Zane Train Part 4: Field Trips & College Classes

Happy 4th of July weekend,

I know I'm a little late with this wish, but Mom & Dad took me out of town to the mountains and with no internet, I could not share any more of my puppy raising experiences.

But I'm back now, so Happy 4th of July weekend! I even attended a fireworks extravaganza in Idaho Springs and it was awesome! I slept through most of it, but everyone else was yelling and screaming, ooohing and ahhhhing, so it must have been good.

Mom says the MOST exciting part was when they set the woods on fire - we never heard any more about that on the news, so we think that the Idaho Springs Fire Company was able to put it out before the forest went up in smoke.

When I was about 5 months old, Gary took me to his work for the first time. His work is a strange mix of what he calls “geologic investigation” mixed with a bunch of office work that he does right at home. He also takes me to classes that he teaches at several nearby colleges. But I really enjoyed the field work the best.

It was fun to ride in his Jeep (one of his five cars) on the freeways and back roads. I feel pretty special because none of the other dogs get to go with us. The equipment operators in the field liked me a lot and took time now and then to pet me. Gary won’t let them give me any treats, but he did let them love me up.(See the picture above - Gary & I are on site and on the job! "Macho, Macho Men!")

At the college classes, I must lie quietly while he lectures. I'm not saying he was boring, but I did get plenty of sleep. . . . zzzzzzzzzz.

Fortunately, Gary brought me a throw-rug to sleep on since most of the campus floors are hard and cold and his classes last about three hours.

I liked being with Gary while he taught, but I must admit this geologic stuff is boring to a dog! He gave me short walks during breaks in the class so I could go outside, check some p-mail, and do my business. He was so proud that I never had an “accident” in class.

Oops, I just remembered a story. One time, I threw up a bunch of food under a student’s chair, the night Gary showed a video, shot from an airplane, about the Grand Canyon. Well, can you blame me? That’s a mighty big rut in the road and that plane ride made me sick!

I soon settled into a routine of getting fed and walked each morning and getting a ride either to a college or to a field location where Gary would study lots of dirt and rocks. I thought only dogs liked checking p-mail?

Days are sometimes long with plenty of visits to drive through restaurants, car parts stores (got to keep his old cars running), grocery stores and more. I go everywhere with him.

I got to go to Cal Poly Pomona one day with the youngest daughter, Kim. Her professor had a guide dog that experienced a career change. That means they will lead a different path than being a guide dog. The professor still brings the dog to his class and he looked forward to meeting me. It was a fun day for me and Kim.

As you can see, I have had many adventures as I grew up in Berea, CA. This taught me a lot about being around noisy equipment, large crowds of people and being still for long periods of time. I really enjoyed these adventures and thank Gary so much for sharing them with me.

Here's wishing firewords in all your lives!

Big licks,
Zane