We spent the day in Charlottesville, VA with the good folks from Service Dogs of Virginia. Talos got reacquainted with his brother, service pup in training Gryphon, and also got to visit with his brother, Arrow, a real working service dog.
Two Great Dane puppies is a sight. Three Great Danes will stop traffic! Talos and Gryphon are cute, and Arrow is handome and huge. I'm 5' 1" and Arrow's back hits my hip. He's a svelte 165 pounds and has movie-star good looks. And a sweet personality to boot. The pups are, well, pups, and will sometimes bicker, sometimes play, and sometimes be good, quiet pups. Never a dull moment, let me tell you…
We had lunch at a quaint cafe in downtown Charlottesville. Arrow, the mature and dignified service dog waited quietly while we ate. The two brothers, the pups, took turns sitting on one another, gnawing on each other's ears, and generally being, well, puppies. They did settle in eventually and we all enjoyed the company, both canine and human.
After lunch, we meandered around a bit. Everywhere we went, people would point. They'd exclaim. They'd stop. They'd watch us pass. They'd whisper. They'd cross the street. Mothers would either grab their children and walk away or shove them toward us. Everyone, however, was nice. The questions were as varied as the questioners: What kind of dog is that? What does he do? How big will he get? How much does he eat? Is he friendly? Is he a dalmatian? I didn't know if we were training dogs or if we were the side show in a circus.
It was a fun, hot, tiring day. Talos slept the entire trip back – and is asleep again as I type this. I hope to have more pictures for you in a future post.