Roscoe: The Wonder Dog

People often imply that our dogs are "wonder" dogs because of the jobs that they perform. If looked at simply, I suppose they could be considered "wonder" dogs, but there is so much more that goes into a   good guide dog and a a good working team. With that in mind, I am still going to call Roscoe a "wonder" dog, just for this post; read on and you'll see why.

It's not often that Roscoe gets a post dedicated to him. There are a few reasons, but the main one being that he's not my guide dog and even though I love him like crazy, I keep a certain amount of healthy distance from in order to ensure he and Mr. K are a cohesive working unit. That said, he's a pretty amazing dog and isn't disturbed  by much. He knows his job and does it well. Monday was a prime example of that.

Monday evening Mr. K and I  walked over to one of the only places we can walk to from our townhouse. We thought a nice meal out would be a good change of environment not only for us, but for Glacier and Roscoe too. They are both well behaved dogs, but you can tell when they are needing some stimulation because they both sort of mope around

We were settled at a table in a comfortably roomy corner where Glacier and Roscoe would be safe from customers' unsuspecting feet. The restaurant was not terribly busy,  so it wasn't a big deal for us to be taking up a bit more room than usual. Normally, Glacier would tuck under the booth or right up against my chair and Roscoe would do the same. Glacier assumed his regular position at my left side, his face pointing out into the restaurant so he could watch everything going on. Roscoe flopped down in typical Roscoe fashion and Mr. K and I settled into a nice supper and good conversation.

Thankfully the menu was in braille and we were able to pick our meals without having to have  the server read the menu items to us. We sat through delicious, warm biscuits, our main dish, a shared  very chocolatey dessert and I drank half of a cup of de-caf coffee: the coffee was too watery for my liking so I told Mr. K we could head out  if he was ready. The two dogs we incredibly behaved during all of this time, despite the restaurant managing thinking he could pet them. He was polite though when we explained that they were not to be interacted with and he left us to our meal. I'm not sure how he missed the gigantic "Do not pet me, I am working" sign on Roscoe's back, but you know.

Mr. K grabbed the cheque, I hooked my purse over my shoulder and we stood to leave. Glacier climbed to his paws, shook hard and performed his signature front paw then back paw stretch. As I was praising him for a good "stay" I heard Mr. K exclaim from behind me. It turns out that when settling in he had let Roscoe's leash out to give him a bit more room to stretch and apparently he had accidentally  unclipped the leash completely. Through the unwanted attention from the restaurant manager, the server coming and going, food on the floor and  a wailing  child Roscoe had remained in his "down stay" without even wearing a leash.

You know you have a seasoned and healthy working team when your dog doesn't even have to wear a leash to keep it in the correct spot. I'm not suggesting guide dog handlers should try this, that could have some disastrous consequences, but it's still pretty cool that he behaved so well. Due to these actions, I think it's appropriate that Roscoe be deemed "the wonder dog" even for one day. :)