Old friends, Best Friends

I'm so tired I barely put can two together words. If my job on Saturday was plush, today was a blanket on a cement floor. Annie and I both chose Old Friends, the houses (Homer and Dolores) with elderly dogs. Elderly. Aren't they supposed to be mellow? You elderly people are mellow, aren't you?

There were six of us, including the staff caregiver, and all of us flat-out busted tail feathers all afternoon. How does she do it when there are no volunteers? I ask no one in particular. If you want to feel appreciated and useful, I recommend it.




I gave Tango the "special scritch," and at the midway point of her spine, she threw herself down on the ground and kicked. Then I did it to a dog.



I love how dogs are never embarrassed, unless they're caught pooping.


 Pluto found our attention uncomfortable, and kept leaving the room. He also found our company irrestible, so he kept returning.

The caregiver, Cherie, told us about Reuben, who lived at Best Friends for ten years. At twelve years of age, he was adopted by a family who built a ramp on their house for him. They loaded up his meds, and away went Reuben on a late-life adventure. It's never too late.

  Hughes and Judy are a bonded pair, and must be adopted together. They are personable, friendly, and well-behaved in public.

 The buffet was crowded, and everyone wanted to sit on the deck. Why not - the temperature was a perfect 80° F! Judy and Hughes shared our table and they were excellent company. We're hoping we run into them again around the salad bar this week. They are also travelers, much of the distance by RV, so check out their blog. They disclaim that it's only interesting to family, but they lie. Look how cute they are! You can forgive them.

Parelli Natural Horsemanship, and volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

I had vertigo for a couple of days; I hope I didn't get any on you. There's no good way to spin vertigo. Just call me Eddy. Because I was feeling around the weather, we postponed our volunteer orientation until today. I feel like my normal self again, so we thought we'd catch the Parelli Natural Horsemanship demo before lunch.

Not around in circles, please.

Chuck was wild-born, captured from the range and turned over to Best Friends, and Ann warned us that he is not tame. However, she demonstrated the Parelli technique on him, and we were stunned at how quickly he learned behaviors. Here's a for instance:

Ann tickled Chuck's front inner knee, which made him lift his leg. Next, she snapped her fingers, then tickled; he raised his leg. Next, she just snapped, and he lifted. Everyone was impressed, including Ann. You can't even get a pig to learn that fast.

I resent your specist remarks.

I'm going to confess to you that I have always suspected horses of being stupid. Chuck is not stupid. In fact, I have completely revised my opinion of horses after this morning. Chuck is a fine ambassador for his species, stomping out prejudice and voting "Neigh!" on bigotry.
 
Ann confirmed that learning the Parelli method is a prerequisite to adopting riding horses. It is so gentle and horse-friendly that you'll understand why. No kicking, no whipping, no yelling. You ask the horse to move using your body language and very subtle cues. It's not about "breaking" a horse, it's about cultivating a relationship with him. It trains the rider to lead in a way the horse understands and can respect.

 

Annie led me toward lunch in a way I could understand and respect.

The café-teria is a marvel. Annie thinks they keep the price very low so they don't accidentally make a profit. I don't know how that works. Anyway, vegetarian lunches are served six days a week - $3 for the all-you-can-cram salad bar, and $5 for the full buffet. Tea and coffee is included. Have I said this before? I must be hungry again.

"One Little Indian" set

The horse is not blindfolded. She is wearing gnat mesh, and she can see through it.

Annie does fine with her mesh, as well.

Let's go this way! I suggest that way! Quack! Crazy ducks.

We've gone through our volunteer orientation, and we'll report to our separate assignments tomorrow morning. I was a little nervous, and decided to stay closer to my comfort zone with Cat World this time. Annie will help at Dogtown. Then we will eat-all-we-can at Angel Village.

I see that Annie is browsing dogs, so I need to go distract her. 

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