With our move to Salmon Arm almost complete, doesn’t my daughter show up for the weekend and dump off her three cats and a bunny for us to pet sit, even though we were already puppy-sitting Jeff, our son’s dog? So, with our 1 cat & Birdie, we had 7 furry pets to look after, and my husband and I were greatly outnumbered! But it all turned out well; no furs were ruffled, and no pets were harmed. Birdie was quite curious about the bunny and wanted to get closer to sniff it, but the bunny stayed in his X-pen so as not to traumatize him.
The rest of our belongings showed up via the movers, and now we were left with a sea of furniture and boxes to unpack and organize over time. But first, Birdie went to a PADS sitter for a few days, and we headed off to Ontario for a family funeral that needed to be attended. Birdie settled in quite well with sitter Judy, who accompanied her to the grocery store and the coffee shop, where she settled on her foot. She also enjoyed a playdate with PADS Jelly and a romp in the water at the dog beach, where she demonstrated her awesome recall skills. I am so proud of Birdie for being able to fit into someone else’s home without a problem and even attend puppy class with sitter Judy.
Two of our weekly PADS classes were cancelled this month due to the weather being too hot and the fires which sprang up in Kelowna and Lake Country. I only attended one class with Birdie, where we practised on our perch pots and walked past another puppy, two at a time. Benny and Birdie disengaged very well as they walked past one another most of the time.
We attended the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues festival one night. We saw Blue Rodeo before the entire music festival was suspended the next day due to the nearby fire, people being evacuated, and the Kelowna airport being shut down. Birdie did well in the crowds of people and the loud Music, but there were many distracting smells on the ground to contend with.
Birdie had a few social outings this month: with PADS Phoebe, in her backyard, with released PADS pup Mulligan and PADS DK (aka Donkey Kong). She attended Music in the Park in Armstrong and had a nice walk and swim along Canoe Beach with Mulligan.
Now that we’re in a new town, we get to explore and find new trails to walk and new haunts to eat and drink. Stay tuned for more adventures!
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
