KELDA RETURNS!

So it's been HOW long since I added to this blog?  Over a year??  Um... hello there.  I hope you've been well.  If you were raising a puppy for CCI when you read my last update, that pup has grown up now.  I hope he or she is very happy.

Grandma and I keep quite busy, both working and enjoying ourselves.  We're also great sports fans, so we can now brag about the WORLD SERIES CHAMPION San Francisco Giants, as well as the ALMOST SUPER BOWL CHAMPION San Francisco 49ers.

Just in case you don't remember, here is the logo for our winning team.


I spent Christmas in Carmel with Grandma and our good friend, Aunt Lori.  Here I am in the beautiful park across from Carmel Plaza.  Carmel is very dog-friendly.  I find water bowls and treats greeting me at most of the stores.  There are even restaurants that welcome dogs to their outdoor dining spaces.

Now, here I am, getting packed and ready to go to the Super Bowl - in hopes of bringing back the Lombardi Trophy.  How exciting it would have been to have two major champion sports teams in the SF Bay area.  It would have been the sixth Super Bowl win for the 49ers!  Oh, well, we tried.





March 2 was the birthday of Dr. Seuss.  It was also Read Across America Day!  So there I was in Ms. Dodd's first grade classroom.  The children were all very polite (I know all about good manners!); they waited patiently to meet and pet me after Grandma read them some books that the teacher had selected.  This program takes place all over the U.S. on Dr. Seuss' birthday.  It's aimed at getting children involved and enthusiastic about reading.  I did my part.




And here I am with the Easter Bunny.  Only by the merest coincidence was I dressed like the Easter Bunny, too.  We took part in the brunch for the children in Orinda, California.  Grandma taught everybody how to approach a dog they don't know (and who doesn't know them), and she shared with them what therapy dogs do.  No, I didn't get to hunt eggs with the kids.  They ran around like crazy, and I had to watch politely.  Sigh.





A fashion note:  This (below) is a new one.

No, I didn't design it.  Really over the top, huh?  The tutu is so big I can hardly walk.  Grandma didn't make me wear it for very long, bless her.  For costumes like this I should get extra cookies!

Along the way, I managed to find time to celebrate my fifth birthday on May 13.  Can you believe it?  I got gifts, of course, and I wore the silly dunce hat that Grandma made my PR Dad wear when he came out for a visit back on my second birthday!  (That's the picture up on the top.)

My buddy La Russa (a CCI puppy in training) came over to help me celebrate.  He got one special cookie from the doggy store, but I didn't share my new toys with him (all right, call me selfish.  I prefer to think of myself as, um, forthright).  We did run about the yard chasing tennis balls and one another.  And I shared one of my dunce hats with him.  I thought that was nice of me.




On my actual birth date, I went to the Livermore Library for a Paws to Read session.  Grandma dressed me up - of course - and all the children made a fuss over me, which was certainly appropriate.

Here I am making my appearance for the children who stay at George Mark Children's House.  You may remember that this is a place where terminally ill or very sick children go for respite care, and their families can stay right there with them.  Once a year they have a huge picnic.  Miniature horses come to visit them; they can have their faces painted (the children, not the horses); there are clowns making balloon hats, and of course there are water balloons, and there is ME.  Everyone laughed and smiled and enjoyed themselves.  All the kids love it when I visit them.

Another of my favorite places is Camp Arroyo.  I'm with one of my special friends who comes to camp every year and always wants our picture taken together.  This is a special camp where special needs children can come and stay and just be themselves with whatever disability they may have.  Everybody is a special guest.  Grandma organizes visiting therapy teams twice a year - usually in August and November.  Everybody says how much fun it is.  They just love having us dogs come and visit - and we love visiting with them.

Finally, here's one of my favorite places to be - and, incidentally, Miss Kelda's new part-time job.  Grandma's good friend Kathleen has a big boat, and she invites me over to visit.  I enjoy dinner, watch the sunset, and - if I'm really good - get to help her navigate the boat.  I wonder if I need a special boat-driving license?

That brings everything up to date - but I don't want you to worry about my future.  I will post again - at least by Christmas!  Promise!

Kelda Does This and That, Not to Mention the Other

Mocha, Muffin, and I are sitting in my office - OK, it's really Grandma's office - talking over the past several weeks. (They like me now that I don't chase them down the hall.) There are events from those weeks that I haven't told you about. I've been a lot busier than the MEE-YOWs, but of course they have more supervisory work than I do. I don't think this household could run without them.

I go to obedience school. Not that I'm disobedient, but I need to get classwork in so I can get my Canine Good Citizen standing, which I need in order to apply to be a Therapy Dog. Grandma decided not to take pictures during class so as not to distract my other classmates... or make them jealous.

We practice the things that all dogs should do. We sit, we stand, we wait (staying put, no matter what our person is doing!), we walk politely, we refrain from chasing MEE-YOWs, squirrels, and other riff-raff... oops, better not tell Mocha and Muffin I said that. I do like to go to class.



After all that work I'm pretty tired, so I take a nap... oops, better not tell the CCI folks about this. (These flannel sheets are great, though.)






Once in a while I supervise the mail. Grandma can have the envelopes with the little windows in them; I prefer packages. This was a good one. My PRs sent her a picture they found (it's not of me but it could be), and they sent me toys which don't have a lot of stuffing but do have a lot of squeakers.

That reminds me of Grandma's birthday party not long ago. And even though it was her birthday and not mine, look what I got! Row-WOOO!



I went to her Valentine's Day party, too. (Just call me a Party Pup.) And I got to wear pearls! See? (Look closely.) They're not for every day! Here's Grandma wearing them. Who says I don't know how to share? Oh, wait... am I sharing with her or is she sharing with me?

Did I tell you about my vets? I have lots of veterinarian friends. When I lived in Colorado I was buddies with Dr. Wasinger and his staff. At the CCISW training center I loved Dr. Steele... and Dr. Steele. Now I have two more special friends. One is Dr. John Andersen. He's a real good friend of Grandma's.

The other is Dr. April Ervin; she has Dr. Weldin's practice (of course, he was a vet, too). Dr. Ervin makes sure I stay healthy. I hadn't planned for her to look at my ears, but she did. I have interesting ears. They get, um, germs 'n' stuff in them and then I need medicine. It just goes with being a lovable, lively Lab.















Finally, here is one of my other jobs.

It's my duty to celebrate holidays - or anything that comes close to being a holiday. I've heard about how St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. If he'd had to drive dogs, it surely would have been just to the nearest dog party. St. Patrick was a good man. So here I am, um... for, um... I hate to think about Easter coming up...


Aw, shucks, I look cute in anything!