Happy Birthday, Cricket!!!

Today Cricket turns three!! She has been my guide since February 24, 2007. This dog is incredible -- of course, it is very easy to have a very soft place in your heart for a dog that gives you freedom and independence but she has such a fun and loving personality! So in celebration of her birthday I am sharing some things Cricket helps me remember (not in any particular order):

1. Take some time for yourself each day. Cricket has this routine before she goes to her 'job' as a guide dog. I tell her let's go running and she dances around the house and then runs to the door. Cricket knows that she gets to run in the backyard while I water the flowers - She runs and explores and has her little alone time!!

2. Service is fun. Cricket spends a lot of her day serving me -- ready to wake up from a nap at any time when we need to "go". Cricket loves her job as a guide dog -- and gets pretty excited when she knows she has helped me out! Yesterday in walking to a meeting Cricket needed to navigate around a construction area . . .she did it beautifully and then was so excited when I said good girl she stopped and sat . . we reveled in her good work for a minute!!

3. Love and appreciate people. Cricket loves people. She lets them know by looking them in the eye and wagging her tail. This is a challenge because she also knows she loves her job as a guide dog so she must calmly wag of which she does . . . When a client enters my office, Cricket greets them in the corner with her tail thumping. I love it . . . what better way to be welcomed! When someone comes to our door, Cricket looks out the window and wags her whole body. She also can make amazing eye contact something of which I am not the best at with minimal vision.

4. Forgive and give people the benefit of the doubt. Cricket loves to go and almost everywhere she does go. We love to tandem bike and can't take Cricket with us . . . Cricket now recognizes the helmet as a signal that she won't be going with us . . . she will go to the door and lie horizontal across it so that we have to give her a big hug and move her out of the way and tell her we will be back. But, we return and somehow she has forgotten that we deserted her for a fun bike ride!! She greets us warmly!!

5. Find a little humor in each day. I can't think of a day with Cricket that she hasn't made me laugh. Cricket loves to bring a bone to you, hide in the closet and then come running out, put up her paw for a shake . . her adorable tricks are endless.

Happy Birthday, Cricket and here's to many, many more years!!