Galaxy and More

Galaxy continues to be fascinated by the Coronado rabbits. They have few natural predators here, and they're sometimes more curious than timid around us. They don't see many dogs.

This morning I took Galaxy to have a last exercise session with the soft, cherry red ball we picked up at the RIT/NTID exhibit. It was still dark, and during our walk to and from the convention center we saw only one early runner and one security guard. As we walked, two bunnies emerged from the bushes, one on either end of the sidewalk. To our delight, they hopped along the sidewalk ahead of us like two escorts until we had nearly reached the building. Then they melted into the shrubbery. What a great sendoff!

Last night after doing some packing, email, and writing news to you, Galaxy and I had our play date. I had set it for after 10 pm in the hope that the convention center would be deserted. We love the wide hallways there, far bigger than our backyard!

As luck would have it, the banquet attendees were still trickling out. Marcia Finisdore was one of those who spotted me right away. We ended up with an audience that included some hotel employees. I'm not the only person who finds Galaxy's joy in play to be therapeutic.

Denise Portis and her daughter sat on a bench and watched. Both were missing their dogs. Maybe Denise can figure out a better way to describe how Galaxy looks when she plays. Galaxy likes to play hard and often. She is svelte, muscular and very light on her feet. She can walk extremely fast where most dogs would break into a run. When she goes after something on the floor, her feet suddenly go in different directions and miraculously come back together without her going into a complete sprawl. I told the hotel guy on the Segway who was watching her play that she has independent suspension.

On carpet Galaxy loves to brake hard as she completes her chase to snatch the ball. She stiffens her front legs to brake and does a controlled skid that I call carpet surfing. I think she loves the whooshing sound it makes.

Speaking of Denise, earlier in the day she was chastising Terry for petting Galaxy. I explained that I can allow petting in certain situations because Galaxy is very good at going from play to work. My previous hearing dog, Dana, was not, and I had to be much more careful about petting. If someone petted her, she'd give me this look that said "see ya, I'm busy now." Each hearing dog is very individual.

What is important is that I have control of my hearing dog at all times. People need to ask me before petting Galaxy. Many people haven't done that here. For the record, Terry wasn't one of them. I think most people didn't know that they were breaking a rule, because they see others petting her and don't realize that these people asked and I permitted. When I am asked, I can give Galaxy a command that briefly releases her from working. The command sequence is for me to say to her "Do you want to say hello?" followed by my pointing to the person who wants to pet her. She can see it coming; by now she has "may I pet your dog?" memorized. In formal settings and some places like restaurants I do not allow petting.

Kids with Weapons

All week long we've seen kids with weapons, their teachers, and their cheering sections in the convention area. The weapons include their bodies, because they're here for a martial arts championship. It's the US Open, ISKA World Championships. There's over $40,000 in cash and awards and some of the kids have been carrying trophies bigger than they are down the hall.

I can also pick them out on my walks. It's not just the clothing that gives them away, it's the way they walk totally knowing their center of gravity.

I'm curious about some of the competitions and it's too bad we didn't make them part of our conference entertainment. There are musical divisions, creative and extreme divisions, team synchronized forms.

I took a look at some of their materials and found that there's a NASKA tournament in Washington, DC (Capital Classics) from August 11-13 and that the Black Belt Academy in Centreville, VA is listed as one of the schools that offer competition training.

See You Back Home

Today is the research symposium, which will probably produce enough notes to fill the last of my steno pad. After the symposium I'll be catching the Disney bus to the airport. I arrive in DC about 7 pm tonight.

********************

(c)2006 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.