Back at it!!

First and foremost, please forgive Cisco (and me) for being official “slacker bloggers”.  As we have said before, we promise to be better….

The first day of the 2013-2014 school year!

After a fun filled summer that included a trip to Nantucket (more details to follow) Cisco FINALLY got to go back to work.  The end of summer is always a bit bitter-sweet for students and teachers…we are excited to get back to a new school year but can’t help but mourn the loss of the lazy days of summer.  The end of summer was simply SWEET for Cisco because he got to go back to work.  The first morning I put his working bandana on he spun in three big circles, gave me a big smile and RAN to the car.  He was ready to get to it!

His work started immediately!  He spent two days surround by the kids he so loves then he got a few days off as I traveled to Kanauga with the middle school students.  When we returned we found that a new member of the TES community (a 2nd grade student) was super scared of dogs.  After a little recon on my part (and with the blessing of the students parents) Cisco and I went to work!  I placed a life-sized sculpture of Cisco in the classroom for the student to get used to the size of Cisco.  Then Cisco and I came to the classroom to visit.  We intended on quietly slipping in but trying to slip Cisco into a room full of 2nd graders is like trying to slip One Direction into a packed shopping mall!  No matter how sneaky we are, the dog-loving 2nd graders could sense his presence and were like moths to a flame, squealing with unbridled delight that Cisco had come to visit!  Although this visit was a complete distraction to the classroom learning it was essential to the social and emotional learning of the 2nd graders.  The student that was (I use the word “was” loosely as we are still in the midst of helping this student overcome his fear) scared of Cisco waited at a safe distance as the rest of the class mobbed Cisco while he patiently sat and let every child give him love.  As the class ventured back to the reading circle Cisco, myself and one of the classroom teachers went about helping our scared friend.  Cisco was in a “down” position with his back to the student.  After a few minutes the student mustered up the courage to touch his back…with a smile on his face he touched Cisco about 6 more times!!  Anytime Cisco moved the student quickly retreated to his safe distance but made great progress.  We decided that he would come up to the art room early the next day to see Cisco’s crate and have some time to get used to him in our art space.  Cisco stayed in his crate but exited to bid the class farewell.  This time the scared student gave Cisco a pat without the help of one of the adults.

Now, fast forward to friday Community Chapel.  It was our annual “blessing of the backpacks” chapel in which each teacher blessed their students backpacks and tie a beaded tag to remind them of the blessing.  As usual, Cisco was sitting at my feet while 400+ kids roamed around before and after their individual blessing.  As students were blessed they kept finding their way to Cisco as they waited for their peers to be blessed.  I looked up at the throng of Cisco fans and found my scared 2nd grader giving Cisco a pat on the back!!  What a week…from scared, never-going-to-the-art-room to snatching a pat at chapel.  That Cisco has some MAD skill when it comes to convincing someone that he will not hurt them:). And it is only the 2nd week…

 Peace, love, and paw prints,

Jen and Cisco

Fire ants and love…

Those of you that live in the south will understand the annoying nature of FIRE ANTS!!  They build these huge and unpleasant mounds all over the place and are nasty little creatures once they find you.  Today Cisco (lead by me) and a bunch of middle school students and teachers headed to one of the few open fields around our urban school campus to play a quick game of Ultimate Frisbee.  I noticed that the blasted fire ants had infested the field and warned all the students to avoid the mounds (of course, a few of them decided to kick a mound or two before fleeing and engaging in the frisbee game).  Cisco and I were hiding under a tree but decided that the view would be better from the other side of the field so off we went.

After a few minutes cheering the students on I felt a pinch on my foot.  I looked down and couldn’t believe how unobservant I had been upon moving to the other side of the field as I found both Cisco and myself standing right in the middle of a fire ant village!  Both of my feet were covered with ants and the stings were coming quick.  I jumped back and threw off my shoes and started brushing the ants off.  If you have been covered in these ants you know that brushing them off is no easy task and you usually end up with stings on your hands and arms as well as the original site.  As I was frantically removing ants I realized that Cisco was doing the “Cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-dance” and when I looked at his back paws I realized that they were COVERED in ants.  I stopped removing ants from myself and started helping Cisco then something magical happened…..  Next thing I knew, there were two middle school girls that came to his rescue.  With no thought of being stung themselves they worked furiously to remove the ants from his paws, making sure that they checked in between his toes and up the length of his legs.  They kept moving him away from the ants they had removed so they didn’t jump back on, giving him love the entire time.  Like the good boy he is, he stood still and let them help him until he was clear.  They also helped me make sure that my shoes were free of rogue ants before we headed back to campus.

This is what Cisco does…he brings out the best in you!  Some middle school students may watch an adult or peer suffer and show reluctance towards putting themselves in the line of fire ants for another person but Cisco makes them better.  He gives them unconditional love and protection and they return the favor without a second thought.  At Trinity we talk about seeing Jesus in the actions of those around us.  Too often Jesus is hard to see but He was shining this morning in the face of a few middle school girls who helped THEIR school dog!  Once the itching subsided I counted myself as truly blessed.

~Jen and Cisco

P.S. DAMN FIRE ANTS!!!!

Trinity Voice

WOW, two posts in less than 24 hours….

Check out our article in the spring edition of the Trinity Voice!

http://www.tescharlotte.org/trinity-voice-winter/

A quick update….

Cisco celebrating at our Palm Sunday Chapel

It is official, Cisco has a hard time keeping up his blog!  It is not due to lack of stories to share or wisdom to impart but rather a lack of time to sit and write (and the lack of thumbs makes him so dependent on me, one of the worst “keeper-up of things” ever!).

Anyway, Cisco has been as busy as any teacher in the spring!  He can be found comforting a second grader having a splinter removed, helping a young sibling focus during chapel, running through the gym like some of his kindergarten friends, or sitting on the floor next to working artists in the art room.  Like a true teacher, he spent his spring breaking working!  He worked with his trainer at The Dog Knowledge to brush up his basic commands and he started to add “place” to his ever-expanding list of commands!

Hangin’ at Friday Chapel

For the first time all school year, Cisco took some time off this past week.  After spring break he seemed to lack his usual energy so he visited his favorite vet and it turns out he was fighting an infection!  She gave him some antibiotics to nip the infection and I gave him some long overdue time off.  I’m not sure who was missed most, me missing Cisco, the students missing Cisco or Cisco missing WORK (both the students and me).  He seems to be feeling better so he will head back tomorrow to continue the work he loves!

How lucky is Cisco???

Keep your tail wagging!

~Jen and Cisco

The farm, WOW week and back on track!!

It has been a few weeks since Cisco blogged…he has been a busy dog for sure!

Some of you may not know this but Cisco is slated to be a breeding stud for Twilight Retrievers.  A few weeks ago he was “called up” to try his hand at making some puppies.  He needed to stay at the farm for a week to ten days so I packed up all his “stuff” and headed north.  He was so excited to see Hunter and the other dogs, chickens, goats and cats and met a new friend named Glade.  Glade is a super sweet yellow lab that is about 9 months old (I think) and looks a fair amount like Cisco a few short months ago!  After passing Cisco’s stuff off to Hunter I headed back home with a quiet and empty car.

Although I missed Cisco a ton I had no idea how much he would be missed at Trinity!  The day after he left I heard “where is Cisco?” approximately 4000 times.  Now I had practiced what I would say to the students when they asked, but a dog going to breed is just a slippery slope in an elementary and middle school!  “He went to visit his friends at the farm.”, “He went to meet a new friend at the farm.” and “He went to breed.” were a few of my responses but they where always followed by “why?”.  As an educator that seeks to grab and use any and all teachable moments I decided to answer the questions honestly while keeping each students developmental level in mind (not an easy thing to do!).  I could fill multiple posts with the conversations I had with students and adults during the 10 days that Cisco was gone but I will share just one.  I told a second grade class that Cisco went to the farm to breed.  I explained that it meant he was going to make puppies with a girl dog.  Then I gracefully skirted the questions about “how” this would happen but answered the question about who the girl dog was.  I told them her name (Mossy) and showed them pictures.  They were so excited and asked if Mossy was his wife.  Hum, didn’t expect that questions…rookie mistake!  Before I could answer they asked why Cisco would leave his new wife before the puppies were born, why would he not want to live with her, was he moving to the farm permanently????  Ahhhhh….. I explained that dogs were different than people and that they did not get married but I don’t think they were listening to me!

After a week or so Hunter sent me a text that said I could pick Cisco up whenever I wanted.  Now I had been keeping in annoyingly constant contact with Hunter about my boys progress and was excited that Cisco had finally done his “work”.  My excitement was tempered when Hunter said he wasn’t ready and actually didn’t do his “work”:(.  Now I’m sure that Hunter would tell the story differently but this is how it rolls in my head… Cisco was kinda curious about Mossy but he was WAY more interested in playing with Glade, telling me that Cisco was still a little too much of a puppy to make puppies!  That is exactly what I told the kids and adults at school…Cisco is too much of a puppy to make puppies.  Cisco came home and happily went back to school to more love than he had ever received at Trinity.

His time at school was short due to the arrival of WOW week.  At Trinity, the 5th-9th graders participate in WithOutWalls week, allowing them to explore a passion and learn out in the world.  We take a break from the classroom and explore.  The WOW week I helped lead was a take off of The Amazing Race reality show and it took us ALL over Charlotte.  Cisco just had to stay home because a year and a half old puppy struggles WithOutWalls!

And now, we are back on track.  As I walked around a table this afternoon I found Cisco laying on the ground with spots of green and red paint on his fur and a 6th grade student exploring static electricity with his fur and a plastic stool!  Ahhh, all is right in Cisco’s world.

Puppy kisses and tail wags,

Cisco and Jen

It is tough (but awesome) being a dog in the art room!

There are some constants in the art room at Trinity.  To name a few; teachers, students, crayons, paint, glue, markers, oil pastels and a big yellow lab!  The constants remind me of a song from my childhood, “One of these things doesn’t belong here…” (seems pretty Sesame Street-ish but I can’t be sure).  The thing that doesn’t seem to belong is the big yellow lab but there he is every day mixing it up with the art students! From Kindergarten artists to 8th grade studio participants, Cisco pads over to explore their creative process.  You can see in the photo above, Cisco takes the blank canvas seriously and wanted to make sure the 7th graders that needed to turn that large canvas into the backdrop for a 2nd grade musical knew he was there to help!  As the girls started designing and paint, Cisco made sure that he padded through the wet blue paint, making sure that he left a few paw prints so everyone would know he helped.  That is simply how it rolls in the art room with a big yellow lab and the students just remind him to “get off the canvas”, they do not cry, get mad or start over.

When it comes to art materials, Cisco is a bit of a connoisseur!  Personally, I love a good Sharpie over an off-brand permanent marker so I feel that I am a bit of a material connoisseur but Cisco takes a different angle.  Cisco eats the materials that make it to the floor (and anyone that has been in an elementary or middle school art room knows that a fair amount of the supplies hit the floor!).  He has a special place in his diet for crayons and oil pastels but will give it all up for a nice plastic glue stick.  I bet he eats about 15 crayons a week and each one makes a colorful reappearance in the back yard!  A few months ago during one of his “counter surfing” phases he picked up a bowl as gently as a trained retriever.  If it was a duck, hunters would be proud of the care he took.  It was not a duck but rather a bowl of green paint.  As Cisco trotted to show off his “catch” he lifted his head and dumped the entire bowl over his snout and head! We all laughed HARD and Cisco just shook off the excess and went about his business.  Every day Cisco wears a bit of his job home…pink chalk down his side, blue paint on his ear, or black printing ink on his leg, all worn with pride by the art room dog!

In addition to being a material connoisseur, Cisco is a wonderful muse!  Students LOVE to draw, paint, collage, sculpt, and photograph him.  Here is a snapshot of the bulletin board in the art room…a close look will show you that majority of the board is dedicated to sweet Cisco!

And occasionally I find a gem like this drawing…

This drawing was on the back of a 6th grade boys mid-trimester self-reflection.  The drawing is of Cisco wearing his Trinity hoodie with the hood up (yes, he has a sweatshirt that he lets me put on him because he is THAT good!).  Love the imagination he added with the fangs and nails…a true look into the mind of a sixth grade boy!  I could go deep into my “art teacher philosophy” that this drawing symbolizes the visual maturity yet subject naivety of the 6th grade artist but instead I would like to just smile and cherish this little drawing doodled on the back of a young artists self-reflection!

Keep doodling but don’t eat the crayons…Cisco will get ’em!

~Jen and Cisco

P.S.  We will get back to our daily schedule soon.  We left off at 8:10 am so there is still ALOT of day to document:).

Work, work, work…

The question I get most about Cisco and his school-dog work is, “What does a school dog do?” What is most interesting about this question is the fact that the answer seems to change every day. Well, not really change but rather become more clear! Cisco works in ways that defy definition, ways that are so subtle and undetectable that they can go completely unnoticed. Although he punches a clock (because his work is done in a very “human” manner) he doesn’t really fit into any job description. I think the best way to explain his work is to walk you through a normal day for Cisco. Now those of you that work in a school, you know that “normal” is completely subjective and there is rarely a “normal” day!

We rise and shine at about 5 am. Cisco exits his crate with a smile and more joy than I can handle most mornings. He quickly reminds you that it is time to eat because after all, he is a lab and his life revolves around food! He plays with his toys while I choke down a much needed cup of coffee. We then wander upstair to “get ready”. Cisco waits for me to finish my shower and dressing by patiently lying on the rug in the bathroom. His placement means that I have to step over him about 400 times before I say, “OK, are you ready?” which is his cue to run downstairs and sit by the hook that hold his leash and uniform (a stylish bowtie or bandana). When the bandana slips over his head he clicks in to “working” mode. Then we are off to start another day with a quick jump into the back of the car!

Once we arrive at school we park about a block and a half away so that Cisco can do all his doggie business before we get to campus. Once we cross the street and enter the school campus our pace slows to a crawl because everyone wants to say good morning to Cisco and Cisco wants to say good morning to EVERYONE! Once we get in the front door Cisco knows what he wants to do. He quietly comes along while I check the message board and my teacher box, giving every adult he comes across a loving “good morning”. Then we head to the 3rd floor and he really gets to work. At the top of the stairs I slip off his leash and open the door. He trotts down the hall looking in to each classroom, sometimes stopping to check out what is going on but his main objective is to get around the corner and to one of the middle school Language Arts rooms. This classroom serves as the meeting place for a group of boys. They come in early to work with the teacher and have some good “guy time” before the official school day begins and Cisco LOVES this daily “guy time” meeting. He gives me a quick look then dips in to cheers from the boys! Cheers that include “Cisco!” and “Cisco is here, pick up your lunch boxes!” The door clicks shut and the boys PLAY!! I head on down the hall to my classroom and can hear laughter and barking, really I can hear joy pouring from the room at the ripe hour of 7:30 am! At about 7:50, he heads to my (HIS) classroom followed by a few young men who never fail to say “Thanks Ms. Rankey!”. Cisco grabs a quick drink then greets the members of the Rankey Koinonia (my advisory group consisting of 11 6th through 8th grade students). At about 8:10, Cisco bids them farewell and settles in the corner of the hallway, greeting all the middle school students headed to their first class.

As you can see, Cisco is a busy boy since this is just the beginning of each day! I must confess that as I actually write down the activities of his day I am impressed with his work ethic and understand why he is so tired when he gets home! I feel confident that these morning times are some of his favorite throughout the day and I feel confident that his presence for some of those middle school students is more important than even they know. Here is the cool thing about Cisco, he doesn’t care what you look like, what brand shoes you are wearing or who your friends are, he just cares about you. This is exactly what every middle school student needs to kick off each day and I am humbled that I get to stand next to him while he “works” for the students.

Since we are only to about 8:15 am, I will save the rest of his day for another post! But know this, each day he does work that no human can do. He quells anxiety in a way that simply amazes me, he settles a room with ease and breaks tension like no other. He knows when to play and when to settle with little direction from me and he reminds me that sometimes you just need to relax and take a deep breath! Until next time, keep your tail wagging and smile!

~Jen and Cisco

Happy New Year!!

As Cisco sat down to do his first blogpost of the year he was presented with the unnerving fact that he is a bit of a slacker when it comes to posting! He found four unfinished posts but nothing actually published since September…simply shameful! Of course we all know that this is not his fault since he lacks thumbs and the ability to type for himself but rather my fault for letting time slip away. Well, I convinced Cisco to “buy-in” to the convention of making a resolution to change something during the upcoming year. He reminded me that he can’t do it without my help so we have both resolved to be better bloggers!

We decided to give you a funny little story to get back in your good graces, hoping that you will reconnect with us and our work. On December 21st, Cisco started his first Christmas break. Seemed like every other week to him, sheer exhaustion by Friday afternoon but the change was that instead of crashing on the couch around 6 pm he headed to his second favorite place, The Dog Knowledge. This is where he goes to be a DOG, not a school dog or a working dog but rather a DOG dog! Little did he know that he was staying at TDK for 10 days while I traveled to visit family and friends on both coasts. After visiting and celebrating with MANY loved ones, I exited the airport after taking the red-eye from San Francisco and went to get the big boy! His sister Madaket came barreling out and jumped in the car, ready to get the hell home, leaving Cisco to sniff and wonder. Then he spotted me and came running across the parking lot and simply launched himself. I’m not sure if he was launching towards the car, Madaket or me but he ended up half in the car and half in my arms. Happy with where he landed he gave me 10 days worth of doggie kisses and his tail would not stop wagging…ahhh, we would all soon be home! We all then proceded to sleep for about 3 days…AHHHH!

As the new year rolled around I found that it was time for me to go back to school. We had faculty work days on January 3rd and 4th. Work days are usually full of meetings and lack the presence of kids so Cisco usually skips them but I decided to let him gradually work his way back into a school schedule with the rest of the faculty. Of course, everyone was super happy to see his sweet face. It still amazes me what the presence of a dog can do to a group of people! I went to one side of the dinning room to put my bag down and take off my coat. Cisco wanted to wander around and greet everyone so I slipped his leash off and turned my head to greet a colleague. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cisco take off like his tail was on fire! He was tearing through the dinning room at top speed and before I could even figure out was going on he rounded the corner, found the snack table and helped himself to a dog-sized mouthful of yummy breakfast muffins. He cut right in between two civilized humans waiting their turn for muffins….as with so many times before, I held my breath and waited for the human reaction. The shocked look on the faces of all those around were replaced with hearty laughter! How can you not laugh at a big yellow lab smiling at you through a mouth full of poppy seed muffins? We were BACK!!!

So, we resolve to be better bloggers, we resolve to love a little bit harder this year and we resolve to run like there are poppy seed muffins and smile like we just helped ourselves to a mouthful!

~Jen and Cisco

The first day quickly becomes the first week!!

For all the students and teachers out there, you know that the night before the first of school is nerve-wracking.  Sleep aludes even the most seasoned educators due to excitement, fear and a little “first day” anxiety.  Cisco got his first taste of the of the “night before” life of an educator this year.  I have learned that most of his anxious behavior stems from his reaction to MY anxious behavior so I must admit I was a bit relieved to hear his signature “hum” at 4:30 am on the first day of school because it gave me the excuse I needed to throw in the towel and get up rather than lying in bed staring at the ceiling!

So once we completed our morning routine filled with food, quick walks and playful games with Cisco’s “road-kill” toys (those toys that some dog toy genius created without stuffing, removing Cisco’s instinct to “kill” and “de-gut” all menacing teddy bears and smiling animals!) it was time to start working!  I slipped a tie-dyed bandana around Cisco’s neck and with the pride of any kid starting school with a new outfit or uniform he trotted to the back porch ready to GO! Like so many parents on the first day of school I snapped a few pics of the big boy…

The day marched along, filled with more new experiences than I could have ever prepared Cisco to face!  Each new experience was greeted with his signature smile and tail wag.  I had good friends on-call to come get Cisco if he was overwhelmed or too tired to keep going but he handled the first day like a ROCK STAR!  When we finally got home (at about 5:30pm) Cisco ate his dinner and wandered over to the cool wood floor and gently (yeah, right!) flopped himself down to take an “after school nap”.  Like millions of kids across the country who had survived the first day of school, the nap turned into hard-core SLEEP!  From “bright-eyed and ready to go” in the AM to “can’t keep my eyes open” in the PM…a true testament to the fact that school is hard!

   …the before/after of day 1!!

Those reading this that are familiar with Trinity Episcopal School know that we hit the ground running, knowing that every day brings new amazing experiences for students and teachers alike.  Cisco is no exception, he hit the ground running and next thing he knew he had been working for a week!  Cisco has accumulated many stories to share already so stay tuned…

Wag more,

Jen and Cisco

Green River Preserve may be dog heaven on earth…

Bright and early on the morning of August 14th Cisco jumped into the car and headed to Trinity to pick up his carpool buddies and travel to GRP for the TES Faculty Retreat.  Now, those of you that know Cisco know that he did not “jump” into the car since it seems to be a skill that he refuses to master.  He is physically capable of lifting his 64lbs frame into the back of the Subaru but he would rather put his front paws up and wait for one of his human friends to lift his back end.  Since Cisco works so hard for me on a daily basis I have let the car thing go (really because I like the attention too!).

When traveling, Cisco usually has the full “trunk” of the Outback to himself but traveling with four women meant that he needed to share his “trunk” with luggage and sleeping bags.  Usually he chews whatever happens to end up in his space but he seemed to know he was “working” and left everything alone.  Occasionally he hung his head over the back seat making sure we didn’t forget about him but otherwise he quietly sat and watched the world pass by in reverse while looking out the back window.

We finally arrived at GRP and Cisco happily jumped out of the car (he does this with NO hesitation!) and instinctively knew he was in a magical space!  Although I knew it was a magical space too, I was a bit apprehensive to just let Cisco run free since the field was surrounded by woods, cabins, a chicken coop, and other awesome things a dog would love to go investigate as he conveniently forgot his name (all the dog owners and parents out there know what I mean about “forgetting his name”, that moment when the outside world is just too interesting to respond to something as silly as a given name!).  I handed his leash off to a colleague as I went to unpack the car and he batted his blond eyelashes until he was released from the confines of his leash.  He then proceeded the happily greet each and every faculty and staff member with his signature smile and contagious tail-wag!  I am happy to report he did not forget his name at all and came running to whomever happened to mutter “Cisco” or issued a calling whistle.  He did investigate the awesomeness that surrounded the field but did so with respect and awe!

Something amazing happened for both me and Cisco after those first wonderful moments on the field at GRP.  We realized that we were part of a family.  Now, I knew I was a part of it but I wondered how Cisco would be folded in to this amazing family.  I thought it was his winning smile and contagious energy that gained him instant membership but now I think he had little to do with it but rather the existing family was SO willing to open its arms to him.  He no longer had one or two people looking out for him, he had about 70!  At one point I called out his name and did not hear him rushing through the woods towards me but did hear “He is with me!”, issued from a fellow family member somewhere within earshot!  Another audible sigh of relief…

With this new relief that he was in good hands I went about setting up his crate and unpacking our essentials in the cabin we were sharing with four other ladies.  As I wandered towards the Lodge I heard giggles and splashes.  Instantly, my brow furrowed and I wondered what Cisco had gotten himself in to, knowing that if there was water he was in it with or without an invitation!  As I quickened my pace and exited the woods I found Cisco and saw that he was experiencing doggie nirvana!  He had found the two GRP dogs, Carrot the Boxer and Bear the Golden Retriever, and the stocked Trout pond…game on!!  They ran, jumped, wrestled, swam, ran, swam, and fished!  That’s right, Cisco was fishing for the first time in his life.  Sandy (the guy that runs GRP) would throw fish food into the pond and the trout would scrabble to get the food while Cisco tried (unsuccessfully) to catch one of the trout.  I was mesmerized watching the three dogs play without a care in the world.  Suddenly my attention wandered from the dogs to the people that had gathered.  As people gathered on their way to the Lodge they engaged in friendly chit-chat while watching the dogs play with reckless abandon!  I wonder if that friendly chit-chat was made a bit easier with the presence of these dogs playing like crazy, weaving between groups of people, stopping right next to a group to shake off the excess trout pond water then running away like their hair was on fire.  For me, the dogs make everything just a little bit easier and a little bit less stressful and I was happy to see that the same seemed to be true for many of the faculty and staff members standing there watching and chatting (insert another audible sigh of relief!).

Although there are many other stories to share we will pause at this point.  Our next posts will attempt to communicate the beginning of the school year.  Just during the Wildcat Roundup we gathered about 100 stories about Cisco’s potential as the TES School Dog!  Keep your tails wagging…

~Jen and Cisco