“I’m glad Jingle’s a cute service dog,” she says.

“Me too,” I say, glancing back at the two of them on the floor. Jingle’s leg is straight out, paw resting on Riley’s chest. Riley is petting the dog’s ear.

“Because if she wasn’t cute, she couldn’t help me.”  

“Why not?” I ask.

Because I might be afraid of her.

Good point.

We are homeschooling Riley these days and life is a lot less stressful. We do the bulk of academic work in the morning when Riley is fresh but there are still plenty of opportunities for Jingle to help. She goes with Riley to martial arts, to dance class, to clay sculpture class and to cello.  

In the picture above you see the ever loyal Jingle, resting at Riley’s feet. She’s been to every cello lesson thus far, and has only been called into service once. It was really cool how it all worked out that day. Riley got confused about the lesson and started to melt. I took the cello away and got her to the floor where Jingle moved in and did her thing. Riley’s amazing cello teacher got right down on the floor with them and together, they went over the music theory that had Riley stressed. They talked it through, Riley whimpering and stroking Jingle’s ear all the while. It was touch and go for a few minutes, but the crises was quickly averted.

Thanks Jingle!

Girrrrl! It’s so good to see you! I cried my eyes out last night knowing you were just two houses down, and outside in the yard. Would it have killed my lady to take me over to say hello? I could hardly pee I was so sad. Granted, we’d had a play date already yesterday, but these humans have no idea how hard it is to be cooped up in the house. They’ve barely walked me lately with all this snow.

Girrrl! I hear that. I get so depressed in the winter. I’ve gained, like, 20 pounds over the last year. Sigh. I feel like a Lab.

Stop it! You don’t look fat at all. Your coat has just filled out. Don’t ever say anything like that about yourself again. Now c’mon, let’s go sniff.

Yeah. C’mon. Let’s.

This is Jingle, waiting beside Riley while she does her math at the kitchen table. Since we made the decision to homeschool, Jingle’s workload has increased exponentially. No more four hour naps in her crate. Today she went to cello lessons. She got very concerned when a janitor came into the room. She let out a low growl (only heard by me), but I reassured her, and distracted her with a treat. She got over it quickly. I’m finding if I distract her with a treat, she does not pee  that tiny dribble she does when her hero, HT comes home in the evening either. Distract and treat. Distract and treat. That’s pretty much the name of the game. If only kids were so easy! 

By evening, she is whooped and gladly jumps into bed with Riley and stays in her room all night.

Two sweeter girls you’ll never meet.

It is nice they are having more time together to bond.

Jingle is having a riot. Her new BFF Glinda a couple doors down is a big fluffy black lab mix and they roll around in the snow, wrestling like bear cubs. She just loves other dogs. Jingle is a happy girl. Mostly.

A couple of times lately, she has stolen food off Riley and Seth’s plates (they were on a TV tray in the living room, shoot me, it was Saturday cartoons), and she’s been sniffing around the kitchen counters. Not good behavior, especially for a well trained service dog! I have corrected her with stern commands and have put her in her place. It’s just weird. She’s usually so well behaved. 

Today I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and an “aha” moment occurred.

Why would Jingle suddenly be acting out?

What is the purpose of the behavior?

It’s all food related.

Could she be hungry?

Riley feeds her twice a day, religiously, I watch her do it from across the room, as I prepare breakfast and dinner. Riley takes the silver measuring cup out of the bag and gives her a full scoop.

But what’s this in my hand? Why, it’s the silver measuring cup! Somehow the measuring “cup” got replaced with the ”1/2″ cup.

Jingle’s food intake had been cut in half. For how many days? I don’t know.

At least since Saturday morning.

Poor dog.

Extra peanut butter in your kong today Jingle.

My apologies.

This video was forwarded to me by my friend Lidi. She knew it would hold a special place in our hearts. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!