I'm A Big Boy Now!

Wow! A lot can happen in 5 months! Here is my before and after picture with Gavin...my very good buddy! I was such a wee little pup when I first came

to be a part of my foster family. Now I am such a big dog! I would also be a lot hairier, too, but foster mom keeps my hair about 1 1/2" long so that she can keep me groomed easier...and see my eyes so that she can tell when I am paying attention. It has been alot of fun growing with Gavin over the past few months and I am really going to miss him calling me the "crazy dog".

The final countdown...

Today I have only two weeks left at my foster home before I go to "school" to become a real service animal. Foster Mommy is very sad, but happy that she has had this time to love on me! Foster Mommy's boss said that she is going to have to give mommy's entire office a "mental health day off" the day that I leave for the kennels and won't be able to go with mommy to the office. She knows that everyone there will not be able to work that day because they will miss me so much. I have been going to the office every day with mommy for a long, long time. Everyone there is my friend! When I get out of the car I go straight for the door, then head down the hallway to my mommy's office to see Juanita (who shares an office with her). If no one is looking, though, I make a quick turn and head to Karen's office because she always gives me a great back rub. To be quite honest, I pretty much "rule the roost"...(or would that be the "doghouse").

I have grown so much since coming to my foster house in December. I have also learned a lot of manners and commands. I sit, shake, lay down, wait and come on command. I touch my nose to anything my mommy says "touch" and I "snuggle" when she lies down on the floor. (I finally learned that I wasn't supposed to TACKLE or SUFFOCATE with this command). I fetch my toys when they are thrown for me, walk on a loose leash without pulling (well, most of the time) and force myself to "leave it" when I want to pick up something and taste it. I ring my bell when I want to go outside, and knock on the door to come back in. I now sleep beside my mommy and check on her a couple of times a night to make sure she is still in her bed. I now "kiss" instead of "nip" when I meet someone, and I don't jump on people when they come in the door. I stay off the beds and the couch, and I never, never pee or poop in the house! Best of all, I am a great traveler and love to go in the car!

I know that all sounds good (Hey! I AM good!) but there are still a few things I like to do that mommy is still trying to teach me not to do. My good buddy-dog Bentley taught me how to dig in my water bowl with both feet and make the water go EVERYWHERE when I spent a week with him while Mommy was in Guatemala. Although Mommy thinks it is cute and funny, she isn't sure that my new family will appreciate it. It sure is fun, though! I also just started digging holes in the yard. Foster daddy isn't too fond of that. Mommy put big rocks in my newest hole and uses that tacky word "NO" everytime I get near it. I thought dogs were supposed to dig!!! If you can't do it in water or dirt, where am I supposed to dig at? (Her bed???? Ha Ha...that would be funny!)

Life has been good here at my foster house. We have agreed to make the next two weeks the best yet! I can't wait to see what all I get to do!

P.S. For starters, I found out that Bruster's Ice Cream Shop gives doggies a dish of vanilla ice cream with a milkbone stuck on top! I am so lucky that Bruster's is right down the street from mommy's office! Woo Hoo!

To Bishop ....From Gavin

Dear Bishop,

Today my Nana told me that you would be leaving soon to go to a special school so that you can learn how to help the little boy or girl that you will soon be living with. Ever since you came to my Nana's house she has told me that we were only babysitting you until you were ready to go to school to learn how to be a real service dog. After you go to school you will be ready to help a boy or girl who is sick with something special and who needs a good doggie to be with them everyday. I asked her if I would get a doggie like you the next time I got sick, but she said that I would probably not need a special dog because hopefully I wouldn't be sick very long once I went to the doctor and got some medicine. Then I asked her if you could come back to us when the little boy or girl got well. She explained to me that you were going to be with a little girl or boy that had a sickness that would probably last a very long time. I guess you need to be their doggie for a long time then. It makes me sad that you have to go now, and I told Nana that I really wanted to keep my "crazy dog" at her house. I call you "crazy dog" because when you see me you get so excited that you go crazy! Molly and I think you are so funny!

I have so much fun playing with you, especially when I run on one side of the fence and you jump and bark at me on the other side and run up and down the fence. I also like playing ball and "keep away" with you. I really don't mind that you chewed the end of my bat...or ate my foam rubber football...or snuck away with one of my trains. You're still a really good "crazy dog" to me. When you came to live with my Nana you were so much smaller! Now you weigh more than twice as much as I do. And you eat a whole lot more than me, too. Maybe you have grown so much because Nana lets me feed you treats every day when you do your tricks. I sure love shaking your paw!

I'm glad we have a little more time together before you leave. I still need to teach you how let go of my baseball when you retrieve it after I hit it with my bat. You are very good at chasing after my ball and bringing it back to me, but you have very, very strong teeth! I sure have trouble getting that ball out of your mouth! We'll keep working on that!

I love you, Bishop the Crazy Dog!

Love, GAVIN

My very first County Fair!

What a wonderful time I had today in Morristown at a County Fair designed especially for those with special needs! My foster mommy took me on this road trip...and I was so happy that she took the carseats out of the back seat so that I could stretch out all the way there.


When we got to the County Fair we found that my past "foster-foster" parents were there, too. Gary and Juanita have taken care of me when mommy was out of town, so I recogized them immediately and took off to see the sights with my buddy Gary.

And there were definitely sights to see. I had my first 'nose-to-nose" sniffing of a pig, got a good look at sheep, goats, a donkey and a pony, and got pecked by the beak of a baby duck. (Never put your nose up to a baby duck!).

I wasn't too interested in the snake, but I had a blast trying to catch bubbles in the air. Mommy put a stop to that pretty quick, though, because she didn't want me to get a tummy ache from getting soap in my mouth. The cotton candy looked really pretty, but Mommy vetoed that, too. (Not to say I didn't try to sneak up on her for a little taste).

Everything was quite fun...and hot...so when the cloggers started clogging I climbed under the bleachers for a much needed nap. The best part, though, was all of the attention that I received from everyone there. They were taking my picture and hugging me and shaking my hand... I felt like quite an important person....er, dog, I mean. (sorry....Mommy keeps reminding me I am not a person!) I loved all of my new special needs friends! (I did figure out, though, that you need to stay out of the way of electric wheelchairs! They have some pretty wild drivers!)

After the county fair I was very tired so I climbed back in the back seat, stretched out across the entire seat, and settled in for a nice ride home. Mommy told me that I was snoring, too, and it made it hard for her to listen to the radio because it was so loud. Actually, I was just making sure I kept her awake and alert while we traveled home. I'm such a good "service" dog!

Scouting around....

Today I went shopping in Wal-mart with my foster mommy. Actually, Wal-mart was just one of the many places she took me. Let me just say that the shiny floor in the new JCPenney's store is very SLICK...and the aisles in Babies R Us are very crowded...and there are a lot of gripy people that stand in line at the Post Office.

But in Wal-mart we were shopping in the doggie section looking for treats and a little boy was so excited to see me in the store! He immediately asked his mommy if he could come pet me. I didn't mind, but his mommy told him he couldn't pet me because I was "working" (She was right...shopping is a lot of work for me!). When he asked her how I was "working" she said that I was "a special dog that was learning how to help people". He looked me over, standing there in my jacket with my Wilderwood patch on it, then asked his mom, "Is he a doggie Boy Scout?

Am I?

I am the Star of the Show!

Today my foster mommy and I went to speak at Concord Christian School about disabilities. This is the first time I have been the featured attraction at a school and I was very excited. Mommy bought me a new doggie bone bandana to wear. (I am still trying to decide if I like wearing a bandana...or if I like chewing on it instead).

When we got there, I got tons of attention as I walked down the hallway towards the auditorium. I think I was the cause of several kids getting in trouble because they were paying more attention to me than their teacher. I am pretty cute, though, and was showing off a bit as we walked by.

We finally got to the auditorium and all of the kids started coming in. They were all trying to get the closest seat to where I was...which caused the teacher to get on to them once again. I decided this would be a great time to be the perfect, obedient dog. Mommy kept waiting for me to be my normal "alpha" self, but I just sat there and watched all of the kids play all of these games that help them understand what it is like to have a disability. One of them even had a bandana on just like me, but it was over her eyes to help her understand what it is like to be blind. I am sure hoping mommy keeps mine around my neck and doesn't put it over my eyes! I have enough trouble seeing with all of this hair on my face! Mommy also tied a child's feet together so that they could try to walk. It kinda reminded me of when I get all tangled up in my leash.

The only time I got up was when this girl tried to make a peanut butter sandwich while blindfolded. I REALLY like peanut butter and as soon as it reached my nose I started looking for it. As luck would have it, she couldn't see me sneaking up on her to snatch away that piece of bread. Unfortunately, mommy COULD see me, and she got me just as my mouth was about to snatch that sandwich away. (This is why it is probably better that I am a service dog and not a seeing eye dog. I would be the fattest dog in town.)

I did all of my obedience tricks for the kids and they could tell that I am a very smart dog! After mommy finished her presentation she asked if anyone had any questions. All of the kids raised their hand to ask, "Can we pet the dog????" Mommy said "yes" and the picture shows what happened next. I have so many new friends!

Meet my brother ZACH!

This is my brother Zach! As you can see, we are not twins! He has a marbled coat just like mine, but his coat has dark brown, light brown, medium brown, and...well, "brown" brown! We are about the same size, even though I reached this size before he did.

When I went to my trainer today with my foster mommy, Zach and his foster sister were there working with Heather. I thought it might be my brother, but I waited until he finished his training before me and mommy wandered over closer. Mommy asked if he was Zach, and I was really excited to find out that it was.

The sad part was that he wasn't particularly excited about seeing me. I don't think he remembers that we were once in the same puppy bed together just a few months ago. He barked and barked and barked at me while I just sat there and gave him some space. My mommy asked if we could get closer to him and Heather gave us the okay. I moved right in, and Zach moved right out! He barked even louder and tried to get away from me. It took a long time and a lot of coaxing before he decided I was okay to be around.

As you can see, Zach is a beautiful dog! He just went to the groomers last week and he is quite a ball of fluff. My coat, on the other hand, is cut short, especially where I got bubble gum attached to it and my mommy had to cut it out! That's another story....

Zach and I may be brothers, but we are very different. Besides our color, Zach is a barker and I never bark. My mommy has only heard me bark 3 times since getting me in December! The other thing that is very noticable is that my tail (stubby as it is!) stands up and wags when I am happy. In fact, it wags a bunch because I am happy a bunch. Zach's foster sister said that his tail lays flat all the time, even when he is happy. But those are the things that make each of us unique and special.

After Zach left, Heather gave me and mommy a chance to show her what I have perfected. I did a very good job at "waiting" while mommy walked away from me. I also sat and laid down on command. Mommy walked me with a loose leash and I stayed right by her and never pulled. Then when mommy walked far, far away and called me I ran straight to her! Of course, it helps when she has my favorite treat in her hand! (She thinks I am obedient, but actually I am just wanting the treats!) Now I get to learn to "touch" and "snuggle" on command. Mommy and I are already practicing the snuggling part tonight!

It's been a very big day for me! Besides meeting my brother and going to train with Heather, I went to TWO Wal-marts, drove through Sonic, went to work with Mommy, and played with my "people friends" Karen and Juanita. That is why I am now plopped down on the floor! Mommy says tomorrow will be a fun day, too, so I am going to get some sleep and dream about my brother Zach. I hope we graduate with each other so that I can meet his new family and introduce him to mine! That would be really special.