Multimedia Paisle & Gopher

Hi Eve,

I have fallen out of writing every day. I still think about you daily, and I have the wonderful book Mike made for me of all your photos over the years--sometimes I flip through it before I shut off the light to sleep. You are still part of each day, though I know as time goes by your daily influence will become less and less. That is no reflection on you; it's just the reality of time passing.

There are a number of blogs that I have in my head, but have not yet committed to writing. One is about Ansel, and why he did not make either trip to the lake with the gang. Another is more thoughts on Daring to Be Different, like the number of successful marketing campaigns that have irrelevant spokespeople (or animals). For example, what does a Chihuahua have to do with Taco Bell? A duck, with insurance? A ghekko, with other insurance? The Budweiser Frogs? And so on....

Paisle and G had an interesting afternoon today. We had the opportunity to bring the foster dogs to an outreach program of sorts, where young girls with infants or toddlers handle the dogs and learn basic obedience with them. Because so many dogs have been adopted recently, I thought G might be the only dog there, so I brought Paisle along. She was a hit! And there was a camera there, taping. I have no idea of the purpose of the taping, but since Paisle was such a hit, I was asked to explain how I've worked with her, what we've learned, why I like pit bulls, etc. Too bad the lady taping got me started!! I really got off on a roll, explaining why I don't correct her when she jumps up on me (if she's to be a disc dog, jumping up has to be a good thing), what growth plates are and why I have to be careful not to overwork her at a young age, how easy she has been to train, how the terrier line of dogs are known for their intelligence, blah blah blah.

I think her crowning achievement was the young lady who spent most of the brief time we were there, with Paisle. She's afraid of dogs, and pit bulls in particular, because of family history with the group known as pit bulls. After a short time, I was called away on the phone (work) and when I returned, this young lady had Paisle's leash. Hoping to break the ice, I demonstrated Paisle's ability to respond to hand signals. It worked! Paisle and her new friend were off and doing commands with precision. She even had the Bean do a few recalls. She said over and over again, that she loved this dog. It was really fun.

Gopher did really well with another girl not so hot on dogs. It took a few tries, but she had G doing sits, downs, sits, downs...one of the instructors called it doggie push ups. What a hoot! Because he opens his big maw and engulfs entire hands, most of the girls were afraid of giving him treats. One realized she could drop them for him on the ground--good problem solving!

When I learn more about the video and where we might see it, I will post. The person taping asked if I minded--I said the more positive media we can have on the breed, the better!