At the end of last month, we drove to Vancouver for the long weekend to visit with my raisers’ daughter, where we had numerous adventures. We stayed on the 19th floor in a hotel downtown, so, in the morning, I had to ride the elevator all the way down to ground level before doing my BETTER GO NOW outside. We took the SeaBus to North Vancouver and tried to visit PADS Pimento at Streetcar Brewing, but he wasn’t at work that day. We went to an art exhibit called Imagine of Van Gough’s work. I was very well behaved as the whole room turned various colours as images of his artwork were projected to music. Other than practising GO IN at a few nice restaurants, we hiked around Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver and walked the perimeter of the famous Stanley Park.
I met PADS Sarabi at the mall again, for the second time. This time it went very well. We chilled in the food court for a while and then did a walkabout the mall side by side with no issues. I also had a working playdate with my brother Misha and Ace, where we practiced settling at a distance and GO IN under our chairs. My mom made two plasma donations this month. I was so well behaved and a hit with the staff that they asked me to come back a second time.
We had a couple of in-class sessions with four of us PADS puppies attending at once, where we practiced duration downs and standing on platforms while practicing HEEL and SIDE. It’s so hard to stay focused with my sister Margot and brother Misha in attendance! And sometimes, mom would drop the leash and expect me to stay put! At home, I practiced settling on a giant trunk. It wasn’t very comfortable, but I did manage to stay in one place and not fall off! All the PADS puppies gathered once again in our capes at Starlight Drive-In to watch Grease care of our fearless leader, Brian. I was much calmer than last time. Even though us puppies didn’t get to interact, it was nice to see my PADS family together!
Near the end of the month, my mom hosted a MOVE for a PADS fundraiser event in our backyard. Where I and other PADS pups, brother Misha, Sarabi, Scotia and Caddy, participated in Puppy Yoga! It would’ve been much more fun had we been able to run around and play, but we all did well chilling and practicing our downward dogs next to our raisers. The next day my first heat started, so you’ll have to wait until next month to see how that went.
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
