Well, it feels that way - doesn't it to you? It seems as if I'm a major corporation. You have invested your interest in me for WOOF years, and now you get a yearly accounting of what I've been up to. (And you don't have to vote for a board of directors. Grandma's my director and that's the way she likes it.)
I hope you and your families (including the four-footed members of your families) have had a great twelve months!
Last year, almost at this time, Grandma and I were totally preoccupied with YET ANOTHER World Series won by the San Francisco Giants! Yes! Let's hear it for baseball! It has everything good in it - running around in a big yard, going after balls, chewing on bats... oh, wait. I guess you're not really supposed to do that. But it's a thought.
Here I am at Camp Arroyo. Do you remember Camp Arroyo? It's a very special summer camp where groups bring disabled kids so they can spend time with each other. (Some of these children have never met another child with a disability like theirs! Maybe that would be like a dog not knowing anyone but MEE-yows. Not that being a dog is a disability. MEE-yows... that's another question entirely.) The kids get to do a lot of things together, too, like crafts, horseback riding, and even rock wall climbing. I'm part of what they get to do. They love me and the other therapy dogs who spend time with them. Grandma and I are coordinators for the pet therapy teams. I do the charm part of the job, and she does the work.
This is the 2014 picnic at George Mark Children's House, a privately run home-away-from-home for very sick children. I love this place. Did you know that every child's room is decorated in a wonderful theme? The people who work here are so nice, and they take good care of the kids - and of the parents as well. Special events, like this annual summer picnic or a holiday party, are times for the families whose children spend some time at the house - and also the families whose children have passed away - to get together and reconnect. They are always considered part of the George Mark family! Grandma and I spend a lot of time here. Here I am with Xavier, one of my friends.
Don't you wish you could do all the fun things I get to be involved in all year? Here is Miss Kelda Jean at the ARF Golf Tournament. My job was to greet all the golfers who participated in Tony LaRussa’s celebrity competition. It was to raise money for a wonderful cause - the Animal Rescue Foundation. Dontcha love the hat? (Excuse me a minute while I wag my tail enthusiastically.)
And here's another fundraiser, for - what else? Canine Companions for Independence! My friends and I helped with the publicity for Dog Fest at Oak Hill Park. Let me make some introductions: Tatum, whose career job is having CCI puppies, is on the left; LaRussa - named after Mr. Tony LaRussa of ARF and the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team - is in the middle; and Yours Truly is on the right.
Yes indeed, I am involved in a lot of fund-raising. Grandma is very talented at doing that sort of thing. I just wag the tail.
Oh, look - here's a reminder of some fun not long ago. I went with my friend Marvin (he's in the hat; I'm in the Giants gear), his person Ada Beth, and Grandma to the Ramsgate Winery. It's so nice to have friends.
And this was my Happy New Year card - because, after all, I AM a princess!
Then, this past spring, it was my birthday. I am now seven years old! That apparently makes me a Senior Citizen in the dog world, but I feel just like a pup.
I celebrated with my good friend, Alexa. She loves to play K-9 Kannon!
Oh, finally, here's something you really need to see. Grandma usually takes me to Pet Express to bathe me. But lately she hasn't been able to drive - so I have a new friend named Loel. She comes right to our house! It makes me feel pretty special... and I smell even better than I feel.
That's my 2014-2015 report. Love you! Keep your tails wagging!
P.S. Last week was graduation week at CCI training centers all over the United States! I hope all the newly graduated teams will do very well! For all you pups who have just started puppy college: learn the best you can, have some fun, and wag your tails a lot. If it turns out that you don't like your training, you're not failures - you just have great jobs elsewhere. Like me!
