My Tail of Devotion for CASEY the Super Dog! TF-I, TDI

Casey is definitely my Super Dog. She is the best dog ever. I am reminded everyday how lucky I am to have adopted her. She makes me realize how fun life is with her daily zest and enthusiasm for life. She brings joy not only into my life but to all others around her. She is the easiest dog to train. When I first got her I thought I was an excellent dog trainer with a natural ability. (BOL!) Not until I tried to train other dogs did I realize how smart and quick Casey is. At the dog park she is known as the “smartest dog at the park”. Hence the nick name Casey the Super Dog. Whatever activity we have tried she has been great at. We have done agility – she is way better at this them I am. We have put agility on hold right now so we can concentrate on flyball. We have tried herding – I am the worst sheep tender there is. I am always worried about being run over by the sheep. So her herding abilities are only limited by my horrible handling skills. We have done frisbee – we were actually going to compete but Casey had some problems with her knees and I don’t want to risk a life long injury so although she loves frisbee we will have to only play recreationally. There will be no high flying Super Dog, for that we will always be sorry for. So for now we are concentrating on flyball. Casey definitely loves flyball. I think this is the most fun I have had too. I love that it is actually a team sport. Casey is very competitive so she loves it too. Casey is also a certified therapy dog with Therapy Dogs International. Her biggest passion in life is people. She loves people even more then the ball or frisbee. I don’t really know much about her puppy hood and cant even imagine what she had to go through but for her to keep her loyalty and love for people so strong is just a testament on how great a dog she is. I tell Casey everyday that she is the best $50 bucks I have ever spent. When I adopted her she was discounted because she was a return. Can you believe someone returned a Super Dog to the pound! Their loss was my greatest gain.

I love my Super DOG!

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I love kids and they love me!

Yesterday I had the most special adventure ever! One of the reasons I got my therapy dog certification was so I could help kids. My mama once saw a dog helping a child read and she thought it was the most special thing ever. Well yesterday was the first chance I had to work with children. It was a foster child fun day. It should have been called a therapy dog fun day because I had the time of my life! There were many different activities for the children, they things like a craft booth, game booth and we were the therapy dog booth. I think we were the most popular booth, I might even go to say I was the most popular dog. That just might be my big ego talking because I did hear a few kids telling my mama that I was their favorite dog. But I heard others kids saying they had other favorites too. These foster kids were great, they petted me and I was in heaven. I did all my tricks and they laughed and giggled. I gave them doggie hugs and rolled over so they could rub my tummy. I gave kisses – even thought I’m not supposed too but the kids loved it. I love kids and they love me! It is amazing that all these kids are so well adjusted and have such a great outlook on life when they must have been through some really hard times in their short life. It is sort of near and dear to my heart because each of these kids was “rescued” just like me. I have always thought I was lucky because my mama found me at the pound and rescued me. Even though if you asked her she would say that I rescued her instead of the other way around. I can’t wait until the next time I get to work with kids. I love kids! I told my mama that maybe she should have one so I will have a baby brother or sister and she gave me a weird look. I wonder why?

Whoa, today I went swimming in my new pool!

This is how it all began. I went to the physical therapist this week and she told me and my mama that I am showing the beginning signs of a torn ACL. My mama was very sad because she thought I was just getting over my knee problems. I am just starting to get good at flyball and we were both very sad because we thought I would have to stop playing the sport that I love. The physical therapist told my us that if my knee was going to tear it would do going to no matter what I do. If I stopped playing and jumping it would probably prolong the actual tear but my quality of life would go down. So she told us to just let me be a dog and have fun. If it my ACL was going to tear it would be better sooner then later because having surgery is much easier on a young dog then an older one. The best advice my physical therapist gave us was to strengthen me up as much as possible so if I ever did have to have surgery I would be able to recover quickly. The physical therapist also told us that swimming is very good for me because it is low impact but a very good work out. Here is where the adventure beings. My mama thought about this long and hard. She could take me to the lake every week, it is sort of far, 40 min away. The physical therapist told her that I would need to swim at least twice a week for it to actually help me. It would be very hard to take me to the lake twice a week because it is so far and because gas prices are so much these days. But if she had to she was willing to do it. Then she thought about taking me to hydrotherapy but looked into the prices and OMD it is like $50 bucks a session and your session could be anywhere between 5-30 min. Hmm… back to the drawing board, what else could my mama do!

She bought me my very own pool!! It was the deepest pool with the shortest diameter pool that she could find because we don’t have a big backyard. It took her a very long time to put together even though on the box it said 3 easy steps. When she was done she thought it would have been much easier if she had Grandpa do it. Then it took forever to fill with water. I patiently waited for like 45 minutes. Dang!! It must have used a lot of water, good thing it’s the one utility my mama doest pay for. So finally when everything was set up she put my life vest on and in I went. We didn’t know if it was going to be deep enough for me to swim in but it was! The water was a bit cold though. My mama will have to put some hot water in it next time. I had a blast though! I saw circles and my mama threw my ball for me. I was having lots of fun until my mama grabbed the handle on my life vest and made me swim in place for 5 minutes. What a mean mommy! I guess I got a good work out but that should be considered doggie abuse. I got such a good work out I’m very tired now and can barely keep my eyes open to finish this. I just want everypup out there that they should get a pool to swim in. It is very fun and a very good way to keep in shape. Until next time pups, Super Dog is going to take a nap.

My first Flyball tournament!

I had the most fantastic weekend. I got to run in my first flyball tournament! I am not ready for the team yet so I did singles racing. It was so much fun. We got there really early on Saturday. Poor mama had to wake up at 4:30am. At least I got to sleep in the car. The tournament was held in Ramona about an hour and a half away from our home. As soon as we got off the freeway I stuck my head out the window and knew I was going to have the time of my life.

I have had about four months of intense flyball training. First it was practicing going over the jump, then drop ball drills, then recalls, and finally the swimmers turn. I love flyball it is so much fun for me. It involves all the things I like and the things I’m good at. Like playing with the ball, running, jumping, and tugging. I also love that flyball is a team sport, I like being part of a team. (Go Woof Gang!)

As soon as we got to Ramona I knew I was going to have another Super Dog adventure. There were so many dogs there, I saw tons of dogs like me, mostly herding dogs. You know me I was more interested in the people then the other doggies. My mama set all my stuff up. Boy do I have tons of stuff, but I saw other doggies and they have way more stuff them me. I told my mama to go buy one of those wheely thingies that everyone has then we wont have to make so many trips back to the car. After we were all set up I had to get measured. They measured my leg and my jump height is 11 inches. The first day there was not a spot for me to race so we helped out with the team. My mama learned how to keep stats. It was good for me to become familiar with the new sounds and sights. I was a very good girl. The first time my mama took me to flyball practice I was a maniac in my crate. The only way she could stop me from crying and barking was to cover my crate. But this weekend I was a very good girl, we have been working on my manners.

Okay Sunday is the day the real action took place. One of my team members was not able to make it to the tournament so I got to take his place in the singles racing. It was very nice of him to give me is spot. I was race # 6 so my mama barely had any time to get me ready. She had to potty me and warm me up. She was very nervous but tried not to let me know so I wouldn’t become nervous. The whole team helped us and cheered us on. We did a few practice turns and I stunk. It was like I never even learned the swimmers turn. My mama did a few drills with me just like we do in practice and I did much better. Then the race was on, the first few times down the lane I didn’t want to leave mama so I kept turning around to make sure she was still there. She told me to GOOOOO….. so I went and got my ball, then she told me to COOOMMMMEEE…. So then I came back. She should make up her mind. On one of my runs the mean judge flagged me because I dropped a ball, my mama thought it was very funny when I turned to look at him while I was running down the lane. BOL, I didn’t mean to drop the ball it just fell out! My second heat I did everything perfect, I didn’t drop the ball, I stayed in my lane and my very last run I did my best time, 5.156! Can you believe it? My mama is so proud of me. She knew that I would do great in flyball, these singles races are more for her practice then for me. Im a Super Dog so I know what I’m doing, I keep telling her that.

I am now officially a flyball dog and I’m so excited to start my career. I had so much fun this weekend, and cant wait for more flyball adventures to start.

I Was Workin It At The Pet Expo

Attention pup pals, it is time to report another fascinating adventure. This weekend I worked for donation for Southern California Therapy Dogs International at the pet expo. It was so much fun, so many different people came over to pet me and get information about therapy dogs. The fist day we worked mama put a sign next to me that read, “will do tricks for tips”. I got so many cookies because so many wonderful people gave us donations. The next day I was a little tuckered out from doing all my tricks my mama decided I needed a little break so she put the “I will bark for bucks” sign next to me. Although at times I didn’t wait for the buck I just barked and barked. I thought that every time I barked I would get a treat. This weekend was great fun, this is the very first time I was able to visit with kids and boy was it fun. I had a blast. My mama put me in silly costume though she put my pink boa on and my cool shades and she even bought me doggie Uggs at the pet exp. The kids seemed to really like my costume so even though I felt a little silly I agreed to wear it.

Another cool this about this weekend is that mama saw Miss Matches doing a splash dog demonstration. Miss Matches was really cool, she flew through the air and made big splashes. I hope that I get to try dock diving soon. I don’t know if I could ever be as awesome as Miss Matches though.

Flyball here I come!

I am so excited I am finally ready for my first flyball tournament. It has taken 4 long months of really intense training but I am finally ready. Im not ready to compete on the actual team yet but I will be competing in singles next weekend. It is really more for my mama then for me. She has to learn how to handle me and all the little rules of flyball. I told her that I have done all my work now she needs to start doing some. It will probably take her longer to learn then it takes me to learn. BOL! Funny humans, like they say you have to train the human not the doggie. I’m so excited, I get to jump and fly with all the cool flyball dogs now! Watch out all you other flyball doggies Super Dog is here!! My mama is so proud of me, in this new year I have gotten certified for therapy work and now I am officially a flyball dog. The possibilities are endless Super Dog can do anything!!

I like the taste of bunny!

Yesterday I had rabbit for dinner. It was quite yummy I must say. I like it even better then my chicken or turkey. My mama likes Natures Variety because she can give me rabbit without having to actually see it. I had some pretty stinky poops today though. I even pooted at the dog park, I made sure everyone thought it was my mama because I'm a lady and would never do such a thing. I think I will have rabbit again for dinner tonight. Maybe buffalo tomorrow..... just think of all the possibilities.

My first trip to the fluffy white stuff.

Super Dog checking in with another fascinating adventure. The day started like normal, a California Natural cookie dipped in yogurt for breakfast and a quick trip outside to go potty. I dutifully watched mama as she got ready, sat on her feet while she brushed her teeth and washed up. Nothing out of the ordinary until she started getting my stuff packed. That’s when I got excited, I knew it was going to be another fascinating adventure!! I thought we might be going to the park or even the beach but the car ride was really long. It was so long I decided to take a nap. I finally woke up when my mama opened the window for me to look out. I stuck my head out as usual and GUSH!!! EEEKKK!!!! Cold Wind!!! Whoa was I startled, with my eyes almost squint shut and my nose more runny than usual I looked and felt all the new things round me. Cold air, cool mountain breeze and all this fluffy white stuff on the ground. I started squeaking to tell my mama I was ready to go out and play. Finally mama let me out to play, boy were my little paws cold but everything was so exciting I soon forgot about the cold and started to explore all the new sights and scents. I have decided that I love the fluffy white stuff. I played ball and I ran all round digging and sniffing. I had so much fun. I really liked it when I did my business and my poopie steamed. BOL, me and mama had a good laugh at that one. Well another fascinating adventure and I can’t wait for the next one. Gosh am I pooped (no pun intended). *Casey grins goofily*

My first therapy dog visit!!

OMD, I had my first therapy dog visit! I visited an assisted living center. I was so excited I met a ton of people who all wanted to pet ME. I went up to each one and they commented on how beautiful and soft I was and of course they said I was Super. They all must have known that I am Casey the Super Dog. I was so excited my mom had to really hold me back, I wanted to jump in everyone’s lap and give them kisses. My mama says I cannot jump or give kisses. She says I have to sit quietly to be pet. My mama said I did a very good job because I put smiles on people faces. I love to make people happy because then that makes me happy. I think I'm going to enjoy being a therapy dog. Hmm…. maybe my mama will give me a marrowbone for the good job I did. Well till next time, Super Dog OUT....

My visit to the man with a white coat.

I went to the orthopedic specialist today. He was a really nice man who gave me tons of love and for some reason kept touching my back legs, maybe . I have good news I do not have a completely ruptured ACL. I might have a slight tear but it would not be something that would require surgery as of yet. He was not even sure it was my knee because I wasn’t showing any pain signs. The Dr. said it could have been that I just twisted my body wrong when I was playing flyball or frisbee. So he ordered a month of doggie Hell, no running, jumping or being my crazy doggie self! I also have to take some pills, but they taste like yummy liver so I don’t mind at all. I can go on short walks, which will have to tide me over until I can be Crazy Casey again. The good thing is, I can still do my therapy work so me and mama are happy about that. I’m sad that I have to put flyball off for a while but its okay as long as I get better soon. Maybe mama will feel sorry for me and get me some more toys and feed me lots of treats. Hmm…. Yum yum.