Devon Catching Z'sss with Help from HIs Friends

Another week…and I am just tuckered out. In fact, if you look at this picture closely you will see that’s me catching some z’sss at a luncheon where the humans were talking about a lot of things that really didn’t interest me (and Lord knows there wasn’t any food to be seen anywhere…what kind of luncheon was that, anyway?) so I did what any self respecting tired dog would do and crawled under the table and found a pillow: my head on one guy’s feet and my not insubstantial butt draped across another set of feet.  It was really comfy, but for some reason the humans at the table all thought I looked funny, and Elaine started taking pictures. To tell you the truth, I didn’t know whether to be flattered or embarassed. I mean, gee, I was just catching a little shuteye. What was the big deal?

And I can tell you why I needed that nap. Saturday we attended a wonderful party at our friend’s the Klines. Sunday -church. Monday at Raeford Elementary School.

Tuesday we were on the radio in Sanford with a very nice man named Steve Koranda and then we had lunch with one of my very best friends, John O’Connor.

Wednesday we had “outside appointments” all day. They weren’t really held outside, but I guess that’s what you say when you aren’t in the office and you are supposed to be.

By Thursday I was so tired I had to take this nap that I am writing about, and a good thing, too, because that night we went back to Sanford to talk to a great group at the Sanford Lions Club.( They are not REAL Lions, you know, they are humans who call themselves Lions. People are so funny.)

Friday morning we were with my good friend Rich Rushforth at Star 102.5 radio chatting him up about Miles for MIRA and then we worked a couple of hours before going to another luncheon and another meeting.

Do you still wonder why I take a nap now and then?

I Love MIRA and I Love Guiding my Friend, Bob, but there is nothing like a good snooze when you need it.

Love,

Devon

Hi, Devon here. I am actually on vacation in the sunny South of Florida, however, I can dictate and “my people” manage to get my thoughts on paper.

Lately I have been thinking about how wonderful therapy dogs are because of all the comfort they provide the people they visit. Think about it: if you were old or ill and you didn’t have many visitors, wouldn’t it just make your day to have a warm fuzzy creature stop by and say hello ? And the best part is that dogs love everyone. We don’t care if you are short or tall;  skinny or, shall we say, “have a few extra pounds” , brown hair, blonde. We love you all, and we know our job is to make you feel better, so that’s what we willingly do each time we go out to pay a visit.

And now we have had a wonderful group of women with therapy dogs donate to MIRA to honor our work ! I am so touched by this gesture. The group is headed by Betsy Ficarro and they sent me pictures of  some of their buddies, so I am proudly sharing these pics with you.

Thank you, all of you.. (Riley, Pumpkin,  Butchie Boy and Farley) and thank you for the fine work you do…

Love xoxo,

Devon

AJand Martin Greet the Parade Goers

Fall is a busy time for us MIRA folks. After beating the heat any which way we can all summer, we really gear up in the Fall, and by that I mean lots of speaking engagements (Bob and Beth speak while I look Ambassadorial and lick an ankle now and then), fundraising events, and meet and greets.

This week the two most notable were AJ’s appearance with his dog, Martin, as the Grand Marshalls (not quite sure what that means but I know it is really special because AJ was so excited) for the Pinecrest High School Homecoming parade in downtown Southern Pines, and our talk over at St. Joseph of the Pines. That AJ and Martin are something else. As you can see from the photos, they were as  cool as cucumbers (who ever made up that comparison must have been drinking, don’t you think?) Anyway, I know Martin has never seen or heard a band before, but he acted like he Grand Marshalled every day of the week. That’s what I love about MIRA dogs: they know their job whether they are being asked to do it on the beach in Florida, at the mall or the airport, in the middle of traffic, at the symphony, or on a street downtown with a band playing and a bunch of people marching around in funny outfits. Now that I am thinking about it,we MIRA dogs are Grand Marshalls every day….

And as for our visit at St. Joe’s, well I just love Sheila and George Atherholt who arranged everything for us. We see them on Wednesday mornings at Rotary meetings and they are always so nice to me. George has a great laugh and very twinkly eyes and Sheila is a beautiful lady. We had a wonderful visit with the people who live at St. Joe’s and we told them a lot about MIRA and our work. I think everyone had a good time because they all clapped when Bob finished speaking. I did my best to look Ambassadorial throughout, even though I got a little tired and had to snooze a bit in the middle of Bob’s talk. I don’t think he minds about that as long as I don’t snore.

So…these were the highlights of a busy week that also included a Lions Club and Rotary meeting, a trip to Raeford, and a meeting with our friends at SCC in preparation for Miles for MIRA. It’s all  in a MIRA day’s work of going with the flow…

Love,

Devon (the Grandest of Marshalls) Baillie