With Abby's small stature, it is easy to take her anywhere I would like, provided that I have her secured in a doggie bag (between my mom and I, we have a wide selection from which I can choose)...So I have taken her on errands, and even to class...
I have a three hour long class Wednesday afternoons, and for a small pup, that's probably a long time. But I took her out, made sure she went potty beforehand, and even managed to sneak some love pats when the professor wasn't looking. The next week, after she had broken her leg, I decided to take her again to this class. She couldn't move anyways, so it made sense. I brought her favorite chew toy (a purple rubber-ish bone with white, pink, and purple ties on each side), and a few Greenies for her to munch on.
We had to move into groups for an activity, and as I moved across to my designated spot, puppy purse in hand, Abby poked her head out!! The professor saw, and said, "Aww, what a cute pup." Nothing about keeping a dog outside the classroom, or voiced concerns about others' allergies, or rude comments about dogs being poop machines or whatever...So I moved to my spot across the room and we got started with our activity.
About an hour into class, we were still working in groups, and Abby started to whine. As in, "I wanna be let out and held, or hold my toy for me and pet me while I chew it". Apparently, the professor had stepped out of the room, but I didn't know this and busied myself with trying to get her to calm down. I dug for the Greenie, showed it to her, held it for her (all while straining around one of those University desks, if you can imagine)...She wasn't content because I wasn't holding her!
Well, everyone around me understood by that point that I had a puppy with me, and a Chihuahua at that. I heard them whispering about the rat dogs, and did that girl have a dog with her, and does the professor know...Well I sat right back up quickly, looked around, and trying to play it cool, I said, "Hey, whassup?" (A few people around me laughed).
The professor returned, and every time Abby whined, someone around me would cough or whip out their cell phone on the pretense of shutting it off. It was funny to see everyone around me trying to hide the pup, even though the professor already knew...:)
I also have an early morning Saturday class, which is right before adoptions. I decided to bring Abby to this class as well, since it is lecture and lab, and I can keep a close eye on her under the long lab tables that obscure the person sitting behind them. One girl in my lab group said, "Um...your purse is moving...and...that's kinda freaking me out." I smiled and told her, "I know..." and the girls around us kind of looked at me curiously... so then I said, "Oh, I have my foster puppy with me...she broke her leg, so I get to take her with me everywhere."
So after they got a good look at her, and we finished the experiment, I headed off to adoptions. It would be the first time for Abby back at adoptions as a true example of what adoption is about: rehabilitation. My mom brought an extra crate for her, and I made sure she had had her meds in the morning, and secured her in the crate before beginning the day at adoptions.
I brought her for a few reasons: 1) adoption days are long and it would be a lonely day for her with her bum leg, 2) I wanted her to be an example of rehabilitation, and 3) it was Halloween portrait day and I wanted a photo of her (proceeds to the store where we hold adoptions) to be taken, bum leg and all...Only, the cute little french maid costume we had for her wouldn't work with the casted leg. So she had to be either a lion, a banana, or wear a hat that came with one of the other costumes..She was a banana for the majority of adoptions, but she looked cutest wearing the little princess hat - complete with the little hanging veil!! And she got a lot of attention in both garbs, and people were fascinated by her story. A good day for rescue!
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