Saturday, July 8th, 2017

Roxy, Trixie and Charlee were super excited to get the day started. The girls wasted no time racing out the door for their first group of the morning and immediately started to explore the yard. Charlee hung around closer to the other dogs while Roxy and Trixie wandered off on their own. The three of them were just as happy when it was time for walks! They hurried to the trail and had some fun leaping over and around puddles while they were walking. On the dry parts of the trail, the girls sniffed around in the grass to see what caught their interest. Later, they were eager to join their group in the yard again. Roxy and Trixie bounced outside and went straight to the grass, where they both began to nose around. There wasn’t an inch of the yard that was left out while they were exploring. Roxy trotted over to check out the agility jump while Trixie headed over to the other yard, where she wandered around by the rocks. Charlee had joined them for a brief sniff, but soon she had decided that she was in the mood to make friends, and made her way over to say hello to the other dogs. The one that she liked the best was Benji! They wandered to the far yard where Charlee hopped up on the picnic table to observe the area. Benji put his paws up to give her a sniff. Then Charlee jumped down and raced over to the pallets, where she and Benji met up with their pal Jake.The two boys playfully wrestled while Charlee bounced around, cheering them on.Eventually she lost interest in the game and trotted over for some cuddles with me. Roxy and Trixie, who had gravitated towards the door, hurried over to make sure they weren’t left out! All in all the girls had a wonderful day with their friends. 

Jax seemed to be in a good mood today! He enjoyed a short stroll this morning, where he took his time to give everything a good sniff.After that it was time for groups. Jax was happy to join his friends in the yard and wandered around to say hello to everyone. Once he had greeted all of the other dogs, he waded through the big puddle and ended up sniffing around in the grass with Roxy and Trixie. This kept him quite busy, as there was a lot to explore! Next, he stopped by to see what I was up to. He was more than happy for some attention and leaned against my leg while I gave him a nice back scratch. I know that Jax always loves the jolly ball so I went to get it for him. When I set it down in front of him, he gave it a sniff and then started to push it around with his nose. Eventually Jax decided to take a break and enjoy the nice weather, which wasn’t stifling hot for once! He stood with his ball to make sure that nobody else would steal it while he was taking a breather. Then Jax wandered over to socialize with a few of his friends near the door. 

Benji was so excited for his walk this morning; he was bouncing around so much it took a couple of tries to get his harness on. Once he and his friends were ready to go, Benji led the way out the door and headed straight for the trail. He had to dodge a few puddles on the way there but once Benji found himself on solid ground he got to work sniffing. Benji trotted along with his nose in the grass, zigzagging in every direction. When it was time for groups, he was in a bit more of a playful mood. Benji bounced over to say hello to his tiny friend Charlee. He followed her over to the picnic table,and then to the pallets. There they bumped into Jake, who was more Benji’s size. The boys jostled each other around with their shoulders until Jake finally play-bowed and went racing off with Benji on his tail. Their sprint came to a quick rhalt when Jake hurdled headfirst into the big puddle! Benji trotted around and ended up poking around by the kiddy pools. One of them was full of rainwater and his friend Ringo was splashing around in it. Benji wasn’t quite sure what to think about this! He wandered off to find Charlee and Jake for round two. 

Keegan and Duggan are always so excited to for just about everything. They were quick to tell me just how bad they wanted to go on their walk when I came to get them, wriggling around the entire time as I put their leashes on. Duggan led the way trotting happily with his head up to enjoy the view, while Keegan was more interested in the ground and kept his nose to the grass for most of the walk. When it was time for their group, the boys were bouncing around at their kennel door like they had springs in on their feet.Keegan wasn’t in the mood to play today, so he decided to enjoy some peace and quiet while taking a stroll around the yard. He wandered along the fence,making sure to sniff everything, until he found himself in the far yard, checking out the picnic table. Meanwhile, Duggan had too much energy to be relaxing with his brother, and wasted no time searching for a playmate. Het ried to encourage his friend Ziggy to chase him, but she is a bit shy so Duggan ended up finding a rubber toy that he proudly carried around instead. He headed over to show it to the other dogs. Keegan then appeared beside me,searching for some attention. We enjoyed a nice cuddle while Duggan was still running around the yard like a madman. I found him a stuffed caterpillar that was a bit soggy but still enjoyable. Duggan was throwing that stuffy around and shaking it like crazy! He eventually decided that he’d had enough toys for one day and went to splash around in the puddle. 

Victory had so much fun in the yard today! At first she was very relaxed, and made her way around the yard with her nose to the ground, taking in all the smells. She made sure to step in each of the puddles on her way, as there were lots from last night's rain. A couple times she stood there in the puddles as if she thought it was a pool. I then tried to get her to climb into the actual kiddie pool but it was a no-go for now. She continued on her way, sniffing the grass and around each rock. She ran into her good friend Vega, who was sitting on the picnic table. Victory went up to Vega to see what she was doing and got her paws up on the table but she didn't linger too long. She came to me for some cuddles and I pet her head and gave her a back rub. She turned her bum to me to get me to scratch her entire back, which is exactly what I did. When she was satisfied with her massage, she took off towards Vega, who happened to be coming our way at the same time. The girls tumbled right into each other and a play-fight broke out between them. Victory and Vega play so well together, even though Vega is a little smaller, Victory always lets Vega climb on top of her and put her paws on Victory's back like she was winning the game. They played for a while and then they both settled down before coming inside. Victory came back to me in the gravel yard, seeking some more pets and attention. She sat right in front of me and I was happy to pet her head until it was time to head inside. Victory was happy to lie down on her cot and take a little snooze before heading outside again. Victory and I spent some time together in the front reception area later on in the afternoon. She went for the toy bucket straight away. Victory picked up the caterpillar first, and then the black kong, but then decided she didn't want to play with toys at all. I snuggled her on the chair for a few minutes before she went and sat by the treat jar. She has memorized where it is and she sits there like a good girl until she gets one. I broke up a little treat and put the pieces into the treat puzzle. At first she couldn't figure out how to get them out, so Victory picked up the whole thing with her mouth, which made me laugh! She set it down and began digging at it with her nose, and eventually got all the pieces out. After that, we just cuddles and Victory got lots of pets and she adored the belly rub that I gave her!

Spencer had another really great day! He was super excited to head outside for his walk. He absolutely loves all the puddles, and he is a huge fan of having his paws wet. Later on in the morning during his outing, he planted his nose right on the ground and started to follow tons of scents outside. He followed his nose along the fence and across the yard over into the small dog yard. I tried to get his attention with the flower toy he played with yesterday, but he didn't look up once! I let him be for a bit to do this thing and I sat down on the rock. He eventually came over to me and looked up at me with a big smile. I pet his head and rubbed his ears which he really liked. He stood there with me until I stopped rubbing his ears and then he moved on to sniff some of his doggie friends. He spotted Victory and Vega play wrestling across the yard and he trotted over to where they were. He joined in and leaped right on Vega, and she responded by turning around and doing the same to him. Spencer enjoyed himself while he played with his friends, and he seemed a little tired from playing after a while. He stopped wrestling with the girls but he still stood close by, pawing at Victory every couple minutes so that he was still in the game with them. He's so cute! I gave him a few more pets before it was time to go inside.

Gracie is such a sweetie and I love spending time outside with her. Usually when she is inside, she is all about the cuddles, and outside she loves to wander and sniff as many things as she can while she is out there. Today we opened up all the yard and Gracie was so happy to have so much room to run around! She instantly went for the open gate to the small dog yard and trotted over to the corner. She spent almost ten minutes sniffing the same spot so I went over to see what it was. She was delighted I came over and she sniffed my leg while I pet her head. I sat down on the rock and she then put her paws up on the rock and I scratched her belly and ears for a while. She gave me a few gentle kisses while she sat there. In the afternoon, Gracie came up to the reception area for her extra attention time. She loves being inside with all the staff. She gets lots of cuddles and kisses. First she had a bit of fun playing with the treat puzzle. She has really gotten the hang of it! She found all the treats right away and then looked at me, wondering where the rest of the treats were. She loves her treats! She then made herself comfy on the chair and snuggled in. I sat beside her on the floor and pet her for a few moments. It didn't take long and then she was fast asleep! She woke up right away at the sound of the leash clip and I took her out on the front field for a little stroll. She went in the short grass and I followed her over to the long grass where she spent quite a bit of time sniffing. I let her sniff there until she was happy to make her way back to door. She really wanted to go over and see the cars that were parked so i let her sniff the tires and it must have smelt really good because her tail was wagging so fast! When we got back inside, Gracie wanted some treats so I got her to practice some of her tricks. First she went for the paw, because that is her best trick. After a few times of her giving me her paw very gracefully, she did lie down and stay for me. It took a couple tries to get her to roll over but she did it just fine and was happy with her reward! Before returning to her kennel, Gracie relaxed in the big chair for a few more minutes, getting the most of her time with me up front.

Stella and I had so much fun together outside.We spent the whole time together. She followed me wherever I went! She loves cuddles more than anything so I spent most of the time standing beside her or sitting down on the rock while she stood over me and I pet her head and gave her a really good ear rub. Tango then came over and offered to play with Stella. She was happy to and they ran off and chased each other around for a bit. Stella was always the one running away from Tango, even though Tango was a lot faster than her. Stella was having a blast, she was jumping all over the place and had her tongue hanging out as she ran, it was too cute! She had lots of fun with her new friend Tango but soon grew tired of their game and returned to me. She came barreling into me with a huge smile on her face and pressed her head against my leg. I pet her head again and sat down on the rock. This time she got her two front paws on the rock right beside me and started to give me tons of kisses all over my face. She is such a sweetie and I love spending time with her! While we were cuddling, Tango kept coming up to invite Stella to play again but she wasn't in the mood. She sat her bum down right in front of my legs, looking for a back scratch. I massaged her back and she soon laid down and wanted me to rub her belly. She was super comfy lying in the grass but got up when Gracie came over, looking for some attention too. These two ladies each got lots of pets.

Sophie had a great day today! The rain left so many puddles in the yard and there's nothing Sophie loves more than water (except cuddles of course)! She started off by running over to the far yard. She was the first one outside and she couldn't wait to get into the pool. She stopped to say hello to all of her friends on her way there. She plunked both front paws and then hopped her back paws into the pool afterwards and proceeded to lie down for a few minutes, in the clean water. The pool was much nicer than the puddles so she decided to stay there for a little bit. This seems to be her routine now when she get outside. After spending time cooling off, she wandered about the yard, exploring the new smells and seeing her friends. She spent quite a bit of time around Nika and Nick, who liked the gravel yard the most. She went over there and sniffed in each of the outdoor kennels and then found me sitting on the stool. She sat right beside me and waited for her pets and loving. I stroked her head and back. Every time I stopped, I felt her nose nudge my hand, which was Sophie's way of telling me that I wasn't done yet. I pet her for the rest of the time, and Sophie was very content to head inside after a really good outing with her pals.

It was nice to have Walker spend the day with us today! He got to meet so many new friends out in the yard. He immediately was drawn to Zeke, and the two of them sniffed each other for what seemed like a long time. After a while, they parted ways and Walker was off to see another friend. This time he stopped at Ariel, the husky, and her brother Nick. Walker loved Ariel. He followed her around for the longest time, with his tail always wagging. He tried to get Ariel to play with him but she wasn't too interested and wanted to sniff the grass. After pawing at her and jumping on her, Walker decided to go see what Zeke was up to. These two handsome fellas then got together and started to play. It lasted the rest of the time they spent outside!