All the PADS pups got together at Starlight Drive-In for movie night early July. We gathered before the movie started, all in our capes, acting all prim & proper, except barky me. I had to let everyone know that I was there! Towards the end of the evening, the weather turned bad, with rain, thunder and lightning, which did not phase me, and luckily, we got to see Cruella to the end.
I had some meet ups with other PADS pups this month: a training walk in cape with Silver and Levi at KLO Regional Park, where I had to try to tame my barking when we first met up. I stayed with my sister Margot for a few hours one hot day when mom couldn’t take me with her. Between settling sessions, we splashed around at Margot’s creek behind her place. Had a fun walk at Mill Creek Regional Park with Odie. Brother Misha and I had our 11-month birthday celebration at young Ace’s house. We did some settling work before we had some play in the yard. And lastly, I met Sarabi at Orchard Park Mall where we walked around the inside of the mall together and practiced settling on benches near each other. This was the first time I had been in the mall with another PADS pup, and it was a lot of work for me. Some people had to ask us to leave because I was disturbing the peace with my occasional excited barking. Hopefully I’ll do better next time at the mall.
I climbed another open metal staircase that led to a walkway bridge far above Hwy 97 in Kelowna. The view at the top with all the noisy traffic under us was great, and I was not phased at all. It was just a test to see how I would do. A few days after mom and dad got their 2nd COVID shot, dad wasn’t feeling well so we had some serious cuddle time together to make sure he got better. I was very concerned and attentive to his needs. I also went to the eye doctor with mom this month. It was very similar to visiting the dentist. I was calm and collected, a good experience.
I had three PADS in class sessions with Shona this month. Two were with fellow pups, including my brother Misha and sister Margot, where we practiced our skills while trying to ignore the other pups in the room. The third class was solo with Shona where we worked on entering and exiting the car and we played a game of give and take where I did not get the treat until I looked at mom.
At the end of the month, the smoke from the wildfires around Kelowna was getting much too thick, so we packed up and travelled down the Coquihalla highway to visit with family in Vancouver. Stayed tuned until next month for those adventures!
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
