Happy Howl-O-Ween!

Just wanting to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. I of course had to work tonight, but I didn't mind it a ton because I got to be the photographer for the pet Halloween event. It was a ton of fun, though a little stressful at times.

Here's the 2 winners of the costume contest. They were Crystal Coll's daughters dogs. Captain Hook and Peter Pan. They were awesome!Pickles sure had a blast in her skeleton costume.I hope your candy spoils are bountiful!

A Failed Attempt at Hart's Prairie

This "hike" was not what we had set out for. For weeks Michelle and I had been talking about hiking the Hart's Prairie Trail.

So off we went at 7am making the 3 hour drive to Flagstaff.

Our traveling fuel was Krispy Kreme donuts and Starbucks!

We drove down Fort Valley Ranch Rd and found FR151. Pulled into the trailhead...there was one man there in his RV (very drunk as we saw it as as we pulled up he was in the process of throwing up.) We asked him if we were heading in the right direction...he told us to go park at the parking area on the left side of the road just before Mile Marker 226. We drove in, looking for the parking area....and we are confronted with horribly, rocky muddy terrain. In the end by the time we left the area and gave up on Hart's Prairie Trail I had 3 low tires, and tore part of my bumper off

We drove down the road and stopped at the Museum of Northern Arizona to ask the folks in there. They told me that we had been in the right place where the guy was. By the time we had given up we had wasted 2 hours and just didn't have the time to start Hart's Prairie Trail because we had to leave in a couple hours. So we decided to kill time at the Museum's little nature trail. It wasn't what we wanted, but the dogs still had alot of fun.Michelle's dog, Stewie ran himself crazy! Unfortunately he tore 2 of his toenails off. But being over prepared as I always am I had a full dog first aid kit with me and was able to treat and wrap both of his feet. The trail may not have been amazing, but we got some good pictures out of it...so that's at least good!
We'll try Hart's Prairie Trail again soon!

Pickles Comes Down the Stairs!

She does it all by herself now! Life is better!

Riparian Preserve

Today I took the puppies to the Riparian Preserve. Pickles had a blast and she walked so well on the leash!
Jackson, Alex, and Pickles sitting at the entrance to the preserve.
They loved sitting on the bench and watching/listening to the ducks.Can you tell that Pickles is such a happy girl?I couldn't have imagined a better picture of the 3 of themAll three of them went into the little creek and splashed around. It also helped keep all the ants off of them that were in the area.

Futurama on Canvas

For Derek's birthday I am getting his office area all set-up. One of the things that I did for him was paint him 3 custom canvases of his 3 favorite scenes from Futurama. They turned out so great and he loves them.

Some of my students Graduations

My puppy class of 7 graduated today! This class had Thor and Minnie in it. They loved being in class with their sister, Pickles. A couple of them are thinking about going into Intermediate class, so I'm looking forward to that.
Also the 2 private classes I was teaching graduated

Willow

Buster

I had such a blast with all of these dogs and their owners!

Zoo Trip

Today I went to the zoo with Michelle and her family.

They forgot their camera so I was in charge (or took the liberty) to take the pictures of Michelle's nephews. They were pretty nice kids, here's a picture of 2 out of the 3.
Most of the animals were put away or sleeping...so not super exciting. But I never expect anything else of the Phoenix Zoo. I did get a couple good pictures of the mountain lions though:

Oh and a Bobcat!(They seem to always be doing construction of some sort)

The monkey exhibit was dull when I got there...but I started talking to them and they all started coming out!

Then I got a little monkey action of my own. All in all it was pretty fun, and just cool that I got to hang out with Michelle and finally meet some of her family!(BTW, if any of you are planning to go to the zoo to see the new Koala exhibit....don't bother)

A Visit From LeeLoo

Today LeeLoo: my step-brother-in-law's dog, came over to my house to hang out and get a nice bath.

She enjoyed playing with Pickles so much! They were inseparable.She sure is a happy dog!

Sour Speedbump-A Continuation of the Pickles Story

This morning at 8am, I received a phone call from the family that adopted Pickles. They gave me till 10am to c0me pick her up. I was absolutely shocked...they said they just couldn't do it anymore, they couldn't handle a dog with "this many issues"

While taking Pickles home I noticed she was thin and fell asleep within moments of hopping into my car. Upon inspecting her when I brought her home I noticed a number of hot spots. My poor Pickles.
She seems so happy to be back and not stressed at all. They said she was having diarrhea every 45 minutes in the house, I've had her for over 10 hours now and she has yet to have diarrhea even once. I think that something was left unsaid at that house...I feel so bad for her.On the upside...she's so happy, and Alex and Jackson were ecstatic to welcome her back home!

Alex giving Pickles a hug!

Jackson and Pickles in a welcoming embrace!

It'sa Me....Luigi?

Starting to work on the puppies Halloween costumes. So far I've made Alex's.

Gimme A Break

Alright I didn't mean it so literally! I broke my finger 2 days ago wrestling with my dogs...I mean ::coughs:: saving kittens from a burning building. LOL