Wrong Number Goes Right

Mothers Day came and went without fanfare in my home. I had hoped for the requisite breakfast in bed from my girls, but no such luck. All I got was the usual kiss from Opal at 5 am and a lame excuse about “not being able to operate the toaster with their paws” from both [...]

“Have You Got Your Mind Right Yet, Opal?”

One of my favourite movie lines is from the 1967 classic, ‘Cool Hand Luke’.  Boss Paul (played by Luke Askew) grinds away at Luke (Paul Newman) in the rural Southern USA prison, trying to break Luke by forcing him to dig a hole and fill it back up with dirt, over and over. Periodically, he [...]

What, me worry?!

Alfred E. Newman (of Mad Magazine fame) may have said it first, but I’m the one saying it today. I dare anyone who loves their dog to deny that they don’t worry needlessly (at least once in a while) when their dog is sick…ah, that is to say, when they barf (vomit, hurl, upchuck…).  Opal [...]

The World Has Gone Crazy!

Interesting day? You bet. First, some dweeb from the local CTV news magazine program, “Live at Five”, finally returned my telephone messages. She had apparently been away on holiday. I was told to call her up for a copy of the interview segment which they did on service dogs. Two weeks or so ago, Opal [...]

This is for you, Angel

There’s a little lady somewhere in the southern U.S. who raised my girl, Opal. That was a few years ago. By some incredible stroke of luck, I have managed to stay in touch with her and her family. Today, she asked for my input on a school paper she is writing  on service dogs. Question: [...]

Wise Advice from…Kent Keith

 In my e-mail box this morning, I found a reply from Mr. Kent M. Keith. I had written to him several Sundays ago after hearing his Paradoxical Commandments read at my UU church. Perhaps I have been living under a rock somewhere, because I had never heard of the Paradoxical Commandments before.  Kent Keith wrote [...]

Wise Advice About T-Touch For Dogs

The first evening of my training period at Canadian Guide Dog’s for the Blind had an interesting and calming end. Training with a new Guide dog is stressful for both the handlers and their new dogs. The handlers finds themselves in a new environment. They are with strangers, and have just met their new guide [...]

More on the Danger of Quiet Cars (Hybrids)

I recently submitted a report to our Mayor and Council (I am chair of  the Halifax Regional Municipality Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities. It was the second such report that I have submitted requesting they to write to the auto industry and auto trade associations. Our committee agreed that the QUIET CHARACTERISTIC  of Hybrid [...]