Helen Keller...

It's June 27 - and it's also the birthday of Helen Keller.  In 1980, on the 100th anniversary of her birth, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the day, Helen Keller Day - in honor of the famous American lecturer and activist for the disabled.  Helen was born with the ability to see and hear, but lost both senses to illness when she was 19 months old.  Helen met Alexander Graham Bell - who was working with deaf individuals at the time, and he suggested she work with a teacher by the name of Anne Sullivan.  Anne taught Helen to communicate though sign language - by spelling words in her hands.  The incredible story of their relationship and her ability to effectively communicate, despite the fact that she was blind and deaf, has been the subject of books, play and movies.

And while you may know those facts about her, what you may not know is that she had a special relationship with dogs!  She had a number of canine companions in her life and when she wrote about what she would do if she could suddenly see, she wrote the following:  “I should like to look into the loyal, trusting eyes of my dogs…whose warm, tender, and playful friendships are so comforting to me.”

The following link tells all about Helen and the dogs in her life.  I want to share it, as the photos are quite wonderful...
http://www.perkins.org/stories/helen-keller-a-life-with-dogs

It looks like Helen's dogs were quite well behaved. Note there are no PONs or Picards in the photos...

But speaking of good behavior... the FG is REALLY starting to become better behaved.  Remember how he used to drag my human down the street?  Well, not that he NEVER would do it - BUT now she just stops, he stops and comes back to her side and walks with her quite nicely.  IN FACT, at times he is almost TOO close.   He could make her walk into the ditch at the side of the road - he pushes her so much.  I mean he is walking like he is glued to her.  Again - I wonder who has trained who....

Anyway - it's Tuesday.  Have a good one!