Our stop at Allouez garage lasted about an hour &  a half, during which time Rosebud was fantastic, although the bathroom was a little bit small, and it was unisex, so I kept Rosebud to as far to the  corner  as I could.   Note to self;  avoid this situation in the future if at all possible.  

We were the only ones in the dingy small waiting room which consisted of a few chairs and a pile of non-descript magazines & it wasn't too terribly long before Rosie jumped into the chair next to me, even though it was much to small for her.   There were no other customers and although I thought it was incredibly ingenious on her part to just assume that chair at home ment chair in public, I quickly corrected her, that not everyone wants to sit in a chair right after a huge Dobergirl has oocupied it.  The guys working on my car couldn't have cared less, they were probably just glad that while they were moving the car around, Rose wasn't inside.  Of course, that wasn't even a possible scenario. 

On our way to Sears, we stopped at Petco,  a store where anyone can bring in their pet.   Again, Rose was a true champ, absolutly everyone loved seeing her and expressed that admiration with comments on how beautiful she is and how well behaved.   It was a quick in & out trip for some vitamins for the gang and I knew for certain we were ready for a stroll through the mall.  

Once at Sears, the staff in the automotive service department seemed very appreciative that Rose wasn't still in the car, that I had her by my side.  I gave them my cell phone number in case they found a problem that needed approval for, and off we went for a stroll.  How wonderful, kill two birds with one stone.  car  is now ready for winter and my Rosebud excelled at mall navigating.

The mall experience was not without question from mall authorities as to Rosebuds appearence without a Service Dog attire.   Rose has a vest but what I need for her to have is a little backpack kinda thing to carry my purchases.  If any of you that has been stopping by and reading here knows of one, please let me know, my email link is towards the top of this page.    Nonetheless, the security guard wished me a nice day & the experience was 100% POSITIVE.   I did notice a couple with a very young child in a stroller in the automotive section of Sears who stayed well behind me while waiting for my transaction to be completed.  That was Ok but they needn't have worried, for Rosebud loves little children.

All in all, the whole experience was positive.   In fact it was a bit more than positive,  I'm a bit conflicted as to how much public contact on a personal level I should let happen with Rose, because even though she is working, she is also an ambassador of one of the most loyal and genuine loving breeds of dog there is, the Doberman Pinscher, as was evident by her reaction to the attention she received today.    What a lovely tribute to those involved in Doberman Rescue. 

What we've been working on is picking things up,  if it's not a toy or a treat it is a foriegn concept to pick something up.  Thank God she loves treats, she is learning.     Another thing we've worked on that is going well, is I have Rosie stand at the top of the stairs to the deck, and sit still while I use her to help me up the stairs.  I started out with having her stand, but I think the sitting position will be better in the long run as it's easier on her to be sitting. 

I'll come back and report how it went later!

It was my lucky day when I first heard about Rosebud.  Who would have known back 3 years ago now, that the tables would be so turned;  it would be me that needs her now, but when I met first met her, it was Rosie that needed me.    Rosie is a rescue Dobergirl.   I was connected with a shelter within days of contacting the Minnesota Doberman Rescue http://www.doberescuemn.org/        exactly  3 years ago, after learning the devastating news that my beloved Lexi, who was only 7 years young, had a debilitating skelatel disease called Wobblers Syndrome.    Lexi was doing much better than expected by the time I met Rosebud, but I went with the intention of possibly fostering her until she could find a permanent family on that fateful day when I first laid my eyes on her & looked into  those loving soulful eyes of hers.  It was pretty much over with then, any thoughts of fostering were quickly going out the window, this girl was special.  Actually, this photograph is from that very day, just minutes after having her jump into the back seat of my car, before even driving out of the parking lot. 

Of course;  by then, she had won my heart and I pretty much knew she wasn't going any place else;  depending on how she did with the rest of the crew;  my fiesty little Miniature Pinschers are a real test to any other breeds tolerance, and matching personalitles dosen't always work, no matter how good natured any breed might be. 

Rosebud settled right in,  like she co-owned the place with Lexi, who was definitely the BOSS of the place.   Lexi was preturbed at first, to say the least.  He had just spent half a week at one vet's office not being able to stand, and had made two trips on a stretcher into the chiropractor vet and he was still kind of weak but not giving up when Rosebud came into his life.   What was SHE doing in his house?  Trying to take his place?   I had long talks with Lexi to explain that she was there to HELP him watch over everything, that he didn't have to do it alone anymore, and he could rest a little but the talks fell on deaf ears for a few painful (to me) days whille Lexi got over the shock of having another big dog in his space.   Couple that, with having a  house full of MinPins who were all kinds of curious about this new big dog cousin in thier house and it was a bit of a circus for a few hours but everyone settled in very quickly & for that I was grateful,  I'll admit to just a few passing thoughts of "what the heck was I doing, upsetting the applecart so, especially after Lexi had been so sick!"! 

Angels come in unexpected packages...

It didn't take too long before Rosebuds good manners and potential would shine through,  this girl  appeared from out of nowhere, at a very hard time in my life, for Lexi was a dream dog,  I loved him so much & the the thought of losing him was tearing my heart to shreads.   We had 2 more good years with Lexi before we lost him, but the real story here is how Rosebud has become so important in my every day life. 

RIP Lexi

Since the time I first brought Rosebud home until now, I've developed some mobility issues & recently I've begun formally training her to do tasks for me, such as pick things up that I drop, & she helps me on steep hills or stairs & I go places I couldn't get to if it wasn't for her.    We're just now working with picking things up.   She sticks to me like glue anyway, she might as well be productive!

Rosebud has had formal advanced obedience training and I have completed formal advanced obedience training classes, so once paired with Rosebud as I was, the obvious next step in maintaining my physical independence to keep doing the things I love, was to take those next steps to having her, help me. 

That's where I'm at, right now.  I might as well write about it & post it here.  Maybe it will help someone out there to find out what you need to KNOW/DO!  Funny thing is, I tried to find out information on obtaining a certification for having my own service dog from physicians, and other area (so called) professionals and never an answer could I get.  It wasn't until recently that I got back into searching out information that I plainly see,  yes, I can train my own service dog & be afforded the access granted to academy trained canines.     

As time passes I'll update, and include  links that I find helpful.   Now with Fall Season fast approaching, this is one of my most important projects to get going on.  I've had a very successful start so far, until next time...

Stephanie & Rosebud