Santa Sighting In July?

The Astoria/Warrenton/Seaside KOA (Kampgrounds Of America) was bursting at the seams this last weekend. A "No Vacancy" sign was displayed at the entryway the entire weekend. I was glad that Larry had made reservations early! Could it be the "Christmas in July" event this KOA was having or was it because it was a summer weekend? Or maybe both? Either way the campgrounds, or should I say Kampgrounds, were activity filled.

Friday evening we saw a number of guests decorate their recreational vehicles; also referred to as "RVs" to those in the know, with lights and even a few inflated holiday characters. The RV park had its Christmas best out as well.

This one was our favorite. Cher looks ready to put on some skis and join this Santa on the slopes. She  I agreed though that he'd get further if there was some snow. 

While Cherelle and I were taking our morning walk on Saturday who did we see drive by in a golf cart, dressed in a summer shirt and trademark red hat? Santa! The real Santa, and we know this because he had a real beard, not that fake stuff and no pillow stuffing to make him appear "jolly" either. He greeted us with a boisterous "Good Morning!" I was so caught off guard that I did not get a picture of him. The slow reaction could have been due to the fact that it was 6:30AM and I had not had my coffee yet. Cherelle looked for the reindeer and was disappointed to see that they did not accompany Santa on this trip. Unlike Santa, they must have had the summer off. At least this weekend anyway.

All this hustle and bustle at the KOA did not throw Cher off her game. She worked her usual sounds and a couple of important extra ones. First the tire pressure alarm went off while we were watching TV Saturday evening. Cher alerted me which caused Larry to notice it too. He hadn't heard it either until I paused the TV to find out what was wrong. This was the first time this particular warning alarm has signaled, but Cherelle figured out that it was something that needed to be brought to my attention. Fortunately Larry determined that nothing was amiss. It was a false alarm. Or we hope so. We'll know for sure when we head out on Tuesday morning! The second very important alert was last night when the pizza delivery guy knocked on the RV door. Extra treats for my girl. Yes we had 
pizza delivered to our RV. Talk about "roughing it"!

On that note I'll send you all my warmest regards and Cher sends tail wags.

As long as you are not hard of hearing or deaf.

Imagine paying for goods and services but only receiving half of those goods and services?  What would be your feelings and thoughts?

This is what happen to me when my husband and I went to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum in McMinville, Oregon. We bought our admission ticket which included tickets to the museum's theater which were valued at about $12.00. Theater tickets are sold separately apart from museum admission for those who want to watch the movies but not tour the museum.  I asked the woman at the counter if the movies shown had captioning available or if the theater had other assistive listening devices. I was told sorry no. "But the sound is really loud" the women told me. FYI; cranking the volume up does not mean I can understand what is being said. This is true for many people with severe hearing loss. My husband then said he'd be the only one needing a ticket but the women insisted that she had to also sell me a ticket with admission to the museum even though I was unable to attend any of the movies shown. So I sucked it up,we paid our money and went into the exhibit area. At least, I thought that I could look at the airplanes and various space related items such as the,

Moon Rover. There was also a piece of the Berlin Wall that had been between the cities of Zicherie, West Germany and Bockwitz, East Germany.

However I was further disappointed to discover that I was going to miss out on the extra background information provided about many of the exhibits. Why? Because that information was shown in video format on televisions scattered throughout the museum, none which had captioning. I was unable the hear the TVs.  Information dispersed visually was limited and incomplete compared to the information provided via audio. I felt cheated a second time. 

Maybe Evergreen should have four admission prices: Children, Adults, Seniors, and Hard of Hearing/Deaf?  I will be contacting the museum to bring to their attention that the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been in effect for well over twenty years and includes those with hearing impairments.  Here is a museum dedicated to science and technology and the powers-to-be have not used any of that technology to make the museum fully accessible! 

Well at least I had no problems bringing Hearing Dog Cherelle with me. Thumbs up to Evergreen Air and Space Museum being service dog friendly, two thumbs down for accessibility to those with hearing loss.

Warmest Wishes to all from me and tail wags from Cherelle aka Cher.

My two cents worth

"I am going to buy a service dog vest and put it on my dog so I can take it anywhere I go."

 

Yep I have had some people say this to me while I have my service dog, Cherelle, at my side. Usually at someplace where dogs (as in your pet) are not allowed.

The poster's message is short and to the point but I would like to expand further on why I consider it, might I even be so bold as to say, just plain wrong, to claim your dog is a service animal.

Service dog teams are composed of a specially trained dog and a person with a diagnosed disability. The person with the disability often has undergone some training to learn how to effectively work with her/his service dog to make maneuvering through daily life easier and or safer. Your pet, while providing unconditional love and emotional support, has not been trained for a specific task or tasks that lessens the impact of a disability. Whenever you slap a service dog vest on your dog or claim your pet is a service animal you diminish not only the role of a service dog, but the person with the disability as well. That may not be your intention but to someone like me that is how it feels.

Whenever a fake service dog "acts up", and trust me I've seen it happen, it can create a hostile environment for the legitimate service dog and his or her handler. The business owners, managers and employees will look at future service dog teams, the "real" ones, with suspicion and even hostility. As a person with a disability my life is complicated enough without having to encounter and deal with confusion, hostility or outright challenges about my service dog because the person in a business had an unpleasant experience with someone's pet that the owner was fobbing off as a service dog.

The majority of pets have not undergone even close to the amount of training that service dogs go through. When someone's pet is in a "no pets" setting because that owner is claiming the animal is a service dog and that pet encounters a true service dog, eight times out of ten the pet interferes with the service dog team by barking or growling, or lunging at the service dog or even all three! This can be not only disturbing to the handler with the disability and the service dog but also dangerous. A service dog who feels under attack or becomes overly distracted by an unruly dog cannot focus on its duties. Do you really want to be the cause of an injury to someone with a disability because you wanted to have your pet with you while you were shopping? I hope not. 

Worse case scenario would be if your pet were to bite the service dog and the service dog becomes unable to work due to fear or nervousness as a result of being attacked. In some states interfering with a service dog is against the law. In Oregon it is a class C misdemeanor and "...owner may recover costs and other expenses, including, but not limited to, cost of temporary replacement assistance services incurred as a result of the theft or injury to the animal." There can also be penalties. In Oregon, "...fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 60 days, or both." (www.leg.state.us/ors). Is having your pet with you at all times worth that risk?

So please, the next time you think about claiming that your beloved pet is a service animal consider those of us who use service dogs because we have a disability not because we don't want to be parted from our dog. And if you hear someone say they are going to claim that their dog is a service animal just so they can take it someplace were dogs are not allowed, please explain to them why it is not a great idea. On behalf of service dog teams everywhere I thank you. Cherelle does too.

Best Wishes to everyone and tail wags from Cherelle, aka Cher.

Horses of All Colors

Our stay at the Benton Oaks RV Park has been an interesting one. We arrived a few days ahead of a Four H equestrian event!  Benton Oaks is located within the Benton County Fairgrounds and is managed by the county. The RV park and fairgrounds went from quite, calm and barely occupied to bustling, busy and full capacity. Families and horses provided energy and entertaining animal/people watching. It made morning walks an adventure too! 

Cherelle did not seem overly interested with the horses. However some of the horses did seem interested in her and a few of them seemed to give a shout out greeting to her with loud whinnying. One of the organizers said that many of the horses have been raised around dogs so I have no doubt that they were missing their canine buddies and were happy to see Cher.

Watching the activities at the RV park and fairgrounds got even more interesting when some of the folks who were attending the DiVinci Days celebration camped overnight at the fairgrounds along with their very creative vehicles or "kinetic sculptures". There was a giant foot, and a "Hell on Wheels" kinetic piece, and multiple smaller one-person kinetic works. If you are curious about kinetic sculptures as done by Corvallis DiVinci Days participants go to www.davincidays.org/races-revelry

Cher has been busy during our stay here. She has informed me when there was someone outside our RV. It turned out to be the camp host helping Larry move a collapsed picnic table. Nice to know that she thinks I need to know the presence of someone moving around the outside of the RV. When she and I were sauntering along the road around fairgrounds I noticed that she did a quick glance behind her. I turned to look and saw that there was a car behind us. I quickly moved us to the side of the road so that the driver could pass. And once again when I did not get the refrigerator door closed tight, my girl let me know. Cherelle also came to get me when the camp host knocked on our RV door. Daily she continues work the sound of the microwave beeping. And of course she gets in her naps on the front dash of the motorhome.

We will be leaving here on Wednesday and heading north to McMinnville, Oregon where we will stay at a RV park right next to the air museum. So stay tuned!

Warm wishes from me to all of you and tail wags from hearing dog Cherelle, aka Cher.

No horses? What about service dogs?

Sisters Rodeo Grounds, Sisters Oregon

This sign reminded me of those "No Dogs" signs you often see in front of entrances to many businesses. I have had people ask me, "Does that mean your dog too?".  So let me dedicate this blog to what rights under the law that Cherelle has as a service dog and what makes a dog a service animal.

First Question. What is a service dog? According to Federal Law:

*"The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government."

A note here. In 2010 the Federal Government tightened the definition of service animal to be defined as a dog only with special exceptions for miniature horses used to guide those who are blind.

The answer to the second half of the question explains what defines a service dog and makes that animal different from a companion dog also known as your pet.

*"Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. Guide dogs are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:

_ Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.

_ Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.

_ Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.

A service animal is not a pet."

*www.ada.gov/gasrvc.htm  For a more detailed explanation go to www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

Cherelle was trained by Dogs for the Deaf to alert me to sounds in my environment. Specifically for me those sounds are: smoke and Co2 alarms, my husband calling my name, someone knocking on the door (house, RV, hotel) oven timers, cell phone alerts for incoming text messages and reminders and the alarm clock. More recently we have added the warning alarms that go off when the refrigerator and safe doors are not securely shut. 

In pubic spaces her specific duties may change but her purpose, helping me be aware of sounds in my environment, does not. Because I know that Cher can hear and identify the directions of sounds I keep  an eye on her. If she turns her head I look too. She may have heard a car backing out of a parking space, a shopping cart whipping around the corner of a grocery aisle or someone behind trying to get around us. Having her has greatly reduced the frequency of being startled by the seemingly sudden appearance of something or someone. You probably are familiar with the phrase "never saw it coming", well before Cherelle I never heard it coming! I still don't "hear it coming" but I am now able to be aware.

Where can a service dog go?

*"State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go."

Here are some specific places that Cher has been or could go.  Public transportation including taxis and commercial airlines, hospitals (few exceptions), doctors' offices and clinics, restaurants, except in food prep areas unless those areas are open to the general public. A person with a service dog cannot be refused housing in "no pets allowed" apartments or condos. Cherelle and I have been to a RV park that had a "no pets weighing more than 40 lbs allowed". Cher weighs around 58 pounds but because she is a service dog the RV park could not refuse us access.

So after reading this you now have passed Service Animals 101. Congratulations!

More later.....warmest regards from me with tail wags from Cherelle (aka Cher)

We liked it so much the first time.......

Well we have returned to the RV park in Sisters Oregon again. Hearing Dog Cherelle could not get enough of the rodeo grounds. She is still hoping that a ground squirrel will pop out of it's hole to say howdy. The ducks at the pond here are a bit more social or at least less elusive. She'll have to settle for them.

On our way here as we drove through the Santiam Pass we stopped along the road for lunch and to stretch our legs. We had a beautiful view of the river as we munched our sandwiches from the comfort of our motorhome. One downside was that the highway noise was pretty intense. I turned off my hearing aids and enjoyed the view in silence. Sometimes being almost deaf has its advantages. 

I inadvertently locked Larry out of the RV the other day. No really, it was unintentional, at least on a conscience level anyway (wink).  Fortunately for him Cher was on duty and let me know that he was knocking on the door. Without her he would have had to jump up and down outside in front of the windshield wildly waving his arms and hope I would look out that way and see him. I am sure it would have amused the folks around us to no end! 

This coming weekend will find us attending a small motorhome rally in Elkton, OR. Cher will get a chance to say hello to some of her canine friends who attend with their people. 

Until later.....Good wishes to all and tail wags from Cherelle aka Cher.

Cher with Larry stretching their legs along the Santiam Pass, Oregon.