April was a very eventful month for Cliff. He had a one-on-one with Evelyn and spent time with some of the advanced dogs at the PADS Training Centre. That same week we took him for his neuter recheck at Macleod Trail Animal Hospital, and he was given the all-clear to return to normal activity. We grabbed coffee and fancy donuts at Hey Sugar on the way home, and as always, Cliff was a big hit with everyone we met.
Cliff and I attended the PADS Brookfield Community Event at Fifth Avenue Place along with five other PADS dogs and their raisers. He was very excited by all of the activity but settled down quickly enjoying the adoration that was showered on him by everyone that stopped by to say hello. We took a Calgary Transit bus downtown and back, and Cliff settled by my feet. No one even knew he was there until we got up to leave. While walking downtown, I took the opportunity to see how Cliff would handle sidewalk grating. He was very tentative while walking over them, but he did it. I was very proud of him as I’m not a fan of grates myself.
For two weeks mid-month, Cliff went to spend some time with a few other raisers to see how he would adapt to changes in his environment. He returned to us in the last week of the month to find that while he was away, PADS Blazer II moved in with us. He greeted this development with mixed feelings as Blazer can be a bit overwhelming at times. To give him a break from the puppy and show him that he is still special to us, we took him to some of his favourite places such as a trip to Dairy Queen where he had a soft serve cone. He ate it so politely and enjoyed it so much. He licked all of the soft serve out of the cone and wasn’t aware that he could eat the cone until I broke a piece off and gave it to him, then he devoured the whole thing.
Submitted by: Tracey
