What Would Dempsey Do?

When Dempsey was a little baby dog, we spent a lot of time socializing him. He used to be afraid of men with long beards or men with feathers in their cowboy hats, but with the kindness and patience of strangers we met on the street, we taught Dempsey not to be afraid of people's appearances. Someone who might look like a mean biker on parole, we taught him, could actually be a kind and trustworthy person with a good heart.

We are very proud to report that Dempsey has learned this lesson well. In fact, the student has surpassed his master.

I discovered this one morning a few months ago, when I was walking with Dempsey near downtown. Down the street was a homeless man, sitting on the curb. My gut instinct was to cross the street and avoid the man, but with the heavy traffic that day, crossing the street wasn't an option. I told Dempsey to pick up the pace, with the intention of walking quickly by.

“That's a beautiful dog,” the homeless man said as he watched us walk towards him. “And so well behaved! Are you training him for something?”

Being a sucker for anyone who compliments Dempsey, I stopped and explained that Dempsey was in training to be a service dog. Dempsey sat politely at my heel, wagging his tail.

“Dempsey seems like a really smart dog,” the man replied. “I know I'm not supposed to pet him, but he sure is beautiful.”

Dempsey wagged his tail even harder. Although Dempsey likes everybody, he seemed particularly in love with this man.

“Well,” I replied, trusting Dempsey's judgment, “He's not in his pack, so he's not on duty. You can pet him if you want.”

The man beamed with joy. “I'd love to!”

Dempsey was still politely sitting at my side, but as soon as I said “Release,” he dashed towards the man and gave him a snuggle.

The man buried his face in Dempsey's neck and gave him a big hug. “Dempsey reminds me of my old dog, Rocky” he said. As he petted Dempsey, he explained that the first thing he did after coming home from Vietnam was to get Rocky, who always woke him up from his nightmares by kissing him. Rocky was a matchmaker, too: The man met his wife, he said, when Rocky ran off at the park to greet her.

With Rocky's help, the man had put his life back together after Vietnam. He got married, bought a house, and had a baby.

Then came what he called the worst day of his life. His young son had forgotten to close the gate to the backyard, and Rocky ran off. He said he knew it was bad news when he heard a car screeching to a halt outside. The man ran outside to find Rocky in the street, blood pouring from his mouth. He died right there, in the man's arms.

The man didn't finish the story, but I imagine that day was the start of the downward spiral that led him to living alone, on the street. He was crying, and Dempsey was right at his side, wiping away his tears with big doggie kisses.

“I'm so sorry,” I said, knowing how empty those words must sound. I just stood there, watching Dempsey comfort the man. It shamed me to realize that my dog is a better person than I am: a more perceptive judge of character, more attentive to others' needs, more generous with his love.

After a few minutes, the man seemed to pull himself together.

“Well, I guess I should let you guys go on your walk.” He looked at Dempsey, who was sitting perfectly still, looking back at him. “Dempsey, you're an angel on earth. You're going to change somebody's life.”

Dempsey was sitting politely, wagging the tip of his tail. “Wait a sec,” the man said. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and offered it to me. “Dempsey's a great dog. Go buy him a steak.”

I was dumbstruck. I've had countless homeless people ask me for money, but never in my life had a homeless person offered me money. “Oh, I can't,” I stammered.

“Look,” the man said, “I'm an alcoholic.” He nodded towards the liquor store across the street. “As soon as that store opens, I'm just going to buy some booze. Do me a favor and buy Dempsey a steak for me.”

Now, I've studied philosophy at the graduate level, but I can tell you that when you're on the street, trying to decide whether you should take money from a homeless man who says he'll only use the money to hurt himself, all the fancy talk about categorical imperatives and utility maximization means absolutely nothing. I had no idea what to do.

Finally, I just said that Dempsey is on a special diet, and that I really can't give him a steak.

“Ok,” the man said skeptically. He put the money back in his pocket, and looked again at Dempsey. “God bless you, Dempsey. You're very special. Now go change someone's life!” Then the man looked at me. “And God bless you, too, for training him.” He was smiling now, and I knew he meant it.

I wondered, as we walked away, what I should've done for the man. Stupid me: I should've just asked Dempsey.

Graduation day

It is with unbelievably immense pride that we announce that Dempsey will be graduating this Friday, September 30. Everyone is invited to attend! We hope to see you there!

Dempsey actually moved out last Wednesday, September 21, and he's been staying with his new mom for the last half of the 3-week training period.

We miss having Dempsey around, of course, but as you can tell in the photo below, we have Dylan, aka Silly Dilly, aka Dilbert, aka our therapy dog, to help with the transition. Although, as you can also tell from the photo below, as a young puppy, he's in "jail" quite a bit.

Dempsey has taught us a lot in the two years we've had him, and in the next few days, as I catch up on Dempsey's adventures, I'll share Dempsey's Life Lessons. To start, here's lesson 1:

Lesson #1: Poop bags are quite handy

I now carry poop bags around in my pocket everywhere I go, whether I have a dog with me or not. I use poop bags the way some people use Swiss Army knives, though Swiss Army knife owners probably don't find their knives in the dryer lint trap, as I often do when I forget to empty my pockets.

In addition to picking up poop, we've used poop bags: As a trash bag on road trips; to wrap a gift; as a flag to attract Doreen's attention in a crowd; as a makeshift water bowl; as a makeshift glove while checking the oil in my car; to wrap a leaky shampoo bottle; and to to take home a leftover pie. We now know all that poop bags can do for you. Thanks Demps!



Toy time

The other day, I received a nice card and gift from a colleague at work. "Thanks for your help with the project!" the card read. The gift was a flattened squeaky squirrel.

I'm not sure what possessed Lisa to think that I might enjoy a flattened squeaky squirrel, but whatever. Though Dempsey was no help whatsoever on the big project at work, I decided to re-gift the squirrel for him. I wanted it to be a surprise for him, and I told him to cover his eyes, but he was way too excited to wait long.



Dempsey and Dylan had a blast playing tug with the flattened squeaky squirrel, and within about ten minutes, our little goldface killahs had the squirrel dissected and desqueaked.

Dempsey says "Thank you Lisa for my new favorite toy!"



Cruisin'

In addition to the State Fair, Dempsey went cruising last weekend on the steamboat Minnehaha on Lake Minnetonka near Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Three-peat

Once again this year, Dempsey volunteered to do a demo at the Minnesota State Fair. Dempsey has been going to the fair his whole life, but you wouldn't be able to tell from his pictures, since none of them were obviously taken at the fair.

Since this is Dempsey's last time going to the fair with us, we went looking for a sign someplace that said "Minnesota State Fair," but alas the only sign we could find at Dempsey's height was on a recyling can. Luckily, Dempsey was happy to show what a good citizen he is by picking up a plastic bottle to recycle.

Dempsey also had the chance to visit his brother Sawyer, who is also graduating this fall. We're very proud of Dempsey's whole family!

Substitute

Doreen and I had never had a dog before we got Dempsey, but now that we've had Dempsey, we can't imagine ever not having a dog again.

With Dempsey graduating in a few weeks, we were faced with a doggie emergency. We had to get a substitute for Dempsey. And last Sunday, we did:

New puppy is, of course, cute and sweet and adorable and very well socialized already, though we'd already forgotten how much work it is to have a puppy. Dempsey acts like a real service dog now; new puppy, we joke, is a dis-service dog. He is a joy to have around, but giving him freedom from the crate requires eternal vigilance.

It's so much fun introducing a baby dog to the world, and we're really looking forward to spending time training him. And the best news is, Dempsey is helping!

On new puppy's first night at home, he cried and cried and cried when we put him in his crate at bedtime. Big-hearted Dempsey, who had just met new puppy about an hour before, was very worried about him. He planted himself right next to the crate, occassionally giving new puppy a touch of his paw or a kiss.

When Doreen and I went upstairs, Dempsey followed us. He licked our hands a few times, and then ran back downstairs. When we didn't follow him, Dempsey ran back up, licked our hands again, and then ran back down. He did this a few times before we finally gave in, and went downstairs to sleep with new puppy and Dempsey. Even Buddy joined us.

I know dog-skeptics will accuse us of anthropomorphizing, but it seems pretty obvious to us that Dempsey was worried about new puppy, and wanted us to comfort him. Dempsey -- and his whole family -- are such kind hearted, furry little people. If you need moe evidence, check out Dempsey's brother Sawyer, who also tries to comfort sick animals. Therapy dogs for other dogs -- who knew?

We're so proud of Dempsey and Sawyer! They're both graduating in September, and they have the temperament, and not just the skills, to be wonderful helpers.

 

Happy camper

Now that Dempsey is set to graduate in September, the last few weeks have been full of "lasts": Last visit to his current vet, last trip to the office, last dinner at our favorite pizza place.

But since life is full of adventures, we decided we needed to balance some of these "lasts" with some "firsts." So last weekend, we took Dempsey on his first camping trip to Sakatah Lake State Park.

Like the good service dog he is, he started the trip off with some work, helping us check in and set up the tent.

Dempsey was a little disappointed we didn't have a pup tent, but we were happy: Dempsey, we discovered, is quite the sprawler when he sleeps at night. As much as we love the idea of sleeping with him, in practice nobody likes a sleeping-bag hogging dog.

Dempsey enjoyed a little hike on the Singing Hills Trail, but he thought the campfire was boring. No chocolatey Smores for doggies!

We're planning to check off more adventures from Dempsey's bucket list this weekend. Stay tuned!

Wally World

While Dempsey's baby brother Walter was here, it felt like Wally World. He is quite adorable, but very insistent on being the center of attention, all the time. If Dempsey is getting a massage, Wally needs to muscle in between us and roll over for a massage, too. If Dempsey is quietly chewing a toy, Wally comes charging in to try to play tug. If I tried taking a picture of Dempsey without Wally, he'll come stick his wet nose on the camera lens. Wally, Wally, Wally.

Luckily, Dempsey was a good sport about it all. He and Walter were good buddies as well as brothers, though as you can tell by the pictures, Demps started getting tired of Walter's energy after a few days.

Luckily for Dempsey, Walter turned out not the Energizer Bunny. After a few more days at our house, Walter settled down, though he had a penchant of sleeping by the toy basket and using it as a pillow, just in case anything exciting happens.

Three's a Crowd

With the majority of our unpacking complete, we were somewhat settled enough to dog-sit Walter, one of Dempsey's Helping Paws colleagues, while his family is on vacation.

After a long day, I decided to relax and take advantage of the huge whirlpool bath tub - one of my favorite things in our new home.

All the noise behind a closed door must have been too much excitement for Dempsey and Walter. As I settled in among the bubbles, BAM - the door flew open and two furry heads peered over the edge and tried to jump in the tub with me. Luckily, without success.

True service dogs, always ready to be of assistance.

Break time

Although we're nowhere near done unpacking, we decided to take a break last weekend for a day trip up north with Dempsey.

Our first stop was a continuation of Dempsey's architecture tour: The only gas station in the world designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

This gas station isn't as famous as Fallingwater or the Robie House, and for good reason: It's a gas station.

But Demps isn't an art snob; he enjoyed cooling off in the upstairs waiting lounge. Now we can tell everyone Dempsey has been inside a Louis Sullivan and a Frank Lloyd Wright building!

With his architecture history lesson done, we took Dempsey to the beach for some fun time. He enjoyed splashing around the icy cold water of Gitchigumee.

Of course, after some fun at the beach, Dempsey was all wet and sandy. Luckily, we discovered a place to give Dempsey a bath.

Even better for us, the sign for this place was in English: When Doreen and I were in Italy, we were given directions  (in Italian) to a laundromat (we thought) in a village in Tuscany. After we hauled our dirty laundry inside the "Lavaggio Cani, 24 Ore Self Service," we discovered it wasn't really a laundromat, but a 24-hour, self service dog wash.  Later, we discovered that said Tuscan village does not have a laundromat -- only a 24-hour, self service dog wash.

We thought this was weird, but our discovery in Two Harbors, Minnesota, is probably equally weird: A car and truck and dog wash and RV Dump. Will the wonders of the world ever cease?

Dempsey didn't seem too happy at first, probably thinking we would get the underbody wash and special hot wax for him. He seemed happier discovering that the dog wash area was separate from the car wash. He
wasn't too excited either about climbing up the ramp to the dog wash area, but after a few treats and lots of encouragement, he finally got the courage to climb in for his 6-quarters bath.

It was a fun day for a doggie, but we had to come home for Wally World. More on that shortly, I hope.

Hi Mom!!!

Dempsey says:
"Hi (new) Mom!!!Hi! Hi! I love the toys you bought for me. And I love you! Thank you! I had fun with you. I'm bored now. Mom Doreen and Dad Paul moved to a new house. All they do is move boxes around. Buddy the cat likes the boxes, but I'm bored.

"Every time they open a box, I think it's a present for me. But it isn't. They haven't bought me a new toy in weeks! They say we have too much stuff, but I don't think you can have too many toys. I love you and I think I'll have alot of fun with you. Love, Dempsey."

Paul and Doreen say:

We'll try to update Dempsey's blog more often -- we've just been pretty busy! Right now, we're too tired for words, but Dempsey's colleague Sheldon has volunteered to demonstrate how we feel:

The boy is back!

Dempsey returned tonight from his "business trip" with his prospective new mom.

Doreen and I were careful not to let him pack his toys for this business trip, but when he came home, he proudly pulled out of his bag two brand new toys that his prospective new mom had bought for him: a fuzzy goose and a crazy chicken.

In Dempsey's skills self-evaluation, we talked about how skilled he was at retrieving credit cards or pieces of paper, and how he can easily open doors. I guess we should've mentioned, though, that by far his best skill is getting what he wants from people.

Dempsey says: "Thank you, nice new mom! I had a lot of fun and I really like the new toys! I think I'm going to like living with you. Lots of love, snuggles, and kisses! (And lots of toys, too, please! And treats. Treats are good, too!)"

Dempsey's business trip

For the past month, Dempsey has been busy going to the training center, interviewing applicants for service dogs.

The process of matching applicants to service dogs is a complex one, with the staff considering lots of variables: skill level, activity level, temperament, experience with kids or other pets, among others. And, of course, there's that ever elusive "fit": Dempsey makes the ultimate decision for who he wants to live with. If he doesn't like someone, then all of the other variables don't matter.

The feedback we've received is that Dempsey, of course, loves everyone. He worked happily for all the applicants, and he wasn't selective in giving kisses and snuggles to people. We were happy to hear that, because it means that Dempsey will be happy no matter where he goes.

Yesterday, Dempsey packed his bag (literally) for a business trip: He's spending the weekend with an applicant who has a "civilian" pet dog and cat, to see if he gets along with everyone in the family. Although this is a business trip, when we asked him to "get" stuff to "put" in his bag, he also grabbed a toy. Happy Dempsey always plans on having fun.

He's been out for over a day now, and he hasn't been sent back, which leads us to believe he's getting along nicely with his new friends.

We already kinda miss the little guy. Instead of playing hide and seek after dinner like we usually do, we spent some time looking at pictures of Dempsey and noticed there were a few we haven't blogged yet.

Below are some pictures of Dempsey at Art-A-Whirl, the "largest open studio and gallery tour in the U.S."

Riding the Art-a-Whirl trolley to different studios:

Inside the spooky, abandoned Hollywood Theater:

Here Dempsey looks a little weirded out by the "ghosts" behind him at the theater:

Buddy Bueller

Buddy the bad cat pushed out the screen window in the kitchen this morning, jumped out, and made poor Doreen worry.

After searching the neighborhood for hours, we found him sitting lazily in the driveway, right around dinnertime. He wouldn't tell us where he was all day, but we found these incriminating photos on Anthony Weiner's Twitter account.

Laundry boy

Next step: Teaching Dempsey to fold and put away.

Training by Nelson

A few months ago, when we took Dempsey to Chuck E. Cheese, he entertained a bunch of kids by carrying around a paper cup -- on his nose.

We had been pleased with Dempsey's "carry," and we didn't think much of how he picked things up. But it actually matters.

One of Dempsey's new chores is to bring his food bowl to the kitchen sink after every meal so we can wash it for him. When we first taught him, he would sometimes pick it up flat, and sometimes he would pick it up vertically, with the bowl over his nose.

The problem, of course, is that when the bowl covers his nose, it also covers his eyes. A couple of weeks ago, after breakfast, I forgot to ask Dempsey to "push" my chair in. After he finished his breakfast, he dutifully picked up his bowl and started carrying it to the sink, also forgetting that he hadn't yet pushed in my chair.

I suppose if I were a nice person, I would've stopped Dempsey and made him push in my chair first. But I was curious to see what he would do, so I just watched as he staggered, with the bowl covering his eyes, towards the kitchen.

Predictably, Dempsey walked right into the chair in his path. Surprised, he dropped the metal bowl, and its clattering surprised Dempsey again. He jumped back about three feet, and stared quizically at the bowl as it wobbled to a stop.

I suppose if I were a nice person, I would've reassured Dempsey and told him everything was ok. Instead, I was rolling on the floor, laughing at him.

Luckily, Dempsey has a great sense of humor, and he didn't mind I was laughing at him. He looked at me, looked at the bowl, wagged his tail, smiled, and went back to pick it up. This time -- and every time since -- he picked it up so it doesn't cover his eyes.

I feel bad sometimes that I took a page from Nelson Muntz's training manual, but luckily Dempsey is a great sport. He loves it when he makes you laugh or smile, which he does every day. What a joyful boy!

Sheldon trains Dempsey

As we mentioned in our previous post, little Sheldon is a very mature little puppy. Last Monday, I was trying to teach him to go potty on different surfaces, and so I took Sheldon for a walk down our alley. Sheldon told me that he didn't need a leash, and proceeded to do a nice loose leash walk -- while carrying his own leash.

It took a few treats before I persuaded him it wasn't necessary for him to carry his leash while I was holding the other end.

Sheldon is such a good little boy, we've even been using him to help train Dempsey. Well, we're using Sheldon's kennel, at least. One of the problems Dempsey has is that he likes to sprawl out in the car, and he refuses to jump into a car that doesn't have plenty of space for him. Because he won't always have the luxury of riding first class, we've been working on getting him to jump into (and ride nicely in) a full car. Sheldon's kennel was perfect for this.

Demps isn't very happy about this, but I think he's finally resigned himself to riding "economy" sometimes.

This is NOT a puppy

Doreen and I were overjoyed when we got a last-minute request to babysit a puppy during the Fourth of July weekend.

But despite his puppy-like appearance, we did not get a puppy. We got a well-behaved little dog, even though Sheldon here is 11 weeks old.

Since we got him yesterday afternoon, he has had zero accidents in the house. When he needs to go, he lets us know by sitting by the door and whimpering. He sleeps through the night. He does not steal food. He does not chew everything in sight. When we eat meals, he lies quietly under the table.

When I throw a ball, he actually retrieves it.When I took him out to potty last night, he was completely unperturbed by the lightning and thunder. This morning, when Dempsey had his regular weekly play date with his pal Jesse, Sheldon jumped right in, romping and playing with the big dogs.

We've given Sheldon a lot more freedom than Dempsey had at his age, since Sheldon uses his freedom for good, not evil. Instead of getting into mischief like some other puppies we've known, he spends his time following us around the house.

Or snuggling:

We took Sheldon on a little walk today outside the shopping center, and he did an awesome job. He met a lot of nice people, but more impressive, he was able to focus on me, doing a 10-second watch while shopping carts rolled by. We didn't get a video of that, but we'll try to get one tomorrow. It's really something to see!