WordPlay

by Doranna

For starters, an update on Miss Belle–she’s doing well on her bucket list, and has regained some weight and energy on the new feeding protocol.  She’s having some good days, and we’re grateful.  It doesn’t seem as though it’ll be too much longer.

The Dartspression at the end of a training sequence, where there will be COOKIES forthcoming. Or a TOY. You just never know, do you?

Days of Dart should pretty much be called Month of Dart.  The World of Dart.  The intensive all-consuming “HOW many events in a row?” weekends of Dart.  And the preparation for same.

With Connery on rehab, Dart has a spotlight on the training and trialing stage.  Not to mention he’s in a pretty intensive proofing/generalizing stage beyond what my previous dogs have asked for.

So he’s going to handling class, tootling around in the car to work in a variety of parking lots, biking with Connery for Connery’s rehab, had a big playdate, and this month has one weekend after another of events–agility trials, a seminar, obedience trial…

This means I have one weekend after another of same.

So with any luck, the blog will be full of doggie pictures and doggie fun, and maybe even a couple of doggie surprises.

(Even though, I should probably add, I have a book coming out in just over a month.  This is it.  Here.  TAMING THE DEMON.  That one.  There.  And if you have a review blog or active, widespread review habits and are interested, I’ll be glad to send out a copy while they last.)

Our most recent outing was to partake of a Gerry Brown seminar–Dart’s very first such thing–which was awesome and gave us some tools I think will be critical to helping Dart’s confidence on course.  Piccies currently in development!  Meanwhile, here’s a bit of Dart from the latest agility trial–a twisty little course on which he never did give me full speed, but he did manage to stay on that tricky course after an *ahem* rocky start line.  Go, Dart!

by Doranna

People can come up with all sorts of lame justifications for stealing.  I have no interest in the justifications…and no sympathy for them.  Pirating digital works is stealing, and no…no one is entitled to read my stuff for free unless I put that work on free.  And pirates, no matter what they think of themselves, are not modern-day Captain Jacks.  Also, they totally aren’t Johnny Depp sexy.

That, I guess, would be my position statement on the whole thing.  And yet…

This has been an interesting week for pirates.  There was a brazen pirate shop that popped up with a huge selection of books (including quite a number of mine)…and that charged for them, too.  Well, huzzah!  That site has already hit the dust, but of course there’s already another of that brazen sort popping up.

And then there’s scribd.

Those of us who have been around the Internets for a while remember when scribd started up, and that there was a whole big lot of froo ha ha along the way.  They’re still remiss; they still allow blatantly pirated works to be posted.  But they do take them down if you ask (in my experience).

So why am I not asking?

Because the work currently being pirated there is called Heavy Metal Honey.

Heavy Metal Honey was one of Harlequin’s early e-reads, written to a fairly exacting pattern of chapters and word count.  In this case, it was published as a supplement to the Bombshell line, and it’s a story in the world of the Hunter Agency, featuring two of my favorite characters: Kimmer and Rio.

Okay, Kimmer and Rio fans…raise your hand if you’ve even heard of Heavy Metal Honey.

Exactly.

The thing is that Harlequin isn’t doing anything with that story–and hasn’t for many years–but the rights aren’t vulnerable to reversion.  So I can’t do anything with it, and I have no control over whether they do anything with it, and no one gets to read it at all, and I like that story, darnit!

So if you like Kimmer and Rio, or if you like the Bombshells, or if you like short fiction with attitude, and you happen to go to scribd, and you happen to search on Heavy Metal Honey…

Well, enjoy!  And by all means spread the word.

But pirates still suck.  Welcome to the world of the inconsistent human.

by Doranna

I’d thought that I’d write a blog this weekend, and I’d thought it would probably be about Dart’s first agility trial in four months.

It’s not.

It’s Belle Cardigan’s blog instead.

Miss Belle and one of her agility prizes...can't see, can't hear...but she can still smell the treats!

Belle is now just past thirteen years old, and we’re suddenly–very suddenly–getting ready to say good-bye. 

She’s seen a lot of changes in the past year; she’s now mostly blind and profoundly deaf, and I thought that explained some of the new behaviors that have crept in over the past couple of months.  And maybe to some extent, it did.  But suddenly other changes piled on in the course of the last week, and a visit to the vet quickly revealed the worst–the cancer that Belle has been hiding from us.  Never mind her gorgeous coat or the fact that she looked so good on her Christmas Eve birthday that I thought I’d have years more with her.

Belle was a gift from writer/breeder friend Jennifer Roberson at Cheysuli Kennels, way back when I first moved to the Southwest.  She was too small for conformation shows, but she grew into my first serious agility dog, and she marched through rally excellent and novice obedience with a steady stream of blue ribbons.

She was the first dog in this area to get a PAX (and that was the first PAX title that judge had given).

She was one of only 50 dogs to have a PAX2 at the time she earned hers.

When (in July of ’12)  AKC instituted the more demanding PACH title, she earned her first PACH and very nearly her second; she was at that time #2 Lifetime Preferred Cardigan Corgi.  When I retired her at the end of last year at the age of twelve, she was 100 speed points away from that PACH2 (and nearly a PACH3 with her double Qs).

This is all in spite of calcifying disk disease that struck when she was five years old and partially paralyzed her, a condition from which she was not expected to recover.  Between five to ten years old, she sat out more trials than she ran because of flares, and then the calcification stabilized.  (She continued to run agility at the vet’s behest; keeping her strong was the best thing I could have done for her.)

Belle is my princess dog.  My tries so hard to be perfect you want to cry dog.  My sweet, sweet little blue merle girl with the blue eye.  Bellicious, Bellevator, BelleBelle, Miss B, Princess Belle.

I’m not sure how long we have.  I know it’s not long enough.  And so I am making a bucket list for her, the things I think she most wants from her world in these scant remaining days.

1. 

   The Beloved Tripping Position

   Pleasant afternoons of snoozing in the sun.

2. Evenings of snoozing in the forbidden “trip me” spot RIGHT BESIDE MY FEET at the standing station.
3. Nomming down extra coconut oil, fish oil, and big heapings of yummy meats.  Her appetite is still fine, and she needs this tripled intake to maintain her otherwise rapidly falling weight.
4. This includes Second Breakfast.
5. Getting the office princess bed whenever she wants it, no matter who the boys think owns it (or what they think it’s called).
6. Not worrying about piddling indoors because the office is now one giant incontinence pad.
7. Many couch cuddles.
8. Playtime with the mommy on the floor gently pinching her toes so she can pretend to FIERCELY BITE.

It’s a start.

PACH Cheysuli's Silver Belle, CD RE MXP5 MXPS MJP6 MJPS PAX2 XFP EAC EJC CGC (Belle)

by Doranna

Sigh.  It didn’t used to matter.

I mean, it always mattered to ME, but I could console myself that strikingly nasty or baffling reader reviews didn’t matter in the big picture.

Of course, now reader rankings matter a whole lot, and one or two ugly ones can really skew the curve and affect sales.

And they still matter to me.

A nasty review is pretty obvious, both to readers and the author.  A baffling review…not so much.  Recognizing those takes knowing what’s in the book in the first place.

It’s one where you wonder if the reader was even looking at the same book.

A Feral Darkness just got one of those.  Someone is terribly upset at me for making certain statements about religion that…

Well, that wasn’t the book I wrote. 

In fact, it was the book I assiduously steered away from writing.

It would be easy to put this down to different folks/different strokes if the Catholic religion wasn’t specifically referenced several times in the review…along with the assertion that my intent is to make fun of that faith.  To mock it.

Now watch me scratch my head.  There isn’t any true presence of the Catholic church in this book (there’s a character who’s a lapsed Catholic, on the whole because of the conflict with the pagan elements).  There’s a pastor in the story, a thoughtful guy who happens to be very protestant, in his very protestant church.  I was rather fond of him, actually–I thought he tried to do his best to handle a difficult situation.

But the truth is, the book has pagan elements and pagan magic.  That’s kind of the whole point.  I wove together enough of those historical pagan elements across cultures (never mind the book learning…I called a monastary!)–to catch the eye of a British scholar, who interviewed me a couple of years ago and included A Feral Darkness in the resulting publication.  (I was beyond excited about that, yes I was!)  There’re ancient Celtic gods, ancient Celtic dogs…and one contemporary woman who has to make it all come together in the context of her rather practical life.

I hadn’t meant to examine the interface of religions, but the character went there (she rode her bike there, actually), and I had to follow.  It was not easy writing…but maybe that’s why the book has connected with so many people over the years (and boy am I grateful for that!).

Sometimes, in order to make that connection, you have to reach far deeper than is truly comfortable.  It’s a vulnerable, vulnerable place to be as a writer.

So it does baffle (and ouch!) me that anyone could take the resulting book as a mockery of any given religion, and it makes me a little sad.  On the other hand, I think what also surprises me–a lot–is that someone who feels this strongly about the (“disturbing”) interface of religions would not only pick up the (“sickening”) book in the first place, but would read it through to the (“pathetic”) end.

It still matters to me, though.

Thank you all for your comments in response to the Imperfect Service Dog post–and for your donations to Paws with a Cause, those of you who made them!

In that post, I asked three questions…I thought maybe it was MY turn to answer them.

1. You’re attending an event.  You see a service dog of awesome cuteness.  YOU CAN’T STAND THE CUTENESS!  You miss your dog who is not at the event.  Because this is a service dog, you feel safe with it.  Also, you used to/do have a dog of that breed.  Your first impulse is to go “AWWW–!” and you feel an inexorable tug to go pet the dog.  What do you do?  (Or if you’re William Shatner, what DO you DO?)
2. You see someone with a service dog who appears to be functionally intact.  You wonder what on earth they need this dog for.  Are they just gaming the system to feel special?  Maybe they’re taking advantage!  You are wildly curious!  Your mouth opens!  What do you say?
3. You’re making casual conversation with someone who happens to have a service dog.  The dog is behaving appropriately, but you’re surprised to see this breed with a service vest on.  You know something about [family dogs/breeds/once taught your dog to sit], and you know this breed has a reputation for its cheerful resistance to training.  You open your mouth and out come the words–

 

So here goes!

1. Generally speaking, I leave the dog alone.  However, if I was to feel utterly compelled to pet, I might ask, “May I say hello to your dog, or is s/he working?”  And then–the most critical part–I would wait for an answer.

As a person with a service dog, this approach would work for me as long as it didn’t interrupt whatever personal business I was handling at the time.  Some folks may be fussier, especially if they’ve dealt with one too many intrusions on their day.  I admit, I have been astonished–speechless, at times–at how many people don’t ask–or if they do ask, they don’t wait for an answer.  Or if they do get an affirmative, they then swoop hastily upon the dog in a fashion guaranteed to alarm all but the stodgiest canine.

For all of these reasons, even if Dart is not working at the time, I no longer allow petting unless I have specifically given him an off-switch of picking him up.  From there, visitors can’t swoop down on him, and I have complete control over how he’s being handled–I can always turn away or gently put my hand between him and a face that’s too close.  Not because I fear for the face, but because hello!  RUDE!  He doesn’t deserve to deal with it.

2.  Although it’s perfectly possible to query appropriately about a service dog’s duties, it may not be as simple as you think.  Not everyone wants to talk about their personal health–and even if they’re fine with that, not every moment is a good one for them to do it.  Even something like “she’s a seizure alert dog” offers a world of personal information.

Also, I’ve found that answering the question often leads to more questions.  My answer is, “He provides me with neurological grounding exercises.”  To which most people say, “What does that mean?”  And suddenly it’s a whole conversation about my health.  Do Not Always Want.

However you decide to handle it, being sensitive to the handler’s response is paramount.  Be curious, not nosy.  And whatever you do, however badly you want to know, there is never any excuse for asking twice if the handler demurs the first time.  Especially if the first response is a very clear, “This isn’t a good time for me to talk about that.”

3.  As long as you’re admiring the dog, you’re good.  It does not count as admiring the dog if you diss his breed in the process.  “I’ve never seen a [insert breed] service dog,” isn’t a bad way to do it.  “Wow, a [insert breed]–awesome!” will probably also get a smile.  “I can’t believe you have a Beagle service dog–that’s such a dumb breed!” might get you a pasted-on smile, but don’t mistake it for the real thing.

(Note that I’ve only had Dart in his active service dog role for a short time, and yet I’ve experienced all the “don’ts” I just mentioned.  I can understand why those with extensive experience might get a little short in their responses, although I hope I never do.  But just maybe, given the great discussion here, we’re a start of the awareness brigade!  Let’s make it contagious…)

Meanwhile, over on the contest side of things…I did my infamous “blind stab at the screen” and Melissa won the WordPlay contest!  Those of you who donated to Paws with a Cause should keep an eye on the Event Web Page to see who wins the grand prizes!

Because if you’re anything like me, you mean to follow through on something but don’t always get there during the busy times…

The Smashwords sale ends…today!  March 9th!  All of my books are on sale in one way or another, and they’re all clickable through my pages at Backlist eBooks.  There are a couple of freebies there, including BARRENLANDS–the first book in the Changespell Saga with Dun Lady’s Jess.

(You can find that series introduction on free at most of its retailers, in fact–the details are at the Backlist eBooks page.  Amazon has been slow to get on board, but you can report a lower price to them if you’d like to see it there).

In other news, check upstream for the Imperfect Service Dog post–today is the last day to enter for freebies in that event, also!

In other, other news, I’m featured at Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews Blog, the paranormal side of the force.  Stop by and say hello–there’s the chance to win the entire Changespell Saga (In fact, I’m so clever (shut up!) I just figured out how to include that form here!).

In news that offers no reminders but plenty of nice grins, the current book in progress (a Nocturne in my Sentinels series, Lynx Revealed) is heading to the halfway point after its first month under way.  Whee!

In final news…I think…we have snow on the ground and still fluttering around in the air.  This is probably more important to me than it is to you.  But for this thirsty, thirsty land, it is a good thing indeed!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

by Doranna

With a title like that, you might be tempted to think I’m talking about the international editions of my books, or the cool covers that sometimes result when the book comes out in a different country.  But no.  Because when my life isn’t all about writing, it’s all about training the dogs.

Yup, it’s time for another Dog Agility Blog Event.  (One of the perks of participation is totally selfish–it spurs me to read all the other blogs, and to look at the subject a whole new way.  Check ‘em out!)  This month we’re pondering the internationalization of the sport, a matter which brought some puzzlement in behind-the-scenes discussion.  “I’ll never compete internationally, so…?”

I am pretty darned sure I won’t ever compete internationally, either.  Never mind being good enough…I don’t fly!  Boom.  Grounded.

But I have a very strong belief in the strength of options.  Options when it comes to training techniques, training tools, training theory.  In fact, I feel strongly enough about having options that even when I run across a technique that makes me wrinkle my nose, I check it out.  You never know when some little piece of information will crop up as useful later on–another dog, another situation, another task.

Just TELL me what to do. Really. Then we'll all be happy.

Once upon a time (she says, by way of illustration), I was new to the idea of shaping behaviors.  Not to mention I had a young dog (ConneryBeagle) who didn’t like shaping behaviors.  Connery wants you to define exactly what you’re asking of him.  Do this; don’t do this.  He doesn’t like being asked to suggest things.  Furthermore, if he thinks his way is valid, he will suggest the same thing over and over and over and over and…look at you in disgust and quit.  Whereas if he does suggest an alternative to a previously defined behavior and you say, “Nope, do it this way,” he will then happily do it that way.

Our experimenting with shaping behaviors was very short lived.  Now that Connery is much more seasoned, I can give him broad hints about what I’d like him to do and then clicker reward, but that’s really a different thing, and I fade the clicker as soon as I can.  But at the time, I read up on it, learned about it…watched other people doing it, and tucked it away.

Fast forward a number of years, and along comes adolescent Dart Beagle–who has flunked being a show dog because he forgot to descend both testicles (this doesn’t surprise me; he’s inordinately fond of them), and who couldn’t be placed in a pet home because he vibrates with intensity.

(The number of people to use the word “vibrate” to describe him, completely independent of one another, is no coincidence.)

So lo, Dart came to my house where I love him fiercely and am willing to be humbled by his antics in agility.  And obedience.  And tracking.  And where in spite of all that, he’s also taken on the mantle of service dog.  (That’s another blog.)

On the other hand, Dart does not love the flash on this particular camera...thus the squint. But he does love the bucket, which--with shaping--he not only learned to balance on in a single session, he also realized that in order to balance on it, he'd have to flip it back upright when he knocked it over.

Dart looooves shaping.  Dart loooves figuring stuff out.  He loooooves knowing he’s clever and proving it.  And Dart LOVES the clicker.  Dart loves the clicker SO MUCH that I use it as a reward during times when he seems stressy.

The point being, if I hadn’t explored both shaping and clicker use just because it wasn’t right for my dog at the time, I wouldn’t have had the option to grab those tools when Dart came along.

So no, I’m not going to compete internationally.  And I don’t particularly like what I’ve seen–safety-wise, fairness-to-the-dog-wise–on some sample AKC Masters C courses (although I also saw one that looked like challenging fun).

But I’ve been watching videos on some of the international techniques, and I’ve watched the videos of world competition, and if some of what I see makes me think “what the effing F is the point of THAT?” it doesn’t mean I won’t look into it, see what proponents of such maneuvers are saying, and see where such handling is supposed to be optimally useful.

Because you never know.  One day it might be the perfect tool to help one of my dogs understand whatever lesson we’re trying to learn on that day.

Got Smashwords?

Whatever your reader, you can pick up the right format at Smashwords.  And this week, you can pick up a whole buncha sales, because it’s Read an eBook Week and Smashwords makes it easy for us author folks to participate.

All of my books (26 titles!) are on sale, from 25% off to free downloads.  Given that the books are already listed below publisher prices, that makes them…well, terribly affordable.  (We do not use the word “cheap” around here!)

Most of the books are my earlier titles–some of them in updated versions, some with a bit of extra material.  There are also some original pieces (A Silhouette Bombshell that was to be released in February of that year…when they discontinued the line in January.  A couple of novellas I’ve written for the love of it.  The short story collection that quietly does its best to trickle funds toward ConneryBeagle’s vet costs).  Those are identified as such.

ePublishing does more than just get these out-of-print titles on the shelves (so to speak) again…it gives me a renewed freedom in my creativity…it gives me options.  Sales like this are a chance to give a little bit back!

My self-produced titles are all listed on my page at the Backlist eBooks site.  At one discount or another–the coupon for which is right there on the Smashwords page for each book–they’re all on sale through the 9th.  Happy reading!

by Doranna

Also known as “Win Prizes, Support Service Dogs, Feel Good About Self, and also Maybe Win Other Prizes.”

One of the things I don’t generally discuss overmuch is my health (although it’s the reason for my current paucity of posts);  The Lyme has been active for 25 years and diagnosed for less than one.  All the writing, the training, and the trialing is done in spite of…and because I’m really, really stubborn.

There are a lot of things I don’t do, or can’t do without a companion, and these things I integrate into my life as gracefully as possible, so most people don’t even put two and two together.

One of the reasons for that is a sensory dysfunction that generally has me fleeing (literally) for the hills.  (Am I a hermit?  Why yes.  Yes I am.)  To help manage this issue, I use certain focusing and brain exercises that take a lot more effort than you can imagine if you haven’t ever desperately relied on them.  I use these constantly and pretty much invisibly.

One of the things I’ve always done to ground my brain is to bring a dog along when I drive.  Having that quiet presence in the car is one thing–but the real value comes when I get where I’m going and we work together in the parking lot.  It re-grounds me without adding overload…and it’s the very fastest way to do that.  But when it’s too hot to leave a dog in the car…. I stop going places, or I pay a much larger price when I do.

So as of last year, I’ve gone official with Mr. D’Artagnan Beagle:  He’s a service dog. Because a service dog can come inside.

The reason this works for us is not only because of who he is, but because of who we are together.  And because I’ve been training dogs for [mumblemumble] years, I can make choices that are good for him, good for me–and most especially–responsible to the rest of the world.  Before I took this step, I consulted with a service dog trainer–and now Dart and I will grow together in this.  He is an imperfect service dog–eager and learning refinement–with an underlying aptitude, and that’s what makes him exactly perfect for me.

Look who has yet to learn the "tail tuck."

I’m immensely lucky. Not every dog is suited for service work, even if you start from puppyhood.  (Neither of my other two kids would be happy or successful in this role.)  So that’s luck #1.  Luck #2 is of course the fact that training is one of the things I do, and have basically always done.  Had I not run into the health stuff, I would have happily pursued it as a profession; as it is, I simply pursue it with dedication.

I don’t take this luck for granted, and I know…well, how lucky I am to be lucky.  That’s why I’m outing Dart’s quiet Other Role in my life –so I can participate in the “Bloggers Help Paws with Cause” event.

See, FINALLY.  We get to the part about winning things!

Basically, there are whole lot of blogs offering a chance to win a whole lot of bookish things–in return for  donations to Paws for Cause (one entry per each dollar donated).

Here on the blog, I’m giving away an ebook set of the entire Changespell Saga.  (Already have it?  Enter anyway.  We’ll work something out.)

To Enter:  Answer these questions in the comments!  Don’t worry…it could be that there’s no exact right or wrong.  I’ll do the pick from a hat thing–but I won’t lie.  Thoughtful responses (as opposed to token words just to get entered) will have an edge.

1. You’re attending an event.  You see a service dog of awesome cuteness.  YOU CAN’T STAND THE CUTENESS!  You miss your dog who is not at the event.  Because this is a service dog, you feel safe with it.  Also, you used to/do have a dog of that breed.  Your first impulse is to go “AWWW–!” and you feel an inexorable tug to go pet the dog.  What do you do?  (Or if you’re William Shatner, what DO you DO?)
2. You see someone with a service dog who appears to be functionally intact.  You wonder what on earth they need this dog for.  Are they just gaming the system to feel special?  Maybe they’re taking advantage!  You are wildly curious!  Your mouth opens!  What do you say?
3. You’re making casual conversation with someone who happens to have a service dog.  The dog is behaving appropriately, but you’re surprised to see this breed with a service vest on.  You know something about [family dogs/breeds/once taught your dog to sit], and you know this breed has a reputation for its cheerful resistance to training.  You open your mouth and out come the words–

No, wait!  This is a trick question!  Out come the words, “I can’t believe you’re using a Beagle as a service dog!  I [had/knew] a Beagle once, and it was so [dumb/stubborn] that it would never [sit/come/shut up/fill in the blank].”  And here is my answer, the one I will probably never say in public so you now have this sneak peek into my brain: “Right!  Because the dog trained YOU!  Now who’s the SMART ONE?!”  (And in my brain, I will use all caps.)

The MAIN EVENT! The prizes include two $65 gift certificates to any online book store, and a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies (US residents only).

The blog event is being organized by Bitten by Paranormal Romance and Romance Book Junkies–and here’s what they have to say about THAT!:

“We have a total of 59 blogs working together to raise money for this great cause. There are some awesome prizes up for grabs–and here’s a little about the cause:

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs.

PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy.  Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some.  Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen.

PAWS is a non-profit organization.  Paws With A Cause/4646 South Division/Wayland, MI 49348″

How to donate:

1. Go to http://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause

2. Click on “Make a Donation”

3. Enter your amount. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.

4. In the box that says “on the behalf of” please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the Everibbon website, so use a public name. Do not check the box to make an anonymous donation because Danielle won’t be able to track your donation and  process your giveaway entry.

5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information.

6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.

7. Ta Da!  Now contact Danielle to enter the giveaway!

8. Please email Danielle (RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com) with the name you used to donate your money, and tell her how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.

9. Ta Da again! Thank you for donating!

Warning: Play nice!  If Danielle receives more than one email with the same person’s name and donation amount, she’ll ask for your receipt from Everibbon.

Have lots of fun, admire a service dog, and head over to the Event Web Page to check out the other participating blogs and their prizes!

The Dart Outtakes…he’s not so fond of the camera flash!  His tail would wag happily until the moment I lifted the camera, and then…oppression…