AMVETS Convention

What a wonderful day it was. It was my first "official" day on the job with PAWS. I was doing PR at the AMVETS convention. I was a HUGE HIT and I met lots of new friends. It was a pretty special day.

I did get "Ear Flop Disorder" but it was corrected very shortly after this picture was taken.

Here are a few of my new friends. They are from the Jr. AMVETS group.

Below are some other pictures from the day.

My First "Official" Job

It is the night before I have my first "official" job as a PAWS Puppy. I have been asked to represtent the Foster Puppy Program at an AMVETS Convention in Midland tomorrow. The AMVETS are a group of wonderful people who support PAWS so it will be important for me to be on my best behavior.

This is a big opportunity for me to show people about my organization and how my initial training is going. I love people and they seem to love me. Mommy says that my good looks and charming personality will take me far in life.

I am excited and a little bit nervous about tomorrow. There will be a few people and dogs working at the Convention with me. Deb Davis from PAWS HQ will be there with her Demo dog. She is the one who has offered me this opportunity. Also, Cisco and Ellen will be there. And the best news of all is that I am still young enough that if I do the wrong thing people will understand.

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

PAWS SEMI Family Picnic

Half-Sissy Aussie and me
Grandma Pat loves me.
Aunt Janey and me

I went to the picnic today and saw a lot of my friends (both two-legged and 4-legged). It was a beautiful day and I had a fantabulous time. The weather was nice and sunny but we had lots of shade and water so we were able to keep cool. I had tummy time with Aunt Janey and Grandma Pat. I also got to see my half-sister, Aussie. She is very pretty.

We are not technically part of the SEMI area but they were very kind to invite us and make us feel welcomed. I had a great time. It doesn't get any better than this.

Thunder in the Valley

It was very warm out at SVSU as we were watching the Thunder in the Valley Games. Mommy did her best to keep me cool by offering me water and dumping the left over water on my head, neck and back.

I had a good time and was able to watch some pretty incredible people participating in track events. Some were really fast, some were not but it didn't matter. These were people who were not going to let a disability keep them from enjoying themselves.

Ready-Set

GOOOO

This girl is 13 years old and was incredibly strong and fast. I think she was in every race and just kept going and going and going. She was truly inspirational to watch.


These two INCREDIBLY fit gentlemen each have a prosthetic leg. They weren't going to let a fake leg slow them down. They were really fast.

After the games we did some shopping at Sam's to pick up something to take to the picnic and then went to a little mom & pop restaurant called Guido's. Mommy says it was a nice little place but I was too tired to really take notes.

Resting Up For a Busy Weekend

I am at home tonight to rest up for a fun and exciting weekend.

Tomorrow I am going to an event at SVSU to see how people in wheelchairs do Track and Field. The event is called Thunder in the Valley and is like a Para - Olympics kind of event. It should be lots of fun to watch and hopefully we I get to meet some of the athletes.

Sunday is a PAWS Family and Friends picnic. I should be able to see many of my two and four legged friends from PAWS. Aunt Sara will be there too!!! I am really excited about it. Make sure you look for new pictures this weekend from my adventures.

Look How I Am Growing - 13 weeks old

I wasn't in the mood to have my picture taken today. I let Mommy get one good one of me for the blog because it has been a week since you have seen a new picture of me. After that, I sniffed the ground, I yawned and I itched but I wasn't going to smile for the camera.

People keep telling me that I have big hands. I don't think they are that big.

We tried an upside down cradle and it was kind of fun. I think it would have been better on the grass instead of on the sidewalk but it was something new.

A Not-So-Quiet Night at Home

Mommy and Daddy took me to see Dr. John again today. I weighed 22.6 pounds. Dr. John seemed happy that my growth was slower but steady since my last visit. He checked me over - ALL OVER. He listened to my heart, checked my ears and throat, pushed on my tummy and pulled on my legs. He said my knees are nice and tight. He gave me some treats, a shot and a clean bill of health. He told us that even though I have already had 2 sets of vaccinations that he wants to do 1 more set and then one more Parvo vaccination after that.

Mommy picked up the Sentinel for this month too but I have to wait until Sunday for that. The Sentinel is to protect me from heartworm, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms and fleas. If one tasty little pill can do all that for me, I am all for it.

After visiting Dr. John we went out to get a quick bite to eat. Well Mommy and Daddy ate and I had to lay quietly at Mom's feet. I was bored so I started to chew on my leash. Mommy figured out what I was doing right away and made me stop. This was the first time I have tried that and now I know it is wrong.

We are now at home and I don't think we will be going out again tonight. The thunderstorms are back and it is raining like crazy. There are lots of big BOOMS and whooshing noises. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow so we can go out and play and get some new pictures.

Mommy Has Lost Her Mind

It all started a few days ago when there were some thunderstorms. I was sleeping and was awaken by a BOOM. Mommy screamed a happy scream and then jumped up and gave me rubs. Then she calmly walked away and I went back to sleep. Try to imagine my surprise as I woke up to all this rukus.

The next night there were some more thunderstorms. I was playing with my toys when another bigger BOOM was heard. I jumped up and again, Mommy screamed a happy scream and came and gave me rubs. All of my sisters ran into the livingroom to join in the celebration but the celebration ended as quick as it began.

Tonight there was another HUGE BOOM that sounded like something had exploded in my yard. I heard the BOOM but I wasn't frightened by it. Mommy screamed and clapped and then it was over.

She told me why she does this and this is what she had to say. She said that sometimes puppies are startled by big noises and she wanted me to know that a big loud noise is nothing to worry about. She said that soon the 4th of July Fireworks would be here and the sky would be filled with booming for 3 weeks. She said that big booms are nothing to be afraid of but rather something to celebrate. (Personally, I think she may have lost her mind.)

Visit to the Park and then Bath Time

Mommy and Daddy took me to the park today. I was a very good boy. We walked into the park and turned around. We weren't there long but I walked in perfect heel position for over 90% of the time we were there. A few times I tried to get ahead of Mommy but she said "Easy" and I slowed down. Once I tried to heel with Daddy but he wasn't interested.

We saw a dog there that looked like he was training for Search and Rescue. I could tell he was working so I didn't ask him to play. We stopped and watched him work for a few minutes and it was pretty neat. The funny thing is that Mommy doesn't let me sniff the ground like he was doing.

Tonight I got a bath. I don't mind taking baths at all. It actually feels pretty good. Daddy broke out the camera for my bath so that everyone could enjoy it.

It started with the sprayer. You gotta get wet first.


Next comes the soap. Mommy is using a specially made bar soap that is all natural so it doesn't dry out my skin.


She insists that she gets all of me clean, including my feet.

I am pretending as if I don't like it, but it is really not bad at all. Shhh, don't tell...

Well, it is time to rinse the soap and dirt out.

Ok, so us black dogs don't look dirty but we really can get filthy playing in the yard. The proof of how dirty we get is in the rinse water. EWWWWWWW

So, here I am all clean and it is time to towel dry. Since it is summer, I can be towel dried and then left to air dry the rest of the way. When it gets colder out I will have to be blown dry with a grooming dryer (a regular hair dryer will burn my skin).

Visit with Aunt Sara

I got to spend some time with my beautiful Aunt Sara today. She was posing for some picutres. This one is my favorite.
I got to pose for a couple too. This one is me with my yap shut.
This was me panting because it was so hot outside. I had plenty of water but I was still pretty warm.
By the time we got here I decided that the cool wet grass was nice to lay on. No one is hanging on to my leash but the grounds are all fenced in.

After this we went to Meijer to print some pictures. By the time I got home I was wiped out so I passed out on the floor.

Brother Kenya

Kenya's Mommy sent me pictures of him. I miss my four-legged furry siblings. Maybe I can arrange to meet up with Kenya sometime when we are over on the other side of Michigan.

Busy Day Running Errands

It was a busy and fun day for me. Mommy and Daddy took me out to brunch with them at Rudy Js. I have a feeling that I am going to be seeing a lot of that place over the next year. All the servers seemed to know all about me and my mission in life even though I had only met one of them. I was not floor surfing in this picture. I was being a stinker and didn't want to lay down. It didn't take long and I realized that Mommy wasn't going to back down so I laid down like a good boy.
The floor was very cool on another warm summer day. It felt good enough that I slept through the rest of brunch.

After brunch we went to Wal-Mart to return pop bottles for Grandma and Grandpa Oslund. There were a lot of them and Mommy thought about taking a picture of me packed into the car with all the bottles but she didn't do it.

After Wal-Mart we went to Meijer to take advantage of some good sales. I was a good boy and I gave mommy lots of eye contact.
I also met a lot of people that wanted to pet me. I guess Mommy doesn't shop at Meijer very often because the people there seemed surprised that I was there. It was nice to educate people on what my future career may be like and also about how good a young puppy can be when someone spends time to work with them.

After this picture the Security Manager approached and asked us to turn the camera off. Apparently, they don't allow pictures to be taken inside the store. Whoops. I guess we will know that for future referrence.

Nail Trim

Mommy trimmed 104 nails tonight and 20 of them were mine. My older sisters went first and they were all good. I couldn't be the little baby that whimped out so I stayed strong. Mommy quicked me and it hurt a bit so I yiped but I was a good boy and didn't squirm.

We didn't go out tonight. I guess it had something to do with the severe thunderstorm warnings and the excessive heat. Mommy promised that we could go out to the store on Saturday. She also told me that I get to spend some time with Aunt Sara on Sunday. I am really excited to see her again.

Walk with Jackie, Ellen and Cisco

I got to spend some time with my Field Rep tonight. Her name is Ellen. She wanted to pick me up and hold me. I am not sure if she wanted to hold me because I am really really cute or because I am growing so fast that she won't be able to do it much longer. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed it.
This is the handsome Cisco. He was not wearing his cape for this picture but he is a Certified Assistance Dog. He works with Ellen doing demonstrations and meeting clients.
We walked at SVSU tonight. There is a place on the campus that is really pretty. Of course Mommy wanted a few pictures. She said she has to take a lot of pictures now because I won't be this size for much longer.

After the walk Mommy took me to meet Auntie Karen. We were watching a softball game and we visited for a while. It was cold and a bit rainy so Mommy left the camera in the car. Mom said that we can go back and watch another game in a few weeks. Hopefully it will be warmer.