Working Like Dogs

WORK IT OUT: Another weekend at home. What to do? What to do? Many people might be pondering that question from the "I'm bored" point of view. For us, well, our "to do" list is so long, it really takes some contemplating.

On Saturday, while Christian was working on framing our new storage shed in the upper lot, the kids and I got busy working on a paver pathway through our little bee-friendly field of clover.

It would have been easier to just plop the pavers down atop the existing lawn, but then they would have been wonky and wobbly, so we dug into the dirt and made a flat, rectangular plot for each one of them. 

In the photo above, the poor clover is pretty downtrodden, and the pavers aren't swept off, but you get a sense for how it will look.

Below is a photo of the finished path, connecting stairs to the top of our lot to stairs that rise up from our driveway, down below.

I also pulled mountains of weeds, and appreciated the thousands of succulents growing all over our little plot of land. 

On Sunday, the tulips were getting ready to burst. 

By Monday afternoon, they were showing their colors.

Meanwhile, the new storage space continues to take shape.

Kirby and Laika took a moment out of their busy schedule to check on the construction.

Mt. Rainier even showed up for the occasion.

PICK OF THE LITTER: With no sports and nowhere to go, we're finally watching a movie or two.

As we're scrolling through options on Hulu, Netflix, Kanopy, Amazon Prime, Sling, and more, you'd think we'd come up with a list of dozens of movies we wanted to see. 

That didn't happen.

I guess we're just not 'movie people,' whatever that means. Interestingly enough, the titles we four were all interested in all seemed to be documentaries. Go figure. We decided to watch a movie about pups trained to become aids to blind humans. 

Last night, my family decided to pass the time during quarantine by watching a documentary. We watched "Pick of the Litter," a documentary from 2018 that chronicles the training process for five puppies from one litter, all aiming to serve as guide dogs for disabled people. The Golden Retriever dogs are named Potomac, Phil, Patriot, Poppet, and Primrose, and they are absolutely adorable.

All of the dogs have to go through training exercises if they seek to become guide dogs. Those who are unsuccessful are "career changed" - meaning that they wind up in the dog version of civilian life. These exercises involve paying attention, remaining calm, and staying with their humans at all times. Without spoiling the outcome of the exercises, I can say that something as seemingly mundane as which dogs do or don't get selected for service as guide dogs become nail-biters.

And here's what Annabelle has to say about it. ...

“Pick of the Litter” is a documentary movie about the process that prospective guide dogs go through while training, from birth to being assigned a human. It’s a difficult and long process for both the dogs and the humans involved in training. The dogs are carefully selected from their litters, and most never even make it past the first stage of training. Without providing any spoilers for the documentary itself, it’s quite heartbreaking to see how some of these dogs and trainers work incredibly hard to fulfill the needs of the program, yet come up short in multiple areas. Dogs that are too energetic or impulsive are quick to be cut – sometimes they’re moved from one home to another in attempts to see if a more experienced handler will be able to curb their behavior and make sure that the dog can do its job. The dogs that do make it through have to show tenacity and dedication to following orders and making sure their human companions are safe, even learning when to disobey commands like “go forward” when a dangerous object such as a car is in the way. The documentary is a great look inside the guide dog industry for those who want to get a closer feeling of what guide dogs for the blind really do, and exactly how much they can help their humans.

Here's the trailer for the film if you'd like a little preview.