Exemplary Pet Owner

I got a surprise letter from the Yokohama Veterinary Association saying I had been nominated by my vet, Dr. Koyama for an honorary award, the exemplary pet owner. I was on my way out for a nice long walkies round Kuraki Park, so I glanced over the letter and off I went, feeling quite chuffed.

The short award ceremony will take place together with a talk by Manabu Miyazaki, an animal photographer who will focus on wild animals in human environments in Japan, with the title "I'm not scared of you humans". It looks like we won't have a chance to get up on stage though, just be there and watch, so there may not be much opportunity to spread the word about CACI Gundog Rescue, the plight of pointers and setters in Japan, and the need for microchips. 
Reasons for the award are 

• someone who has many years of owning a pet with exemplary behavior
• positive welfare management of the pets including preventative care and veterinary consultations 
• eldercare and responsible caring for dogs with physical handicaps or trauma
• other

I'd like to reframe those criteria according to the latest 2016 model of the Five Freedoms, updated to Five Provisions by Professor David Mellor, with all the info about it at a Companion Animal Psychology post. 

Reproduced from Mellor (2016) under Creative Commons licence

Okay, well, 
1: each dog has their own drinkie bowl replenished with filtered water morning and evening, and during walkies I carry a portable water bowl and we stop at park faucets along the way for drinks as we go, which is particularly important in summer, I guess. Nutrition is a good dog food (not the most expensive, but recommended by a Georgia vet and setter breeder) supplemented with home-cooked vegie soups and grated vegies, fish and meat.
2: pics of the dogs on the sofa say it all, methinks...they not only have their own wee houses for privacy indoors, they have the human spaces too!
3:Of course we visit the vet regularly (those babies have had more bloodwork done than Mummy!). What I like about my vet Dr Koyama is that we think about QOL and hospice care at the end of a rich life, not last-ditch invasive surgery.
4 and 5 kind of speak for themselves if you glance over my blog back posts, babies waiting for brekkies so maybe later.

Just dashing off that I think continued reading up about your dog, and basic canine citizen dog training are essential. If it's exemplary, I guess it's what everyone should be doing, so you could argue it's not really worth getting an award for, but on the other hand, things like blogging here, and adopting rescued dogs make me feel proud and happy to be included. Thank you Yokohama Veterinary Association and Dr. Koyama for the honour.