Day 229

The Maryland House of Delegates has a truly awful bill about to be consider. The synopsis of House Bill 1457 states: Reorganizing specified provisions of law relating to service dogs; providing for specified types of identification that can be used to identify a service animal or animal being trained as a service animal; requiring a specified service animal trainer or organization to hold a specified certification by a specified entity; authorizing individuals with a disability to train specified animals if the disabled individual is a certified service animal trainer; etc.

The number of ways this proposed bill is awful are too numerous to list. Because I don't believe a person should just sit back and whine or complain about how our government works, I put aside everything else and along with my friend Pam and Wrap headed for Annapolis. There we walked the halls of government and talked to a good many of "the right" people about just what this bill would mean if it were to become law. Seems it has already gone through a redraft and some of the original offensive language has been removed. Not all, mind you but at least some. There is more, but it really doesn't fit in this blog.

What does fit is that I left Sanity at home and had Wrap come out of retirement to travel with me. Why would I do that?

The answer is really easy, when you stop to think about it. The outcome of this bill will have a long range lasting effect on all residents and visitors in the state of Maryland. Should someone, in this case me, show up with an untrained or poorly trained pup as an example of why owners should continue to be allowed to train their own dogs or why private trainers should continue to be allowed to train dogs for other people with disabilities, well the results could very well be less than desirable.

For instance, I knew for past experience that I would be asked just what sorts of things the dogs are trained to do. I also know that when that question is asked in the halls of government, the person doing the asking and the people standing around watching and listening want to see some action. They don't want words, they listen to words all day long, every day. Nope, they want action. Of course, they never come right out and say so, but past behavior taught me that is what they really want. With that in mind, I have no desire to have to say, "well, after she finishes her training she will be able to (fill in the blank). Nope, they want to see stuff now and it had better be right the first time.

So with those requirements in mind Wrap came out of retirement and Sanity stayed home. Sure enough, we did need to do a couple of demonstrations above and beyond the super mannerly dog stuff. Sanity is not ready and won't be ready for at least another year. Lobbying done we headed home.

At home, Wrap sort of marched in the house with a "don't mess with me" attitude. She stopped long enough for me to take off her shoulder pack and then she headed straight for the bedroom and bed. Getting up for dinner and to hang out for a very short time after dinner, she was back in bed again. I sure do know exactly how she feels.

Meanwhile, back to Sanity. What can I say? She was pissed. I mean she was royally pissed off at me, at Wrap and the world in general. Stomped and stalked around here all evening and just sort of glared at me. So how will this slight of her exalted self effect the coming days training? Only time will tell.