Birdie turned 15 months old this month and has matured into a nice calm puppy, with excellent manners, most of the time.
She went on her first visit to the local swimming pool a couple of times in October to watch our grandson’s swimming lessons. We had to stay in the observation area beside the pool deck, but we still had a good vantage spot to watch all the action. Birdie settled well as the babies and moms moved from the big pool to the wading pool and last to the hot tub. We engaged with the other moms and kids on the pool deck while we waited, spreading good words for PADS in the Shuswap.
We had a hectic family Thanksgiving weekend since our kids moved to another house in town and our daughter from Vancouver came home for a visit. Birdie and grand pup Jeff were well-behaved while we loaded and unloaded the moving trucks. As a treat, we went to Larch Hills Winery for a tasting and our two dogs played with the friendly winery dog, Ragnar, a Great Pyrenees.
Birdie accompanied me to my mammogram appointment at Vernon Hospital. It’s good to get her out to different settings and to experience different surroundings. She’s always a good girl. Afterwards, we went for a walk with PADS sitter Carol where we encountered a whole paddock of at least thirty gorgeous horses at Paradise Ranch in Vernon. Lucky for them we had some apples to treat them with. Birdie was curious about the large creatures, wanting to get nose to nose and it was a good thing that we were on the other side of the fence! Then we went to Davison Orchards which was jam-packed with people, kids and dogs getting their harvest supplies and pumpkins for Halloween. There were various farm animals too, some that you could pet: goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, a donkey, and a pony. So many smells! There was even a Siamese cat sleeping among the goats. Later that evening we were treated to a special “Roots + Vines” pre-selected dinner at Grey Monk Winery for about 200 wine club members. Birdie settled nicely between the tables.
We had 3 PADS puppy classes this month where we practised figure 8’s around a line of dogs, long leash recalls between 2 stationary dogs and one week a PADS sitter brought her 2 chihuahuas to class so we could practise dog distraction with a different kind of breed.
Birdie attended to her first indoor music concert in Kelowna this month and saw The Doobie Brothers at Prospera Place. We purchased the tickets last minute and luckily had an entire row of empty seats around us. Birdie was her usual calm self, settling nicely. The music wasn’t too loud, and we all enjoyed ourselves.
And lastly, there was Halloween. Before dark, we went to the Treat Trail in downtown Salmon Arm, which is a safe alternative to traditional Trick or Treating for young families where businesses in the core hand out candy outside their stores to kids dressed in costume. It was fun to see so many kids, adults and dogs dressed in costume. Birdie was nonchalant and didn’t even seem to notice that the people didn’t look normal! Later at home, she greeted the trick-or-treaters at the door, inspecting their costumes, hoping to get a pet or an acknowledgement.
It was a great month full of first-time experiences for Birdie.
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
