Shasta spent the beginning of the month in Okanagan, where she got lots of hikes and playtime with the children. One day we took her to a small dog park that is on Wood Lake. We had the park to ourselves, and Shasta was wading around in the water. She was apprehensive about walking into the lake above her chest and wouldn’t swim. After about 15 minutes of wading, a wood duck landed on the water about 20 feet from her. Shasta immediately began swimming toward the duck, who, in turn, began swimming toward the middle of the lake. You could literally see the delight and amazement on Shasta’s face as she learned to swim in front of our eyes! Thankfully the duck flew off, the spell was broken, and Shasta returned to shore.

Shasta came camping with us at Nairn Falls near Pemberton, BC, for a few nights. She enjoyed hiking and meeting other dogs and made such a good impression on the people at the next campsite that they are now considering raising a PADS pup. We were worried that Shasta would wake up at 5 am to the sun shining through the tent’s wall. She surprised us and slept in until 7:30 – it must have been all of the extra exercises.

The second half of the month was considerably more boring for Shasta as she is now in heat. She is getting a lot of loose leash walking practice as she cannot be off-leash or wear her cape in public. She doesn’t love wearing lady diapers in the house and seems a little glum at her lifestyle change.

This month Shasta visited several stores, coffee shops, the landfill, a pharmacy, and a plant nursery.

Submitted by:Β Lisa Heiberg