Bosley's Picture at All Seasons Weddings

Bosley's picture is now gracing the "Giving Back" section of the "All Seasons Weddings" website. All Seasons is the church I'm affiliated with. Check out Bosley's delightful picture at:

http://www.allseasonsweddings.com/giving-back.php

Oh - and to see my mug shot and blurb, click here:

http://www.allseasonsweddings.com/details.php?familyname=oconnor

Purina Walk for Dog Guides in 2010

The Purina Walk for Dog Guides reports that it had a tremendous response in 2009 for their dog walk, with the addition of 15 new walks - Orillia's being one of the 15.

The date for next year's walk has just been announced. Sunday, May 30, 2010. It is a special year for the walk, as they are marking the 25th anniversary of the Walk. Sounds exciting! Stay tuned.

Transportation

(Maeri holding Bosley so I can take a picture of him on the Maid of the Mist).

For these past two years, Bosley and I have travelled by:
- car
- bus
- plane
- ferry (in the car)
- ferry (without the car)
- Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist (this one really impressed me - he looked over the railing!)
- subway train
- golf cart
- up escalators
- down escalators
- untold numbers of elevators.

Noises he's been exposed to, and taken in stride include:
- fireworks
- bagpipes
- subway squeals when they turn corners
- plane take off and landing
- and various odd sounds our local choirs make (okay, so maracas take some getting used to)

Thunder does not faze him.

I'm impressed.

Holidays with Bosley

The Boz 'n I were at a cottage just north of Kingston for a week, with a friend of long standing. Neat place. Came complete with spiders, mosquitoes, tiny little black, flying insects, and a healthy dollop of moths of every shape, size and colour.

The chipmunk regularly came in while we were gone, and pooped on the bed, the kitchen counters and everywhere else his little furry pooper could poop. We actually met the little critter face to face one day. Bosley made a bee-line for the bedroom, so we knew "something" was in there.... and sure enough -- out popped Chip (or Dale) and ran straight over my right foot. The neighbours' ears are still ringing from the note that I hit. Heck, it was so loud that even "I" heard it.

My bud was madly trying to corral the little blighter out of the door, I managed to grab a broom, and we propped open both the front and back doors of the cottage. Eventually, the chipmunk got "encouraged" out of the cottage. Erggggghhh!

Boz tried a couple of times to catch it, but I quickly locked him into the other bedroom.

Reminded me of the time when he cornered a squirrel. The squirrel stood up and screamed, and Bosley skidded to a halt, then ran and hid behind my legs. No hero he.

Leash Number Four

I never learn. We were told in doggy school to place the dog in the back seat of the car, then take the leash off and put it with us in the front.

What do I do? Forget and leave it in the back seat with Bosley.

Awfully expensive chew toy. $30 each, plus shipping, and this is leash number 4. Grrrrr.

A Hearing CAT?!?!?!?

Humph.

The Sadder Moments

Looking back over the entries in this blogsite, one is probably left with the impression that all is hilarity and laughter. Although there is, indeed, a lot of funny moments with Bosley in my life, there are the darker moments that I prefer not to think about too often.

Whenever I give a talk on Bosley in particular, and on hearing ear dogs in general, I'm inevitably asked "The Question". What happens when Bosley retires? I prefer not to think about it. I'm given some options, but neither is truly palatable.

Option one is that the dog is recalled by its rightful owner, which is the organization who has loaned him to me. Yes, loaned. None of us own our dogs. I believe his foster parents then get first crack at adopting him back. Or, he could be put up for adoption to some other family, so that he can live out the rest of his life in comfort.

Option two is that I keep him, only he is not allowed to work. No more ringing timers. No more alerting me to phone calls, the kettle, the fire alarm. This is fine with me, but then I can't have another hearing dog AND Bosley. There would be too much competition, and Bosley wouldn't be retired. He'd be competing with a younger dog in his eyes. Without being alerted to the various alerts, I run the risk of being late for work daily (and possibly losing my job), forgetting about supper cooking, and burning it, or dying in a fire in my sleep.

This is one of those times I envy the canine vision dogs and their handlers. Their dogs work primarily outside the home, and thus their handlers can keep their old dogs and get a new one. Hearing ear dogs work outside the home, yes, and at the office too, but also work inside the home. So the option of having a new dog and a retired dog at the same time is not available to those of us. Makes perfect sense.

It is a sad fact, and a hard one to consider. When the time comes, could I give Bosley up and request another dog?

Something to ponder at a later day.

Vitamins

Does your dog get vitamins? Mine does. The vet we had in Toronto insisted that Bosley receive vitamins to supplement his diet. Then he told me an eye-opener -- don't buy dog vitamins, they're too expensive. Buy kids' vitamins. Just as good, and a lot cheaper.

Good enough for me. So off I trotted to the local pharmacy to see what was available. Hey - I'm middle-aged and never had kids. I wouldn't know one kids' vitamin brand from another.

I started the dog off with Flintstones chewables. Bosley tolerated them. Barely. But got to the point where he would spit the purple ones out.

Next, I tried the pharmacy brand. No deal. Each half-masticated pill ended up at my feet; a rejected offering. Finally, the pills were sniffed and the regal head was turned away in total rejection of said offering.

Then I discovered Gummies. Oh yes. Gummies taste good, I have to admit. They taste even better than my Centrum 50+ chewables. They come in various shapes, like Mickey Mouse and motor cars, but I don't think the dog cares about that. Taste is everything. He's not overly fussy on orange, but happily gulps down the other flavours. Now I just have to keep reminding myself that the vitamins belong to the dog, and to stop sneaking a few for myself every now and again.

Purina Walk for Dog Guides - Final (?) Update

Unofficial, but I think the Orillia walk raised $3,270. YAY!

Little Church Fun. Again.

What is it about this dog and church? I sat down beside Laura, and her guide dog, Davey. Both dogs were behaving nicely. Both Laura and I wondered aloud how far into the service Bosley would last before doing something .. well... interesting ... in church.

The dog crawled under the pew ahead of us and, after a few quick "hi, how ya doing?" sniffs with Davey, was out like a light. The choir tested him with some castanets, and other tappy-tappy instruments. The dog didn't stir. So far, so good.

Wasn't until the last hymn, when Bosley stirred out of his slumber, and shifted position under the pew. I felt nothing of it, as we were at the end of the service, right? Wrong.

I heard the cackle from the woman behind me. I heard Laura saying "Uh oh" to the side of me. I timidly turned around to see What. Bosley. Had. Done. Now.

Dog apparently has a foot fetish. The woman who was wearing sandals in the pew behind me has first hand experience with Bosley homing in on her toes and madly licking them.

Sigh.

Purina Walk for Dog Guides - Orillia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/defatbroad/sets/72157619067354534/

Click on the link to see the pictures from Orillia's first ever Purina Walk for Dog Guides walk. Thanks to the Oro Lions, Orillia Lions, Sunshine Speakers Toastmasters of Orillia, His Worship Mayor Ron Stevens and to everybody else who pitched in and helped us out.

Purina Walk for Dog Guides Across Canada

Don't forget to join your local Purina Walk for Dog Guides walk this Sunday. To find a walk near you, go to http://www.purinawalkfordogguides.com/

Thank you.
Cathy and Bosley.

Happy Fourth Birthday, Bosley-Boy!

Bosley is four! I can't believe it. Right now, he's at my feet, snoring his head off. Hard to imagine I've had him since he was 18 months old. Hard to imagine what it would be like without him in my life.

We went to the bakery and I bought him a little, wee, tiny cream filled horn with real whipped cream. Just like last year. He only gets this special treat on his birthday and he seems to really appreciate them. Of course I get one for myself, and now that my brother lives with me, he gets one too!

Happy birthday, Bosley-boy!

Percussion Instruments in Church

The church choir decided to branch out this morning. Brought in castanets, maracas, and some tappy-tappy things. Dog thought a cast of thousands was knocking at the door, and tried to alert me at least 3 times during the song. He finally quieted down when he realised he wasn't being rewarded for alerting me to all this "knocking".

However, right at the end, while the choir was holding the last note in four part harmony, a fifth note joined in. VERY LOUDLY. OOooooOOOOooooOOOOOOOOOOOO! Seems the church choir has a new member. Someone who was having a howl of a good time.

Misty and the Dog Guides Walk in Orillia

Bosley met his match. In fact, he more than met his match. Misty is the most beautiful dog I've ever seen. Snow white and a lab/shepherd mix.

A working dog of another kind. Misty is all muscle from working on the farm all day. Bosley's just a city boy. They played like crazy things, and Misty just plain wore Bosley out. LOL!

The two dogs met today when I dropped off some donation/participation brochures for Orillia's Purina Walk for Dog Guides. The Murrays and Misty will be participating! YAY!

Now sit back, relax, and watch this delightful video, starring Misty, as she tries to encourage her "person" to go on the Orillia walk, and encourage the rest of us to support Lion Bob and Misty on the day of the walk itself.

Spring with the Dog

Spring = Mud
Mud = Dirty Dog

Thus:
Spring = Dirty Dog.

Dirty BLOND Dog.

Update on Dog Guide Walk

Bosley and I are hosting the Purina Walk for Dog Guides fundraising walk in Orillia. So, we're making the rounds. We've talked to a couple of Lions Clubs, the Coffee Time Network in Orillia (social service organizations), Toastmasters, and so on. We have four walkers registered already, and I haven't even started recruiting walkers! To date, we've already received over $1,000 in pledges. I'm chuffed!

Once we get official notice of which park the dog walk will be held, we can go into high gear, and recruit more volunteers through Information Orillia, as well as assign more specific duties to the people who have already volunteered to help out, plus hand out information, posters, and the like. OH! Forgot to mention - we have a treasurer! Thank Goddess for that, because I simply don't have enough fingers and toes to count that high.

Won't spill the beans right now, but stay tuned for who we might have to open the event. If we get who we're trying to get, I will be over the moon!

We will hear from the City of Orillia early next week, I'm sure. The lady in Parks and Rec is keeping me informed of progress.

Stay tuned! In the meantime, for more information on Purina Walk for Dog Guides, click on the orange "Update on Dog Guide Walk" title above.

Purina Walk for Dog Guides in Orillia

Met with the Orillia Lions Club last night. What a fantastic group of people. The Orillia Lions members are keen on helping out with the Purina Walk for Dog Guides.

I gave a talk on how much Bosley meant to me, what he does for me, and whatnot, and then asked if they could help me in whatever way they could, big or small, with the walk. Immediately, I got offers of volunteer support, bottled water, and later on a much-needed treasurer emerged! YAY!

Also got some good information and contact names/emails for the local papers. So good to know!

The Oro Lions Club have been in touch with offers of help too, so my worry level has gone down considerably.

This walk means a lot to me, because without Bosley, and dogs like Bosley, people like me would not have as rich a life as we could. I cannot stress enough how much Bosley does for me in terms of peace of mind, not to mention how he alerts me to much-needed sounds and alarms.

As of last night, two actual walkers are registered for the Orillia walk, and already $520 has been raised. I looked again today, and now we have $570 raised. I am thrilled to bits!

To see my fundraiser page for the Purina Walk for Dog Guides, click on the orange title above, or click here: http://www.purinawalkfordogguides.com/personalPage.cfm?ID=3406

For more information on the Purina Walk for Dog Guides, click here:
http://www.purinawalkfordogguides.com/

Hope to see you in Orillia on May 31, 2009, at high noon!
Bosley and I will be there for sure.

What Happened to Ontario's Amendments to Bill 70?

Away back in May of 2008, Gerry Martiniuk, MPP for Cambridge submitted amendments to the "Blind Person's Act. The Bill amends the Act to extend the rights of blind persons to all persons with disabilities if they are dependent on a guide dog, a service dog or a white cane.

I don't know how many times he's submitted these amendments, but each time, it gets so far, and then dies as the House closes for another provincial election. Last time around, it actually got to the third reading!

To read his amendments to the Act, click on the orange "What Happened to Ontario's Amendments to Bill 70" title, listed above this posting.

In the meantime, please write to your local MPP. Let's get this ball rolling again. Yes, our service dogs do have the right of access under the Ontario Human Rights Code, but it would be so much nicer to have it specifically spelled out as it would be if this Act were amended.

What the ....

And then there was the waitress in a restaurant which shall remain nameless. The waitress asked what kind of service dog was sitting under the table. "He is a hearing ear dog", the handler said. He alerts me to sounds and helps me to hear".

"Oh", the waitress replied.

Whereupon she bent down to the dog's level, looked him straight in the eye and asked him loudly, "SO WHAT DOES YOUR OWNER WANT TO ORDER?"

Packet and Times Article on Visual Alert Systems

The Orillia Packet and Times printed a lovely article on our submission to Garfield Dunlop's pre-budget consultations in Orillia. There was a lovely picture with the page 3 article, containing Bosley, and as soon as I get a copy of the photo, it will be posted here.

In our submission to the pre-budget consultations, we stated that visual smoke alerts are essential. Tim Maloney, the regional director for The Canadian Hearing Society, Peel Region, said it best when he stated, "I'm aghast at the lack of legislation in terms of safety in long-term-care facilities, vis-à-vis visual smoke alarms", and that one resident in a recent fire at the Muskoka Heights Retirement Residence "woke up when he felt heat" -- no one should have to wake up only after feeling the heat of a fire!

Here is the article from the Packet and Times.

________________________________


*Reprinted with permission from the Orillia Packet and Times", February 6, 2009*



Hearing Impaired Push for Alarms

Canadian Hearing Society Advocating Better Safeguards

By Nathan Taylor
The Packet & Times

As people age, their hearing typically worsens, which is why regular smoke alarms are insufficient in places where seniors reside, say Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) reps.

Members of the CHS brought this issue and a number of others to Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop's attention at his pre-budget consultation Wednesday.

"I'm aghast at the lack of legislation in terms of safety in long-term-care facilities, vis-à-vis visual smoke alarms," said Tim Maloney, director of the Simcoe York region of the CHS. "A few years ago, it struck us that this puts people who are deaf (or hard of hearing) at serious risk."

Maloney referenced a Packet & Times article, in which a neighbour of the Muskoka Heights Retirement Residence said a man "woke up when he felt heat" during a fire last month that killed two residents.

While it is unknown if that building had visual alarms or if that particular resident had a hearing impairment, the heat of a fire could be the wake-up call for the hard of hearing, Maloney said.

"No one should have to feel the heat to wake up," he said.

In November 2007, the CHS crafted a position paper on alarms and emergency notification systems.

"Visual fire alarms and visual emergency notification systems are essential to the safety of culturally deaf, oral deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing Canadians," the paper states. "Accessible emergency notification is an issue quite simply of life and death."

The CHS would like the province to include visual alarms in its "assistive devices program," to help fund the installation of visual alarm systems in the homes of seniors. The cost to install visual alarms, which include strobe lights, can be about $500 for an average house.

Through fundraising, the CHS has been able to have the systems installed in 35 to 40 homes in the Simcoe York region, including Orillia and Midland, Maloney said.

It would like to do more, and Maloney advised anyone who is elderly and living alone and might need a visual alarm system, or anyone who knows someone who does, to contact the CHS at 1-877-715- 7511 or TTY: 1-877-967-5247.

The CHS had some other requests at the pre-budget consultation.

The government should strive for equity in -- and increases to -- funding for individual chapters, Maloney said.

Mental-health services, with regard to the hearing impaired, are "basically non-existent," he said.

His chapter has just one mental-health counsellor, who is stationed in Newmarket. However, the chapter's coverage area stretches from Steeles Avenue in Toronto to north of Huntsville.

"It is not sufficient. We have a wonderful mental-health program, but it's underfunded," Maloney said. "I know of cases in the Midland and Orillia areas...where people have gone an extensive amount of time without services."

Employment services for the deaf and hard of hearing is another area that needs attention, he said.

"In the province of Ontario, there's a lot of places where there are no employment services," he said, but noted some services are available through Deaf Access Simcoe in Barrie.

"There would be reduced social assistance if we could get people gainfully employed," said CHS board member Hugh West.

Orillia resident Cathy O'Connor, who is hard of hearing, knows first-hand the difficulties of finding employment.

While searching for work, she was offered the position of broccoli picker.

"'Wait. I have a bachelor's degree and a master's,'" she recalled saying at the time, adding the response was, "'But you're hard of hearing.'"

With her hearing-ear dog at her side, O'Connor is now a hearing care counsellor with the CHS.

Financial assistance is needed as well as improvements to employment assistance, she said.

Visual Smoke Alerts

Back in January 2008, The Canadian Hearing Society announced it would make it a priority to lobby the government so that visual alert fire alarms would be placed in retirement homes, nursing homes and long term care facilities.

As a hard of hearing person myself, I find it shocking and sad that yet another nursing home fire has occurred, with yet more deaths.

Let’s face it – conservative estimates state that 50% of seniors over the age of 65 have a hearing loss. Other statistics have indicated that up to 82% of residents in nursing homes and long term care facilities may have a hearing loss.

Last year, a woman in Barrie died in her home. She was in her 100th year of age – a feisty woman, in relatively good health, still able to walk around town, shovel her snow, and so on. She died from smoke inhalation.

"Visual alarms and notification systems are more expensive than most auditory alarms,”said Gary Malkowski, CHS Special Advisor to the President, Public Affairs. “They must support strong strobe lighting, which battery-operated devices do not. As a result the devices must be hard-wired into the electrical system of the home at considerable expense.”

That’s just in private homes. But just recently, two people in Orillia have died in a nursing home that didn’t have water sprinklers installed. It isn’t required of privately run nursing homes.

Our seniors are not expendable. Hard of hearing, Deaf, and deafened people are not expendable either. We need to make visual alert systems more available to deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people, especially seniors. We need to make it easier for seniors on limited incomes to be able to buy visual smoke detectors and have them installed, courtesy of the Assistive Devices Program. A fire alarm is not a luxury. It is an issue of life and death – simple as that.

Thank God I have my Bosley. A most unusual fire alarm to be sure, but it is part of his amazing training to get me awake and out of the building if the fire alarm goes off.

Bosley and I (as well as my boss, Tim Maloney, and Hugh West, the VP of The Canadian Hearing Society’s provincial Board) are going to Garfield Dunlop’s budget talks later this week here in Orillia. Guess what we will be talking about? You’ve got it -- visual smoke alarms/detectors for seniors to be covered under the Assistive Devices Program!

The ChristmasTree is Finally Down

Packed up the Christmas ornaments tonight. To Bosley's credit, although he gave a good couple of interested sniffs to the stuffed snowman under the tree, he never did take it for his toy. This dog has a major stuffy crush, let me tell you. He indicated more than once that he'd be happy to take it off my hands, but was a good boy. Gazed at it longingly, especially when it went back into the box for another year - then heaved a great sigh and plopped down onto the floor.

To cheer him up, I played the "Jingle Bells" set one more time, and Bosley enthusiastically joined in yet again. Almost worth keeping the thing out year-round!

Bosley's favourite Christmas pressie this year is an elongated stuffy that looks vaguely like a long dog. It has a maniacal grin. His favourite pastime with this thing is to bound through the forest holding this thing in his mouth. I'll try to get a pic of that and post it.

Bosley Can Sing!

We have a Christmas decoration that we got from Hallmark a few years back - around 2004, or so. It is a snowman who sings "Jingle Bells". His dog barks and howls along in accompaniment.

Well, darned if I didn't start the thing, and Bosley joined right in! Quite festive. Noisy too, but definitely festive. Who knew we had a choir member in the house!

Doggie Boots

Dog doesn't like doggie boots. Trust me. I know. We persevered. To his credit, he didn't try to bite them off, but he did everything but moonwalk. Shook his feet one at a time like a cat. Raised each foot well up over his head (or his back, depending). Took huge, giant steps like walking through cow patties on the back forty. Then minced across the living room, outdoing Fred Astaire in high kicks.

Finally consented to walking down the hall. Again, doing a credible Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers duet all on his lonesome.

Colder Than A Mother-in-Law's Glare

Today is minus 14. Minus 24 with the wind chill. It is so cold, that when Bosley does go out, he immediately holds up his paws. It is so cold, he refused to go out to do his business. This, from the dog who loves to romp through the snow.

Note to self: buy doggie boots.

Sleeping Dogs

Okay, the dog sleeps on the bed. The BOTTOM of the bed - and I had him a whole six months before he even got onto the bed.

That said, sometimes he sneaks up a little higher. If I awaken in the night, I tell him to get off the bed, re-arrange the covers so I don't freeze to death, and then invite him back onto the BOTTOM of the bed.

This morning, I woke up feeling toasty warm. My arms were over my head for some reason. As I was trying to get my vision focused I gazed down at my stomach. There, sprawled across my stomach, was a Labrador "arm". Gazing blearily over to my side, I found the rest of the Lab plastered against me, with his snout buried deeply into my left armpit. Sound asleep.

Hotel Accommodations and Service Dogs

More snow. Dog's in seventh heaven. I, however, hate the cold, and compare the temperatures these days to the ninth ring of Dante's Inferno. Brr.

Bosley and I were at the Holiday Inn Mid-town in Toronto. No dog bowls provided. Okay, so I got spoiled by another hotel in another city. Still, courtesy dog bowls would have been that - a courtesy. It would be one less thing for me to have to carry around. So, I made do. Filled the ice bucket with water, and used the lid for his kibble. Solved that one.

Then there is the definite lack of places to take the dog to do his business in downtown Toronto. There was a courtyard attached to the hotel out back, but it was piled high with snow, with no way to get through the locked gates. So off to the streets we took -- down a side street was a small strip of frozen mud and some old trees. The dog was grateful, as was I. Fortunately, I could walk down to the end of the block and back. What about people with service dogs who cannot?

As a person with a service dog, it makes me wonder if the hotel should have a place for the dogs to go. While I'm not sure if I would invoke the Ontarians with Disabilities Act over this, or the Ontario Human Rights Code, doesn't this fall under "reasonable accommodation"? The dog is part of me, I am being accommodated, therefore should not the dog's eliminations have to be accommodated as well?

One of life's not-so-sweet mysteries, I suppose.

Lousy November Weather

Part of Bosley's day includes at least one run, sometimes two. It is during these times that Bosley is off duty. I try to give him a minimum of 20 minutes each time. his coat comes off, his leash and collar, and he is free to do whatever he wants to do during his time. Of course, this is in an enclosed area. Bosley isn't allowed off-leash otherwise.

Bosley loves to run. That's usually what he does first. He will glance over his shoulder while I give him the "ok" signal, then he's off like a madman. Up and down, back and forth, over and over. Then he sniffs. And sniffs. And sniffs again.

Well, today was/is wet and rainy. A cold, hard rain. Hasn't let up all day, and probably will continue for the entire weekend. Did I mention cold? It is currently 3C outside. Brr. Obviously, I'm not a Lab.

Well, darned if Bosley didn't run right through a cockleburr patch this morning. Right on the back of the property! Didn't even know it was there, otherwise I'd have dug it up or found another spot for him to run. Fortunately, I got all the burrs off before they did any serious damage. The three on his wienie must have itched though. Poor pup.

However, other than the cockleburr patch, he had his time off. He's tired but happy, which is all that really matters.

Garfield Dunlop Seniors Day, and the Blind Persons Act

Forgot the dog's water bottle at the Garfield Dunlop Seniors day (Member of Provincial Parliament for Simcoe North) . Left the bottle under the booth where the dog and I had set up our pamphlets, booklets, and whatnot.

Is the dog known? Apparently so. Got a phone call at work from the MPPs office. The MPPs executive assistant told me about the dog's water bottle, and did I want it sent to me, or did I wish to come and pick it up?

Garfield Dunlop's office have also received a couple of emails from me. There is a little known private member's bill in the provincial parliament that I have asked Garfield Dunlop to support. Gerry Martiniuk, another MPP, has proposed The Blind Person's Act be amended to include all service dogs, not just seeing-eye dogs for the blind. I've been assured by Garfield Dunlop's office that he will definitely support it when it comes out. I'll be sure to remind him of that occasionally (grin).