Food glorious Food!!!

I completely forgot to post about a HUGE milestone!!! Alice has gone to restaurants now!! Taking a scent hound to any place where food is served is a huge risk. Hamiltonstovare are highly food driven and if it is food, they want it and will try to find a way to eat it.

First when taking a service dog to a place with food, make sure to call first and make sure it is ok. Our first location was to Noodles and Company. Alice was amazing and I couldn't ask for anything better. We walked in after a long day of shopping and she did great. She laid down under the table and went to sleep. For a service dog, that's is exactly what you want.

Our next trip was to Red Robin, the phone call was the hardest part, the hostess didn't have a clue what I meant by "service dog". Finally after passing the phone around we got approval to come in. Alice was a bit unsure as she had to step up into the booth and she though that meant to hop right in the booth. After she was corrected she decided to play peak-a-boo with the waiters. After that she settled down and was just fine. She was so perfect that I think she freaked out a few patrons when we left.

Our most recent trip was to a new place called Uptown Alley. Alice was great, we were upstairs and then she just got to look down on people. For a Diva-Hound this was heaven. She lounged around and was perfect as usual.

For service dog owners/handlers please do not EVER feed your dog while at a restaurant. If your dog is working then it should not do any sort of pet behavior so slipping food is not a working behavior.

Our next visit will be to Cinebistro, so Dinner and a Movie!! 

More adventures

It has been a while since I posted and for that I am sorry. Alice and I have had many adventures around town. Several have been great and some not so great.

I do have bit of advise for parents that see a service dog. Do not allow your child to randomly come up to a service dog, smack them on the head and run away. This is the most common issue I have everywhere. There are many kinds of service dogs and those that are alert dogs could be seriously affected by that distraction. If you wish to pet, please ask us. Depending on the situation or if Alice has alerted recently, I will either say yes or no. Most of the time I will say yes.

I do have to give great praise to the Girl Scout Troops around the Richmond Metro area!! We had Alice out and you guys were GREAT! You guys asked politely and behaved in a manner befitting of nice future women in America. Each Girl Scout troop I encountered from the Daisies to Brownies to Juniors all asked to pet and then asked incredibly good questions. One Junior troop asked me this "What would you do without her in your life?" Whoa! Way to bring me nearly to tears girls. That is such a huge question that I could not give it the appropriate attention that it deserves.

If Alice was not a service dog for me then my visits to get my grocery shopping done would be filled with pain, pressure and anxiety if my feet would hold out. If I didn't have Alice as my service dog then my world would be very small and limited to 2 hours away from home. If I didn't have Alice then I really would not feel half as independent as I do now. Even when I am home, it is so comforting to know that if I fall, or if I need her help she will be there.

I also have an AMAZING announcement to make!!! Alice and I will be featured in the May issue of Sight and Scent Magazine for her service work. I will post more when it is published.