A wee bit o' news...

Ellie is doing wonderful as a pet. She may not be the perfect dog, but she's the perfect dog for me and that's what matters most!

We have been busy learning new tricks. A few are absolutely goofy and just to help her build confidence - and others are for showing off. She is getting really good at "wave", and as soon as she's good enough with her other new commands, I'll make a video of those and show them off to you.

[Ellie, sitting in front of me leaning against an old wooden doorway of a limestone building]

And, as for the wee bit o' news... Ellie will be getting a little brother next week. A yellow lab born September 19 to Mistletoe (Callie's new SD's sister) and Pepto (let's hope they don't theme the puppies after diarrhea products! ha ha). There were 3 males and 4 females in the litter.

[Seven 2-week old yellow labrador puppies sleeping peacefully in their whelping box at KSDS]

Graduation

Like I mentioned before, the KSDS graduation was on Saturday. Callie got her new partner. Which was fun celebrating. I'm so proud of her and ecstatic to watch their partnership grow. I left Ellie with my sister because it was going to be a HUGE grad and Ellie would have probably been too anxious to be there.

Ellie cuddles up with my sister on the floor of her living room.

Ellie is a good cuddler.

I'm glad Ellie had such a good time. And a huge thanks to my sis for taking such good care of her. I know Ellie was in good hands... although I'm glad to have my best friend back home!

For a fellow puppy raiser

KSDS graduation was on Saturday, and on the way, we pass through Topeka, KS - which, now always reminds me of a fellow puppy raiser's time puppy sitting Topeka.

New Friend

Last week, we got a visit from my sisters CKCS Lucy and Calie. They brought a friend, Field Spaniel, Zig!

They enjoyed wrestling in the living room.

And running and playing fetch in the back yard.

Ellie especially enjoyed playing fetch - with her Goughnut!

Zig just liked to watch her crazy self. It was fun to meet Zig and I'm glad they had a good time playing.

Small World

Sunday afternoon, D and I took Ellie and Talpa to the park. We saw a dog that looked a lot like Talpa (and kinda Ellie). We asked the people who owned the dog about him and turns out he's a KSDS releasee Sleigh. He has the same father as Talpa (and is thus also Ellie's uncle). It was fun to meet him out and about!

Sleigh (from the Christmas Litter), Talpa, and Ellie

Fundraiser

On Saturday, a bunch of puppy raisers and I headed to Sam's Club for our Annual fundraiser. We set up a booth, hand out copies of the wishlist and take monetary donations as well as handout tons of information about assistance dogs. It's always fun because Sam's Club takes great care of us. I was the only one without a dog (which Ellie didn't seem to mind) but that's okay!

This was some of our product donations!!! Everyone was very giving - it was great!

Ellie's newest trick

Like I mentioned before, now that Ellie is a pet, I get to teach her all sorts of corny stuff. Here is a trick Ellie learned yesterday. It's the wave. It's quick and my goal is to get her to wave longer eventually, but this is a good start!

A few things...

Well, Ellie continues to do really well. I've started teaching her some new things which are really fun! We are still working on getting "wink" down - but I think she'll get it soon!

My good pal C is in class with her new service dog. I'm dying to find out who she got placed with, but, I guess I'll have to be patient till next Saturday, Oct. 31 when she graduates!

I really don't have much to update about since nothing has really been going on lately. Just working on Ellie and building up her confidence. We are taking this class "Control Unleashed". It's really great and has some awesome ideas on helping her learn to have a bigger threshold before reacting to things. We are still in the beginning stages... and we both have a lot to learn... but so far, so good!