Meet B.C.'s snow-shovelling, beer-fetching, vacuuming dog
Morgan, a six-year-old Newfoundland, has been trained to do a variety of household chores
A champion dog in B.C.'s Shuswap region is turning heads for its ability to do everything from roast hot dogs to clean kitchen floors.
Morgan — a six-year-old purebred Newfoundland — started training at just 10 weeks old.
"She has a number of tricks she does, she can cook hotdogs on fires, she can get beverages out of coolers, she can go in the fridge and get a beer for me ... and she vacuums," said Morgan's owner, Dean Edwards of Sunnybrae, near Salmon Arm, B.C.
Morgan will even close the fridge door behind her and throw away empty cans when you're finished drinking, Edwards says.
The 125-pound dog's latest impressive feat is her ability to clear snow by pushing a shovel with her mouth. Edwards said he and his wife started training her following a snow storm in December.
'Everybody wants to hire her'
"That was pretty easy for her. We just handed it to her first try and away she went, though you have to keep her in a straight line," he said.
"She's good with the fluffy snow, but if it's a little wet then it's pretty hard for her."
Morgan — who is sometimes called Miss Goo because of her drooling — recently graduated to pushing the family's snow-blower while walking on her hind legs.
"It took about a month, a couple times a week. The vibration didn't bother her or the noise. Now she can go up to 60 feet and enjoys doing it," Edwards said.
"Everybody wants to hire her," he jokes.
Water rescue, therapy dog
He says he always knew Morgan was a special, particularly bright dog and attributes her ability to pick up tricks to her extensive water rescue training.
In addition to being a Canadian grand champion, Morgan has completed a long list of official dog training courses from obedience to draft dog, which involves pulling a cart through obstacle courses.
She is also a registered St. John Ambulance therapy dog and regularly visits seniors in retirement homes.
Edwards has two other dogs, but he says neither one enjoys learning new tricks as much as Morgan.
"She loves the attention and she knows she always gets a little bit of food for it," he says.
"We're still trying to figure out what to teach her next."
With files from CBC's Daybreak South and Chris Walker.
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