Walk and Roll 2008

MEMO

DATE: July 22, 2008

TO: My Fabulous Fans, Friends, and Colleagues
FROM: Breeze, PADS Assistance Dog

SUBJECT: PACIFIC ASSISTANCE DOG SOCIETY (PADS) “WALK & ROLL FOR INDEPENDENCE 2008”

The humans among you are no doubt familiar with Sir Bob Geldof’s 1985 Live Aid Concert, or, more recently, the Black Eyed Peas’ June 2 concert benefiting survivors of China’s devastating May 12 earthquake.

So you know what tree I’m barking up when I say “Charity Fundraiser”.

I’m a dog with a mission, and right now that mission is to make sure PADS is always there to raise and train dogs like me to help people with disabilities to live more independently.

Pacific Assistance Dog Society (PADS) raises and trains Service, Hearing, and Facility/Therapy dogs for persons who are facing the daily challenges of life with a physical disability, who are deaf or hard of hearing, or are living in long-term care facilities.

Just to give you an idea, I help Tammy every day with things like opening and closing doors, bringing her the phone when it rings, pushing the buttons on the elevator, turning the lights on and off, helping her take her jacket off, and picking up stuff she’s dropped on the floor. (That one does come pretty naturally, as I’m a golden retriever…)

So it costs about $35,000 to train each PADS dog. My personal goal is to raise $500 at this year’s ‘Walk & Roll For Independence’ August 24th in Burnaby’s Central Park. 100% of contributions go to meeting PADS fundraising budget goal of $591,000 for 2008.

PADS is proud to be Canada’s only fully accredited member of Assistance Dogs International (ADI).

PADS does a good job so that dogs like me can do a good job. Please sponsor me and Tammy.

You can check out PADS website at http://www.pads.ca/ or contact me through my email, breeze@pads.ca for more information.

Thanks!
PADS Service Dog Breeze

Woof! Woof!

Wall-E

I went to the movies with Tammy last week. We saw Wall-E. Wall-E is a robot - he was cute, but no fur... And he runs on solar cells.

I run on treats and affection!



There was popcorn on the floor, but not as much as I'd have liked. I only managed to get one piece before Tammy caught me. Too bad popcorn is so noisy! It was dark enough that I could've sneaked a lot more, but it's so darn crunchy and loud!



Me and Wall-E actually have quite a bit in common; he doesn't talk much, either. We're both skilled at non-verbal communication. He uses his eyebrows a lot, just like me - Tammy calls me Miss Shifty Eyes. I talk with my growly growls and pouty mouth, doggie smile, and bouncy step, too.



Wall-E has cold metal hands, though, and my paws are soft and warm and furry. I'd rather be hugged by me than Wall-E any time.



Tammy says Wall-E is the best animated movie she's seen, and she's recommending it to everybody she knows.



That Wall-E sure is cute, but he doesn't out-cute me, and he can't out-perform me, either!

Birthday Shennanigans

What a coincidence! Tammy and I have been a team for a year, and Tammy just had her I-won't-say-which-but-it-has-a-four-and-a-zero-in-it birthday. So we made it a double celebration.

The day started off normally enough, and stayed normal until somebody -I won't name names- decided to dress me up in a birthday hat... Who is a girl to trust? One somebody coos and slobbers about how cute I look, while the other laughs herself nearly out of her chair. I know the difference between cute and ridiculous, and I don't do ridiculous. Nobody tried to put a hat on Rocket, did they? I suppose if I allowed myself to bite an arm off, or scratch out an eye, my dignity would be intact, too. But of course I'm a PADS Service Dog, so no arm biting; by the same token, no PADS dog should have to be seen in public wearing a dunce cap!

Tammy got away with a tasteful blue ribbon around my neck - it went nicely with my PADS uniform. Oh, and a bib, even though I didn't get a steak to go with it...

We went to a fancy Italian restaurant, and everything smelled so good! And all of my favourite people were there, even Tammy's brother, who takes me for good times in the park. He's my best human boyfriend! PADS Service Dog Leo was there too; I barked 'hi'. He's a golden retriever, like me, but his coat is more reddish. He's handsome, and I hope we get a play-date together some day, but I get nervous when I hear Tammy say she'd like to trade dogs for a day. Does she really mean it?!

So there we were - great food everywhere (except on the floor where I could appreciate it) lots of people who love and admire me, and yes, someone remembered me and included doggie treats with their present to Tammy. (She hid them around the house somewhere, but I'll track them down eventually.)

Tammy got a beautiful new purse, which she chose because it matches my fur so well. She could have gone with a complementary colour; I don't think she has the same appreciation for fur that I have. A drawback of being human, I guess.

It's been a year. We really are a team now. We take care of each other, and I'm looking forward to many more birthday celebrations together.

I hope I get some cake next time!

(Pics on the way - that gal looks like me, but she's a model from Google images...)

Art for Arf's Sake

Tammy makes sure I get a thorough foundation in the arts. I'm a cultured dog; I know art now. (And by the way, that doggie lamp is still in the window - not sold. Hmmm.....)

So we went to the Art Gallery. There was an exhibition on Anime, comics, and video games. I guess this stuff is just now being recognised as a legitimate art form, so the exhibition included some history of stuff like cartoons, graphic novels, computer games, and so on.

Some of it was really cool, and some of it I found most disturbing... I might say some of it has gone to the dogs, except I try to avoid such obvious puns!

I know Tammy and her brother really enjoyed themselves, but as for me, I could take it or leave it. I did sense a bit of irritation on Tammy's part, as the art-appreciating public was especially attentive to me that day. Maybe they thought I was part of the exhibition!

But I think Tammy wanted to be left alone to enjoy the show without having to discuss me and my job all day. We were even disturbed as we ate our lunch in the cafe. Tammy politely offered to answer questions after lunch.

Remember humans, I'm busy working. And Tammy's busy trying to live her life. I sure wish there was a polite way to say "Mind your own business!!"

But there it is: the life of a working dog is the life of a celebrity.

Roller Coaster Ride up a Mountain

So Tammy and I went mountain climbing last week. Well, adapted mountain climbing: we did go up a mountain, but we didn't use pitons, ropes, or rappelling gear. We took the civilized route, up the side of the mountain via tram, in a gondola that I'm sure must be very safe, but which sways most alarmingly from time to time... I'm sure Tammy was OK with this ride, but my ears were popping like crazy; I laid quietly under a bench and tried not to look down.

Sometimes people went "oooooh!" as the gondola passed the cable tower and lurched in a tummy-flopping way. I don't like tummy-flopping stuff.

I heard somebody talking about a black bear cub and a deer, but since they were far, far away on the safe and solid ground I just left them alone. They didn't seem to be a danger to any of my people.

Tammy brought her parents along, which is always a bonus for me, 'cause even though they know the service-dog no spoiling rules, I still get the occasional surreptitious pat on the head or scratch behind the ears. Dad loves me, I can tell.

I got to ride in the car with them, too, which almost made up for the roller-coaster ride up the mountain. Almost...

Of course, another benefit of playing tourist is all the people that can't keep their eyes (and sometimes hands!) off me. I'm so popular, Tammy always has to keep my fans at bay. That's the price of stardom, I suppose.

We watched a cheesy lumberjack show while we were up on the mountaintop waiting for our lunch. They made chainsaw carvings, performed tree-topping stunts, and log-rolling maneuvers, and it was fun to see the crowd's enthusiasm, though personally I wanted to get indoors away from all the blackflies and skeeters!

After lunch - where I was the model service dog, lying under the table NOT BEGGING, or shaking (even though I was itchy from the blackflies) or being noticed, while all around me people were eating - we took the cable car back down.

I enjoyed the cool, fresh, pine-scented air up on the mountain, but I was pleased to have all four paws firmly planted on the ground again.