I saw @williwaw post with his Office View and I noticed there was as dog in the picture. How cool. I would think dogs would love to be a full time members of a field crew.
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We use to bring my yellow lab Tucker out each Saturday to construction sites for the day. He did exceptionally well & loved to just lay down in the cabs of various pieces of equipment to ride along (short of running bulldozers as the tracks?? vibrations scared him). I remember one summer we were pumping down a sediment trap to muck it out; after getting a little hot he just laid down in the middle of the muddy puddle that was left.?ÿ
Unfortunately though these days he is older at 8.5yrs & much more seizure prone when he??s over excited so we have to leave him at the house. But he loves to be outside with us doing whatever it may be whenever we get the chance to let him tag along with us. I??m sure that some people look down on this practice but there??s nothing better than having your closest 4-legged companion with you & seeing the joy it brings that dog?ÿ
@ncsudirtman My black Lab mix spent the first year of her life either in my lap, on the floor at my feet or in the front seat of my truck.?ÿ She's 11 years old now so she stays home most of the time except when we go camping.?ÿ She still wants to be outside with me and loves our daily walks so she can check all the "pee mail" left by the other neighborhood dogs.
Andy
No dogs, but a baby lemur on a few occasions.?ÿ Had a father and son team working for me who also raised exotic animals.....and still do.?ÿ Two or three different times they had a female lemur give birth while in their possession.?ÿ It is far more profitable to raise the baby rather than allowing the mother to do it.?ÿ They would get the smallest size diapers made, make a small hole in the proper location, put the tail through that hole, then affix the diaper well on the baby.?ÿ Kept it with them 24/7 for weeks to provide the best possible care.?ÿ Many times the mother has absolutely no idea what to do with the baby and lets it die.
My long gone Aussie used to go in the field with me when she was young.?ÿ She grasped the concept when I was digging for a monument and she would join in...sometimes to the point of I just pointed and she started digging!?ÿ It was great and I think she was just as excited as I was when we found the monument.?ÿ I even got her an orange vest (for dogs) and she carried nails, water, etc. for me.?ÿ I miss her.
Working solo I enjoy the company and second set of eyes to alert me to things going on I might miss when I have tunnel vision. The dog in the picture is Williwaw, namesake of my handle here. He's going on 13 and in good health but doesn't range far and wide with me like in his youth. Thing is he won't be around forever, so I bring him with me every chance I get. He's deaf as a post but his eye sight is still sharp and if I leave him behind I get an earful when I get back. There was a time he took on a black bear I didn't see until I was nearly on top of it. The?ÿ two of them danced back and forth for a good ten minutes before the bear had enough and ran off. As long as he doesn't cause problems, it's all good. He's my best buddy and I've noticed people are a lot more polite to me when he's at my side.?ÿ
I had a golden retriever that did the same thing. She loved surveying. She sniffed every monument we found to give it her certification and lead me direct back to the truck. The dog understood everything I said to her.?ÿ
If I hire someone and they ask, I will probably make accommodations and say bring your dog. If you show up and didn't ask you're going to leave. Your pup will still get a treat because it's not their fault...
L to R: Smoke, Ahem, Pilot.
There's no substitute for using good judgement and being respectful of others.
We had a superintendent of schools in our district for a time who was a big promoter of service dogs.?ÿ He hauled one around with him in the school vehicle assigned to him.?ÿ We almost had to do a complete overhaul on the interior of that vehicle before we could sell it.?ÿ No, not physical damage.?ÿ It was the stench of wet, dirty dog that had permeated everything porous.?ÿ Gag a maggot.
they definitely do. they might play "dumb" fairly often but they know us pretty well
A year or so ago our vacuum cleaner died, and looking online at new vacs I was dismayed at the poor reviews most of them got -- flimsy construction, early failures, no manufacturer support.?ÿ The one vac that kept coming up with enthusiastic reviews was the Rainbow.?ÿ However, the price of a new rainbow is nuts -- multiple thousands of dollars.?ÿ I looked on Craigslist and saw some used ones that were more reasonable but still more than I wanted to pay, but then spotted a listing for one not far from me for only $200.?ÿ I called the guy, he said a friend of his is a Rainbow dealer up north and occasionally drops off a trade-in for this guy to sell.?ÿ I went over and looked at it, it was clearly used but generally appeared to be in good shape, so I bought it.?ÿ
However, after running it at home for a few minutes I noticed an unpleasant smell.?ÿ It wasn't strong at first, but became more so as the machine warmed up.?ÿ Not overpowering, but definitely not good, and I knew my wife would object.?ÿ So I started looking at the accessible insides and found some dog hair.?ÿ I removed what I could, but the smell persisted.?ÿ It was time to break out a screwdriver.
I ended up completely disassembling the machine, just short of removing the commutator from the motor (I decided that wasn't necessary).?ÿ Cleaning out the years of dog hair and associated gunk nearly made me puke several times.?ÿ It was a disgusting job that took maybe 6 hours, but when I was done that machine was almost as clean as the day it left the factory.?ÿ The smell was entirely gone -- I could (and did) stick my nose right up to the exhaust port and not smell a thing.
Had I known in advance what I was getting into I probably would have passed on buying it, but that's water under the bridge, and now we have a nice, well-made and odorless vacuum cleaner.
Machines do wear out, but I've prolonged the life of a vacuum and a range hood when their motors stopped.?ÿ In each case, I had to tear into the motor, find the overtemperature thermal fuse between the motor winding and its wrapping, and replace it.?ÿ They are a a $1 or so part on ebay. Must use heatsinking when soldering their leads! (originally spot welded)?ÿ After cleaning out and oiling, the load on the motor is less and so far neither has blown a thermal fuse.
My dearly departed Aussie was fond of sniffing out stone monuments above timberline.
He was always anxious to let me know what he had found.
?ÿ I miss my old pup, Nathan!
My 6 year old Aussie 'Nash is my 3rd Aussie that has accompanied me every field day. They are medium sized dogs but are built for all weather and are quite swift and fleet in all terrain. They are easy to train to stay away from wildlife and stick close to the crew. The Aussies are always on a mission. 'Nash has a particular habit of watching me pull a path out of the truck, then snatching it from my hand and playing keep away. Adds a lot of fun. I have a job that includes a lot of topo work on the CU campus. ' Nash is very lovable and the CU ladies all flock around him and pamper him mercilessly. We love that!
Path or lath??ÿ Must ask, "Why the single quote ahead of Nash/"
Dogs really can be a lot of fun.?ÿ I enjoy my neighbor's dogs and have the good fortune not to have to feed them.
@holy-cowmeant lath. Funny how my phone hates that word. I live near a little town with the Ute name "Tabernash". So 'Nash for short. We truly love each other!
I like that name.?ÿ Odds are high no one else will have a dog with that name.
Had to look up where Tabernash is located.?ÿ Closest I have ever been is still a quite a distance as the crow flies.?ÿ My cousin from Boulder took me on a little journey to Central City one early July day in 1978.?ÿ I remember buying a tee shirt with the message, Get Your Ass Over The Pass.?ÿ That tended to shock the genteel folk of southwestern Michigan where I was living at the time.?ÿ They had never heard of burro races.
