Flying with a Service Dog- Airport Potty Stations

I love flying out of Dulles Airport in Washington DC because they have 2 service dog potty stations right in the terminals. The one Charlie used was by gate D1 (between gate D and C) and I believe there is another one between gates A and B.

This potty station really helps out when we have a long flight ahead of us. Recently we went to Anaheim to go to Disneyland and the flight was 5 1/2 hours so it was great to potty Charlie right before we boarded the plane. I wish more airports would design a room like this for those traveling with a service dog.

Sign Petition

Doctor's Service Dog Taken Away by Canine Companions for Independence

(Pic:) - CEO of Canine Companions for Independence Corey Hudson. Mr. Hudson is also the North America President of Assistants Dogs International. Mr. Hudson ordered the wrongful repossession of a service dog from Dr. Gael Yonnet.

Salt Lake City, Utah - Dr. Gael Yonnet was severely injured in a snow boarding accident that left him paralyzed. Dr. Yonnet sought the independence that a service dog could give him and he applied for a service dog with Canine Companions for Independence. He was partnered with Elon.

Dr. Yonnet is a very active individual and he enjoys going on trails in the Rocky Mountains with Elon after long days working in a hospital.

Dr. Yonnet's service dog was taken from him a week ago by Canine Companions for Independence because Elon was not on a leash in examine rooms or on trails in the Rockies. All the time Elon stayed by Dr. Yonnet's side.

Corey Hudson nor has any person from Canine Companions for Independence returned phone calls to Dr. Yonnet or his thousands of supporters. Dr. Yonnet wants Elon back working for him.

To sign the petition to return Elon to Dr. Yonnet click the link below:Return Elon to his Home with Gael

On Facebook

Return Service Dog "Elon" to Dr. Yonnet

New Update on February 25, 2011
Dr. Yonnet was denied the return of his dog Elon.  Click HERE to read the article and  letter sent to Yonnet, from CCI.  After reading this letter I can see reasons why CCI would be concerned about Elon.  I am not a fan of shock collars to get dogs to obey.  Additionally,  in the letter is says that...


Despite my conclusion that CCI staff had good reason to seek the return of Elon, based on statements in your written appeal indicating that you were willing to work with CCI staff to address CCI’s concerns and make the placement of Elon successful, I decided that it would be helpful to meet with you so I could determine personally whether there was a way to make the placement successful. On Friday February 18, 2011 I called you in the morning to offer to meet directly with you here in Santa Rosa at the CCI Campus with me and the CCI managers responsible for Elon. I suggested we could utilize a facilitator to attempt to understand each other’s position on the issue of managing your working relationship with Elon. I further offered to have CCI pay your travel expense and stay at the Schulz Campus dormitory. In that conversation, you declined to meet with me or anyone from CCI saying that you had told a CCI staff member that you would create a “public relations nightmare” for CCI and that now you were going to continue to do just that. Similarly, you said you would “destroy CCI” and that you would “bury CCI.” You further stated that you had no respect or trust for CCI’s staff and that you had told a CCI staff person you would bring a “reign of terror” to CCI.

This is a very unfortunate situation.  I am a big believer in mediation and believe that it may have been a way to help resolve this situation.  Dr. Yonnet I am sorry for your loss.  Don't stop fighting.

Service Dog Taken Away

I don't know what I would do if this happened to me. Thank goodness Charlie was trained through an organization that helped me train Charlie verses just placing Charlie with me and granting me "custody" not "ownership" of him.

Read this story and watch this video. It made me cry.

CCI give Yonnet his dog back.  If it means keeping his dog on a leash Yonnet says he will adhere to your rules.  This just breaks my heart.  Dr. Yonnet my heart goes out to you right now.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The Bike Has Arrived

Remember THIS and THIS awesome story about me winning a bike.

Well yesterday this big truck showed up in front of my house!

Inside was this really big box

I couldn't open it up fast enough

 Charlie and I love this new bike. I wrapped Charlie in a blanket so he would stay warm, but he squirmed out of it.

Jack even wanted to go for a ride.  I also made Paul (my husband) take Charlie and me for a ride. What a comfortable trip I think I will make Paul take me around all the time.

Madsen Cycles designed this awesome middle seat insert so that Charlie wont fall down in the bucket. Isn't that so thoughtful and awesome?

Charlie loves his new bike- he likes to just sit in the back when the bike is in the house. Isn't that funny?  He even growls at Jack when Jack gets near it cause Charlie knows it is his bike.

Thank You Madsen Cycles! We are so happy. I will add more photos soon.

Pets are Just Like People

 I found this at the NY Daily News and loved it. It is found HERE

Our pets seems to become more like people everyday. Here we've captured photos of pets doing all sorts of things that people do from marathon running to scuba diving ...

She’s more flexible than the average bear. A Slovenian tourist visiting the Ahtari zoo in Finland caught a glimpse of Santra the bear’s morning stretch routine and whipped out her camera.

Meta Penca, a 29-year-old web programmer was the lucky zoo visitor who managed to catch this peaceful bear's morning routine on film. The female brown bear reportedly spent 15 minutes doing a series of poses that seemed quite familiar to a yoga practitioner.

'She held her legs with her hands for a minute or two in a V position and then put them down and relaxed,' Penca told the Guardian.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/galleries/pets_theyre_just_like_humans/pets_theyre_just_like_humans.html#ixzz17jFurDQN

Also I really like this one

and this one



and obviously these

Please Bless This Never Happens To Me

Today I was sitiing in class and my friend emailed me this.  I started laughing out loud-I should not have read it during class. Please read this story.  This dog looks to close to Charlie and if he did this I would die a thousand deaths.

 
First there was Steven Slater, the flight attendant who used an inflatable slide for his job walk-off. Now, the Steven Slater of dogs: a 12-pound Manchester terrier named Mandy who escaped her cage mid-air and went on a biting rampage.
Mandy was on a U.S. Airways flight from Phoenix to Newark when her sedatives wore off. Her owner's seatmate tried to soothe her, causing Mandy to fly into a rage: She broke free of her cage, bit the strange soothsayer, then raced up and down the aisle, eventually biting a flight attendant, causing the pilot to take an emergency landing in Pittsburgh "in the interest of safety."
That's nothing. I once rode an airplane with a class of adolescent boys who went on penis-punching rampage. Since they punched only one another, however, the flight carried on with only one warning from the pilot and a lot of passive-aggressive sighing from onlookers. If only you could stow children in little cases underneath the seat in front of you. [NYP, Image of non-violent Manchester terrier via dodsports' Flickr]

article found here.

December First

This min-pin looks so cute dressed as Santa. I want to buy one of these outfits and torture Charlie with one. Too cute.
photo found HERE

PS. I have been feeling really stressed out with school and have been feeling a bit "off".  I hope I don't have any problems during finals.  I know stress and lack of sleep are huge triggers for my seizures so I guess I need to go get a massage or something fun. Oh and my bike has been shipped so hopefully by next week sometime we will have our new bike.

Little Stinker Charlie Pants

Isn't this a fabulous idea for a wedding or a big event?  I love the organic, green factor of this design.  Actually, I wanted to do something like this for my wedding, so Paul and I got like 6 large square containers and I started growing wheat grass in our apartment.  Charlie (my adorable min-pin) had just arrived as our new little addition and so he was confused by all the grass growing in the house.  He decided he should pee on it, and pee on it he did.  I kept trying to get him to stop, I even moved the grass up on a table, but he just climbed up there and peed.  Needless to say I had to throw them all out cause they reeked of dog urine and had dead patches.  Thanks Charlie.


This leads me to my grateful moment for today.

I am grateful to remember funny and obscure moments in life and to take the time to laugh, smile, and shake my head.

What funny moments make you laugh?

Charlie Needs a Coat

Help. I want to find Charlie a cute coat that will keep him warm and that he can walk in and not pee all over.  Any ideas?  Does anyone out there sew and want to make him a custom coat? He is so barrel chested and has toothpick legs and so all the coats I find look ridiculous on him. Plus he hates them. I want this coat for him, but the sale has ended. I don't know where to find it.

Madsen Cycle's Post: Cargo Bike Winner

MADSEN 2010 Link Contest Winner Announcement

You're going to like this story. You're going to be sad that you didn't win, but you're going to like this story.

First - let me tell you that when we do these drawings, they are 100% random. We take every site who links to us during the period of the contest, we put them all on equal footing (each link is one entry into the drawing), and we randomly select one winner. And whomever it is - is the winner, period. We don't sift through and find the one who likes us the most, or whom we like the most - only the random number generator determines the winner.

Which makes the story of today's winner a little extra special.
Today's winner is Leah Stone. When we drew her name, I pulled up her blog and was immediately struck her blog header talking about "a Bicycle Made for Two." I thought - oh cool, a bike lover won the bike.

But the story gets better. You see - Leah wants a bicycle made for two, but not just any bicycle, and not just any two. She has a very special friend.
I'll let her tell the story:

I have never won a contest before so I feel like all the stars have aligned, the heavens have opened, and today is my day. I have been dreaming of owning a cargo bike since I went to Berlin, Germany this past summer.  I saw cargo bikes everywhere and would make my group stop every time I saw one so I could take a photo of it.  I have wanted a cargo bike so badly and was so determined that I was going to rig a wheelbarrow to the front of my bike if necessary.  

Then I saw the Link-Back Madsen Bike contest and my heart fluttered a bit when I saw the picture of the girl with the basket and the lab in the cargo bucket because I thought "Hey that could totally be me." The reason is that I have seizures.  Luckily, I have a service dog for my seizures and he goes with me everywhere.  His name is Charlie.  He is a slightly pudgy min-pin who can give me a 5 min warming before I have a seizure. Anyways, I have wanted to take him on my bike with me when I go to the store or on a ride,  but he is too big for a basket on the front. I even bought one of those kid bike trailers to stick Charlie in, but it totally didn't work as he felt trapped and was tossed around a bit.  This bike is going to rock mine and Charlie's world.  I can now be oh so green.  I can finally take Charlie and my bike to the grocery store.  I can even put my other dog in the back too. 

Thank you Madsen Bikes for making my whole year.  Having seizures is a bit of a bum deal, but the fact that I get to ride my awesome bike with my service dog really helps to make it better.
I can not wait for the package to arrive. Merry Christmas to me and to Charlie!

Merry Christmas indeed, Leah. We're really excited for you and Charlie.
For those interested, Leah tells the story of when she started having seizures here.
Here's some more information on the amazing Charlie.
And to end, we share a photo of Leah trying to find a way to combine a bike and Charlie.


It didn't work.
But that's about to change.
Big time.

PS. Here are the pictures of when the bike arrived.

Madsen Cargo Bike Contest

Totally I am grateful for pure LUCK! I won the Link-Back contest for Madsen Cycles Cargo Bikes. And in 2-3 weeks or so, this exact bike will arrive at my front door.   Check out their awesome website. I can not wait to take Charlie around for a spin.

 

 

Imagine this girl with Blond hair and the lab about 60 pounds smaller and you have me on my new bike

one day when I have kids I can buckle them here on the seat.  Maybe I will sit in the bucket and make Paul drive me, Jack (the doberman) and Charlie around.  That would be so much fun.

Click HERE  to read Madsen Cycle's post about me winning the bike.  Yeah!  Goodie Goodie Gumdrops.  I couldn't be more excited. What a great Christmas Present.  Everyone should buy one of these bikes--cause I know you are going to want one when you see how dang cute Charlie is riding in the back with Jack.

Thank You Madsen Cycles.  This is such an awesome feeling- I am tickled with joy and a bit giddy too.

PS. Here are pictures of when the bike arrived.

Email Me Button

I am creating an email me button that will be located over on the right side bar over

there ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

So please send Charlie and Me a message if you want.