Pics of Yours Truly

Now I understand why Mrs. K always says, "I HATE the DMV!"

Out to lunch at Noodles & Co. and YES, I behaved myself and didn't eat anything under the table.

Who loves you, Baby?

The Red Robin!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi! Yes, yes, it's me. The lovable little yellow dog you've all grown to know and love! Ha ha. I'm great aren't I? Me and Bek -sorry, I mean Bek and I (She always bugs me about my grammar, but I think she just wants her name to come first!) well, anyhoo, we had the most awesome day!!!! Mrs. Purtan took us to the "Red Robin" for C.C.I.! It was so fun! It took a wile to get there, and we had a little trouble trying to find it, but it was still awesome! Bek said that she really enjoyed talking to Mrs. Purton. And she even saw some other puppy trainers she had met before! They're training a puppy named Shade. And she got to see Mrs. and Mr. Starsky! They are really cool! And amazing dog trainers!!!! To bad Emily wasn't there! She's cool! Well, that was my little adventure! I promise next time I put up a blog post, I'll have more jokes ready! Well, so long! I love you all my adoring, faithful fans!!!! Till next time! *sniffle* sniffle* I'm sorry, I promised I wasn't going to cry!!!!!! *sob* sob*......*sniffle*.......

Shower.

Hi! The craziest thing happened to day! Ha Ha. Bekah was in the shower, and I was sitting down in the bathroom by the door. Before she got in, she first told me to "sit" and "stay". So, I sat, and stayed, but after a wile, I got restless, and decided to stand up and walk around. But, the moment I stood up, Bek FLEW out from the shower, water went EVERY WHERE! She went over to me, and said some command, (I wasn't really listening to her, so I have no idea what that command was...) I just looked at her and cocked my head. So Rebekah, put her wet hand on my bottom, and pushed it to the floor so that I was in a sitting position, said another command, (something like "stay", or "wait") and got back into the shower. OF COURSE the moment i got back up, she had already come leaping out of the shower like a crazy duck and said the commands again. This went on for a wile. I think the best part was when she jumped out covered in body wash, and shampoo dripping from her hair! I am beginning to think she is unwell. Perhaps she hit her head when I knocked her over a few weeks ago when I was running after my ball. She always blamed ME for knocking her down. ME! Can you believe it???? How was I supposed to know her foot was caught around my leash???? How is it MY fault for not noticing that we were standing on gravel, and Bek was right next to the front steps! How is that MY fault?????? Although, I have to admit, that the loud "thump" of when she fell, did sound a little painful..... I think she's still a bit mad at me from today, when she was getting out from the shower, and as she went to go pick up the towel, I ran ahead of her, (I was tide to the door) and the leash hit her, and she when tumbling down. I wanted to look at something in the corner of the room, so since she didn't seem TO badly hurt, (although I'm rather big for my age, I'm still not very tall) I figured she wouldn't mined if I used her as something to stand on. This didn't go well with her. Later I discovered that she had landed on her fathers belt buckle, so my standing on her, was really just pushing her back into a rather painful metal object. Yikes! This is my longest blog post ever! Wow! But of course, they're not as long as Bek's long, BORING posts! Well, that's all for now! See ya later alligator! I will miss you all so much! Try not to cry wile I'm gone! I know I'll be crying! *sniffle* *sniffle*........Why did it have to end this way?! Oo! LOOK! FOOOOOOOOD! See ya! I'm out of here!

Hi! Finally!!!!! I'm back on the computer! Bek and I have been REALLY busy! Tomorrow is the last day of her school. (She's really angry because she only goes once a week and that's the only time she can see her C.C. friends.) But anyway, what I'm really supposed to be talking about me me me ME! Me is great! So anyway, I had my first C.C.I. training class.....I was very naughty.....but I had lots of fun and I got to see my favorite little sister (I kicked her little puppy bottom in restling.....well.....not really....)! I've gotten much bigger (and cuter)! I've actually been pretty good...well, besides me tearing everything up.....I also joined the 4-H group! Well, actually Bek joined it, but whatever! They like me more.

Eeek! I have to go now! Good-bye all my adoring fans! till next time! I already miss you......

My Fun Day

Hello! Its me again. Mr. Elton III. How are you? Did you miss me? Of course you did, why else would you be here right now.

I had a very fun day yesterday. I went to Old Town Fredericksburg with Bekah and Mrs. Van Duyne. Mrs. van Duyne always wants to take pictures of me for some reason. Yes, I know I'm beautiful....but that's not the point. The point is, I'm supposed to be talking about my day. I went to see my friend, Dr. Witter, who oddly, always wants to know about my health. What's up with these people? Turns out I have yeast in one ear and bacteria in another. Dr. Witter put some sort of wierd stuff in my ears and then gave me a ear massage...ahhh..it felt sooooo good.

Then, I went to Mrs. Purton's and got to play with Wheeler and Burney while Bekah was at Latin class. Afterwards, we went to Rosie's house and guess what!? Another dog wanted to play with me! His name is Puck. He lives across the street from Rosie. I'm so popular, what with being in the paper and all. Yes, another exciting edition of (dut da da dun!)...Elton's Expeditions was released yesterday.

Welp, it's time to go. Good bye my adoring fans. I have to go get ready for my very first CCI training class. Toodles! :D

Eltons Announcement

"Hello this is Elton, I'm taking over the blog! WAHOO!!!!!! I've been waiting for this to happen ever since I found out she had a blog! I'm so exited. Soooooo, what should I talk about?Oh I know lets talk about ME!!! I'm lodes of fun. I have all sorts of fun games I like to play with Bek one is when I wait until shes asleep and then bark to wake her up it's SO fun but I haven't played that game in a long time. I've been working on being good to Rebekah (its much harder then you think). Well I think its time to go. You all are great readers. Bye bye!

He's Here!

He's here! He's here! Elton has finally arrived...and it's about time! It felt like forever until he was going to be here. Yesterday, it took about one hour and 15minutes to get to the airport but it felt longer, as if it took all day. When we finally got there we met the other Puppy Raiser (PR) who took Elton's sister, Elizabeth. When I saw Elton, I almost fell to the ground in shock at how big he is. He is twice the size of his sister. His paws are huge and he is incredibly heavy. When we took him home we put him in a travel crate that we anticipated would be just the right size for him but he barely fit in it.

Mrs. van Duyne met us there and took pictures. While she was taking pictures the men at the cargo place kept asking why Elton's ear was all green. Mrs. van Duyne was tempted to say that he must have been placed under the toilet area of airplane where the toilet sanitizer leaked out onto him. She thought the guys might actually fall for the story but thought better of saying something since we were representing CCI. The actual reason his ear is green is because all CCI dogs have to get special tattoos on the inside of their ear. The dye leaks all over the place and we are not allowed to wash it off for a couple of weeks.

On the ride home, we discovered that Elton does not like being in a crate and he whined almost the whole way home. We tried to turn on some music to drown out his yelping but to our surprise, he liked the music and stopped. When we turned on the radio, AC/DC was playing Highway to Hell. My mom said this must be Elton's theme song today.

When we got home Sasha and Louie were quite mellow about Elton but that doesn't mean that they like him. He wanted to play but they kept nipping at him. We gave him toys that I received from my friends at the puppy shower. I almost died laughing at the way he chased the tennis balls. He flopped around and his ears flew around like crazy. He looked so funny with his paws flying up in the air the way puppies do when they get all excited when they're chasing after something.

I watched the CCI training video again because I watched it a month ago and being so excited, I forgot everything that I learned. Elton is so smart! I practiced the commands, "sit" and "down." He learned "sit" in 5 seconds and practically knows "down" but he's not quite there yet.

I put him to bed at 10 pm and he got up at 11:30 pm, 2:30 am and woke up at around 6:00 am even though I have my alarm set for 6:30 am to take him out. I take it that he's going to be my new alarm clock for a while.

The next day we took Elton to the veterinarian's and introduced him to Dr. Witter. Mrs. van Duyne also came and took pictures. Dr. Witter was very nice and amazingly generous. He gave us a month's supply of heartworm and flea medication as well as soap-free shampoo. He also volunteered to put a ID chip in Elton when he neuters him. We have to call CCI and see if they want him to do that.

When we came home from the vets office, the CCI package arrived. We put Elton's little vest and Gentle Leader on him to see how it looked and fit and then took him for a walk. He does not like the Gentle Leader. When we first put it on him, he rolled over and started pawing at it. We didn't give him an opportunity to figure out how to get it off because if we had, we would have a serious problem.

Right now, he is passed out on his dog bed, wrapped up in his dog blanket that Mrs. van Duyne gave him. It's only 6:20 and he's totally wiped out! I'm not too wiped out myself, but I love to just go and lay on his new dog bed with him. He never wakes up when I do and even if he did, he would probably just go straight back to sleep. That's all for now.

Puppy Shower

Puppy Shower!!! The shower was flipping awesome and totally fun! Mrs. Purton came and did a demonstration with Wheeler and Burney. The dogs loved the girls and licked everyone on the face at least 28 times each. Mrs. Purton showed us two short DVDs on CCI. Loads of puppies - how could you not enjoy it?

My mom and I made a cake and my dad decorated it with frosting in the shape of a dog bone. It was kind of crooked but it worked.

We played a couple of games and gave out prizes to the winners. Then, all of my friends got to open a present for the puppy. If I had a birthday, I would be the one opening all of the presents but since this party was for helping to support the CCI puppy, we decided to share the experience with all of the girls. Sort of like it was every one's party.

Mrs. van Duyne, the journalist who wrote a story about me and the puppy in the Dahlgren Source, came to take pictures and do a follow-up story. She also gave a present. It was a lovely, soft dog blanket. My friend Sicily opened that present and we put it on Burney. (See picture.)

All of my friends were excited about Mrs. van Duyne being there, but Lydia was the most excited out of all of them. She kept asking me, "Bekah, am I going to be in the newspaper?"

My friends, Jessie, and Maddie and one of their friends Megan are Girl Scouts and they are helping me with supplies for the puppy. Jessie brought her Girl Scout sash filled with badges and pins and Maddie brought her Girl Scout hat. Mrs. van Duyne took their pictures so maybe they will be in the next news article.

I gave each girl a goody bag filled with Hershey kisses, a puppy calendar, a notebook and a CCI pencil, bookmark and brochure. My friend Rosie called them doggy bags. Ha!

Here is the list of things that my friends and family provided for the puppy:

Puppy blanket

shampoo and tennis balls

portable puppy crate

bones and toys

doggy dental kit

Frisbee

lint roller

notepad

leash and collar

lots of treats

dog bed

dog food

Thank you to everyone who helped us! We have a small problem though. Our dachshund Sasha has decided the dog bed belongs to her. We might have to get her an early Christmas present so the puppy can have his bed.

Speaking of Elton....we just found out today that he will be definitely be coming on the 19th with his sister Elizabeth.

I'll post Elton's pictures when he gets here!

Orientation, Part I

I just went to my first CCI puppy orientation with Mrs. Purton. It was about 2 hours long. Normally, I would say, "Oh, my gosh! That was so exhausting," but it was REALLY interesting and I enjoy being with Mrs. Purton.

A journalist, Mrs. Marty van Duyne was also there. She was there to do a story on my puppy shower. She has also been following Wheeler's progress as he gets older. She really has a heart for service dogs. She said just to pretend that she wasn't really there and not to pay attention to the pictures she was taking. It's not exactly easy to ignore someone taking pictures of me, my mother, Mrs. Purton and Wheeler. At first I was kind of worried that she would take a picture of me doing something stupid, but it turned out fine....I hope (gulp). She was very nice and I am thankful that she mostly took pictures of Wheeler, who happens to be very photogenic.

The orientation made me feel much better that I actually know something about the puppy I'll be getting. I kept on having these horrible thoughts that I would receive a puppy and not know what to do. I'm glad that CCI makes sure that you are prepared.

I noticed Mrs. Purton had acknowledged the fact that I could not stop petting Wheeler the whole way through the orientation so she gave me a little CCI puppy of my own - a stuffed one, of course. He actually looks like a mix of a golden retriever and a lab and has a little CCI vest with a CCI pin on it. She said it can be my own little "Elton" for the time being. And then, she decided she didn't want to wait until my puppy shower and brought me out the present she bought for me. It was a travel kennel for the car or where ever we go. It kind of looks like a tent. Both Wheeler and I can fit inside it. At first it looks small, but it's actually quite big from the inside (believe me, I know.) and it folds up for easy carrying and storage. We made Wheeler try it out first and then I jumped in it when I got home.

That's all for now.

Puppy Shower Invitation

BURNEY AND WHEELER
Awesome! I just found out the name of my puppy. His name shall be Elton. I am going to be throwing a puppy shower to help with the cost of raising the puppy. It's an open invitation for anyone who wants to come. The date is December 8th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. I registered at Wal-Mart and Target. Click here for the Wal-Mart registry or click here for the Target registry. I have included a complete list of supplies if you would like to come to the shower or just send a gift.

Mrs. Purton will be bringing her CCI puppies, Wheeler and Burney (picture of them above), to demonstrate what they can do. Also, she will be bringing a short CCI video and possibly a photographer interested in writing a news story. We will be doing some games and eating cake and ice cream, yum!

Hope you can all come!
WHEELER

SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR CCI PUPPY
Veterinarian Care: DONATED BY DR. WITTER, FERRY FARM ANIMAL CLINIC, THANK YOU.!
Flea and Tick Medication (K-9 Advantix)*:
18 month supply $236.00
12 month supply $156.00
6 month supply $80.00
1 month supply $15.00
Heartworm Medication *
18 months $80.00
12 months $52.00
6 month supply $28.00
(*If you would like to help with the cost of the flea/tick or heartworm medication, a monetary gift would be appreciated since we will have to purchase it through our veterinarian due to the change in the dosage by weight each month. A payment can be given directly to Ferry Farm Animal Clinic as well.)
Supplies:
5 -Dog chew toys (see list), under $10.00 each or $50.00 gift card
Healthy dog treats for training, under $10.00 or $50.00 for 18 months
Dog collars – 3 sizes (small, medium, large), under $10.00 or $30.00 for all three
Metal food dish, any type is good, under $10.00
Doggie toothpaste and toothbrush, under $10.00
2 dog leashes, nylon, blue
1 large, $15.00
1 small, $15.00, or $30.00 for two
Large metal crate for 75-lb dog, a used kennel would be welcome $150.00 –DONATED TO US BY JIM AND APRIL HARLOWE, THANK YOU!
Dog bed for the floor, $35.00 (also saw a large one at COSTCO for $19.95)
Grooming supplies:
Dog brush, under $10.00
Pet shampoo, under $10.00
Food:
Gift cards at a pet supply store such as PetSmart or PETCO in order to purchase food or:
4 lb. bag of Eukanuba dry puppy food, $7.50
15 lb. bag of Eukanuba dry puppy food, $19.00
35 lb. bag of Eukanuba dry puppy food, $40.00
Approximate cost for 18 months: $500.00
Approximate cost for one month $28.00
Transportation:
We also need funds for transportation expenses for delivery of puppy from breeder to Puppy Raiser (that’s us) and delivery of pup to training center at 18 months old (possibly in New York). Approximately, $250.00 by air for arrival and $200.00 for driving back up to NY at 18 months. COST OF THE ARRIVAL IS BEING COVERED BY CCI. THANK YOU, CCI! (if you would like to cover the cost for the delivery, please feel free to make a donation directly to CCI -see link)
Puppy Training Classes:
We are required to take the puppy to training classes 1 to 2 times a month for his first year. CCI offers classes at a discounted rate of $60.00 for 8 sessions. We will need $180.00 to cover all of the training for the first year.

ESTIMATED TOTAL NEEDED FOR 18 MONTH PERIOD: WAS $1,700.00 , NOW $1,450.00