My roommate and I are attempting to live a life less chaotic by doing certain chores and errands on the same day every week. We have been doing our basic house upkeep and shopping schedule for about three weeks now (oops just remembered the load of laundry in the washer), leaving our apartment cleaner and leading us to discover Friday evening wine tasting at our neighborhood Trader Joe's! This week we added Sunday at the Library. I lobbied for Sunday at the library because my roommate and I are avid readers who live on very tight budgets.I read four magazines today including my favorite
Bark Magazine. There is a great article,
Both Ends of the Leash: Rewards Redux. By Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, on judging how just rewarding the rewards you offer your dog are to your dog at any given moment for any particular behavior. I, certainly, have experienced asking my dog for a behavior and see a look come across that furry face that says, I know what your going to give me, and I think (fill the blank) is way more fun, so uh-uh.This article is not available in the online offerings from Bark this month, so those interested in reading it will have to find a print copy somewhere.
Shiloh had plenty of tasks to keep her busy during our outing including carry my items for me in her backpack, activating four automatic door buttons, and retrieving my dropped cellphone as it slid beneath the checkout counter. So you can imagine my surprise when the rent-a-cop outside the library (yes I said outside, so we were on the public right of way) comes up to us after we have exited the Library comes up to us and says, "I've never seen you before, is that a service dog?" to which I answer, "Yes." And then he says, "Did you need her to conduct your business in the library?" to which I again answered, "Yes." I think someone is misunderstanding the DOJ Business Brief. Not too mention the fact my disability is far from a secret; Shiloh always wears a backpack, vest, to harness of some sort when working in public, no less than a half a dozen people had just watched Shiloh activate the doors so I could exit the library, and I felt harassed because we we had completed our business receiving many compliments from the staff inside the library on the excellence of Shiloh's behavior and appearance while in the library. So much for appropriateness of timing.
