What are people thinking ?

I went to a thrift shop to check out computer monitors for a friend. They had quite a few. I made a call to my friend to let her know about them. I then went on to check out the pots and pans as I need a new pan for cooking. I found one with the help of a fellow shopper. While I was in line waiting to pay for it, a man and his 2 unleashed dogs came into the store. Of course one of the dogs came right up to Shaman, and started to growl . I asked the man to please control his dog. I also informed him that Tucson has a leash law and he did not have his dogs on a leash. He said that since the dogs were in the store, they did not need to be leashed. He accused Shaman of growling at his dog. Shaman ignored his dog and I tried moving away from it but it kept bothering Shaman. At this point, I was getting annoyed. The dog kept growling at Shaman and Shaman started to growl back at it. I gave him a verbal correction and he stopped. I made a complaint about this man and his dogs to the store clerk, but she did nothing. The man said he always comes into this store with his dogs. I asked him if they were service dogs and he did not answer me. Just walked away, leaving me to believe that they were probably not service dogs , just pets. The one dog continued harassing Shaman and I until we left the store. I guess that this man thought his dogs had more rights than Shaman did. My dog is a guide dog. If he harassed a customer like that dog did, I could have been asked to leave. What are these people thinking ? Do I have any rights here ? Next I went to the grocery store to pick up a small bag of dog food and some dog biscuits. There were several people who commented on the shoes that Shaman was wearing. I explained that they keep his feet from being burned by the hot pavement. A woman came up to us in the isle and proceeded to laugh at Shaman's shoes, and said "what will they think of next." "What a pampered pooch".She then proceeded to pet Shaman. I asked her to please not pet the dog and she started to yell at me that she would pet him if she wanted to. I tried to tell her that she was distracting him from doing his job as a guide dog. She just yelled back for me to shut up and leave her alone. She was the one yelling, not me. Does this woman think that my dog was put on this earth just for her to pet? What are people thinking? Do they have no common sense ? So many people have petted Shaman that now when he sees a hand extend out to pet him, he goes right to that person. These people who insist on petting my dog are undoing his training, not to mention the fact that it could be a dangerous situation for me. Do they not even stop and think about this? I could not wait to get out of the store and go home. What are People thinking??????? To be continued............

Good boy, Shaman, good boy!

Shaman and I went to the grocery store last night. We were on the side walk in front of the store and we came across a dog tied up just out side the entrance. Some one left this dog tied out there while they went in to shop. As we approached the dog, it growled and lunged at us. Shaman stopped. He did not growl back at the dog. He was very calm and just waited to see if the dog would move out of the way and let us pass. The dog continued to growl at us. I decided that it was best to just wait and see if the owner came out and controlled the dog. Several people approached Shaman and I and offered to go into the store to see if they could find the dog's owner. Shaman remained calm and never showed any aggression toward the growling dog in our way. Finally, the owner did come out and moved the dog.I am so proud of Shaman. He behaved perfectly and kept us from possibly being attacked by this dog. Good boy, Shaman, good boy. To be continued..........

Pictures ! Finally, Pictures of Shaman on the blog

I finally got the pictures on the blog! I had to figure out how to do it as Nick is to busy with school now. You will have to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page as I haven't figured out how to put them any where else. I will keep on working at it. Shaman is feeling the heat when we go out. I try to go out early in the morning to avoid the mid day heat, but some times that is not possible. I always carry several bottles of water for both of us. I stop frequently in the shade or in a store or the mall to let him cool off. I wet down his head and ears and his feet with water, to keep him cool. I am thinking about getting a " Cooler Jacket " for Shaman to wear in the summer. I have also thought of training another dog, one with less hair, for working in summer, and working Shaman only in the Fall and Winter and Spring. I really don't think I want to go through trying to find another dog to train though. It took me a long time to find Wanagi and then I had to career change her because of health and hip problems. It took me over a year to find Shaman . Poor Shaman tries to go into the stores that have their doors propped open. Down by the University almost all the doors are open and he turns to go into each one to try and get cool. When I feel him start to turn , I tell him "not now" and give the forward command. Sometimes I have to give the forward command several times to get him off the bus as it is cool there and he does not want to leave. This can be embarrassing........... Nala is not bothered by the heat as much as Shaman. He has a longer coat of hair than she does. I guess I will go with "Cooler Jacket" and see if that works. Enjoy the pictures for now.**The pictures have been moved to the side bar** To be continued..........