Category: People

Field trip for the puppies

I’ve introduced you to Hadley, the puppy that the local Puppy Pilots group is training for Guide Dogs for the Blind. She is one of two pups the club is working with. Rolanda, the other puppy, is shown above with Claudine, the volunteer who’s raising her. Rolanda is 11 months old.

Hadley and Rolanda were taken on Monday to the Sequim Fire Department for exposure to emergency personnel and equipment. Rolanda, above, is allowed to explore a breathing tank as well as gear that fire personnel wear.

Fireman Brent suited up and allowed the pups to investigate him in his gear. Not only is the safety gear loaded with unfamiliar smells and sights, the breathing apparatus emits a variety of sounds. Dogs can react to unaccustomed things and Monday’s exposure was valuable training.

Rolanda, here, and Hadley, to the right, both loved Brent with or without his gear.

After the “who are you?” sniff test Brent picked up each of the pups to get them comfortable with this different sort of handling. Hadley gets a lift, above. Kim, on the right, is one of two women who are jointly raising Hadley.

When they are partnered with a blind person, a guide dog needs to take all situations in stride, especially emergency events that can stress people and animals to the limit. Kim and Hadley, above, will climb into an aid car, or ambulance, to check it out.

Members of Puppy Pilots took turns walking the pups through the aid car and around the fire station. Pat walked Rolanda above.

Rough metal steps with open grating at the station gave the dogs good experience walking on unfamiliar surfaces. Many things about these stairs can give a dog pause. Rolanda did very well.

Most dogs aren’t exposed to the great breadth of experiences that humans take for granted. It takes a special dog to walk in stride with a human as we go through life.

Blackfeet dances

After a procession of the Blackfeet Tribal dancers at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) last month, short dances were performed by small groups of women and men.

This was a jingle dance. Those bright little cylinders on the dresses are metal pieces that rhythmically sounds as the dancers move. A group of drummers sang and beat rhythms on a large drum to accompany each dance.

The beautiful regalia flowed and enhanced each of the different dances, as all the while the drummers and singers kept time.

The dances were short and energetic. This one was a dance typically done in an area before a pow wow where men would dance through fields to flatten and prepare grasses for other activities. I wish I’d taken notes about all the dances.

We hadn’t expected to see a performance like this when we went to the NMAI. We felt privileged to see it.

National Museum of the American Indian

We last visited the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) 15 years ago. It hadn’t been open long. Then, as now, the building and its contents were stunning. This visit we arrived to an uncommon treat. The Blackfeet Nation had come to NMAI to put on a dance performance.

We arrived early enough to claim good seats as dancers came out before the performance. This was a special treat because the dancers’ regalia was spectacular.

The beading, embroidery, and materials used in these outfits was gorgeous. Feathers, fur, quills, horns. This was Indian Pride at its finest.

I’ll next show you some shots from the short performances that we were privileged to see.