Presents!

I love tennis balls. I love to roll them around and throw them and chew them up. Today there was a person at the door with a big box, and Janet said it was for me. She asked Bill to take pictures of me when I saw what was in the box. WOWEEE!!!! 110 used tennis balls ALL FOR ME!

I took several out for tests, and put each one back before taking a different one. When I had chosen the one I wanted to play with, Janet put the box away.

Life has been pretty good for me lately. I've been to Berkeley the past two weekends and had a chance to visit with my shelter friends Tim, Thomas, Patsy and Auntie Ferne. I got to see her husband Sterling, too, who walked me a few times when I lived at the shelter. When I got close enough to sniff him properly, I remembered him right away! One of the Berkeley trips, Janet and I rode up with my Auntie Toni from Gilroy class, and I got to sniff and lick her all the way up, and all the way back---it was WONDERFUL having her captive, strapped in the front seat and unable to escape my kisses!

Janet says I have calmed down a lot and I'm behaving really well. This means I get to be off-leash in the yard and in the house. This is a good thing. Sometimes Bill and Janet eat food in the same room with me, which she thinks is great progress and I think is rude. They should share, but I'm not allowed to ask or snitch anything. We have playtime after dinner in the family room with my FABulous Squeaky Snake. So far, I have only chewed the tail off. I would like to hide it in my crate and chew more pieces off, but Janet only lets me have it when we play together and I don't have enough time to chew much. Squeaky Snake makes a lot of noise!! He lives in my toybox in the bedroom closet. I know he's there, but I'm not supposed to get him myself. Other Dog guards my toybox. Other Dog lives behind the shiny closet door and looks EXACTLY like me, but doesn't smell like a dog at all. Very strange....

I still love my crate. When I decide it's time for bed at night, I go there by myself and wait for my biscuit. Janet brings it to me in pieces and hides them under my blankets. Finding things is FUN!! In the morning, Janet hides treats in the patio, and tells me "go find", and when I do I get to eat them up. My teacher Mary says she wants me to come to something called "search and rescue" training and see if I can find things outside. Will I get to eat whatever I find? I hope so; otherwise what's the point?

My schedule is quite busy. I try to walk with Bosco twice a week, and I go to three training classes a week. Janet says I need more training on new things, and to work on my "stay". Whenever I'm staying and she says my name, I want to run to her. Why is this bad? I don't understand. She says I need to stay until she says a different word, and also not jump up to greet people. After I have learned those things I can take my therapy dog test. Sounds like therapy dogs just don't love their moms or other people as much as I do.

As for dogs, I've learned they are all pretty much OK. There are sometimes people in the park who let their dogs walk right up to me while they're asking Janet if I'm friendly. Good thing I am now!!! Last Sunday I was in Berkeley to help Bad Rap celebrate their 13th birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAD RAP!!!) and there were a whole bunch of dogs and people, and I just laid down in the sun and relaxed and let them all walk around me. Some people there were friends from the shelter who remembered when I was a barky fence-fighter, and they told me how wonderful my new calmness is. Janet is very proud of me! Maybe that's why I got that big box of tennis balls.....mmmm....where's my tennis ball???