Katie Came to Town

My friend, Katie, came to visit from Iowa. It's always great when she visits. A lot of similar interests and we're of a wavelength on energy/temperament.

We went to see Ghostbusters (I will be quoting "The power of Patty compels you!" for a while.), went to the library and grabbed the old Ghostbusters, and Kung Fu Panda 3 and had a funny movie marathon.

We hung out and talked. We messed with the dogs. (The dogs were not amused at first to find that I have taught Katie all my annoying techniques.) We went to the Moon Marble Company and watched a marble making demo. (Keeper was not fond of being squeezed into the bleacher seating.)

Keeper was happy every morning Katie was still here. She carried a bag of small but heavy items out to Katie's car. Don't know if Fluffy has realized that meant Katie had to head home.

WorldCon/MidAmeriCon2

I've never been to a fan convention before. Duncan and I did a professional gathering with some 600 people. That was easy.

Keeper and I completed a 5 day run at WorldCon in Kansas City, MO. Thousands of people. Some in full body costume. One in a griffin costume the size of a pony (rear legs on wheels). Other service dogs, a guide dog, scooters, wheelchairs, canes, strollers, children, weird upon weird upon weird.

She kept me on my feet. Alerted (which I ignored, to my detriment.), then did response work, slept through panels, readings, a literary beer with a test-your-strength game just down the way, and so much more.

I am so grateful that I had her with me to help. Sometimes, like the full body hawk suit, she looked confused (and kinda grumpy) and stared at me like I should have an explanation for this weird. With the large man statue in the hall, I had a "it's fake, let's go look" explanation. For a 6 foot high hawk walking by going "KAW!" I got nothing.

She tucked under chairs, snugged up against strangers when there was no room to spare (I asked first), rode in elevators, tried to take me to a room we'd been to three times rather than heading off into the hinterlands (I love when she tries to be bossy!), and had no worries that I could see about all the many rooms, setups, and crowds going in and out of those rooms. Did have some discomfort with the crowds as we were walking, but she was working the gaps and moving well by the end of day one, and got better all week.

We had a couple people try to approach without asking, but most people asked. Of course, the one (1!) person she wanted to approach was allergic. She got pet a couple times- on her terms, after they asked. She looked at people and looked away far more often when asked "do you want to say hi?" and everyone was okay with her choosing no.

We figured out crosswalks. Sort of. I still have my issues.

She waited on me as I stood there and went "Where the hell are we? Where am I trying to go from here?" She hustled with me when the answer was "a long way away in a short time." She moseyed with me when the answer was "just around the corner."

There was one bathroom she hated, but she dealt with it. I just got stared at judgmentally when I used it. (Only the one. Don't get it.) She used the park. She asked to go when she needed out.

It wasn't perfect, but she did so, so good and tried very, very hard.

I'm proud of her and the work she did. She slept all day today and snored a lot, but was peppy when we went to writers' group, and wrestled with Twist tonight.

I'm not sure there's another 5 day convention in the area I'd want to go to, but I'm now confident we could handle it.

Weekend recap

Accidentally terrifying people, 8/13/16 and 8/14/16 editions:

Wasn't thinking about it as I walked into a conference room full of people to grab a cart from the previous group's set up. Gasps from a few, and of course (of *course*) the woman standing closest to the cart was the one who stumbled backward in fear. Dangit.

Today after work, I stopped to get more bleach developer for my hair. Had a worker come toward where I was standing to help, stop dead, and say something about "big dog." It's three doors down from a pet store, so I said "she's my service dog," thinking that was the hold up. Nope, she's so scared of dogs she can't move closer. She was able to direct me to exactly what I needed, and then asked "Is that a Beethoven dog?" Told her about Berners vs Saint Bernards, and she commented on how calm Keeper is. I think that's one of the people who would, over time, get used to the burly girly. We have a couple patrons at the library that went from being scared spitless of her to saying she's their favorite dog. Still feel bad for scaring her. May write a letter or call to compliment her on providing great service while scared of Keeper.

Saturday was a slower day at work. I went to Cabela's to get a backpack for WorldCon. So many people! I keep forgetting it's back to school insanity everywhere. Keeper did really good, lovely pull into the harness through the crowd. She had a stutter-step and a "what the?!" as we passed some grills with side wings. Nose up, peered at it, then shrugged it off and went forward/under them. That pause of "why is this here?" was her only pause. (Also, I continue to wonder if she's slightly cross-eyed, or just has poor vision in close because of the "what is this?" faces she makes about some things.) Still not perfect in line, but getting better the more we do it. She'd be better if I didn't actively avoid lines as much as I possibly can.... Skills I don't want to practice.

Sunday was a busier day- end of summer panic as high schoolers realize school is coming, and they have yet to read their assigned books. Ran to get a variety of items, and Keeper seemed to enjoy the runs to get things. There was one "but I'm napping..." pause. Must have been a good dream. Once she was on her feet, she did good work.

After work, we went to the beauty store and had that encounter. The look on her face as I opened the car door was pretty good. She was obviously looking forward to going home. Still good work, just a "reeally? fiiiine." before she hopped out.

It ought to be fun to see what she thinks of day after day of a convention if she's sure it's time to go home, and disappointed that we stopped elsewhere.

Doing things, and planning more

We had Disc Dogs visit the library. Keeper was distracted by the barking as we were shelving, so we went to the auditorium for her to see them. She was curious about the dogs sitting along the wall, but okay with it until a dog launched off its handler. Dogs are not supposed to fly in Keeperland. So much confusion on her face as she sat there and watched that routine.

The week after, we went to the county fair. Things I learned: Keeper is afraid of goats, not sure of sheep, and unfazed by cattle. I think goats hit the Uncanny Valley for Keeper. Dog-like, dog-sized, not-dogs. After her initial "what the hell is that?" she was starting to come around and think it over, then a Boer stepped up on the side of its pen and Keeper's tail tucked up between her legs. She didn't run, but she wanted nothing at all to do with the goats.

She's gotten me through grocery stores and work and more. I'm not sure either of us is really ready for WorldCon, but it's coming up and we'll see how we handle it. I'm hoping it is fun for both of us.

I've got freeze dried goodies ready to go, I plan to buy cheese, I'm trying to make a schedule that includes potty breaks for her (it's hard when there's so many panels I want to watch!). I haven't really had Keeper in a classroom setting, and this will be my first fan convention, but she handled the library In Service well, and goes to movies, so I hope she translates that to napping during panels.