💗 What to Love about a Human’s Best Friend 💗 🦴 🐕

December 10, 2022 | Filed under blogging Guide dogs pets and people

After raising two kids and doing the parent thing with the pediatrician for all those years, I thought my husband might like helping out with our pets once in a while. I am proud to say Jerry has become a wonderful pet parent and takes our pet dog, May to all her appointments. We adopted her in 2020 and love her sweet and sassy personality. She is smart, protective but not territorial, and solves problems quickly and efficiently, just like a good German Shepard should. While she has a bit of Rottweiler , as proven by a DNA test, she’s got a GSD body type and traits and the only part missing is pointy ears. She has derpy ones that flop over and stick out perpendicular to her head. Do not let this fool you.

At first we house trained her, which took a few months. She was already crate trained. It took a while for her bladder to mature. She learned how to unlock the metal safety gate, you know the child-safety ones with the lock cover and the sliding , recessed latch?

My yellow lab guide dog, Bailey and May love one another, play together and love to share space, which is good. She also loves our cats. She does poke and play with them but taps down the chasing and while this took some time, the darned cats like to be chased, so we gave up trying to stop it. A few swats from the kitty pins and she learned to respect them. When we brought in a kitten, May’s mothering instincts blossomed, surprising us. She raised it, groomed it and now they all sleep together. April, my daughter, who convinced us to adopt May and who has been a huge part of caring for May, has been able to help with most of her doggie dislikes, like the ear drops. April is great at relaxing May for a two or three toenail trim. But it does take a few days because May won’t tolerate more than one foot at a time. The groomer must hate it when she comes in for a spa day.

But these aversions are within the normal spectrum for a pet, right? Let me go on to what is challenging . sometimes she reverts into a demon, thus her alternate name, Mazikeen. Anyway, her Shepard came out, she is such a drama queen. First, to tell us her ear hurt she jumped onto the bed, flopped between us and kept us awake by whining and shaking her head all night . Then she hurt her ear more by scratching it and when we tried to look at it she screamed like we were cutting it off. So, off to the Vet to take a look at the ear. Then, Jerry gave her the anti-puke pill because she gets car sick in the truck. Well it didn’t work but we have a blanket for that and an extra seat cover just in case. Then, they can’t take her temp anally because she turns into a whirling dervish in the exam room so they have to do it under her leg. That went okay, so did the ear inspection. But when they wanted to take a blood draw to check basics from taking the allergy pills, they could not do it. She became a manic mess and sprayed blood all over them from jerking away. Three times, even with cheese whiz and three people to help distract her. So next time we have to fast her in the morning, run her until she is exhausted because a tired dog is a good dog in the exam room, give her the anti puke pill two hours prior and maybe Jerry can avoid a mess in the truck and the vet tech can get some blood. Oh, they want a urine sample. Well, that is not going to happen, She won’t let anyone sneak up and put a pan under her ass.

All this is frustrating and I am thankful it is Jerry and April facing the challenges with May. Oh, yes, I almost forgot to mention she punishes herself by running into the dog crate and facing the wall after we discover a chewed slipper or something she’d taken off the kitchen counter, like an oven mitt. How could you not love this dog or be amused when she does this? Talk about operant conditioning, lol.

The best thing about May is the way she lowers her head and leans into you or lap asking for affection, exposing her neck as if to say I trust you so much I want you to scratch me where I can’t reach. What could be more endearing than this?

May on the dog bed with her bones and toys

May the dog on her dog bed with her toysMay the dog on her bed with her bones

The Tooth about Aging 🪥

December 1, 2022 | Filed under Guide dogs Relationships

Have you ever had the feeling you were forgetting something as you walked out the door? Well, folks, if you haven’t already gotten the hint, once you are past fifty, the forgetting increases and making a mental list isn’t enough.

Case in point: Yesterday I got the text message from the paratransit provider about my confirmed ten-minute window and pick-up time . I put on my guide dog’s harness, my jacket, slung my bag over my shoulder, and grabbed my support cane and tromped out the door into the pouring rain with the niggling feeling I’d forgotten something.

I soon put it out of my mind as the driver and I talked. We arrived, my dog guiding me from the bus into the office building and into the PT waiting room.

It wasn’t until I was halfway done with my routine that the forgotten thing was exposed.

“Where’s your tooth?” asked the physical therapist.

All I could do was take it as gracefully as I could considering it is a front tooth that is gone.

“I left it at home,” I said.

One Dog’s Life 🦮 💖

September 13, 2022 | Filed under blindness Guide dogs writing

Second place winner! this essay will be in the December 2022 issue of the National Federation of the Blind’s Writer’s Division Literary magazine, Slate and Style.

One Dog’s Life

2011

Verona and my daughter play in the lake for an hour. the funniest thing is the way Verona blows water from her mouth after dropping the stick. It makes a loud, spitting sound that can be heard from the patio.

When the assorted waterfowl horde realizes she is visiting, it waddles in masse from grass to the lake weeds beside the dock. Labrador nose dilates, a front paw lifts, instincts override even an offer of a cookie. for just a little while she is the retriever, the soft-mouthed hunting companion, not a guide dog.

Each and every year we have together is a blessing, a time for me to feel unfettered. I try to think back on the way life was before training with Verona but my mind veers from those dark moments and I let them go. We are here, being warmed by the late afternoon sun. We are dog and woman, partners for however long time and fate permit.

2013

Four humans and two dogs fill the little red sedan. I sit in front, along with Mom, who is driving. In the back seat, Music’s furry butt crushes my sister, who, until now has suffered in silence.

“Thank God it’s a short ride,” I hear her mumble from somewhere behind us.

We reach our destination, extract ourselves from the little red sedan. Verona’s excitement is palpable. Once inside the gate, loose dogs run up to us, but I make her ignore them and sit until I’m ready. With a word she’s off. We claim a bench in the warm California sun. moments later Verona lopes by us, a pack of dogs giving chase. I listen for the pack to turn back and run past us again, Verona in the lead.

California 2013

Pebbles and shells litter the meandering path to the beach. The air resonates with surf and sea birds. I release Verona and she lopes off, nose to the ground

Music, my sister’s Golden Retriever, chases Verona into the water. As she turns to give chase, a huge wave crashes down and for a moment she is engulfed, Sucked away by green sea and foam. my heart skips a beat in arrested panic; The wave spits her out onto the beach and she runs to me, weaves in-between my legs and soaks my pants. I look like incontinence has gotten the best of me. Thereafter, Verona avoids the waves and prefers a safer splash in the wet sand and tidal pools instead.

It’s important that Verona has the opportunity to be a dog; so much responsibility is put upon her when waring the harness, it seems that this is the best way to let her know. As she digs a hole in the sand and flops down to dry off, my heart is content because she is doing just what she’s supposed to be doing, living a dog’s life.

close up of Black lab with snow on her face

Celebrate July with freedom and Free books 🎇

July 2, 2022 | Filed under blindness Fiction Guide dogs nonfiction Poem

Celebrate July with freedom and Free books

📕 📖 📘 📙 📗

The 14th Annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale has begun, running now through July 31. Visit my author’s page to order your free eBooks from Smashwords during the Summer sale!

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnChiappetta

All my titles are free, a gift to readers everywhere.

Thousands of titles are discounted or free — so why not go to Smashwords and go shopping for your summer reading collection? Visit the sale at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos

Why Smashwords? Electronic choices, of course. It’s simple and get the book delivered to your inbox. Transfer it to your favorite book reading app. It’s great, kindle isn’t the only eBook reading app in town. 😉

Tranquil photo of stacked stones beside circular pattern in the sand.

Stepping In It 💩

May 17, 2022 | Filed under Guide dogs Poem

I thought I’d share a slice of life with our best friends.

Poo on a shoe

By Ann Chiappetta

The day began in good faith and plan

Rising at six a.m.

Busy with brewing dark roast

coffee aroma disguising the odiferous

Tang of poo

Deposited along my route to the office

Unknowingly I cam across it

And tracked the goop hither and yon

And blithely carried on

It was the second time that did it

My sneaker stepped in the middle

Of the big pile with a squelch

And , slip and slide

Then the smell arrived.

Dog shit on my best Merrills

And stuck in this muck

What was I going to do?

I, of course yelled down the hall for my husband

And as we coordinated the clean-up

With gagging and nose plugs

He said,

“Honey, why did it have to be you?”

Dedicated to the family dogs, Bailey and May

Ann M. Chiappetta, M.S.

Making Meaningful ConnectionsThrough Media

914.393.6605 USA

Anniecms64@gmail.com

All things Annie: www.annchiappetta.com

Annie on Dream Young Arts & Media 🎥🎤

March 27, 2022 | Filed under blindness Guide dogs writing

Want to check out what I’ve been up to ? Thanks to Dream Young Arts and Media co-founders Nicky and Otis, I shared parts of my life, struggles and successes before and after blindness.

After watching it on YouTube, why not like and share it?

https://youtu.be/ftQOT-6Yc-I

More about DYAM:

Dream Young Arts & Media (DYAM) focuses on helping people with disabilities to develop social and fundamental skills. DYAM will support our member’s goals and help them co-exist in their communities through the use of educational and social skills, music, and media creation with our Podcast (@dreamyoungmedia on YouTube).

x

Photo of Ann at Harbor Island Park, Mamaroneck, NY West Basin. She is with her first guide dog, Verona and is smiling.

Photo of Ann at Harbor Island Park, Mamaroneck, NY West Basin. She is with her guide dog, Verona and is smiling.

Reactions like this are Real

March 6, 2022 | Filed under blindness Guide dogs Relationships

We walked into the holiday party. I was already anticipating a good time with friends after the imposed bouts of social isolation as a result of Covid.

We were greeted and directed to our table by a pleasant staff person. Bailey, my guide dog, was excited to see our good friends and greeted one of them. I pulled out my chair, settled my coat and bag and asked Bailey to lay down under the table when the two women to my right became hysterical upon noticing him.

“I can’t stay here, the dog will eat all my food,” and “That dog is going to bite me,” and “I can’t relax with that dog so close,”.

My heart sunk and I put on the blank face. The face that tries to hide the disappointment and frustration brought on by ignorance and fear of my guide dog by others.

My friend tells them the dog won’t do that, it’s trained. Still they go on and I feel the anxiety build. Will I have to leave? I do my best to ignore them, but one person continued to go on about “that dog, will bite me,” “I can’t stay here with that dog,”, etc.

I grope for my water glass and wait it out.

I don’t want to be here, don’t want to eat, I feel like these people just stole it all from me. I almost got up to leave, was close to tears but I refused to let them see me cry. I had a right to be there, too, and because I am blind, my guide dog did, too.

a person sitting on the other side of our table spoke to the person who was now almost yelling about “that dog,” — and quieted them. It took me some time to refocus on my meal and my friends. My guide dog curled up for a nap under the table.

The rest of the afternoon was fun thanks to a stranger who knew how to handle another stranger’s fear of dogs.

The thing is even though I stayed quiet, I was angry. Being subjected to reactions like this, while infrequent, still happen and still affect me in a powerful way. I felt confused and hurt by their reactions. I hope they will remember how “that woman with the dog,” kept her cool and shared a meal. I hope they will one day understand how much it cost me personally to shelf the feelings and get past their outburst.

Annie with pink mask and Bailey close up

Ann and Bailey on bench: Both looking straight on

Smashing prices, not Pumpkins

December 17, 2021 | Filed under blindness Fiction Guide dogs nonfiction paranormal Poem writing

📚 You won’t want to miss out on these discounts

All my titles are on sale until January 1, 2022. Save 50% at the Smashwords year-end sale.

Or visit my author’s page to find out more and read a preview:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnChiappetta

Why Smashwords? Electronic choices, of course. Simple and get the book delivered to your inbox. Transfer it to your favorite book reading app. It’s great, kindle isn’t the only eBook reading app in town. 😉

The Holiday Spirit

December 16, 2021 | Filed under Guide dogs Poem writing

🌲 🎄

2022 greetings and blessings to all of you from our family.

Irish Christmas blessing

The light of the Christmas star to you

The warmth of a home and hearth to you

The cheer and good will of friends to you

The hope of a childlike heart to you

The joy of a thousand angels to you

The love of the Son and

God’s peace to you

Photo description: Annie and Jerry stand together wearing festive burgundy shirts. Yellow lab Bailey sits in front of Annie wearing a leather guide dog harness and leash.

This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative.

Artificial Divide Anthology

September 1, 2021 | Filed under blindness Fiction Guide dogs

Hi readers, check out a new #OwnVoice anthology by authors with visual impairment, the first anthology to include one of my short stories plus over twelve other authors. Read the description and you will understand why it’s a pivotal collection. Thanks to Robert Kingett and Randy Lacey for making it possible, along with Renaissance Press.

I hope you and your friends and colleagues support it by pre-ordering the collection. Thanks for your support, we cannot be a success without readers like you.

Release date is September 15, 2021, order now, why wait?

Artificial Divide Anthology by Renaissance Press

Step into a world of rogue screen readers, Braille in fantasy worlds, a friend meeting an acquaintance after several years, and more.

This #OwnVoices anthology features fiction by Blind and visually impaired authors showing readers how they thrive, hurt, get revenge, outsmart bullies, or go on epic adventures. Artificial Divide is an own-voices story collection that captures the many layers of Blindness and, for once, puts visually impaired protagonists in the driver’s seat, letting us glimpse their lives.

When we think about it, we’re not really divided. Stories by Eunice Cooper-Matchett, Anita Haas, Rebecca Blaevoet, Tessa Soderberg, Laurie Alice Eakes, Melissa Yuan, Innes – Jamieson Wolf, Ben Fulton, Felix Imonti, – Niki White, M.

Leona Godin, Ann Chiappetta, Lawrence Gunther, Heather Meares, and Jameyanne Fuller.

Links for preordering the paperback, eBook and Audio formats

https://tinyurl.com/b8mk6wxb

https://tinyurl.com/s2tz367e