guide dog

I was away for most of July (at Sage Hill Writing Experience) in Saskatchewan. A great opportunity. Highly recommend it. I worked on my murder mystery with Giles Blunt and a cohort of talented, hard-working and high-spirited writers. As usual, Arika travelled very well and made more new best friends. Kate arrived shortly after I returned home, and we took A-Dog swimming at Mahukona. She's a pro at getting out of the water. Check this out: http://youtu.be/y7-_MrS7-FI

I was in Waimea (aka Kamuela) this past week, and went into a restaurant with Arika, a restaurant we've been to dozens of times. A new person behind the counter informed me I couldn't bring a dog in. <Note: Arika was wearing her harness and 'do not pet service dog' sign when she led me in>.  I assured her Arika was a service dog, and therefore allowed. She countered with the hygiene argument (what? did she fear I would encourage Arika to sniff around the kitchen?) I assured her that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) superceded any local or state health codes.