Monthly Archives: September 2010

In Season

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Today we were having our usual picnic lunch with Bill when Banta rolled around on the quilt and I realized she was in season. She had made it this long and somehow we thought she might make it back to GDB before she had her first season. No such luck. Now we have 28 days of “house arrest” she can’t do any socializing. She can’t go on any walks. She has to relieve in the back yard instead of our normal spot on the driveway. The two dogs that have common fences with us are both intact males so we will have to make sure that they don’t get motivated to try to climb over the fence. Doug, a black lab, doesn’t actually live there anymore but he visit often. Charley, a beagle, is mostly out just during the day. I went over to Target with Casey while Bill took a nap and picked up some size 4T-5T pull-ups to help keep the mess from getting all over the house. It will be less than 2 weeks when Banta is able to go back to her normal activities until she gets on the truck for GDB.

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Update from Apex

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Yesterday I sent this photo to Apex’s handler and gave her an update on Banta and introduced her to Casey. It was one year since we put Apex on the truck to go back to GDB. It is so much fun to hear how Apex is doing. Here are some excerpt of what she wrote:

Apex is doing wonderful and we are about to leave the country again bound for Haiti this time.  I am planning on traveling with the team from my office/church as we go to work with our sister churches in Haiti. I will be at the school, teaching during the days and working the revival services at night. Soon after we get back from there – I will be traveling to our cabin in GA for a few days of R&R.  This will be his 1st time at the cabin and I can not wait to see what he does with the ducks and the pond…
Apex is also having a wonderful time visiting the 3 local nursing homes.  The Alzheimer’s patients love seeing him come in.  The children finally are back at school and Apex loves recess time and lunch time more than ever.  Our 1 child that is autistic loves to read and pet him so Apex is learning to love story time as well.
He is up to 70 lbs and his chest is broader than ever.  He runs like a freight train out of control and then all of a sudden it at eye level.  My boss loves watching us play here at the office while I am waiting for the bus to go home.  He calls him “Tigger” -quite appropriate since I work just minutes from Disney.
I have been blessed with Apex and regaining my freedom to travel and go where I want to again.  I have been able to travel again with out fear of falling or of getting lost – both of which I did on a regular basis with the white cane. I have been able to shop for my own groceries again because he navigates the aisles and people for me. I no longer feel like a blundering idot while trying to find my way – Apex is wonderful and once we have been there – he can find it again and again – traveling with him is a great joy and long layovers are not so long now with him at my side. 

Mimi’s Cafe

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Tonight after puppy class we decided to go to Mimi’s for dinner. Bill needed to go back to work and it has been a while since we ate at Mimi’s. This was Casey’s first time in regular restaurant. Banta settled right down as the veteran puppy in training that she is. Casey had a much harder time. She spent most of her time trying to find something interesting on the floor. They have patterned carpet and I think this confused her. She is still struggling with the garbage mouth thing. Sometimes I call her “Hoover” because she is so determined to go after things on the floor.

General Relief Society Meeting

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Banta and I went to the General Relief Society Meeting tonight. This is actually Banta’s second time in the Conference center. She got to go to the Tabernacle Choir 100th Anniversary Concert while she was on a puppy swap earlier this year. That was a long four hours. I think she remember that because she got a little bit restless a bit before the end. Our sets were in the balcony and we got to sit on a row with extra leg room which was really nice. We didn’t have anyone sitting in front of us for several rows. So when Banta sat up she could look around the whole conference center. She seemed to think it was very interesting.We stopped at Crown Burger on the way back to the care for Onion rings.

BSA Adventure Base 100

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Today we went to the traveling exhibit that the Boy Scouts of America has put together to celebrate their 100th anniversary. It was set up in the parking lot west of South Towne Mall. For the end of September it was very hot and Casey’s black fur and young age made it a bit hard on her. Banta handled the heat fine. They both enjoyed lots of attention from visitors and volunteers alike. We saw a short movie projected on the roof of a dome tent. Walked through their museum and got our pictures taken doing “virtual” white water rafting. We walked around a bit more but Casey had had enough, so Bill headed back to work and us girls went home.

i/d food

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We have been having adventures with diarrhea for the last several days. It started with Casey and then Banta joined in too. So today we all took a trip to the vet for meds and a bag of Science Diet i/d food. Keeping two dogs feed chicken and rice is very time consuming. As you can see from the photo below Casey thinks the i/d is great tasting stuff. They both gobbled it down in the usual labby style. I was a bit concerned about how to get their pills down them. With our pet dog I would wrap it in peanut butter or cream cheese and it was no problem. But with puppies in training that isn’t really appropriate. But it ended up being rather easy. They happily gobbled it up with their food. I was afraid they would taste it and spit the pills back out.

Utah State Fair

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We took the girls to the State Fair today. It was lots of fun. Banta and Casey got to see some animals that they have never seen before (pigs, sheep, cows etc.), meet lots of people and experience new things. We went first thing in the morning because it was going to be hot and we didn’t want it to be too crowded for Casey. While Bill and Casey were watching a presentation on knives, Banta and I got to chat with that big purple robot dude. Banta wasn’t very interested in him and he tried to get me to let him hold Banta leash while I took a photo.We also had lots of opportunities to chat with regular people about GDB.  It was a good day and we were all tired when we got home.

Puppy Picnic

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One of the traditions we have is to pack up a picnic lunch and have lunch with Bill on the grass behind his work. We started this tradition many years ago when we had our pet dog, Shadow. We try to do this weekly. It is fun for me to get to see my husband during the day and puppies enjoy hanging out in the wide open and getting a bit of nature. And Bill gets to take a break from the office and see the cute pups. It is a quiet area with a field behind us and a too big parking lot in front. There is a grassy berm with trees for shade in the hot weather.

Beginnings & Endings

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Today Casey got her last puppy shots. She weighs 26 lbs. This kind of marks the end of being a baby puppy and moving into being a young puppy with lots more opportunities. The end of the beginning of raising Casey. Today we also found out that Banta will be returning to GDB on November 8th for breeder evaluations. We knew it was coming but now we have a confirmed date. There is so much mixed emotion about her leaving–excitement to see what her path in life will be and sadness in that she will no longer be part of our everyday lives. This is the beginning of the end in raising Banta.

Healing Fields

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Every year for 9/11 they set up a huge flag display called the Healing Fields, near Bill’s work. Besides being a beautiful and inspiring display it is a good socializing opportunity for puppies in training. So I put Banta and Casey in the car and we met Bill to stroll through the flags. It was such a beautiful day. We didn’t expect Banta to have any trouble with the flapping flags but Casey handled it just fine too. As were were strolling along a photographer for a newspaper wanted to take Bill’s picture in the flags. A bit later a group of Cub Scouts came to visit the flags and he ended up using their photos instead of any of the ones he took of Bill. So Bill didn’t end up in the paper. We took the opportunity in talking to the photographer to promote GDB. He knew a little about them from cover one of the days when the High School program got their puppies from local puppy starters.