Dale & Peewee
Dale and Peewee’s mornings start with a quick trip outside; then it’s on to obedience training, followed by breakfast—usually given in some sort of puzzle, like a snuffle mat. Three days a week, they visit other dogs for playtime. It doesn’t matter how big they are compared to Peewee.
“She wears them all out,” Dale says proudly.
Peewee, a black Labrador Retriever, came to Dale through Freedom Service Dogs, an organization that breeds, trains, and places assistance dogs with people challenged with disabilities. As her raiser, Dale will care for Peewee for one year.
In the afternoons, they hang out at his apartment, go on a long walk, then return home for his dinner (she gets a snack) and more chill time. But midday, seven days a week, the pair always embarks on a “field trip.”
“I’ve taken her to Walmart, and I’ve taken her to Walgreens, and I’ve taken her to Home Depot, and I’ve taken her to the farmer’s market and the library and a bunch of different places. The first time we go to a place, we might just stay outside—except it was hot when we started. So maybe we’ll go to Walgreens, and we’ll just go in the front, the little front doors there, and I’ll just pull off to the side and lay her down.
“She’ll just watch people come and go. She’s just calm. She gets treats, and I talk to her. I just stand there, and people come by and ignore us and come by and smile and come by and want to pet her and come by and do whatever they’re going to do.”
Peewee “rolls with the punches,” Dale likes to say.
“She’s resilient. She got stung by something about two weeks ago right around her eye. . . . It was about two-thirds of the way shut. And she was just sweet and nice, and it didn’t seem to bother her. She wasn’t itching or scratching. . . . She’s just, she’s really sweet.”
Dale’s career has taken many turns, but he’s lived in Colorado for 33 consecutive years. He enjoys the people and the weather. He loves autumn.
He moved here after five years of Navy service to study counseling psychology at the University of Northern Colorado. After getting his master’s, he started a private practice and helped form a domestic violence treatment program. About 15 years ago, he began working in digital marketing. He “dabbles” in it now—along with, of course, raising the uniquely sweet Peewee.
“I don’t sleep well. It’s probably a good thing that I’m not a father, especially if I’d had daughters, because I would never sleep. I’ve been sleep deprived for just about four months. Because I lay in bed, and I’m listening to her in her kennel. If she moves . . . I go, ‘Is she okay? Is she alright? Is she throwing up? Is she doing something? Does she need to go outside? It’s three o’clock in the morning. Oh my God. What are we doing?’ So I fret about her.”
After receiving the photos of himself with Peewee, Dale added, “I was trying to not get too attached to Peewee, knowing full well that in eight more months I’ll be sending her off to college and very likely never see her again . . . but it’s not working at all. I’m quite attached to her.”
