Have I mentioned how much I love dog-people?
This weekend is the biggest dog show of the year in Texas, the Reliant Series of Dog Shows. Four days of Conformation, Rally, Obedience, and Agility plus 3 days of Flyball, all in air-conditioned comfort. There are about 4000 dogs competing each day between the various sports and over 300 vendor booths filling a 700,000 square foot facility.
I could manage to get around the flyball area on foot, but I'd have to forgo everything else; my legs won't hold up for that kind of work-out. My flyball teammates bought me a used mobility scooter after my stroke so that I'd be able to get around this show. (Insurance and Medicare say that if you can walk around inside your house, you don't need one and they won't pay.) The problem: I can't get the thing in and out of my van with one arm and a gimpy leg. One of the members of my obedience club just called to volunteer to pick it up tomorrow night and have it waiting for me Friday morning. (I'm spending tomorrow at the vet and the groomer, and then taking Flyer's crate and my chair to the flyball area to set up. With handicap parking right by the door, I can hobble in with the crate and chair.)
Then the flyball people are going to load the scooter into the van Sunday night to go home. Friday and Saturday nights I leave it there, hooked up to the charger. I put a LOT of mileage on that thing at Reliant! Without all this help, I wouldn't be able to enjoy all the aspects of this event. Shopping and watching conformation would be out. Obedience, Rally, and Agility are all fairly close to the flyball area, so I could probably hobble that far if I had to.
And another piece of good news: the Pre-Novice instructor saw Giddy and me working in the Basic 2 class last week, and decreed that we will be moving immediately to the Pre-Novice class. I'm very pleased about the early promotion! Giddy is doing quite well with heeling, sits, finishes, downs, and recalls. Stays are still a BIG problem for her, but we're working on it.
I could manage to get around the flyball area on foot, but I'd have to forgo everything else; my legs won't hold up for that kind of work-out. My flyball teammates bought me a used mobility scooter after my stroke so that I'd be able to get around this show. (Insurance and Medicare say that if you can walk around inside your house, you don't need one and they won't pay.) The problem: I can't get the thing in and out of my van with one arm and a gimpy leg. One of the members of my obedience club just called to volunteer to pick it up tomorrow night and have it waiting for me Friday morning. (I'm spending tomorrow at the vet and the groomer, and then taking Flyer's crate and my chair to the flyball area to set up. With handicap parking right by the door, I can hobble in with the crate and chair.)
Then the flyball people are going to load the scooter into the van Sunday night to go home. Friday and Saturday nights I leave it there, hooked up to the charger. I put a LOT of mileage on that thing at Reliant! Without all this help, I wouldn't be able to enjoy all the aspects of this event. Shopping and watching conformation would be out. Obedience, Rally, and Agility are all fairly close to the flyball area, so I could probably hobble that far if I had to.
And another piece of good news: the Pre-Novice instructor saw Giddy and me working in the Basic 2 class last week, and decreed that we will be moving immediately to the Pre-Novice class. I'm very pleased about the early promotion! Giddy is doing quite well with heeling, sits, finishes, downs, and recalls. Stays are still a BIG problem for her, but we're working on it.