Busy Guy!

What a crazy week!! Our house was under construction so we had to leave Tandy to his own defenses for a couple days, he didn't seem to mind too much, he seemed happier to be in the safety of his crate then to be out where the terrible noises of drilling and demolishing bricks near by... don't get me wrong though, we played with him and let him in the yard for some free time, just couldn't leave the house too long and dealt with other issues...

On Thursday we left Tandy with one of NSD's puppy sitters!! Dropped him off in the morning and he spent one night and two days in a beautiful home with awesome NSD volunteers and their cute dog! She said he was fine, i hope he was not too much work for them! i worried a little but tried to let it go. I can't worry now, i will not allow myself to be that attached to him as i know some day far too soon we will be passing him back to NSD and leaving our home for good. I do these little things in my mind and out loud to remind myself of the grand picture of Tandy and my relationship. I never say he is "mine" and i always mention to people we meet on walks etc that he is a service dog in training, little things like this help me to stay focused on the project and feel great about what i am doing with him.

Tonight after we arrived home from the water park trip, i decided to take Tandy on a nice long walk, he is getting bigger everyday and the longer the walk the better for him. We started on the iron horse trail on our way to uptown, i had no goal just wanted to walk farther then before and introduce him to more of the world around us, it was an eventful walk! We walked to the town square mall where we went inside and worked on his commands, there were lots of distractions and people everywhere, in particular dog lovers! We also went into the grocery store there, in and out of isles and people. There was one guy wearing a bright green knitted had that sort of hung off his head a bit and when Tandy was in the midst of a great heel beside me he stopped dead in his track staring at this young man and would not budge!! Ha! It was hilarious! From there we slowly left the mall and made our way down king street toward the new vincenzo's! I was hungry and debating whether or not to take him in to grab a sandwich, the new store is huge and has more space to move around so i did it, went to the counter grabbed a number ordered my sandwich and left and paid for it, all the while Tandy sat by the counter at my feet in the down position only jumping up once when i accidentally stepped on his tail! Wow, he amazes me! It seems as though he is recognizing when he gets his coat on and how he needs to act when it is on, as soon as i put it on and enter a store he lays down focusing on me. We went home from there. So on this trip he discovered lots of people on bikes, music outside, tons of cars everywhere, people shopping, food on floors, bright lights, basic hustle and bustle of the uptown core! He is having a well deserved nap right now and i am feeling great about him and his accomplishments! ♥

(picture above taken through the glass of the back door, "let me in")