Welcome to 2024! As I was born in April 2023, this is the first time Iβve ever watched the humans welcome a New Year. My humans sure had a good time, playing βMinute to Win Itβ challenges with their family. I supervised calmly from my bed – and the visitors were very impressed. I was impressed with how entertaining humans could be when trying to move a cookie down from their forehead to eat it. I would have GLADLY had a cookie, but no one offered one. And I know not to eat things that arenβt given to me and to not eat off the floor. I do enjoy a good kibble-filled Kong, however. I also started off the month with a short visit with another fabulous PADS sitter Marlene. She was lovely and had a neighbour with a dog friend to play with! Lucky me!
News has spread about my existence at the big school my raiser and I work at – so I often get lots of visits during lunch and breaks. Iβm quite happy to βgo say hiβ and enjoy all the complimentary scritches and pets that come with it. It was recently VERY cold in Calgary, so Iβve appreciated several mall walks. I even had a moment of indiscretion when I thought a friendly dog friend was waiting to greet me in one of the stores. I quickly learned that it was a FAKE dog. Can you imagine?! Iβm also enjoying getting in some good laps of the empty school hallways before the students arrive on cold days. I often have the place to myself!
My raiser feels that this month was more about her being trained rather than me. We had some online classes, and she is becoming a master at brushing my teeth. Iβm learning to rest my head and stay calm. Weβre both making progress. Itβs fun to learn together. My raiser says sheβs pretty sure Iβm a teenager now. Sometimes I think the world revolves around meβ¦ so she must be right, as that sounds very teenager-ish. I have, however, mastered the art of walking out in the cold wearing winter boots. Thatβs right California dogs – take note!! The humans put boots on our paws up here. Apparently, itβs to keep us safe and warm, but I certainly wasnβt convinced at first. I donβt think my raiser can share movies of me during our monthly pupdates, but thereβs a pretty funny video you can see on my Facebook page of me getting used to walking with boots on. Booties are still not βloveβ for me, but if it means I can go take a sniff-ari outside, Iβm all for it!Β
Happy New Year!
Blair
Submitted by:Β Lindsay & Michael McWilliam
