Dekker speaks
If this is your first time visiting The Reflective Pen, you may not have heard about Dekker.
He is my service dog who, during the pandemic, when there was nothing else to do, decided he could help by writing a blog post once a month.
What follows are a few questions that readers (and sometimes their pets) have asked– and his canine wisdom.
Dear Dekker,
I have a lot of questions about service dogs, but what I really
want to ask you is if you can tell me what kind of
a winter lies ahead of us this year. The weather
man doesn’t do a particularly good job and
I like to be prepared for things
like snow and ice. Are we
going to get a lot this year?
Thanks, Mike
Woof Woof, Mike. I don’t very much concern myself with the weather. My body is like your ‘weatherman’ but I think a lot more reliable.
When it is hot my body releases all the fur I collected over the winter, and when it gets cold my body give me a nice warm coat.
My suggestion is to listen to your body rather than the weatherman. When it shivers it is time to put on a warmer coat. Or you could stick your paw outside and tell immediately if it is raining or snowing.
If you are like me, the white stuff will pile up on your nose and you will know what the weather is. Knowing ahead of time doesn’t change things a whole lot.
Unless you want to get mittens knit for your nose.
Dear Dekker,
I live in a nursing home so people can help me with things
like dressing and eating. That’s OK, but I really
miss all the animals I used to live with.
Not only dogs like you, but cats, chickens
and goats…and well, you get the idea.
I miss them all so much. There are
no animals here in this place
and I am so lonely.
What do you suggest?
Thanks, Waldo
Woof woof, Waldo, Loneliness is a pain like any other, except you can’t put medicine on it like my human does when I get a pain in my ear. It’s a heart pain.
When my human visits someone in a nursing home I am allowed to “visit” which means I am to put my head on a person’s knee or lap and be very still.
I can tell by their gentle hands on my head that they are thinking of their own pup (or goat) that they no longer see.
I cannot make the loneliness go away, but they seem to smile with their memories. If I were in your slippers I would shut my eyes often and remember the feeling of my animals’ fur (or feathers).
Perhaps you could get a fuzzy blanket and wrap up in ‘furry’ feelings. You may have lost your ability to do lots of things, but you will never lose what your skin remembers.
Dear Dekker,
Do you have any wisdom that would help me know
who to vote for when it is election time?
I want to do the right thing and
sometimes I get so confused.
Thanks, Bette
Woof Woof, Bette. This is a difficult question because I can feel the anxiety when people are talking about it. I wonder if the process is a little like picking out the best toy at a pet store.
I get to do that occasionally and it is difficult. There are many to choose from, and I know that how they look hanging there in fancy wrappers is not necessarily an indication of how they taste or bounce without giving them a try.
Some toys I’ve had looked fine in the store and when I got them home things changed. No flavor. No bounce.
I remember this experience when I go the next time. It’s always exciting to go down the aisles with all the promises of the ‘perfect toy’ and so difficult to choose only one.
I think if you are clear about the flavor and the texture you want (color doesn’t matter) you will make the right choice.
Dear Dekker,
What are your thoughts about Halloween?
Is it important to celebrate or is it OK to
leave home on that night and avoid
all the kids and candy and hoo-ha
of the trick-or-treaters.
Thanks, Grinchy Grandma
Woof Woof, Grinchy Grandma. Are you asking if I would like to go door to door if I got a piece of kibble at every door?
You bet I would! I will take kibble anytime. I think waiting for one night every year for people to pass out kibble, er…candy…is, well more than I could stand.
If you are asking if you should stay home to pass out the kibble? Well, I am very much a ‘if it smells good, do it’ kind of dog.
Except when I have my working jacket on. Then I have to do whatever my person asks.
If you don’t like to pass out treats at your door, it is a simple thing to not be at home.
On the other hand, if you have a service jacket like mine, you would have to do whatever your ‘person’ asks you to do.
At your age, I bet you get to take your jacket off. Enjoy your night out, Grandma!
Never miss insights from Dekker!
