First a note to Murphy & Stanley…if you don’t want a sneak peek at Millie’s ball gown then don’t read any further.
Anyone that has a young dog knows how beneficial it is to expose them to a wide variety of experiences. Charlie and I have been working to keep Millie well socialized with people and other dogs, but there is always that worry that you will push your pup further than they can handle. So far with Millie that hasn’t been a problem and she has proven to be a fairly stable pup.
With the Valentine’s Ball coming up Millie wanted to have a special dress to wear on her double date that she and Remy are going on with Murphy & Stanley. I decided I would make the girls coordinating dresses and got right to work.
Last night was a regular meeting of the Perinton Quilt Guild that I’m a member of. Each meeting usually includes a show and tell segment where members show off their recent creations. The club president suggested that we should bring some wearable art for show and tell.
The most recent wearable creation I made was Millie’s dress so I decided to take her with me. The guild meets at a community center in a large room about the size of a school classroom. I decided to purposely arrive about 10 minutes late to avoid the chaos of the early part of the meeting when everyone is milling about and getting settled into their seats. I have to tell you that nobody has ever brought their dog to a meeting and I wasn’t exactly sure how we would be received, but I figured who wouldn’t enjoy Millie’s company.
The evenings discussion was about finding quilting resources on the internet and was well under way when we entered. The room was set up so that everyone’s back was to the door when we entered. Our president Julie was the only one facing the door and as soon as we entered she got a huge grin on her face. That of course caused most of the ladies to turn to see what she was smiling at.
Being the well-behaved pup that she is Millie and I were able to find a seat behind the rows of chairs and settle in quietly. As you can see in the first picture I brought a bed for her to settle on. I’m very lucky that Millie has, so far, proven to be a very non-vocal pup and never let out a peep all night. She spent the next hour visiting the ladies seated around us and being rewarded with lots of pets.
She in turn rewarded many of them with kisses too. The discussion continued for about an hour and Millie would settle down on her mat for short periods, explore the room to the end of her leash or visit her new friends.
After the discussion was over it was time for show and tell and Millie and I were the first to go. First I told everyone the only wearable art I had to show was for Millie and that was why I brought her. Then I explained the reason for making the dress and of course got a lot of laughs. You all know how crazy non-blogging people think we are for having all the Blogville fun that we do. I don’t let it bother me because they don’t know what they are missing! Some of the ladies sitting down front asked us to walk around since they couldn’t see Millie very well so we worked the catwalk a bit so to speak. Along the way Millie paused to greet her adoring admirers. The ladies were all surprised to find out that she was still a puppy and were remarking on how well-behaved she was. I would be lying if I didn’t confess to feeling a bit proud of my well-mannered pup.
Millie was particularly fond of another late comer that sat nearby and later on I learned that she used to work as a pet sitter and was trained in TTouch. It appears that she worked her magic on Millie because eventually this was where she ended up for a little while.
During the rest of show and tell this was where she landed. Even with the talking and applause (we always cheer each other on) she never was upset or excited. After the meeting Millie and I wandered around visiting with more of the members and she was very happy with all the attention.
Like I said I was very proud of the way Millie behaved on this new adventure. I was reasonably confident that she would do well, but you never really know what to expect with a young pup in a new situation. Remember, this is the same pup that just a week ago was showing her puppy side by eating a book and here she was acting like a very grown up dog.
Charlie and I have observed how much Millie enjoys meeting new people when we are out. She even seems to get disappointed if she is ignored as she also enjoys to give some loving back. Maybe Millie will have a career in pet therapy some day? What do you think?
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