Giving Thanks

I'm getting to be a big girl!

When I came here a tad over four weeks ago, I weighed 36 pounds. My PR Mom took me to my doctor's office last week, and when I sat down on the scale it said I now weigh 47 pounds!

My PRs say my legs are longer. They don't have to bend down so far to scratch me around the ears (or hand me a puppy treat). My collar fits me better, too. One time, when my collar was a little too big, I slipped it, and did I ever have a good time! I thought going after me would be good exercise for my PR Dad, but somehow he didn't see it that way. So then we had lots and lots of Gentle Leader practice (sigh).

But I'm not done growing yet. My feet are still too big for the rest of me! Get a load of these paws. I'm going to be a gorgeous, GIANT service dog. Sooper-Kelda! Faster than a speeding squirrel! Able to leap over wheelchairs in a single bound! Wait a minute - I don't know if "leap over wheelchairs" is a command. And speeding after squirrels is definitely not a command. I don't do that. Ha ha. I was joking.



My family celebrated Thanksgiving, and I did, too. Imagine - a whole day just to say, "Thank you!" (or, in my language, "Rrrrrrr-ooof!"). My PR Mom says the Pilgrims were thankful to their Creator for giving them a new home, for keeping them alive, and for new friends. I have the same Creator, so I'm thankful for those things, too. I am also thankful for MEE-YOWs, puppy treats, fenced back yards to run around in without a leash attached, car rides, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

My Gentle Leader and anybody's stairs? Not so much.

I celebrated first by going out to the country for a couple of days. There were some very nice dogs there. They're much older than I am, but they were CCI dogs when they were puppies, so they showed me a lot of things I need to know. They're really good at "here" (golly, they go right up to the person calling them!) and "wait" - better than I am.








The people are nice, too. And I also met some new kinds of dogs called "cows," "chickens," and "horses."


Then I celebrated by traveling a long way in the car. We went to see three little girls and their mama and daddy, and all of them are related to my PRs. There were other people there, too, and another dog - a "hot dog" named Maisie.


I met some other dogs as well.


They're so little that you can hardly see them in the picture. But not everybody can be 47 pounds like me. Those little dogs sounded as if they were scolding Maisie and me for being in their neighborhood. But I knew better. They were just making pleasant conversation. The way the people were saying, "Quiet!" makes me think it wasn't very pleasant for them. You'll be pleased to know that I was quiet. I know what a service dog should do! (Not that I always do it.)



I learned to stay away from that big thing the little girls play on. Ouch!







But I didn't jump on anybody (much)...
and I put on my very best manners...
and everybody was glad I came.

Then... I got a Thanksgiving-weekend treat.

Do you want to know a way for your people to make you happy? (Christmas is coming!)

Get them to get you one of these funny-looking things.

It's called a Kong toy, and it's fun to chew on (and it bounces, like I do).



But this makes it even more fun: Get your people to put a little peanut butter inside it.
Wow! Good stuff. GREAT thing to be thankful for!


I might come when I'm called for peanut butter. I might stop jumping on people for peanut butter. I might even be better on stairs for - no, wait. Can't promise anything about stairs. I'll tell you about stairs another time.