Shel,
You took my breath away on this posting, my friend! As you know, my mother wanted me to attend the deaf school here in Minnesota, but my dad said, "No! Costs money!" After reading and learning here that it would have been at state expense (including transportation to and from), I told him about a year ago when we talked about it. He has apologized for and regrets that remark, as hunting had been his priority while my two older brothers and I were growing up and sacrificed for that only, most of the time at the family expense.
I'm sure if I met your dad and he met Snickers, he'd even say, "Now if that doesn't look like a hearing dog!" A lady told me that a year ago Thanksgiving Day in a truckstop just east of Missoula, Montana, as I was coming out of a shower room. In fact, she went on to say that, "Even a moron would know that's a hearing dog!" Made me smile and it made my day! I went back to Missoula for Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant that was closed, but a local group had rented it out to feed people free of charge. I didn't get hassle there at all!
Kudos to your dad and be sure to show him my blog, shel!
