MIRA USA 's Students Returning Home with their Guide Dogs

I know, I know. Most of the time the phrase “going to the dogs” has a negative connotation,but I am here to tell you that we went to the airport late on Saturday night (Verrryyy late - almost midnight- it was practically Sunday, for crying out loud)) to welcome four of our six students home with their dogs and it was more exciting than even I could have predicted. I got a pretty good laugh out of the time we spent waiting for the plane to arrive. While I was studying people walking by on the concourse, all of a sudden I would know when they had spotted me at Bob’s feet because they would crane their necks around like crazed chickens trying to watch me and walk forward at the same time. One little girl sat right down on the floor when she caught sight of me! I laughed and even winked at a couple of them… People sure are funny. You’d think they had never seen a dog before…..

And then, all of a sudden it seemed, they had arrived. First Meredith, then Darcie, then Michael and then AJ, all accompanied by their beautiful MIRA guide dogs. I could tell you more, but you know, when you are already going to the dogs, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Yours truly,

Devon

I couldn’t leave you with pictures of only two of the four who were at the airport the other night,

Darcie and Navy Arrive RDU 7/30/2011

and so here are Darcie and Michael upon their confident arrival with their MIRA dogs.

Enjoy.

Love,

Devon

With temperatures hovering in the high nineties in the Sandhills it didn’t take much for me to convince Bob that we needed one last summer fling. So, guess what? We are at the beach again! And this time most of the extended family has joined us, so we are really having a great time. I love the surf. It tickles my paws…

Beth has gone to the mountains where she says it is a good ten degrees cooler, and Sandy is in Montana – wherever that is, I have only been to South Dakota in winter. People don’t like it there because it is so cold, but it was just perfect for me. I even stayed out in a snowbank for a while. Pure bliss.

Anyway, Nicho came from Canada last week and checked on all the dogs in their new homes, and he was very pleased that things were going so well. Soon school will start which will bring a whole new set of challenges. We’ll be ready after our nice break.

Well, gotta go. The beach is calling.

Love,

Devon (Surf’s Up) Baillie

I apologize for being out of touch lately, but all I can say is that we have been so busy since arriving home from vacation, the days have passed in a blur. I’ll try to touch upon the highlights, but just remember, I am only a dog, so I might forget some events or be a little fuzzy about the details  .

It all started last Monday, our first day back. We spent the day in Charlotte with the wonderful people who came to hear and see us at Metrolina Association for the Blind. Oh, we had such a nice visit. Everyone made a fuss over me, and I think they liked Bob and Beth, too. I even got a bowl of ice,which I happily crunched through the first few minutes of the meeting causing all of the guests to chuckle. What’s so funny about ice, anyway?

Last Wednesday Bob, Elaine and I went to one of my favorite places, the Sunrise Theater, to see a big screen production of the classic movie,Gone with the Wind. So many people came by to say hello I felt like a canine Clark Gable. Wow, what a movie. There was so much action that I had a little trouble following it, but I got that part about that guy not giving a damn and, truthfully, I don’t think that was very nice of him to say.

Tomorrow I have a spa day with my friend Beth (no relation to my MIRA friend, Beth) at Driveway Dogs. She will come to our house and give me a shampoo and a nail trim in preparation for all of the upcoming appearances I have in the next two weeks. I love being a celebrity. Later in the day we have a luncheon date with our friend Anita who is a very important person in the Moore County School system and a good friend to MIRA. We see her at Rotary meetings on Wednesdays so it will be fun to meet her for lunch.

Wednesday after Rotary we have a doctor’s appointment and then a mid-day meeting with some creative people from a company called Startled Cat Isn’t that a funny name? Why not startled dogs I wonder? I am going to ask them if I get a chance. Dogs startle just as easily as cats, don’t they?  This should be a fun meeting.

Thursday I have to go in for a little surgery- just a tiny growth on my eyelid that requires removal, but gee, it is my eyelid, after all. Oh, yes, and I am going to get my teeth cleaned, too. Can’t have a celebrity like me going around with brown teeth. Ugh….Did you ever think about how much effort goes in to the making of a celebrity? Whew, it’s exhausting.

Which brings us to Sunday when we will be departing for a trip to Pennsylvania where Bob has a number of speaking engagements. See what I mean about returning from vacation and being so busy ?  One minute we are here, and the next we are Gone with the Wind!

Hugs,

Devon (Rhett) Baillie