return to top

Life with a Bouv

6 month old Wonder Dog

Baby Gus is doing so well, I had to brag! He is just over 6 months, and has been going to my office since he was 12 weeks - but not really anywhere else except the Juvenile Probation Office to play with all the probation officers. He has been going to Lowes Hardware and WalMart here since my surgery, and a few local places, but still having fits of "puppy"... which is to be expected - hence the SDIT patches all over his vest. And when he acts up, we either fix it or leave so as to not leave a bad impression anywhere.

Yesterday, he went to my office, then to the probation office, then to court, then to the vet to take some goats. Whew - made me tired! Then I had an appointment with my neurosurgeon to follow up from surgery in December...which is in Reno, an hour away. Mike and I loaded up, with Gus and took off - first visit to the doctor who will be writing me a letter of medical necessity - we got there, and Gus was an ANGEL DOG! He heeled nicely, lay at my feet in the waiting room, except to sit up and put a paw on me when I made a pain noise, and then plopped back down. We went in the exam room, and then heard it.... a small child...dum da dum dum DUUUUUM!

The assistant asked if the doc's wife could bring in their very small (still not talking small) son in to see "the puppy". Gus is terrified of children. The baby walked in, was very quiet and waved to Gus and Gus then crawled over the the child to give him the tiniest lick. Needless to say, the wife and doc were very impressed! Then Gus went back to his spot in the corner by my chair and went back to sleep... like an old pro.

We went out to our favorite restaurant for dinner afterwards, and the nice waiter brought him a small bowl of ice water, which he daintily drank while laying down, and then went to sleep again! I couldn't believe how great he was. He snoozed the whole time we were there, and looked up like "what, I'm sleepin'" when we had to go. Then he matched my very slow steps down the very steep stairs, instead of bombing down like he used to.

All in all, a very successful day! And only 6 months! WOW - I think I may have really lucked out!

Julie and Gus the Wonder Dog!

Where it began

Gus entered our lives in September 2008, at 9 weeks old. He was about 13 pounds, and quite the bundle of fuzz! Even at 9 weeks, he showed exceptional intelligence, and natural herding ability. He will eventually be trained as a service dog for me, helping with mobility, object retrieval, carrying things, and some tasks to mitigate anxiety... like alerting me to people around me and tactile stimulation. Currently he wears his "service dog in training" vest, and for the most part he is quite the well-behaved boy when we go out.

At present, his favorite toy is our toy poodle, whom he outweighs by 55 pounds (for now). She keeps him in line, chases him, is chased by him, and continually steals his toys, just to see if he has noticed!

Gus loves to go to my office with me, and accompanies me just about everywhere. If cookies are involved, then so much the better!

That's all for now!