Crazy Pelicans? No Big Deal!

Here's just a little example of what I like about Alfie's personality. We're constantly running into the strange, the odd, or the unexpected and he just seems to take it in his little puppy stride.

[Below: video of Alf & me walking up to this strange little pelican whirlybird stuck in someone's front yard...its body swings around in the breeze on a horizontal axis while its wings whirl on a vertical axis....Alfie walks calmly up toward it to investigate]

I love how he's curious, but not reactive...doesn't try to run away, bark, or attack the admittedly bizarre piece of yard art! I know it's not a really big deal but it's just an example of his whole easy-going outlook on life. Gotta love it!

On a side note, do any of you puppy raisers out there, like me, enjoy the extremely rare moment when you're talking to someone out in public...and they don't bring up the dog? Don't get me wrong, I love to talk to folks about guide dogs, puppies, and all...and I think it's important for us to educate people when possible! But today I happened to be at Whole Foods looking for a certain type of tea, and one of their staff helped me find just the right thing...we chatted about the products, etc...and he never once asked me a doggy question. All of a sudden I realized, Wow, this is so unusual! He assisted me with such calm nonchalance that one might think Alfie was the third or fourth adorable, chocolate-colored labradoodle-guide-dog-in-training to stop by today, and it was really not a big deal. I loved it! But in the checkout line, it was back to the usual ...people pointing and oohing. Sigh! I really don't do this for the attention, but it seems to come with the territory!