Pure Evil. (she's come so far!). She's also called Inna, Pretty Inna, Crazy Woman, Girlie and Truly Scrumptious (yes, Mom sings the song to her).

Score is Herart's Makin' Trax. He has a lot of nicknames too...Puppy, Brown Puppy, Big Brown Puppy, Pupple, Scorzle, Scorble, Scorgeous, Scar, Score-pup, Toast, Solid Pack, Snuggle Puppy and Baby Puppy.

I think the nicknames have something to do with how attached Mom gets...Dove (our former SDiT) was Dovelet and The Chocolate Shark during her short time here...and Mom really liked Dove. Bryce was here for a while...but only got one nickname...Baby Anteater. Gibbs puppy is our foster, and Mom likes him a lot...he's Superbad, Giblet, Chocolate Puppy, and more. Denver doesn't have any nicknames really...I think Mom is trying to detatch from him...as he's closer to moving on than the rest of the dogs we usually have here.


Did I hear my name?

What nicknames do your crazy humans give you? Any embarassing ones? Do tell!

~SDS aka Bean

Pit Bulls and Pretty Girls

Mom says that I have to give her a plug for the new calendar that she and Score are in. It's a calendar with pin-ups and their pit bulls (or mixes like Score). None of the girls are models...they're all just pit bull owners that wanted to help out.

All of the proceeds go to Operation Hug A Hero. This is a special fund to help get "Hug a Hero" or "Daddy" dolls to kids that have lost a parent in the line of duty or simply can't afford one. These special dolls are printed with the likeness of a loved one that is overseas, in the hospital, etc. What a great thing!

Mom is "Miss November", if you want to check her out!


Pit Bulls and Pretty Girls

It's a great present for those deployed overseas or anyone that loves pit bulls (or pin-ups!)

~SDS

Meeting the mail carrier

A blast from the past for the picture today...a Score-pup pic!
Bryce went out and met the mail carrier today...so he can cross two things off his socialization checklist...a mail carrier, and gloves, since she was wearing latex gloves (to sort the mail). He was all wiggly and happy to see her...a very good meeting!

It's important for all dogs, to be introduced to people in uniform and people that work around the house. Most of us know a dog that barks at the mail carrier...my own sister, Inara, is crazy when she comes to deliver the mail. (Mom's nipping that little habit with the help of the Control Unleashed, Look At That game) It's much better to give the puppies good experiences, rather than having to fix problems down the road.

It's important for all dogs, but especially important for Assistance Dogs...we see people in uniform all of the time when we're out in public, and often times, they're not real happy to see us. I can't tell you how many irate security guards, and managers have come over to try and deny us access. So often times, those people in uniform that we see have really threatening body language. Dogs have a great ability to read people...so it's important for us to have many, many good experiences so we have a solid history of meeting nice uniformed people. That way, we don't get upset and bark or get nervous around them when they're heading towards us.

Score for instance, as a puppy, met firefighters (in boots and suits), police officers, security guards, mail carriers, and anyone else that would hold still long enough for Mom to rush up and shove Score in their face for petting and treats. I think she's planning on doing the same for Bryce. She's crazy like that. (BTW, Score ADORES people in uniform, to this day)

I am fine with people in general...I don't care what you look like or what you say or do, I just stick with John and ignore most everyone else. Mom didn't work with me with this really, it's just how I am. She says it's mostly because of my breed. Aussies are not bred to be everyone's friend...we're reserved by nature. She says it makes for a good Assistance Dog, as I'm friendly but concentrate on the job at hand.

~SDS

We'll all together again...

Hey all...isn't it great to have your family around? Don't you love when your friends and family are one and the same?

Mom took the others (Ripley, Xander, Inara and Score...plus the two cats!) to Indiana with her last week. She went to a Girl Scout convention...she even took Summer (SDiT). But she left me here with John. (which is what I wanted of course) I sometimes get annoyed at my siblings, and snark at them. Mom says she always thinks I'd prefer to be an only dog...with John as my only human companion.

While they were in IN, mom hung out with Auntie La-la, and my Grumma and Grumpa...and even my little cousin Katie and Uncle Drew! Mom loves to be around her family...it's always such fun, even when they're having a bad day. Mom and Auntie La-la act so silly when they're together, you'd think they were kids still...and Uncle Drew acts silly too...Auntie Kico just rolls her eyes when he is with them. She says he "reverts" somehow. Who knows...I just know that they all act silly and have a good time together. Mom would hate to be an only child.

Guess what though...I don't like it either. I was really, really excited when everyone came home last night...I pounced on Mom and WOOO-WOOOOO'd at her. Then I started wrestling with Score, and even chased Inara around the house a couple of times. Mom was really surprised! She said that I must like having everyone around after all! I maybe should act nicer when they're around now...we'll see...

~SDS

Thanks SERTOMA of York, PA!

We (me, mom, John and Score) got invited to do a demo about Assistance Dogs for the SERTOMA club of York, PA...and we wanted to send a shout-out to all of the members!

We had a lovely time, you were all very nice...especially to my silly younger brother, Score. He's very goofy sometimes, but you all made him feel very welcome, and mom thanks you for that. I would never behave in such a manner (rubbing my belly on the carpet...honestly!), but I'm of course much older and more experienced than he is. (please ignore my talking to mom during the demo) We hope you enjoyed watching us strut our stuff, as much as we enjoyed "showing off" our skills!

Mom and John were stuffed after the great lunch...of course they could have shared!

Thanks again for the invitation!
~SDS

New titles in the family!

Mom is the guest blogger for this post...I was too sick to pay much attention to anything this past weekend. (I'm fine now!)~SDS

Score earned his FD (Flyball Dog-20 points), FDX (Flyball Dog Excellent-100 points) and FDCh (Flyball Dog Champion-500 points) titles this weekend. He's now officially Herart's Makin' Trax FDCh.

Yea! Okay, here are the gory details (well, not gory, but gross)

Score was on the same team as Sawyer...I figured if Score was doing well, I'd pull Sawyer instead of pulling someone else's dog for my green (inexperienced) pup.

We did single dog racing on Friday night. We got out there, and did a recall. Score comes tearing to me! Then we do a few warm-up runs...he does fantastic...hits the box high, whips off and comes to me. Then we line up to run the actual races. (five races against one other dog in the other lane. We false start the first one, so he's ahead of the other dog (a big fluffy samoyed). I hold back so he's not false starting on the second run. The second run, he sees the dog going out, and stops and looks at me. "I can't go, there's a dog over there, and you're gonna yell at me!" The other dog comes back, he runs and does fine. Third race, same thing. So for the last two, I just let him false start (no times, but at least he succeeded!). His times...4.6, 4.8. We go celebrate that night...Peach Flips and Jell-O shots...

I'm still not really planning on running him a lot...just some warm-ups, maybe a few runs if Sawyer is tired. This is more just practice for him...I don't think he's truly ready yet.

Flash forward to Saturday morning. (me with a headache) Sawyer goes out with me and the others to potty that morning at the motel. He won't go. I take him back in, and tell John that he hasn't gone yet. John takes him into the building at the site, and I take him later and put him in his crate. Forgetting that he didn't potty earlier, neither one of us potties him again. A while later, we're all in the crating area trying to figure out what smells. The puppy is fine, everyone is fine...but Sawyer, who has done the poop dance in his crate. Smeared it everywhere.

We run Sawyer in the first race, and he's spitting out treats and not acting like himself. I tell my teammates that I'm gonna bring Score out for the next race in case Sawyer needs relief. Sawyer proceeds to have diarrhea in his car crate during the wait. (shoving the old throw-away blanket out of the way to poop directly on the crate pan).

Next race out, we bring Score out...and Sawyer. A teammate holds Sawyer on the sidelines, while I warm up Score. He does beautifully in the warm-ups...so I put him on the line-up. He runs with a bit of hesitation...checking out the small toy poodle in the other lane. The boxloader reported that he was keeping one eye on the other dog. He runs two really well, and then the third race...he decides to cross over to say hi to that cute little poodle. We lose that one, and Sawyer comes in. (and proceeds to run okay...only okay)

The next race out, I try him again...we go in and run well for the first two, and lose the third because Score gets excited and craps in the lane. Yes, my day was really crappy. Sawyer then has liquid poo in his crate, and lays in it. He gets hosed off twice in one day.

By the end of Saturday, he was looking good, and we were taking Sawyer out on the lanes too, just in case. We go to our motel that night, he crashes on the bed, while the humans all meet in a teammate's room for Peach Flips (yes, we came with a blender)...jell-o shots and vodka shots.

Sunday...gonna be a good day, no headache, no diarrhea from Sawyer.

Score goes in the lane first race, and just does wonderful. No pooping, no crossing...the report from the boxloader is that he's looking at the other dog, but more to gauge where they are. He's racing! His best time for the weekend? 4.6...but he mananges a couple of 4.7s, 4.8s and the like. Nothing much over 5, once he hit his stride. I was slowly backing him up (starting at 10-15 feet)...to give him room to get up to speed. Passes were still a bit wide 4-5 feet...so he's just gonna get faster.

His box turn? High, fast and tight. Beautiful...he actually kicked his boxloader in the crotch at one time...turning off that box. Kept it high all weekend...kicked some ass with that turn.

So it all worked out perfectly, Score got to run and earn titles, Sawyer got to sit out and be sick (lovely)...and everyone was happy. Oh yeah, and I kept asking the photographer...to see if he could get some pics. He was always up racing when we were up. *pout* But by the end of the weekend, he came up and told me that he did manage to get some of Score...so I had to give him a big hug...I was so happy! Once they go up on his site, I'll be sharing them!

TheRedQueen aka Service Dog Sawyer's Mom

Wish us luck!

We're headed to York, PA for a flyball tournament this weekend! I'm chasing down my next flyball title...Flyball Master Champion (15,000 points). Hopefully I'll get it this year!

Score is making his debut this weekend...hopefully the little brother won't embarrass me!

Gotta go make sure mom packs all our treats!
~SDS

More stuff we love...

If you have fast eaters...mom says you should get this bowl. I don't know why, but she laughs every time she feeds Score now.

Break-fast Bowl

I tried it, but mom didn't laugh as much. She keeps saying something about his big fat muzzle in the bowl. I don't know what she finds so funny. Moms are weird.

~SDS

Fun school demo

It was the last day of school around here, and we got invited by a friend of mom's, to come do a Service Dog demo for her class. It's an alternative school...for the kids that have trouble in normal classrooms. We weren't sure what to expect...but the teachers mentioned that there might be lots of talk of "fighting" dogs. Ah...we'll take Score too!

So Score dressed up in his Demo-Dog cape...and I of course went in my OFFICIAL purple cape (I'm the real SD, Score!). We loaded up with items to retrieve, lots of treats, water, and other good stuff (mom way over-packs for everything!).

This is Score's third demo...but he does do a good job. He likes showing off his carrying skills...he carries a bottle of water for mom, and a bag with stuff in it...even his metal bowl. I don't carry stuff, because John just hauls stuff on his scooter or in his backpack. But Score seems to like doing that sort of thing. (good, so I don't have to!). Score was excited to see the kids...and wanted to get straight into the petting, but mom said "no"...that was for after the demo.

The kids didn't ask about dog fighting, and were all shocked when mom talked about Prince George's Co. pit bull ban. They couldn't believe that Score could be taken away for how he looks. It was a good demo for that alone!

I have to say that I had a bit of trouble settling today...I hate when Score steals the spotlight...I talked to mom a bit while she was talking. Mom just laughed and told everyone that since it's been so hot, we hadn't been out much. (sure...I'll let her think that!). I did do a fabulous job on my retrieves...a TV remote control, a bag full of mom's stuff (did I mention that she over-packs?), and a credit card. I also took a phone from John to mom. I was a very good boy.

We took questions from the kids (who were really good!). There were some really good questions...for instance-Don't they have to be certified? (who planted that kid?) Do they act different when the cape is off? Can they push elevator door buttons? So we answered questions, and let the kids pet us...Score even showed off more and retrieved stuff for them (Gatorade bottles). That pup is a show-off indeed!

Afterwards, we had lunch outside at the place nearby...and went home nice and tired. A good day!

Off to bed early tonight!
~SDS