Costume!

For Halloween, I decided to make Spike an Indian war pony/puppy. I haven't actually drawn it on him yet, but I'm hoping this is what the finished product will look like. I am also getting a feather and some beads and I'm wanting to string the feather and tie it up to his collar.
I probably won't end up darkening his tail like I did in this photo, though.

Bridal Veil Falls

Today after puppy meeting, Megan, Hannah, Forte's raiser and I all went to Bridal Veil Falls. It was really fun and I think the dogs enjoyed themselves. Spike just wanted to play with Mara the entire time.

Here is Fullerton and Paris


Mara


Mara, Fullerton, Paris and Spike up at the falls.
Spike loves kissing Paris..


Spike with the falls behind him.




Spike resting his head on Paris's back.


Spike and Mara playing, flinging mud everywhere.


Forte, Mara, Fullerton, Paris and Spike.
Spike refused to sit still. Little brat.


Spike kissing Paris again..


He really loves her, though she doesn't seem as enthusiastic.


Spike in the leaves. He tried eating one, and by the looks of it, he didn't like how it tasted.




Spike in the bath after we got home.

Day with the fishes.

Today, my family and I went to the Aquarium! We went to the one in Sandy that just opened up this summer. It was pretty neat. It looked like it was built in an old grocery store building (and it probably was). Spike seemed to enjoy watching the fish swim around.

When you walk into the first room, there is this fake giant frog that Spike was really curious about. He kept pulling on me, wanting to check it out. I made him stand a good 15 ft away from it with me until he settled down. He was just standing there with his tail wagging out of control-- his whole back swaying. He eventually calmed down and I let him check it out. As soon as he realized the frog wasn't real, he found something else he was more interested in. (As you can see by this photo.)
I also TRIED to give Spike a chance to be there without his head collar... however, I put it back on him right after this picture was taken. There were just too many distractions. I'll probably try it again with him at puppy meeting this week. We'll see how he does.



These little fish HELD his attention. He didn't want to take his eyes off them. I eventually had to pull him away. I felt he was becoming a little too fixated. He probably would've sat and watched them for hours.


Here is Spike in a little Canoe display they had.


They have a Stingray petting tank at the Aquarium. The Stingrays seem to like being pet. They would come up and poke their heads and wings out of the water, wanting more loves. The stingrays were so incredibly soft! They felt like velvet underwater. It was amazing.
I had been to a Stingray petting tank before in Colorado, but I don't remember them being as soft as the ones we saw today.
Here is a photo of a Stingray poking it's wing out of the water, wanting more pets from my sister. (You can see me-- in the blue)


After the Aquarium, we went out to eat at Neil's which is some Seafood/fastfood restaurant. It looked pretty cool. I don't like seafood, but I still enjoyed the environment. They had plastic fishing hanging from the ceiling (which was painted like rippling water). It felt like we were under water.
On the bathroom doors, they had a big picture of Nemo from Finding Nemo. I wanted to take a decent picture of Spike by it, but he was rebelling. I placed him in front of the door, and he stared at the floor and wouldn't look up. No matter how many times I screamed or squealed his name, he refused to look at the camera. What a little turd. So here is what I got.



Here is Spike waiting patiently while we ate. I don't know why, but he reminds me of Meade in this photo...




And here is Spike with the Neil's rug.



Oh, and here's Spike and a rainbow.

Nursery Dog

My mom was recently called to teach (coughbabysitcough) nursery at church. She needed help today, so Spike and I went to her class.
It took Spike a little bit to settle with the little kids squealing and playing around. But once he DID settle, he was amazing! When it was time for the kiddies to play with the toys, he just laid there and watched them. A lot of the toys made sounds, and I think that's what kept Spike interested.
At one point, one of the little boys discovered that Spike's nose was wet and cold. He kept poking it and touching it and continually shrieked "It's cold!". I was amazed that Spike just sat calmly while his nose was being prodded by little fingers. He usually gets all worked up and excited when little kids come near him.

Hotels (or Motels) for guide dogs?

I am going to be visiting my friend at Fort Huachuca, Arizona at either the end of this month or the beginning of next month. I'm getting a ride with his parents and they said they don't mind if Spike tags along.
We will be staying in one or two different hotels/motels (not sure which one(s) yet) however, I don't know if the companies will allow him into their rooms.
Have any of you taken your PITs into hotel/motel rooms? Were there any issues?

The Invisible Dog

Today, my dad, my sister and I had dinner at Winger's (and obviously Spike came along). The hostess seated us and Spike took his place under the table. The waitress came and we ordered our food. When we finished eating, we all got up from the table right as our waitress walked past, she then said "Was that dog there the whole time?! I didn't even notice."
That comment put a huge smile on my face. He was such a good boy. :)

Big Boy Collar

Yesterday Spike upgraded to his Big Boy Collar. He's growing up!
The collar is actually still a little big, but the baby collar was getting too small. I could barely put two fingers under it.
And I guess Spike WILL NOT be getting neutered at 6 months. Still trying to decide if that is a good thing or not. :]

5 months!

Today is Spike's 5 month day!
I can't believe I've already had him this long. I remember being so impatient, waiting for him to arrive. I couldn't even sleep the night before I got him.
It was a pretty day today, so we went out and took a bunch of pictures on the front lawn.

Walk to cure Diabetes

Today, Spike and I attended "A Walk to Cure Diabetes" this morning, which was hosted by The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). I only found out about it yesterday and managed to get $165 in donations. Not bad for such late notice.
When we arrived at Scera Park, there were TONS of people, games, free drinks, doughnuts etc. We even saw Grizzbee the Grizzly (Mascot for Utah's Hockey Team; The Grizzlies)
David Osmond sang the National Anthem! It was pretty neat. I wanted to take a picture, but the camera I brought was spazzing out. I brought my cheap-o kodak digital camera because it is small and easier to carry. But the thing died after about 12 pictures ON A FULL CHARGE. Not happy-making.

They had a "warm-up" where they had everyone do the Chicken Dance, the Macarena, and the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" Dance. I was going to do the dances with everyone, but the loud music and all the people dancing around seemed to confuse Spike. He was looking around wondering what was going on. So I sat on a chair, being his "Calm in a storm".

Grizzbee and a volunteer doing the Chicken Dance.


Spike wondering what is going on.




Spike did really well on the walk. We walked along State Street, which was a good experience for him. It was his first time walking on a busy street like that and he did wonderfully.




Here is Spike with the shirt I got!



Overall, we had a really good time. I would like to do it again next year!

Fun

Yesterday Spike and I walked over to Heritage Park a couple blocks from my house. He had a good time sniffing around, and I had a good time taking pictures of him.






Here are more photos of Spike in my backyard I took a couple days ago.





Today at puppy meeting, Spike was a good little boy. We worked on dog distractions and then played an obedience game. Afterward Megan had us take a group photo. So I'm excited to see that.
Spike and Journey seem to really like french kissing and playing around with each other. Hannah took a few photos of the two of them together, so I'm excited to see those, also!

It's sad to think that today was probably the last time I will see Journey. He is leaving on Friday for the High School program. Hopefully he'll be a good boy for his new handler.

Long, long day.

Today was a long, tiring day both for me and Spike. We went to both of my little brothers' football games. We sat through a good 5 hours of football altogether.

The first game was over in Alpine. The game itself was 1 1/2 hours long, but Justus, my brother had to be there an hour early to warm up. So we were there in the hot sun for about 2 1/2 hours.

The second game was at Juan Diego High School. Like Justus, my other brother Shea also had to be an hour early to warm up. Then the game was about another hour and a half. 5 hours total.
During the game, we were sitting on bleachers. It was so hot! We ended up bringing a towel for Spike to sit on so he didn't burn his little paws. The temperature outside wasn't too bad, but as soon as you got to the bleachers, you have all this sun reflecting onto you, and it was torture! I kept giving Spike water every ten minutes or so, and I drenched him in water a couple times to help cool him down. It was ridiculous.

On the upside, I got a little bit of a tan and I now have a flip-flop tan line.

After the games, we headed to The Pie Pizzeria for lunch/dinner. It was Spike's first sit-down restaurant outing and he did wonderful! He slept the whole time. Poor guy, he was so tired from all the heat.
We unfortunately forgot to bring the camera, so I ended up taking the above picture with my cell phone.


I actually just found these pictures of me and Liberty. I don't remember them at all. These were taken about a month before my parents sold her. This photo was taken just up the street from where I live. My horse was boarded in Lindon at the time, and I would make this 20ish mile round-trip from Lindon to my house a couple times a year. I would usually pack a lunch and some water bottles and eat while riding. It was just me and my horse (and occasionally my Aussie, Shelby). I would ride along the canal, and it was always my favorite ride. You can see my Aussie in the photos.







































I miss those days.

Liberty

A year ago today was the last day I saw my horse. Her registered name was Sweet Maybeline (Because it looked like she had eyeliner) but I called her Liberty. She was born 4/23/93, so that makes her currently 16yrs. My parents unfortunately had to sell her for financial reasons. (However, they never talked to me about it, and being clueless in the horse industry, sold her for 1.5k when she was worth at least 5k.)

When we bought her 8 years ago, she was a 7 year old green-broke retired broodmare. She had been used for nothing but breeding at U of U previously. They used her for breeding because of her rare set of markings: Ice caps, medicine hat, "eyeliner", and overo. These markings are hard to come by all on one horse. My parents bought her for me (And for that I will always be grateful) and I finished her training. (Yes, I was only ten and trained a horse.) She was a speed demon and wanted nothing to do with moving slow.
By the time I was 13 we were entering local horse shows and would frequently bring him the blues for speed events. And because of her flawless flying lead change, we would occasionally bring home he blues for reining.
I loved that horse so much, and I wish I could have her back. But I know that she is at a good home with good people somewhere in Southern Utah.


Me and Liberty. I was about 15 in this photo.





















Waiting to do barrels. That is my sister on back. I was about 14.




















Booking it to the end. I had lost a stirrup, which is why I'm not sitting correctly. :]




















Good view of her "eyeliner".




















Me when I was ten with a horse I learned to ride on. In the background you can see Liberty. This was taken a couple months before my parents bought her.






















I had to show this one. haha. This is Chester, a Shetland pony cross I helped train. The owner wanted him broke enough to teach her little 7 year old daughter to ride on. I rode him about as often as I rode Liberty for a couple years. My feet almost skimmed the ground when I rode him. I always rode him bareback since any saddle that fit me wouldn't fit him. And most of the time I was too lazy to get a bridle out.
I was probably about 14 in this photo.