I was laying in the sun just dog dreaming about the stuff I did in September when โ€œwoofโ€ I realized nobody knows! I have to fix that pronto…

I went on my longest trail hike ever. I almost made it to the top of the Gloria Lookout trail. It was all up with lots of zig-zags, new smells and very few flat spots for me to rest. It was really tough. Even PADS Bonnie thought it was tough. And I had to wear a bright red bell to make noise and scare off the bears. It must have worked because I didnโ€™t see any. I enjoyed it sooo much that I invited PADS Maya to join us on our next hike. I thought I had a big bell but PADS Maya found the biggest bell ever. And she even showed us how to ring it. It was really loud. I had fun booping it to make it ring.

But September wasnโ€™t all sniffing smells and fun hikes. I had serious things to do as well. I started back to school with teacher and PADS raiser Fiona twice a week. It seemed like forever since I was last in school but I quickly settled in to my new routine. Miss Fiona says I am doing an excellent job and the students really like me. I got to help Miss Fiona meet (socially distancing) and greet the parents. I laid quietly in the back of her truck while lots of cars slowly drove by. I didnโ€™t even startle to the occasional honk of a horn.

Two weeks later I helped two of her students do an in-class presentation in front of the whole class. They were really nervous and said they couldnโ€™t do it. It was important so Miss Fiona asked what would help them. They asked if I could sit with them while they did their presentation. WOOF what an honour. I sat quietly next to both of them while they did their five-minute presentations.

And I took part in a school wide awareness day by wearing an orange t-shirt. My students were amazed that I would dress up for the day. Little did they realize that I am a true fashionista and enjoy dressing up. Just wait until December… Oops I almost barked it out. Time to go. Until next month – woof!

Submitted by: Veronica / Ross Spenard