Playdate

My daughter had a chance to do a photo shoot of a new puppy in our Chapter. She jumped at the chance before we took Phantom to our Chapter puppy class. This is Mushu with her roommate, Change of Career Tillman, who was medically released from the program two summers ago. Tillman would have made a fabulous Assistance Dog, but he is living the life of a fabulous Puppy Raiser's Helper and as a well-loved Therapy Dog.

It was so fun to see Phantom interact with a tiny puppy. He did a good job and found that puppy teeth are sharp. He could have stuck up for himself a few times, but he was a guest and gentleman and let Mushu carry on. But in all fairness, she was really good too and only had her rambunctious moments occasionally, which is expected for a puppy of only 12 weeks old.

What Phantom is unaware of is that his Puppy Raisers picked up their next puppy today from the airport. So when he goes back home, he will meet the newest pup on the block. His name is Alex and he's so adorable!!

Puppy Class was great. We worked on appropriate play as demonstrated by our Puppy Program Manager at our Region's Workshop a few weeks ago. The good news was that Phantom was one of the Senior Dogs in class, and because he is just an amazing rock star, he was able to handle every step we took to build up the success of the assignment. Phantom was called out numerous times by our Contract Trainer for being able to stay focused on his Handler even while he was busy doing something else. In addition, he rarely even found something else to do as he opted to hang close to me even though he was off leash and free to wander like all the other dogs in class who were also off leash.

Phantom has been so much fun. I am so proud of all the hard work, attention, and dedication that his Raisers have given him. I am so excited to see where he decides to take his next journey.

Tomorrow - we are going on a two day adventure. So come back Friday evening to see where we have been. I promise it is 1) not out of the country, and 2) not to California. Phantom is ready for the adventure, he has packed his bone and chewy-chewy and is ready to check out in the morning.