Errand run

Hot, hot day, perhaps the hottest we'll see all summer. And our AC was turned off and coolant drained for repairs. Mom and I bailed to run errands, which meant Keeper and I were out in the heat of the day, not our usual (usually we hide inside).

She did really well. We hit a thrift store in a retirement home, and she dealt with people talking to her/us from the landing rails on the stairs, a tiny two-person elevator, and the slightly crowded thrift store well. She did have a "real or not real?" squint/head lower/sniff at a lady standing against a wall until the woman spoke.

(Did have a moment of missing Duncan. A couple of residents saw Keeper and their faces lit up a bit. I really miss Duncan's "HI, NEW FRIEND!" response to "go say hi." Keeper is much more "Okay, they touched my head, one thousand one.... aaaand back to work." Much, much less rewarding for the other people. I miss being able to reward people who ask politely.)

Went on to lunch at Holy Land Cafe. Great shawarma, great spanikopita, and the best gyro I've had in years. Maybe next time I'll leave room and try the baklava.

Mom got her watch battery replaced. As I sat on a bench to wait, an elderly man pet Keeper's head with both hands. She had a "is this allowed?" look, but didn't duck him. As we left, the lady behind the counter who did the battery swap asked if she could pet Keeper, and we did the mercenary treats-for-head-touches. Keeper's "but the rules... oooh, kibbles" face amuses me every time.

Stopped off at a post office and got to wait in line. Lines are so not our thing (I hate them), so I know I haven't practiced them enough, especially switchback lines. There was a bobble to start with (she started to head back toward the door as the rest of the line moved to the left, rather than continuing around the corner to the right) but once she understood the traffic pattern, she did well. Had a lady telling me about her aunt's three service dogs, which beats other stories people tell me.

From there, we went on to Sprouts to get turkey backs because Keeper's breath smells and I'd like her to do some of the heavy lifting on cleaning her teeth. Keeper was very happy when she sniffed at the turkey backs package and I told her they were for her. Had an elderly lady in a scooter ask if Keeper had been to visit hospitals. Looked over and realized she had a white faced yellow Labrador as her service dog on the other side of the center-of-the-aisle freezer case. Chatted with her for a couple minutes. Keeper lifted her head to sniff, with a "I think I smell a dog..." face, looked around, and shrugged it off. About the time her nose dropped out of sight below the top of the case, the Lab lifted its head to sniff with the same "I think I smell a dog..." face, also looked around for the other dog, and shrugged it off. Did a little other shopping, but didn't bump into the other SD.

Mom got gas, and we hit Walmart. Mom ran to get a couple items, Keeper and I hit the bathroom. Then I told Keeper to find Mom, not a cue she knows just yet, but to tell her what we're looking for. She was happy to find Mom, and then, we stood in line *again.* Bo-ring!

Out in the parking lot, Mom fumbled the unlocking of the car, so I couldn't get the rear door open, and went to open the front door to reach in and open the back. However, Keeper popped in through the front seat and into the back to get off the hot pavement. Up until now, I have not even thought of getting her boots, because I don't go out when it's nearly this hot. Might have to change that viewpoint.

Very happy to be able to get out and do all the things we did today. We both came home, retreated to my room with the window AC as the house is still very warm, and napped for several hours. Long, mentally demanding day for both of us.

Chugging along

I'm still grieving Duncan, still have moments where I just sit and sob. Sometimes those are just after playing with Keeper and laughing at her goofy hucklebutt runs and 'raaah' play sounds. (She's ferocious, she is.) I am sometimes puzzled by the whipsaw of emotions, but I suppose it is better to feel both extremes than to only feel the lows. Perhaps it is that finding joy with Keeper means I think of the joy Duncan brought me, and then I remember he's gone, and my emotional openness at that moment means I'm unprepared for it to hurt so much nearly four months later.

I am grateful for Keeper's ebullient attitude as much as I am grateful for her task work and help as a service dog. Monday we went to an interview (I was told I was a good candidate, but was not the best candidate, so nothing will come of that.), then writers' group that evening. Tuesday morning was a repair man in and out of the house to work on our air conditioner, and that evening was a 4 hour day at the library. Somewhere in there, Mom and I had a disagreement (about beef cattle genetics, of all things), and Keeper came to insert herself and act happy to help divert me/calm me down. Not something I think I needed as a task before the concussion, but I find I am more strident and rant or argue more than I would like, as more things irritate me and I hold grudges more than I should. I'm glad she comes and tries to defuse my anger/irritability.

We've done some things that I would not have expected to be challenging- a grocery store where a pile of watermelons had her acting like we were passing decapitated heads in a pile- and some where I thought she would have issue and didn't- a yappy little dog on the end of a flexilead, and she sat and watched without "talking back" or trying to greet/trying to avoid.

The AC work continued this afternoon, and as the man went in and out, in and out to check on things, we stopped answering the door. That fell under the "that's not the rules!" brain tweak for her. Actually, the first time he came in, Dad got the door, and I had her stay out of the way. Once released, she went to sniff the entry way floor, then set out to see which way he'd gone. She soft footed down the stairs, found where he was talking to Mom, checked that Mom was okay and watching the stranger in the house, then Keeper came back upstairs with an "I found him!" grin on her face. Not sure if she thought it was an elaborate "find me" setup with a new person, or was just had some herding instinct kick in to go check her "flock."

And then we stopped watching the guy and he went in and out the front door all on his own, and that's not the way things are supposed to work. She wasn't sure what to do about it, and each time she tried a different way of handling it, and it took about four times of him coming in unescorted before she stopped getting up, or boofing a one chuff alert/alarm, or bumping someone with her nose. Finally, she just settled and watched him, and was praised mightily for that choice. Given what a brain workout that was, and that the last few days have been, I expect she'll sleep well while I'm manning phones this evening.