Drake's Village

I know that other people are busy with truly important care-taking tasks, such as who will provide after-school care, figuring out how to care for a sick child and still maintain a job, or how to sneak away to see your child's soccer game...I ended my parenting duties relatively early in my adulthood and my primary concern now is our black Labrador Retriever, Drake. I usually pride myself on thinking things through before jumping - weighing the consequences, seeing the potential pitfalls, etc. I didn't do that before we got Drake. Perhaps it's because we had been dog owners for the nine years leading up to when we got Drake and I assumed that everything would "run fine" like before. Or, maybe I just missed our previous black Lab, Blackberry, so much and wanted a "replacement dog" so quickly that I didn't see the one major flaw in my thinking: Neil and I are both 90 minutes away from our jobs and although we don't have to "go to the office" five days a week, when we are gone, it is not unusual for us to be away for 16 hours at a time. When we lived in Saco and had Blackberry, things were different...We had tenants downstairs who could help us out, we had a dog door into a fenced-in backyard, Neil was much closer to most of his work, and Dorothy was often around to help us as well. I also worked at home full-time during the first half of Blackberry's life. I have learned that it takes a small village to keep things running for Drake and I couldn't be more blessed with having good, reliable, people around to help. Whenever I finish an academic year, I look back on what it took to keep me going, what supports I needed and used, etc. There is no doubt that one of our greatest needs is dogcare and we are so grateful to all of the people who helped us through the year.

Our first dogcare helper was a woman named Julia, who runs a doggy daycare near my job. She took Drake into her home/business when he was just 11-12 weeks old at times when neither Neil nor I could be available. She watched over him, made sure that he was placed in a fenced in area with other puppies and crated him when she thought that he needed extra sleep, even though the older doggies were still outside playing. Julia has been a tremendous asset to us in more ways that I can express. She is a wonderful, caring woman, and Drake still visits her daycare facility, Pet Recess, regulary.

Julia, with one of her charges.  (I took this from Facebook.)

Julia, and her team at Pet Recess (I took this from Facebook). 

I couldn't have gotten through Drake's first year of life without my good friend, Nora. Drake and I met Nora and her then-Golden Retriever puppy, Baxter, at puppy class in April 2009. Baxter, an extremely mild-tempered dog, would run around in circles while Drake, an absolute lunatic, would hang onto Baxter's neck with his teeth. Nora was the first friend that I made after our move to Amesbury. She is a wonderful friend and a reliable and wonderful resource for helping us with Drake when we are in a pinch. Thank you, Nora! Nora's whole family loves Drake. They were the first ones to call him "Drakey."

Nora with her dog, Baxter, at a dog outing on Salisbury Beach. 

Nora with her husband, Jim. (I took this from Facebook.)

I was very lucky to find a dog-minded person locally, who informally provides dogcare at her home. She takes the dogs on long walks every day and even chronicles these walks in two separate blogs: (1) Walking with Dogs in Greater Newburyport, which is a resource about places where one can walk with dogs and (2)
Camp Kudym Dogs, which is a blog about her dogcare activities. Drake is regularly featured in these blogs. In a recent blog, Kim referred to Drake has a "hunk of burning love among black Labs." I think that it's safe to say that Kim is one of Drake's biggest fans. She takes wonderful care of Drake; she even makes him "salmon brownies"...yes, you read that correctly!

Kim - on one of her many walks with dogs. (Taken from her blog.)

Kim - with her doggy, Ruby. (Taken from her blog.)

If all of these resources weren't enough...there are more I tell you! One of my former students, Meg, fell in love with Drake when I would have him on campus. Meg spent some time at our home last summer while we were enjoying the western mountain states, taking care of Drake for us. When fall rolled around, Meg was still without a "real MSW job," so on my way to the office, would drop Drake off at her home about once a week and Drake would hang out, swim in her parent's in-ground pool, etc. When I was done teaching, I would pick him up. I mean, does it get any better than this? As one of Meg's former professors, I was thrilled when she got a job that would allow her to use her MSW, but I definitely missed this doggy resource right down the road from campus, especially come April...when Bridgewater State University banned pets from campus! Boo!

Drake, visiting with Meg in my office in April, before the pet ban went into place.

I have written about our wonderful neighbor, Richard, in another blog post. Not only does Richard have every tool known to man inside his house, and he is willing to share them with you, and he is willing to help you with your home improvement projects at a moment's notice, Richard is also available to feed Drake dinner. I simply contact Richard the night before and confirm that he is available and then I place Drake's food and a dog bowl inside Richard's front door and then voila! Richard feeds Drake and it's okay if Neil and I don't get home from work until 10:30 or 11:00pm.

Richard with Drake when he was a puppy. 

Finally, my local friend and wonderful maker of flavored butters (Seacoast Butters), Tracey, is always available to come by and feed Drake if we are ever in a pinch. She tried to bring him to Woodsom Farm on more than one occasion, I think, and both times Drake rolled in something stinky, swam in a swamp, and was probably more than Tracey really wanted for an afternoon outing. At this point, I would never ask Tracey to do more than feed Drake, but I know that if I ever needed more, she'd be there in a flash.

Tracey, with her dog Zendyle, at Christmas time recently. ©virginiapage 

I ask you, is this not a village, or what? I have always wanted to live in a community where people supported each other. Sounds like I've found my village, too! Thanks so much to all of you...