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My first entry

I went to school today!

Hi pups,

Been awhile, Mom's been super busy, and hasn't updated my page in forever (grrrrr!) Oh well, anyways, in the meantime, we've rescued a bunch of puppies and got them into different rescue organizations, so we're pretty happy about that. Mom says it's more important than my social life, but I'm not in agreement, because obviously I am the most important thing, but whatever.

Right now I'm graciously sharing my home with my foster sister, Minnie, a 2 year old salt and pepper miniature schnauzer with natural ears and tail from the local animal shelter. She's okay, but I swear if she sticks her face in my food dish one more time, I'm going postal! Also, mommy helped pull out a schnauzer with no hair, no hair because of skin condition so bad and obviously left untreated for months. You couldn't tell she was a schnauzer, but my mommy could, because with 5, you really get to know what a schnauzer looks like, even without hair. She's really sweet, so that made me kind of sad for her, especially because her foster mommy tells my mommy she's been abused as well. But she's doing well, and her hair is growing back well in all places, except her thighs, but her skin might be so damaged there it won't ever grow back, we'll see.

And most importantly, I went to school today. Yes, me, Precious went to Paisley elementary school to talk to five classrooms about being disabled. Well, mom did most of the talking, but i did add a bark or two in about some things. Mom says I was super well behaved, but I always am. Being a therapy dog, you have to be, so it's a good thing I am. I also got to show the kids my two new tricks, which I learned super fast. I can give my paw now and speak on command, which is the cutest little bark, mommy says. That speaking trick really makes people laugh, my voice is funny mom says. The kids all loved me, and all petted me and said hi, which I very much enjoyed, because I especially love kids. I ignored the teachers completely, but that was okay because i was there to see the kids. And I ran around in my cart all over class, and the kids thought it was hysterical. I got really excited when they started laughing and shouting, so I barked a little then, but was calmed quickly when they stopped, so it was okay. Oh, and then we left, and walked around the halls, which are outside in Florida, for those reading who don't know what Florida schools are like. That got me a lot of strange looks and disbelief on kids faces, so I really enjoyed the attention and spotlight.

And, I have CGC testing, which for those or you who don't know, stands for Canine Good Citizen testing under the AKC. I have to have it to remain in my therapy dog group, so I have to take it Saturday, but mom's pretty worried about it. I'm pretty good on all the challenges except the last, when the handler, my mom, has to leave me with a stranger for 2-3 minutes alone without me throwing a fit and crying and trying to follow like crazy, which is of course what I do. But, to be fair, I'm not like the average dog. My mommy or my grammy or auntie is with me almost 24/7 because I'm special needs, and I am held a majority of that time, so I don't like being left alone, especially with a stranger. Usually I squirm and cry so much when people besides mommy try to hold me, they end up giving me back to mommy, so it's a bit of a problem. But it's umcomfortable for me to be held in a lot of ways because of my disability in the curve in my back, so there are valid reasons. I don't like feeling like someone may drop me, so it scares me a lot. Also, when I was younger, I had no control over my bladder and it would jostle and a little pee would come out and nobody, i mean nobody, wanted to hold me. Now, mommy's good about expressing my bladder right before therapy work, so I don't have this problem anymore, but because I've only been held by mom, grammy and auntie, really thus far, I get scared when held by anyone else. Anyways, wish me lots of luck for testing, mom thinks I'll need it! But mommy will still love me either way.

Barks and growls,

Precious

My foster brother came to visit!

Hi everybody,

I had a busy weekend. My mommy and her mommy and my auntie were so super happy because my foster brother stopped to visit us on his way to see his grandparents in Ocala. His name is Mikey, and he was adopted a few months ago, and my family have missed him ever so much. You see, my mommy found Mikey in the animal shelter last December and she said he was so thin and so scared, he looked like he was going to die any second! How horrible, so mommy had to get him out of there asap. Well, he was pretty scared when he first got here. Me and my brothers and sisters tried to make him feel comfortable and assure him it was an okay place, but he was really scared and didn't want anything to do with us. He was only a year old, and mommy thinks his former owners were really bad to him, obviously because he was barely 11 lbs and a schnauzer should really be 16-18, well one his size, and mommy doesn't think they ever loved on him or anything because he was just so scared. He wouldn't look at mommy for a whole week. Well, he started playing with me first, and slowly warmed up to my other brothers and sisters and fell in love with my sister Joan, or she fell in love with him, something like that. Since he was really sick when mommy first got him, we fostered him almost four months until he found his furever home. Mommy really hated to lose him, but she says we have too many dogs already and he needed a home where they could focus on him and get out his energy, he's just a pup, you know. Anyways, he came Saturday, and he actually remembered his foster home and was excited and ran around and gave kisses, and Joan acted like a fool, was all over him, she really should show some class! He really wanted me, but for some reason I was really mad at him. I was pretty ugly growly at him. He just runs around like crazy and because i"m the queen, it always did make me mad when he ran around like crazy! Maybe, possibly I'm a little envious, but, no, alas, I am perfect, of course! Mommy really enjoyed having him around and he looked really good, nice and filled out, and he was obviously in love with his furever mommy, so it was good to see him so happy and adjusted. We hated he had to leave, but maybe we'll see him again sometime and maybe I'll learn better manners.

Also, mommy bought all these stupid dresses for me to wear. Okay, I know what you're thinking, dogs shouldn't wear clothes, and mommy doesn't usually with the other dogs except sweaters, but mommy says I'm different, I'm not exactly like other dogs, so she dresses me up, but usually only at home for enjoyment or she'll take me to the store for people to see. Clothes don't bother me, but sometimes I want to play with them, so she can't take them off without me playing tug of war with them. Anyways, she's going to try to take some pics of me in my outfits. I really am cute dressed up, you'll see. Well, that's about all for now.

Barks and kisses,
Precious

Lots going on

Hi everybody,

I sure have had a very busy few days lately. Yesterday, my mommy's cousin and husband came and brought their two year old daughter. Her name is Elena, and she calls me Secious. But I didn't mind. She likes dogs very much and we had a lot of fun together. I liked to chase her in my cart and she would go into the kitchen and call for me, but I couldn't explain to her that I couldn't follow her there because there's no carpet! She also gave me lots of hugs and kisses. Last night, she kept trying to put one of my shirts on me, but I kept tugging the shirt away from her and biting it! I guess I really didn't want to wear any clothes, but that didn't stop her from trying! So my mommy gave her a toy to play with me, so I could tug on that instead. My sister, Cinder, also really liked Elena because she gave her all kinds of good foods like spaghetti and bacon when mommy's back was turned. He He He! Oh, and she kept crawling into my cage with me. But it made me mad and I had to bark when she kept trying to pull Cinder in my cage too. There's only so much room in there!

Also, I had a therapy dog visit today. We went to the library to read to the kids. Really we just walked around and people petted and loved on me. Mommy explained to them how I use a cart, but the floor was tile, so mommy couldn't show them how fast I move. People said my hair is really soft, and it should be because mommy shampoos and conditions me almost every day. She has to keep me clean because of urine burn, and she says I have to be absolutely clean to do a therapy dog visit. I met a guy who had a beard like me, though mine was longer! His son really liked me and just smiled at me, and he kept trying to get me to kiss him, but I was being stubborn today and I didn't have any kisses for anyone but my mommy!

And, my mommy was contacted by a lady from the magazine Orlando Unleashed. Mommy's never read it, but the lady saw how many dogs mommy has on zootoo, and thought mommy could contribute an article about me and my sister Joan. Well, actually my mommy's sister is Joan's owner, so she's doing the article. We sent pictures too, so hopefully I'll be in a magazine. I've been in Lake Magazine and i was on the front page of Lake Sentinel once, but they've never done an article about me, so that's really cool. I hope it lets people know about how great disabled dogs are.

Anyways, I'm pretty pooped, now. It's been a long few days. So, goodbye for now, and I'll see you soon.

Barks and kisses,
Precious