What can I tell you about July? Well, it was a month of changes. The biggest change is that I turned one. In my mind, when you turn one, you are no longer a puppy. You are a DOG! That’s a big change. You can’t get by just being cute. You actually have to work hard and demonstrate that you can do some pretty exceptional things in preparation to becoming a service dog. My birthday was on July 17^th. I was staying with my puppy sitter, Carole.  She is very nice; and she made sure we celebrated. She made me scrambled eggs (delicious!) and made me wear a pointy hat (not so delicious!). I stayed with her for two weeks while my family was away. But, I get ahead of myself.

Let me go back to the beginning of the month. It began in the RV – the final leg of our trip to Disney World. We stayed in an RV camp in Fancy Gap, Virginia for five days. It was fun because I went on really long walks, and Sancho came to stay there, too – which means I played a lot. Everyone had told me to get ready for the 4th of July because it’s an exciting day with fireworks and loud celebrations. That was not the case – something about drought conditions… whatever that is… nothing happened. But, we did go to Mt. Airy, NC, otherwise known as Mayberry. It was hot and we walked around a lot and people were curious about me. I behaved very well and was happy when we went to an air-conditioned restaurant for lunch!

When we got home, I went on two home visits to meet people who are interested in becoming puppy sitters. I was well behaved and met some very nice people. Then, I was taken to see Dr. Marcie. She said I had hot spots on my face and needed some medicine. “Okay,” I thought, “I am good at taking meds.” But, that wasn’t the end nor the worst of it. I was taken to the back and shaved! Yes, you heard right. My face was shaved! I felt like a sheep after shearing…Then, several people asked Maria if I was a Pit Bull. WHAT?! Do I look like a Pit Bull? I think not! I am a beautiful yellow Labrador retriever! Well, all right, I’m over it, and I have grown back my silky yellow face hair.

So, after that trauma, I was able to play with Sancho a lot. He’s a good friend, and now I am bigger than he is, although he is older. Then, one day, I heard my family talking about a party and Scotty. Party + Scotty = birthday party!! Yes, they had an early birthday party for me. Sancho, Jake, and I played and had birthday hamburgers. Oh, yum! And, I got some new toys.

The day after my party, Maria took me to Carole’s house. They talked for a while, and they brought all my stuff into the house. “Oh, oh,” I though. “What’s going on?” Then, Maria left. I tried to open the door and follow her, but Carole told me to stay. Well, before long, I was enjoying this change. Carole played with me in the back yard, took me to class, to the puppy raisers’ quarterly meeting, and to the Hero Dogs kennel to play with my friends. Every time we went to the kennel, she had to barricade the doors because I was able to open them and let all the guys out to play in the fenced yard. Even with all that, twice she took me to get frozen yogurt! Finally, because I have all my big boy teeth, Carole accompanied me to my first dental exam. My teeth are perfect! And, all that is good.

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