The Easter Sunday polo match was so cool that I think this post should be all about the pictures - enjoy!!!

 

(by the way, they're in no particular order)

Pony rides



If I wanted to wear an Easter bonnet
I would've brought my own!




Petey on the other hand looks
very cool in his bunny ears!



No one told me there was a dress code!

Petey has GIANT paws compared to me!

Puppy Play Time!

Me & Petey - Intently watching the match

The horses are so awesome I don't
even care that there's a kid close by...



No one's getting this toy!

Eric is such a good sport!

Really, must they keep putting these
silly bunny ears on me?!!!

Easter Bunny David!
Like puppy like Daddy, or is it like Daddy like puppy?

Right in the middle of the action!

I'm kinda getting into this polo stuff!

Guarding the coveted water bowl

Chit, chat time...

The "Clubhouse"

A view of the "Tent People"

They still keep trying to get me to wear
those silly bunny ears!

The "ears" keep making the rounds!

Petey, this is your last warning!
I really don't want to play right now!

Opening ceremony

The opening parade

Petey (left), Eric (with Melisa) and
Gail (lower right) just hanging out

More hanging out...

They move to fast, I can't keep track of the players!

What are those sticks that they're carrying?

I think I could become a polo groupie!

Petey and I decided to check out the Bermuda Grass

Duke is chillin' in the shade of an awning - He's one smart dude!

Trapper (Gabrielle & Larry) hanging out
with Auntie Stephanie & me

I sure hope no one notices the hole that Petey and I started working on
- maybe they'll think it's a divot!


Have a good week, and check back soon to learn about my next adventures!

~ Gail

Dear Easter Bunny,

I tried to stay up and watch for you all night long, but I must've fallen asleep... oh well, maybe next year.

Sincerely, Gail

We started preparing for Easter by watching the movie Hop on Saturday night.  It was a pretty cute movie, and my favorite part is when EB poops jelly beans (yeah, I bet you won't be in a hurry to eat those anytime soon)...  I must have Mom & Uncle Paul's weird sense of humor.

Watching the movie Hop on TV

Even though I didn't get to see the EB in person, Easter Sunday turned out to be a pretty cool day.  Melisa, a Puppy Raiser for the South Pinellas Group sent out an invitation to a polo match / tailgate party in Sarasota so Mom and I decided to go.  Dad wasn't too interested so he was stuck at home with Sneakers to watch the Masters Tournament (someone really had to twist his arm for that).  Congrats Bubba Watson - you look great in that green jacket!

Orginally our friend Stephanie (currently awaiting her next pup, the 1st Puppy of Clearwater) was going to ride with fellow Puppy Raisers, Cheryl & Fred, and their dog Jam and meet us at the polo grounds, but apparently Jam was having a bad (intact) male adolescent puppy day and they decided to stay home, so Stephanie rode with us.

We arrived at the polo grounds, located our tent, and were greeted by Eric & Duke (Melisa & Ed), Petey - the 1st Puppy of St. Petersburg (David) and a number of their family and friends.  Trapper (Larry & Gabrielle) showed up a little later in the day.  Eric & Petey were already hard at play and tried to get me to join in.  After a few minutes of greetings, I "told" the boys that I wasn't interested in their rough-housing and went with "Auntie" Stephanie to sit and watch the action.

Gail with Stephanie, Melisa & David

Eric (left), me and Petey (right)

Duke!

Petey & Eric having fun

Petey trying to show Eric who's in charge

The polo match started with a parade of the players and horses circling the field.  Wow - those are some big critters!  There was also a horse drawn carriage and Easter eggs were being thrown to the kids in the crowd.

The Clydesdales reminded me of a Budweiser commercial...

Auntie Stephanie & me watching the parade

The "boys" barked at the horses, but I stared at them in awe.  After that came the National Anthem, and then the start of the match.  It was pretty amazing watching those giant horses run from one end of the field to the other.  The people riding the horses kept trying to chase a little white ball, I thought that was something that dogs or golfers did (of course, I'm not allowed to play with a ball).

Eric is sitting & calmly watching the parade

After awhile, the horses needed a break so they allowed everyone out on the playing field and we did something called "finding the divots".  I thought divots were found on a golf course so I was a little confused, but it didn't take me long to figure it out and start looking for them.  However, someone did warn me to stay away from the "steaming" divots...  While we were looking for divots, the horse drawn carriage was giving rides to the spectators, so I got to see them up close again.

Whew!  No steaming divot here!

It's a team effort

People want to learn about us

Gail is very focused on the match

Water bowl frenzy!

"In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it
You'll be the grandest gent in the Easter parade"

Dance Party!

Although us puppies weren't wearing our capes (today was a fun day), we still attracted a lot of attention from the people around us during the break.  A number of people were interested in us and what we were being trained to do, and we happily answered their questions.

After the break we headed back to our tent.  By this time I was starting to get into the match and getting frustrated when others would get in my way.  Petey tried to get me to play with him again, but I still wasn't interested, I was there for the culture, not play!  I do have to admit that towards the end, I was getting a little restless, so Petey and I thought we'd taste test the Bermuda Grass.  We barely got a few samples before being caught...

All of a sudden, things in the match picked up - a ball came bounding over the "fence" in front of our tent.  Needless to say, that ball caught everyone's attention and the puppies all jumped at the chance to chase the "forbidden" ball.  Unfortunately, the people a few tents away managed to get it first - oh, well, maybe next time.  Before you knew it, the match was over and it was time to say goodbye to our friends.  Auntie Stephanie, Mom and I headed home.

When we got home we filled Dad in on all the details.  Maybe next time he'll join us...  By then I decided I was due for a much needed nap so Mom put me in my kennel and I dreamt about horses and Easter eggs.

Sweet dreams everyone!

Gail

Technical difficulties...

Sorry folks, for some reason we've been having problems with the photos.  We've tried to fix them, but some still may not appear correctly.  We're working on the Easter Sunday photos and will hopefully have them posted soon.

Thank you for your patience!

The rest of the week...


Now for the next exciting event... My favorite UPS Driver, Scott was back from vacation and came in to see me! Well, actually, he had to deliver some packages, but I like to think that he came in just to see me. I fall to pieces (just like the Patsy Cline song) when I see him and today was no different as you can see.

And they call it Puppy Love...

This week was a lot about meeting people...  I got to meet Gitta.  She was very kind and showered me with affection (of course, you know how much I dislike that, cough, cough, yeah right...).

Gitta meets Gail

Mom and I had Friday off work (the stock market is closed on Good Friday) so Dad, Mom and I met Bonnie and Phil for breakfast.  You'll never guess what happened! We no more than sat down than Scott (yes, my favorite UPS driver) delivered a package next door to the restaurant.  He saw us and waved to me!  Good thing he didn't come inside, I would have been uncontrollable.

After breakfast, we decided to visit our friend Nancy.  Well, actually, I hadn't met her before, but if she's a friend of Mom's, then she's a friend of mine.  Unfortunately Nancy was at work, so we didn't get to spend a lot of time with her, but I really enjoyed meeting her.



Nancy didn't want to look up for the picture, but I did

I didn't want to look up for the picture, but Nancy did

Dad was trying to keep me quiet...



They have a very cool looking building

By the time we got done visiting Nancy we decided it was time to head home for the day.  I wasn't tired, but Dad and Mom seemed to be winding down...













Saturday we went out for breakfast before heading out for the day.  Mom heard me chewing on something and realized it wasn't something from the normal floor menu.  It turns out that she found a finishing nail in my mouth.  Just that morning she said that she should teach me how to floss my teeth, so I figured the nail would be kind of like using a tooth pick, I guess she didn't agree...

After breakfast we went to help the Lions Club with their fundraiser at a local Publix.  The Lions Club donates to Southeastern Guide Dogs and on Saturday they were raising funds for the SEGD Paws for Patriots Program so we decided to lend a helping paw.  Most people can't resist a cute little puppy so hopefully I was able to help them raise some additional funds.

First fundraising shift

Changing of the guards (Sorry about the shadow but you get the idea)

Finding a cool spot on the pavement

Winding down for the afternoon.  Maybe people will feel sorry for the poor tired puppy!

Who's gonna blink first???

An armored car & a fire truck - talk about a lot diesel engine noise!

Sunday deserves a post all to itself (lots of pictures) so check back in a day or two for that update.

Good night all!

Gail

(If you didn't read the post below about the Honor Flight, please make sure you take a few minutes to read it)