The week of February 13 was fairly tame.  With the exception of Thursday, Gail spent the week with Michele at work.  Michele provided her with plenty of social interactions such as a grocery store, the cleaners, and various places she would take Gail.  Gail was with me for a couple afternoons and a full day on Thursday.  Except for a few run ins with our cat Sneakers, she continues to make progress.  Thursday completed our fifth week of having her with us and she's made amazing progress in some areas and very little progress in others. 

For example, when she first came to our home she had a fixation and excitement over food that was almost unbelievable.  There was no way that she could be controlled when food was in front of her.  Over the course of the last couple weeks she's made an amazing transformation in that when food is placed in front of her, she waits for our approval before she begins to eat.  She doesn't eat like a starving underfed homeless puppy,  It's more of a very controlled approach.  Also, she rides on the floor in the car (never on the seat), sleeps in her crate with not one soiling accident so far and does not get on furniture. 

There are two areas where Michele and I are hoping and praying we will see miraculous results.   She has absolutely no manners for the most part when she is on her leash.  At times, we do think that she has lost her mind.   The second area is her insistence on making our cat a playmate.   Sneakers is over 14 years old and frankly he is far past the game of chasing and being chased throughout the house.  For most part, he just wants to be left alone.

At the market waiting for the crowds

Today was Saturday, February 18 and the three of us made our way to St. Petersburg Saturday Market to help with fundraising efforts for Southeastern Guide Dog's walkathon to be held on March 3rd.   Gail and several other program puppies were in attendance helping to attract all the market shoppers to the booth.   As usual, Gail, being a small puppy, was the star attraction for most of the day.    There was an amazing number of people that stopped by to say hello and pet the puppies. 

Two beautiful Gail lovers

Duke, a seasoned veteran

Michele and I have both become convinced that little girls really love little puppies.  Here, two young ladies shower their attention on Gail.  They were adorable and handled her like she was a priceless doll. 

Filthy, wet and tired

Unfortunately, it had rained on Friday and the parking lot where the Market is held was still wet but none of the dirt and debris had been washed off.  Gail became a mess from laying down and rolling over for people to pet her "tummy".  No one, including Gail seemed to mind the dirt except me and  Michele.  Our shift ended about noon and we came home immediately to take a bath, both Michele and Gail.  She is amazing in the shower (we mean Gail) because she really likes the water.  She doesn't even mind her face being washed, just don't get soap in the eyes.

Tomorrow, it is off to another new adventure.  We are thinking of the state fair ..........

Roger