In Lieu of a Dog of my own

NaBloPoMo prompt for today:

What is the first thing you do every single day (I mean, after you hit the snooze button)? When did that step in your routine begin?

The first thing I do is put on my glasses, but that’s not very interesting.

The second thing I do is go over to my desk, open my laptop, and check on the webcam of the Great Dane Service Dog Project.

I’ve been doing this since I discovered the site three years ago, very shortly after it came online with the Explore site. At that time, Chaos had just had her puppies:

I didn’t see them born, but I did see the next litter born, to Noel:

And the next, born to Olive:

And so on, through these years.

Each morning I enjoy seeing the activities in the kitchen at Carlene White’s house. Those puppies are born in her house, and are socialized from birth. Each litter stays in the house, with a human volunteer watching out for them and interacting with them, until they are about eight weeks old.

I also have enjoyed watching them trained to be service dogs, and paired with persons with a variety of neurological issues who need a “balance dog” .

It’s a great spirit lifter every morning.