Monday, September 08, 2014

"Where is Chuck?"

Our deaf boy Trail continues to enjoy his "chuck-it" ball, known simply as Chuck.  For some reason, while carrying Chuck around, in between gnawing on it, Trail likes to put Chuck in places that Chuck cannot be retrieved from.  It isn't that Trail is trying to hide the ball because he always asks for help in getting Chuck back.

Here are some recent examples of where Chuck has been found...

a bucket....


 the pool...


an old milk crate...


 the cooler...



 work bag...


When Chuck is missing, Trail will stand and wait for help or look at me then at where the ball is.  If I show Trail the palms of my hands, fingers down, he will go to the spot Chuck was last seen. Even though Trail cannot hear, I always ask, "Where is Chuck?" Sometimes, I must admit, I mutter, "Where the (bleep) is Chuck?" when we have done the Chuck retrieval repeatedly.  

Chuck is a calming presence for Trail.  If he doesn't have Chuck, he tends to grab and bite at his feet, chase his tail in a slightly panicked state and has, on occasion, twitched a few times. So, even though it can be a bit tiresome to find the ball over and over again, if it makes for a happy dog, it will be done!





6 comments:

  1. He's just including you in the game. We knew a Labrador/something who used to be very creative when returning a ball. It never came straight back.

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  2. Awww that is so sweet. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  3. That is so sweet how he loves his Chuck. You made me laugh when you said what you mutter at times when Chuck is AWOL...one of my favorite things about having a deaf dog is that no matter how much I curse and mutter, no matter how dark my tone of voice, she'll never take it personally!

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  4. That is SO cute! Kaya likes to put her ball in gofer holes and then dig at it but sometimes it gets stuck or gone forever:(

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  5. That's adorable! He's conning you into playing hide and seek :)

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  6. How heartwarming to read about these two sweeties. Thank you so much for thinking of us during this hard sad time of having to say goodbye to our Patches. Hugs and nose kisses

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