Earth Day Dog

[talon]

Itzl wore one of his Earth Day T-Shirts to work today. It says "Tree Hugger 2010" on it, but we've decided he needs one for next year that says "Tree Sprinkler" on it instead.

He gets most of his T-shirts for volunteering at the cat shelter to help acclimate cats to dogs and make them more adoptable. Most cats eventually like Itzl, he speaks Cat fluently.

He also gets T-shirts for volunteering at other events with me.

He doesn't really have a choice about volunteering with me because as a service dog, where I go, he goes. But he really enjoys the work and gets into it, greeting people and letting them pet him and quieting crying or fussy children - and that's a Big Thing for him as he's not comfortable around small children He alerts me to people who want or need my attention, alerts me to dangerous sounds (big vehicles backing up are my bane), and alerts me to fun and interesting sounds - he's particularly drawn to bagpipes, woodwinds, and brass instruments.

I would miss a lot of truly interesting events if I didn't have him around to tell me about them and direct me to them. I would also miss a lot of people. He recognizes people I see often, and he definitely has his favorites among them. I can almost tell who it is before I even see them by the way he alerts.

So, because I am a busybody, he has a collection of T-shirts for Earth Day, 4th of July, Pennies for Flowers, Giving Tree, Heart Walk, Gay Pride, Red Earth, HerbFest, Bricktown Blues, Festival in the Park, and more.

Today, for Earth Day, he's wearing his "Tree Hugger 2010" T-shirt recycled from old T-shirts.