At Your Service

Being that we are proud new owners of a Miniature Horse, I've been doing some random Internet searches to learn a little more about Miss Tiny. In doing so, I have run across some interesting sites. By far the site I enjoyed the most was the Guide Horse Foundation. See photos of the little guide horses gave me a good dose of smiles. How cute. Of course I had to read into why they might make a better companion than a dog, and a lot of it made sense.

All of this reminded me of an article I read recently in People Magazine, titled Dogs for the Disabled. This article touched my heart. It didn't surprise me though. I am used to getting all emotional when reading about or watching a story on animals that perform such wonderful acts. I find myself blubbering over the amazingly loving duties they so often perform. There are many types of service animals, but of course the most common is the dog. Here are just a few of the miraculous things trained dogs can do:

-We all know of seeing eye dogs, right?

-How about Dogs for Diabetics

-Have you heard ofSeizure Alert Dogs?

-Police Dogs

-Cadaver Bugs

There are just too many to list. Dogs have keen sense of smell, and can detect the slightest change in smell. This reminds of me the night I went into labor. When I tell the story of Sugar's birth it always starts with, "Well the dog predicted it!..." Yes in deed she did. Grace, the black Lab we had at the time, had ignored my growing belly for my entire pregnancy. She just didn't seem to worry about it. She would rest her head on it, but never once acts strange about. One night when I was 8 days overdue, I sat on the couch to read the newspaper. Hubby was in Alaska, so I was home alone. This didn't worry me. I figured when I finally went into labor I would have plenty of time to wait for my friend, my coach, to get here.

Anyhow.....(sorry, I always get sidetracked), that night was much like every other night. Nothing I did was different. Same old maternity clothes, same old couch, same old paper, same old bowl of cold cereal for dinner....same old EVERYTHING. Suddenly, behind my paper and sensed a nudge to my....ummm...my.....crotch. Okay, so there is no polite way to say it, so here goes....I put down the paper to see my dog with her nose right up my crotch sniffing. You have to know that this was not something she ever did. She was NOT a crotch sniffer. Some dogs are...not her, so this was odd. It startled me, so I let out an "Grace....stop it!" She back up, and sat down 3 feet away. All the while she stared at my "lady region" and tilted her head from side to side. You could almost see her thinking, "What the heck is THAT smell?" Suddenly she started growling. I had no idea what was wrong with her. She just stared....tilted her head, and growled. It was so strange. I just got up and told her to leave me alone. She had never growled at me, so I was really confused. All evening she followed me around and sort of growled under her breath. I finally went to bed, and at 3am my water broke. YUP....this was it. Only 19 hours of Natural childbirth later, Sugar Bear was born. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized that Graces strange behavior that night might have been her sensing the hormonal change that started my labor. Isn't that interesting?

Animal senses really amaze me. It seems like every time I turn around they are discovering something else these wonderful animals can help with. What a blessing they are to those in need.

Not only do animals perform learned duties, they are often hearing the call of others in need. They risk their lives to save others. Stories of this nature affect me even more.

Some of the stories that just touch my heart so hard it hurts:

-Stray Dog saves life of an abandoned baby.

-Adopted Dog Saves Life

-An Angel in the Night (long but worth it)

And it isn't just dogs:

-Pig saves her owners life (I actually saw this story on the animal channel once, and it had me in tears)

No matter how much I complain about pets and all the responsibility they are....sometimes I need to remember what gentle souls they really are.

*** oh and don't forget I'm on Top Momma!


CLICK HERE!!!!! You know you want to. Click it a few times in fact. I get a referral each time you click the link, and a click each time you click on Sugar's sweet photo. Isn't that fun? I can't think of a single thing I should be doing today other than clicking. Can you? ***