Today I had to get the oil changed in our van. We got a coupon for a $10 oil change, and today is the last day it was valid so we had to keep the appointment. Brad stayed home with the girls, and I took Felix in my power wheelchair.
He did a pretty good job on the ride over in the back all by himself. When we got there, he was happy to sit in my lap as I talked with the tech about the oil change.
They don’t have a lot of outdoor seating there, so I knew I’d want a comfy place to sit and to be able to walk around some with Felix. Normally an oil change there takes about an hour and a half to two hours.
We went to sit in the shade near the drop-off area, and Felix sat in my lap watching people and cars go by. After a while, I put him on the floor. He wasn’t scared of anything, but really liked watching all the activity. I tried to do a bit of work on the name game, but he really was much more interested in observing than in training. So I switched to capturing every time he looked at me on his own.
After about 20 minutes, I decided to walk around a little bit. Felix hasn’t walked next to my wheelchair much yet. Basically just once before. He did really well! By that I mean he walked next to my wheelchair with the same amount of skill he walks next to me when I’m ambulatory LOL. We have some work to do on pulling, and also on not walking in front of my wheelchair. But he was good enough next to the wheelchair that I know I can go out places with him while using it and train him on the floor.
By then, I had to use the bathroom so up in my lap he went. Someone very nicely held the door for me to get in the building (we hadn’t tried opening doors with him in my lap before!). I was able to push open the door to the bathroom just fine with him in my lap.
When I got in there, someone was in the accessible stall. No big deal, I just waited. The problem happened when she exited the stall. She stood there blocking my way (I later realized she thought she was holding the door open for me). I just sat there looking at her, confused as to why she was standing in my way. Then she said “Do you want to go in here?”. I said “Yes”, still confused. Finally she asked me “Do you want me to hold the door for you?”. Then I realized she was trying to hold the door but standing completely in the way! That was why she was standing there! So I told her that I couldn’t get by with her standing in the way, and that I could get the door myself. Problem solved!
It was my first time using the restroom with Felix and my power wheelchair as well! I put him on the seat of my chair, and he did a good job of not jumping off while I used the restroom. Then we exited the stall and to leave the bathroom I had to use a pull door all on my own. Felix did a great job sitting in my lap without me holding onto him while I drove with one hand and pulled the door open with my other hand.
We headed back outside and I put Felix on the ground. He just lay down and watched all the people and cars some more. A nice lady came to pet him and he did a great job not jumping!
Then, only 30–45 min after they took my car away, they were done with it! I was shocked!!! So I picked Felix up and we went inside to pay. He did a great job hanging out in my lap as I got my card out and signed receipts.
Then we headed home, and he was perfect in the car on the way home. When we got home, I took the pups in the yard where they played until they were hot and tired. Then we went inside and I followed him around in my wheelchair as he went around the house. After a 15-min break, the playing started again! Felix really enjoyed running across the house with Alice and Hestia chasing him!
I did manage to get one picture while we were sitting outside at the dealership. In it, I have medium-length curly brown hair and am wearing a sleeveless bright pink dress. Felix is a sable and white Japanese Chin in my lap, looking off to the side.
