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Hello again! I told you I'd be back soon. And I should have been back sooner. It's not my fault. It isn't Grandma's fault, either. The lady who does this blog for us went off on a vacation (imagine that!) and then she had to see a doctor about something or other. I guess she just didn't appreciate the IMPORTANCE of this post...
... because I am now TEN years old!
How much is that in dog years? I don't know. I don't have enough paws to count that high. Of course, some humans would say I'm OOOOOOLD (giving a slight doggy inflection to that word). But I'm exactly the right age!
Grandma and I don't get OOOOOOLD... we just get better and better and better. And that's a fact.
So...
Here I am with Grandma and my buddy Alexa. Like me, Alexa was a Canine Companions for Independence puppy. Like me, Alexa opted for a different career, and went back to Deb, who raised her. She's been my BFF (Best Furry Friend) for years, and is always the first one I invite to my parties. (My Canine Companions for Independence friends will be glad to know that Alexa's mama's breeder/caretaker was Cath Phillips.)
Of course, Grandma is really the first, because she has to plan everything. And Grandma plans the best parties!
Alexa may not look too happy in that picture, but she really was delighted. Grandma had a present for HER, too!
Alexa and I played ball for a good long time. Then we decided to rest for a while. We didn't want to muss up our fur.
After that, we put on our beautiful party hats...
... and sat admiring the sign that tells us what the occasion is. We were really impressed with it! Too bad we don't know how to read.
We didn't get any birthday cake. Grandma loves me too much to let me eat what's bad for me. But she did let us have birthday treats (you'll see what they looked like later on). We liked them so much that we didn't even notice my hat was coming off.
This is the REAL birthday cake. Just out of kindness to us, Grandma ate it herself, with a human friend.
Get a load of this birthday table! What presents! Having another birthday isn't a bad thing at all.
Now, THIS birthday cake (look to the right) was really for me! It squeaks!
I got a box in the mail. It was from my PR Mom and Dad. Unhappily, they don't live nearby, but they always remember my birthday. I could hardly wait to open it... but I was good. Want to know what was in it?
Well, I can't show it to you. It was a bone, and I loved it. Grandma always supervises that sort of play, so when it wore out it disappeared, but I sure enjoyed it for a while.
I'll be back to enchant you again with stories another time!
How did it happen? How did I wait more than a year before realizing I needed to write another post? Why didn't you remind me? Oh... sorry. That wasn't your job, was it? Oops.
Well, let me tell you that it has been a busy, busy time! Now I have to think back more than a year - to my NINTH birthday! Grandma throws great birthday parties for pups!
This is me with my friend (on the left of the picture), Alexa. We really know how to party. WOOF! (That means, "I love parties!")
Also last year, Grandma raised a nice, tidy sum of money for Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). That meant I was entitled to a fancy glamour photo shoot! My lovely visage now adorns the walls at Pet Food Express in Danville, California. You can see part of the picture on the top of this post - and here's the whole thing. Autographed copies are available. Well, um, they WOULD be if my paws could hold a pen....
I still work at the library! At the terrific "Paws to Read" program in Danville, I met this wonderful family of brothers - and they're all good readers! I love this job. WOOF! (That means, "Readers rock!")
There are days, of course, when my work is more low-key... like going to meetings with Grandma. I get to meet a lot of nice people this way. Here, I am about to attend another Alamo Women's Club meeting. I am the AWC Club's Official Ambassador for Canine Companions for Independence, one of the club's charities of choice. And.... flash! Good news! They selected CCI again for the upcoming year!
Last year I had a medical adventure. My nice veterinarian found a small mast cell tumor on my beautiful left ear. You don't want a mast cell tumor, whether your ears are beautiful or not! So I had to have an operation. For three weeks I wore this pressure-sock "bandana" on my face, so that I wouldn't shake my head. The color's not bad - but have you ever tried not shaking your head for three weeks? 'T'isn't fun.
So... here is the New and Improved Me, with my little ear. Dr. Daniels at Canine Companions says it gives me character! (My PR mom took this picture.)
Guess who came to visit last fall? My PR mom and dad from Colorado! They came with their latest pup, Kaffee, who was a BIG boy about to start CCI puppy college. We had loads of fun at the DogFest celebration at Jack London Square in Oakland. Dogs in costumes! Dogs in CCI capes! Dogs in a boat! (On purpose - and they weren't steering it.) Lots of money raised for a terrific cause! WOOF (which means, "I love CCI")! Here's my PR dad with Kaffee.
Kaffee and I are waiting here - very politely - for a treat from my PR mom. Unfortunately for us, she was busy taking pictures.
We did some sightseeing, too. I made Kaffee sit in the back so that - well, so that I could sit next to my PR dad. He's my heartthrob! Kaffee and I were raring to go - but my dad looked pretty tired out from all the dog "rassling." (Okay, so we played a lot.)
We all went to the plant nursery, where we saw some nice plants and met some nice animals! I made friends with this sheep. Baaaa! (That's sheep language for WOOF!)
Well, sadly, we had to say good-bye to PR mom and dad - so they could take Kaffee to puppy college in Oceanside. So I returned to work, helping Grandma facilitate pet therapy visitations at Camp Arroyo. You remember Camp Arroyo, don't you - the special camp for kids with disabilities? Here I am with Bryanna, one of my special friends. WOOF! (That means, "I love my friends!:)
Here are a couple of other work pictures. I go to a lot of places!
Last January, Grandma brought home a new addition to our little family. Kimmi was rescued from a flood in South San Jose in January of this year. Now she spends her time trying to give me kitty kisses!
Here's the last photo - one of my favorites because it's one of my very special PR mom and dad. It was wonderful to see them again and I hated to say goodbye... so I just said, "WOOF!" That means, as you surely know, "See you next time!" And... next time won't be long for YOU, because pretty soon you're going to get an extra-special blog post! Don't you wish you knew what it was? WOOF!
