Tashi's Web Photo and Storybook

April 11 -- Well time sure seems to go by fast. Just realized that I hadn't updated my stories in a while and it's already the 11th of April. The picture above is me playing with my favorite toy, a blue squeaky bone. I like biting down on it and making it squeak. We've mostly been going through our daily routine without much excitement. A few things have happened, though. A couple of weeks ago, right at the end of March (during a big snowstorm we had -- FINALLY!!!), Stan lost some more hearing over the course of a few hours on that Friday afternoon. He hasn't been to an audiologist yet to see how much more is gone and if his hearing aids can be re-programmed. I think he wants to wait to make sure his hearing is stable again before he does that.

It's been typical springtime for here in New Mexico, or at least that's what they tell me. Lots of wind, I know that much. There is a little girl who lives across the road by the corner where the road ends. Yesterday we had some wind, but not as much as we had earlier in the week. It's actually snowing and raining today. Anyway, her umbrella with lots of bright colors blew up against my fence and got caught there. I didn't realize this because I was in the house when it happened. Last night when Stan took me out for my before bedtime break, I saw this thing up againse my fence. I wasn't sure what it was. It didn't seem to be moving, but it didn't belong there. I stared at it while I was squatting. Then when I stood back up, I tried to look closer at it. I just couldn't figure it out. So, I decided it was best to sound an alarm and see what this thing did. I started "alarm barking" and this thing didn't react at all. Stan asked me, "what is it?", and I glanced back at him quickly and then fixed my eyes back on the thing like "can't you see it?" All the while I was alarm barking at this thing every few seconds. Stan started walking with me and kept asking "what is it?" with a little bit of excitement and fun in his voice. I led him over to where this thing was and approached very slowly, sniffing in the air carefully. The thing never moved or did anything. Finally I got right up to the fence where it was, still sniffing very intently at this thing. When my nose bumped into it's handle that was stuck through the fence, the other end of it moved and made noise (that Stan didn't hear, of course) in the dry grass. Now that fact that this thing suddenly made noise, startled me but good!!! I jumped straight up and backwards at the same time with all four paws off the ground and let out another big alarm bark. I thought Stan was going to fall over he started laughing so hard. I still don't see what was so funny. What if this thing would have attacked us? All I could do at that point was to stand there with Stan wagging my tail at it and wait for him stop laughing so we could go back inside. Here is a picture of it caught in the fence:

April 30 -- Well the month is gone, but I have to tell you about a couple of things that happened this week. Twice this week while Stan and I were walking to his office we were "ambushed" by a bunny!! Stan had given me the let's go command and I was doing my job walking next to him down the sidewalk. There are some shrubs and other bushes next to the sidewalk, and as we passed by a cluster of them, there he was. A bunny!!! Less than two feet away from me with nothing (not even Stan) between it and me! The bunny was hardly even startled. It kind of hopped slowly away from me. Oh how I would have LOVED to chase it!!!! But, I was good and never pulled on my leash or broke out of my let's go position. My attention was very focused on this bunny, however. But it wasn't focused on it so much that I missed how Stan praised me for staying on the job as the two of us just kept walking down the sidewalk. Then the very next day, there was that bunny again in the same spot. Stan and I have both learned to watch for the bunny by those bushes. I've been very good and stayed in my position, but it sure would be great fun to chase that bunny just once!!!

Another thing happened at Stan's work this week. Stan met someone in the hall who is deaf and he and Stan had a conversation in ASL. They talked about me, and what I do for Stan and a little bit about CCI. LeRoy, I think that's the guy's name, said he had heard about CCI before. Stan told him he didn't know there was anyone else that worked there who used ASL or that is deaf. He told Stan there were four people he knew now that he had met Stan that were deaf or very hard of hearing. Stan said he had met one other person a week or two before who was hard of hearing, but that was it. Speaking of that person, Stan told her about CCI and what I do for him and gave her a brochure about CCI. She seemed like she was interested in applying for a hearing dog.