THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER ... Um, FALL ... Um, IS IT WINTER YET? Yep.

Yes, I know I haven't blogged for quite a while.  But I'm still alive and well.  Grandma is, too, and so are the MEE-yows.


I had my birthday!  "Mr. Big Ugly" (my PR dad) wasn't there this year, but I thought of him.  He would have liked seeing me in this getup (see above).  At least he would have made some sort of smart-aleck remark about it.


I still have my job at the George Mark Children's House.  If you recall, it's a place for children who have life-limiting illnesses.  

Here I am with Baby George and his family.  He was precious.  This picture was taken at the summer picnic; Baby George is in heaven now.


On Independence Day, I celebrated very quietly - unusual for me.  But my vet had taken a lump off my foot, and he decided that, while I needed to enjoy the Fourth of July temperately, I also needed decoration no matter what.  (I'm fine!)



Here I am at one of my other jobs - Paws to Read.  Honestly, I don't know which of my jobs I like best - they're all fun.  You're seeing me at Walnut Creek, reading to - well, actually, letting kids read to me.  Sometimes children will read to dogs when they won't read to anyone else.



And here I am with a really special friend at Camp Arroyo.  That's a camp disabled kids get to go to for two weeks every year.  I love camp life!  It's nice to have so many friends.

I don't just work; I go to school, too!  Here I am with my friend Thelma, and our teacher Laura.  We're in the (ahem) advanced obedience class.



I also help puppy-sit, just the way other people used to puppy-sit me when I was a pup and my PRs had to leave home.  Here we are with Stanford.  He's quite a handful - er, I mean, quite an interesting character!




I'm back at Paws to Read in this one.  It was Halloween dress-up evening at the library.  

This is another favorite job:  Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation.  This was their Halloween party.  Man, that hay was tickly.  (And speaking of Tony LaRussa, hooray for the World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals!)


That brings me up to November.  One day Grandma took me out front, on leash.  She had me sit, and we watched a car pull in the driveway.  Then the people got out, and they were... my puppy raisers!  My dad said (this should be no surprise to you), "Hello, Big Ugly!"  I was so excited I could hardly stand it.  


Did I forget my good CCI manners?  Well, let's just say that what happens at home stays at home....


We had a great time!  I showed off games like "Which Hand Has the Treat?"  

My dad got really good with that one.

Here I am with my PR mom and dad...

...and my lovely Grandma who takes care of me and buys me such silly costumes.  Ahhh!


I introduced my puppy raisers to my MEE-yows.





This is Mocha.  She is 13 years old and has lived in this house since she was just a tiny kitten.  She sleeps with Grandma and me.  Mocha likes to "play the harp" on my torso - but her claws are sharp!  So I exert my authority... by getting up and moving to the other side of the bed.

Grandma rescued Muffin II when she (Muffin) was about a year old.  I grab her neck, and she licks my face.  Sometimes she even nips me, but it doesn't hurt.  Muffin is a foodie, so I have to eat my dinner all up before she has a chance to get in it.


Both MEE-yows have very weird eyes, as cats do (let's not say anything about dogs).  If Grandma ran short of cash for dog treats, she could rent Mocha and Muffin out as reflective markers for the neighbors' driveways.

...Be afraid... be very afraid.  This is what nightmares (and empty food bowls) are made of.

We had Thanksgiving at home, and I always have a lot to be thankful for.  Um, do I get my treat?











I wanted to dress up as a New England Thanksgiving Indian - but it turned out I dressed up as a Thanksgiving Mexican instead.  This dog looks good in any costume of any country!


Now it's close to Christmas time.  Christmas is great.  There will be more parties to attend - in costume, of course, I'm sure - and people to visit.  I think of my Creator at Christmas and how much He has done for this world and the dogs in it - and the cats, and the people.  And I have some special presents for Grandma.  I hope she has some for me, too.


Here's my Christmas photo.  May your days be merry and bright!

Ah, Spring! (Almost Summer)

Hello again!  

It's been a long time since I updated my blog.  Want to know why?  Because my "ghostwriter" (my PR mama) has been busy with play rehearsals.  She's in a community theatre production of THE MUSIC MAN.  But that's in Colorado, and I'm here in California.

Well, I've been on my own stages, sort of.  No lights, but lots of people.  And costumes, of course.

It's springtime here, and the weather is nice - not too cold, not too hot.  I'm back to my regular activities, and also some special ones.  Read on to see what I wore to the Royal Wedding!

Here I am on Valentine's Day - with my new friend Mei Mei at the George Mark Children's House (GMCH).  I love all the kids there!  

They love me, too.  Grandma and I passed goodies out to the children and the staff.



On St. Patrick's Day, I went back to GMCH.  Here I am with Courtenay, the Volunteer Services Coordinator, and Korie, the Child Life Specialist.  Betcha you can't tell us apart.

We celebrated Easter... and I brought goodies to the GMCH kids and staff again.  I'm just great at that.

Nobody delivers goodies better than Kelda E. Bunny!


Here I am greeting my friend Justin.

And then, of course, there was the Royal Wedding on April 29.  I wore all my pearls, of course.  Some of the invited guests sported really outlandish hats.  I, on the other hand, preferred something more - well, classic and elegant.


And if you believe that, I have a slightly used bone to sell you.

This month, I celebrated my third birthday!  (The slightly fuzzy picture at the top was when I was just a pup.)  Last year, on my birthday, my PR dad surprised us all by coming through Grandma's door shouting, "Hello, Big Ugly!" (That's a term of endearment.)  This year, though, there weren't any Colorado pups for him to drive out here to California, so I had my birthday without him.  Grandma, her friends, and I had a great time!  I may post some pictures later, if Grandma teaches me how.

That's all for now.  I have a brand new bone to chew on!  Yum!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!

I've been thinking over the past year, ever since I changed careers and came to live with Grandma.

I came to Northern California just a tad over twelve months ago on January 24, 2010.  My special CCI veterinarian, Dr. Brad Steele, and his family brought me up from Oceanside.  I thought my life was going to be a piece of cake... or should I say large dog biscuit?  I didn't know this lovely lady was going to tell me, "Kelda, you are going to follow in Uncle Trevin's footsteps!"  (He has big footsteps.)

After we waited the required time period, Grandma took me for evaluations and temperament tests with three therapy dog agencies - she couldn't be content for me to be certified with just one!  That's the reason I have three different vest and Gentle Leader combinations.  The fine print in this deal is, of course... I have lots of different costumes, too!

What fun it has been, though, visiting disabled children!  It's so great that I haven't (well, almost haven't) cared that I've had to look like a pumpkin - or an elf.  I represented Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation at the ball park.  I even marched up the aisle at a fancy theater and stood in front of the stage where Mr. La Russa was making a presentation to the big audience of donors and supporters.  (Later he told Grandma, "What a beautiful girl Kelda is."  Yesss!)  Rumor has it that I'll be a greeter at Mr. La Russa's Celebrity Golf Tournament in April - it's called "Celebrities Fore ARF!"  (So if you live in Northern California, come see me.)  I'll get to meet some VIP athletes, among other special people.  I don't think I'll be playing golf, but Grandma will be a "hole in one" spotter when the players are trying to land it in one and win a new car!

I love Paws to Read - times three!  (That's three different libraries.)  I've never read so many books in my life - I should say, I've never had so many books read to me!  Here's a secret:  not all the books are really interesting (the ones with MEE-YOWs are good).  But Grandma has a stash of small cookies in her pocket and rattles the bag from time to time.  That keeps my interest piqued!  I look as if I'm totally engrossed in the book, but sometimes I'm really more interested in whether a doggy treat will fall out of the bag.  Shhhh - don't tell!

I like being co-coordinator (with Grandma) of the visits to Camp Arroyo, the special camp for disabled children.  Most of the kids are great!  They may have unique disabilities, but they have good taste in four-legged friends.  They enjoy my visits... and the visits of the other therapy teams, of course.  One of the children liked blowing in my face, but I remembered my manners!  (Just as I did at the George Mark Children's House at Christmastime, when a little boy stuck his finger in my eye.  I didn't even flinch.  I got extra praise and a treat out of that adventure.)

Did I mention that we've entertained a lot of guests in the past twelve months?  Oh, I bet you've noticed that in the blog.  I love to have people come to the house to see me.  And I've been entertained, too - for instance, at the annual CCI Pool Party for graduate dogs in the South Bay area.  I'm, um, not a swimmer, so the ladies pushed me around the pool on a raft.  I felt like royalty!  But Grandma tells me that this year I'll have to learn to swim just like the commoners.

I haven't forgotten my old friends and family.  One day last spring the doorbell rang, and guess who it was?  My PR dad!  And he said, "Hello, Big Ugly!" as he always did when I was growing up in Colorado.  It was my birthday, so we sat outside while I had a special doggy cake Grandma got just for me.  Dad even wore a birthday hat.  Then he went to class with me and put me through my paces.  That was my revenge - I made him work!

Grandma and I watch a lot of sports on her big-screen TV.  My favorite sports are the same as they ever were:  the stick carry and the frisbee catch.  Last year, when the wind filled the yard with branches, I was the gardener's assistant.  Row-oooo!  Today we'll be entertaining friends for the Super Bowl.  You might read more about that next time.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to be nice to my kitties (I'm sure glad I had MEE-YOWs to grow up with so I knew how to be nice to Mocha and Muffin).  And I'll mind Grandma, and grin-and-bear-it with all my activities.  Actually, no dog could have a better life than I do!

Thank you, PR Mom, for choosing Grandma's house as my forever home!  Happy Anniversary to ME! 

NEW YEAR! WOO-HOO!

I hope you've had as happy a Christmas/New Year season as I have.  It's so nice to live where people love me, play with me - and, of course, feed me.

We opened presents...

...sometimes the wrapping is more fun than what it wraps.

Grandma's friends even brought some surprises for ME!  Here is her friend, Lt. Holliday - you met her in an earlier blog.



See the big pup?  Not me, the other one.  Down there.

It's really a pillow.  But Mocha has claimed it.  She sleeps on it near the fire.  Oh, well, I'm a generous dog and I'll let her!  That's Muffin in back of me, with eyes glowing.

We brought the New Year in with Grandma's friends, Mr. and Mrs. Jennison - here is Mrs. Jennison.  Everybody should love dogs as she does.  Row-ooo!

Even after all the holidays are done, it's good to remember that the New Year brings many good promises:  more pats, more ear-scratches, more tummy rubs, more bones, more peanut butter, more sticks, more people to cheer up, more running around in the back yard, more costumes (oh, wait...), more work, more fun.

Oh - and I hope 2011 brings good things to you, too!

P.S.  As you may remember, my siblings and I were born as Canine Companions for Independence puppies.

It was hoped that we would become service dogs.  But not all puppies grow up to make the cut (including me - we call it "change of career").  I am proud to say, however, that when it comes to being service dogs, my brothers and sisters and I achieved an almost 50% success rate!  There are three service dogs among us, and the rest of us are doing good things, too.  I'm very proud of us all!