Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Geri, Ruby and I

 

Detroit Area Shriners Past Masters and Reception Unit Christmas Party

Geri, Ruby and I at our table.

Geri, Ruby and I at Dinner

Ruby in front of the Christmas Tree

Geri, Ruby and I in front of the Christmas Tree

Each year, Detroit Area Shriners hold a Christmas Party for members of the Past Masters Unit (Which I belong to, being a Past Master in the Masonic Fraternity) and the Reception unit.  Family Style Sit down dinner and dancing afterward,  Formal attire suggested.  Always a nice occassion.  Geri, Ruby and I attended. 

Sounds of the Season Concert by Motor City Brass Band

Today (Sunday December 11, 2011) was our Sounds of the Season  Concert (aka Christmas Concert) at Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan.  The Motor City Brass Band has been in existence for sixteen (16) years and is a 32 member British-Style Brass Band.  This means that there are no woodwind instruments in the band (Flutes, Clarinets, Oboes, Bassoons, Saxophones).  We have a Soprano Cornet, twelve Cornets (including me), a Flugelhorn, three Tenor Horns, two Euphoniums, two Baritones, two Trombones, a Bass Trombone, three Eb Tubas, two BBb Tubas and we have four percussionists who play all the percussion instruments.

The Stage was Decorated for Christmas

The Band on Stage for the 2009

 Sounds of the Season Concert

The Band on Stage for the 2011 

Sounds of the Season Concert

Ruby and I are waiting for the

signal to go on stage today.

Dad and I are on a Christmas Tree

Paws With A  Cause has a Christmas Tree at the Gerald R.Ford Presidential Library and Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Christmas season.  On that tree are ornaments which are representative of PAWS Dog and Client teams.  These are pictures of our ornament which has our picture on it.

Our Ornament.

Wider Shot showing our ornament along

with other ornaments and more of the tree.





It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's Ruby's First Christmas as a Richardson so she got a new stocking.

Ruby's first Christmas Ornament - a gift from Lynn Hoekstra to celebrate Ruby's Certification

Ruby by the Christmas Tree at the Shrine Center

Lunch at Marinelli's

My Wiife Geri, SD Ruby and I had lunch at Marinelli's with

 Pat Dolowy (Ruby's and my Field Trainer) and Lynn Hoekstra
.Left to Right: SD Ruby, Me (Seated), Pat, Lynn, Geri (seated)

Ruby with me at Shriner activities

Detroit Shriners Brass Band - Ruby at Down Stay on my left (by stage)

                  Detroit Shriners Past Masters Unit - Ruby at Sit to my left

Ruby as a Puppy

                                                            Ruby as a young puppy.

                                                                  Ruby gets into mischief

                                                              Ruby in a nice "Down Stay"

 

   One of her Foster Mom's - Erica - teaches her proper respect for the Maize and Blue

As you can see, Ruby was a charmer right from the first.

Ruby and Me in Motor City Brass Band (MCBB.Org)

Ruby and I work at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers

This is Gate A20 at Comerica Park where Ruby and I work.  We scan tickets as you enter the park.

It's Official. Ruby and I are Certified

Ruby's Certification September 15, 2011

                                                          
                                                        Me, Ruby and Field Trainer Pat

Me, My Wife Geri, Ruby, Field Trainer Pat

Today was Ruby's and my Certification as a Paws Service Dog Team.

We had to demonstrate on video that we work together to do all the tasks that PAWS trained Ruby to do to help me with my everyday living. 

At home, Ruby opens and closes doors, brings me the telephone, turns on lights, picks up dropped objects (a very important task - if you reach down to pick-up a dropped object and you're in a wheelchair, you have a real danger of falling out of the wheelchair and hurting yourself),  and brings me my manual wheelchair so that I can transfer from my power wheelchair and plug it in to recharge

In public, she also retrieves dropped objects, pushes pushplates to open power operated entrance doors in malls, etc.. 

 She works with me at Comerica Park, the home of the Detroit Tigers.  She goes with me everywhere that I go - a right guaranteed by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. She is with me at Lodge and Shriners Meetings, shopping, and when I go to rehearsals and performances of several different bands.  For one I am a cornet player in the Motor City Brass Band (mcbb.org), and I also play in the Detroit Shriners Brass Band.  I am a Past Master in the Masonic Fraternity, a member of Roseville Lodge No. 522 F. & A.M.  and a member of the Detroit Shriners Past Masters Unit.  Ruby is a part of all that.  She even goes to Doctor Appointments and accompanies me to restaurants, and even when I visit friends who are hospitalized

Ruby and I have been together since March 31, 2011 when I  brought her home from the PAWS With A Cause school at Wayland, Michigan (near Grand Rapids, Michigan).  Even though she was extremely well trained at the school, we had to do Field Training for five months to learn how to work well  together as a team.  Then the Field Trainer comes back after a Month's absence and does the Certification exam which is what occurred today

Welcome!

Hello,

This is about my Service Dog, Ruby.  She is a Golden Retriever/Labrador Retriever Cross who was trained by Paws With A Cause.

I'll be bringing you news of Ruby and me from time to time.  Enjoy!


For those of you who don't what a service dog is, here's a little explainatory video:


http://www.pawnation.com/videos-partner/what-a-service-animal-is-516963397-102