Great News!!

So you all remember this little guy don't you, of course you do. . . (what a silly question)
Well, on Sunday I found out that he has been placed with his diabetic family!!! I am so excited for him. He is actually out there doing his thing. Apparently he has been with them for two weeks already and is doing really well. They told me that he is still on a trial basis to make sure he is a good match for the family. So I don't have any info on the actual family or anything. I am not sure how long his trial period lasts but I am still so happy. AND, if he does end up staying with this family then he will be part of the next graduation for Dogs4Diabetics next Spring. I GET TO GO TO A GRADUATION!! I am crossing my fingers that everything works out and he has finally found his forever home. GO SHERMAN!!

The First few days

Howdy,
I just wanted to let everyone know what me and Fully have been up to the last few days. He is still an awesome puppy and is learning so fast. His recall is almost perfect it is his favorite game in the world. Potty training is going smoothly and I think it is starting to click with him. I think that he thinks that I am a little crazy because every time he goes potty I jump up and down and get so excited. When he starts going and I give him the potty command and then I praise him he looks over at me and when he is done he comes over for a good pat down. He thinks that game is pretty fun too. :) My only big complaint is that he doesn't sleep through the night. He wakes up two or three times a night and after we go out he screams for a good 30 minutes to an hour before settling back down. I have tried all the tricks in the book with little success. Hopefully we can work it out soon because me and sleep deprivation do not get along. The first night he was here it was practically blizzarding, you think I would get a break my first night but no it had to snow. It's a good thing I like the cold and snow. Fullerton was so funny though, he would sniff to find a place to go and his nose would get in the snow and he would sneeze and shake his head when his nose touched that white stuff. It was pretty fun to watch. He is just a fun puppy. My initial impression of him was wrong, he is a pretty spunky and active pupper but that is okay. I take him for a few rounds around my cul-de-sac every morning, noon, and night (We have the only dogs on this street so I am still being careful until he gets his shots) and that seems to wear him out. He also does some baby puppy, uncoordinated labby loops that are pretty entertaining. He tries to itch himself while he walks which usually ends with him falling on his face and that is funny too. I have missed having a baby so much and I am really loving it. Too bad the silly puppy phase doesn't last nearly long enough. I also went out and got him a name tag. So he is official (and really jingly)

Fullerton also had his first puppy meeting today which he did wonderfully. I was so proud of him. Everyone in the club loves him too (how could you not) it was fun. We met in a school Gym and talked about long lines and practiced using them (well Fuller didn't he got to watch though) after that my leader taught us how to make our own long lines and that was interesting I never would have thought of making my own. :) (I am SO not crafty) Then we practiced recall, Fullerton did great, I was so proud) then we walked through the school where another dog in our group (his raiser works there) has had some fear issues we walked out a door into a parking lot with one of our group members cars running and he did great. I carried Fullerton around the car but he didn't react at all. The dog with the issues did wonderfully as well, he didn't hardly react and then he jumped into a car while it was on (apparently he has struggled with that as well) so we ended on a positive note for him. We were all proud and took turns telling him how good he was. Oh, there was also a grated ramp to walk up to go in the school, I let Fullerton walk up and down that a few times too (I don't think he even noticed. He didn't care at all) So, I think his first puppy class was a success.

And now PICTURES!! (Okay so I have filled up my camera card two and a half times now of pictures of Fullerton. I am a bit snap happy)

This is currently Fullertons favorite toy. He hardly ever plays with his dog toys. He would much prefer to carry his bowl around, chew on it and throw it around the room.
Leaves are also his favorite thing. We are working on it and he ignores them most of the time but they are still so much fun to crunch. :)
Just plain cute. (I finally got him to hold still for two seconds for me to get a decent picture.
By the time I thought of getting "Fullerton in the snow" pictures it had melted all except for these bushes so I took him over for some pics anyway.
YAY! He is SLEEPING!! To bad my flash woke him up and he didn't settle down for a while. :)
One of his favorite spots. For some reason he likes being half under my bed. Makes for a cute picture anyway.
I thought that this would be a good size comparison picture. The doggy bed makes him look tiny, I guess he is pretty small, but he will grow. :)
Just this morning he has started going up and down the stairs by himself. He will go all the way up with minimal coaxing down is a different story. Once we get within five feet of the stairs he freezes so I pick him up and put him down about 1/4 of the way down and make him do the rest himself. He is doing pretty good. This is the first time he went up by himself. He stopped on this step and whined for about ten minutes before I finally picked him up. I set him back down about two steps from the top and he did the rest himself. Now he does the whole thing (except going down) :) But I am still proud of him.
He takes so long to eat that he starts eating standing up and then he will sit and eventually he lays down. It is funny to watch the progression. :)
My Nephew, Cannon, came over after puppy class this morning and got to meet Fullerton for the first time. They were good for a bit but Fullerton is a bit to rambunctious for Cannon so after a little while I separated them.
Cannon pets Fullerton.
Fullertons other favorite place. (Only when he is on tie-down.) He likes to crawl under my dresser.Here are some videos of him. The first is his labby loops, then going down the stairs and going up the stairs. He scares me going down because he jumps the last one or two steps. We will work on that but I am just happy that he is finally doing it on his own. :)



I love this pup!!!

Well Worth the Wait!!!

Okay, sorry for the huge delay. I have been trying to get this post up for a while but blogger is being a dork and between running puppy outside and blogger not wanting to work for me I haven't been able to get it up. So here goes . . . FINALLY!!

Well, I left for the airport about the second I got off work and picked up a friend who wanted to come with me. Then off the the airport we went. When we got there it was about 3:43, we stepped out of my car and a United airplane landed right then and I said, "Wouldn't it be funny if my puppy was on that plane." Then a cart left from the cargo place and ran after the plane. That made me happy. So we went in the "warehouse" thing (not sure what to call it) and the guy checked us in and said it would be fifteen to twenty minutes. So we sat on a bench and waited. About twenty minutes later I saw the cart driving back. It drove into the warehouse and I watched them open the screens on the side of the cart and there was a kennel in it. Then this was the next thing I saw. The crate was carried into the room we were in and the people set it down next to us.
This was my first glimpse of my baby. Isn't he just adorable!! We had to fill out some paperwork and such (well I didn't but the other raiser did because she was the consignee) After that we opened an envelope taped to the top of the kennel it had both pups baby and adult collars in it as well as some paperwork. BUT, the paperwork didn't say which pup was which so the other raiser called the breeder keeper and asked which puppy belonged to each raiser. After she was told we started getting the boys out to see which was which.
Me and the other raiser trying to get the boys out. We didn't want to just yank them out so we tried coaxing. They were hesitant at first and started at the back of the crate but with enough kissing noised they emerged.
This one popped out first and came right to me burying his head in my lap and slathering me with sweet puppy kisses.
AND, he was mine!! I was so happy he knew who his mamma was. Our first picture together. He is beyond adorable. And super sweet.

Both of the boys together.

His super cute face. I love his worry wrinkles by his eye they add so much character. His shave spot is on his left hip which means (since there are only four pups, all boys in the litter) that he is the smallest one. The paperwork on the kennel said that he was 9 lbs when he left GDB (I dunno if that is right but he is pretty small)
This is his brother, Forte, he is just stock full of wrinkles it is so cute. He is the right hip male which means he is the third biggest puppy. Just bigger than mine. His paperwork said that he was almost 12 lbs. Quite the difference between the two.
The boys first meal. He eats SLOW and is very messy. He slopped water and stuff all over the place. It was funny to watch though.
Me and him in the car on the way home. (no I am not driving)
First bath. After being in that crate for a few hours he had some pee and poop on him, and he smelled, so he got a bath when we got home.


Drying off. He was so good for his bath just sat there and let me get him wet and lather him up and then rinse him off. He was a good sport.
My leader wanted to meet him so we loaded into the crate in the back of my car and went over to her house. His first puppy meeting will be this Saturday. I will probably go and make an appearance but I told my leader we may not stay for long.
After trying to get him to play with a toy for 45 minutes he finally chewed a little Nylabone for about 30 seconds. Totally worth the wait because it was adorable.
And when he lays down it is so cute. He does this frog thing. I love it. So far he has been pretty mellow and calm. He is really smart too. He is picking up on things very quickly. I have corrected him for doing a few little things and he hasn't tried them again. I think this next year with him is going to be a blast. He is an awesome puppy and I couldn't have asked for more. He has had a huge day and his whole world has turned upside down but he is being a good sport. Now if only I could get him to go to sleep. He has been go, go, go since we got home and hasn't slept much at all, that just means he is going to sleep all night. . . right??

Here are a couple videos of him. The first is during his bath and the second is his discovery of the mirror. (every puppy has to find the mirror sometime.


Oh, and his name is:

FULLERTON

Kind of a mouthful, but it is growing on me.

Tomorrow!!

Here is the e-mail I just got:

Looks like the flights are on for tomorrow.

WooHoo!! I am so excited. The name was also in the e-mail. Well the name of both pups coming and since both names are F names I am not sure which one it is. I am happy with either though. I will make you guys wait. :) (I am so mean) But this time tomorrow my baby "F" will be home with me. Thanks for all the crossed fingers and paws seems like it worked out. :) So, in the words of Annie:
"Tomorrow, tomorrow a puppy tomorrow its only a day away" :D

Puppy Truck- Take Two

Well Spanky is now officially gone. But I will start with the days of Spankys extended stay. :) First on Friday was Halloween. So I had to dress him up, he is a half Angel half Devil. He didn't like it so much so I only had him wear it for a few pictures. Then later we ended up taking my friends son and a bunch of other kids trick-or-treating. We had a grand old time and then stopped at Taco Bell for dinner. Yum!! (for me, not Spanky. :)
Above: Me and Spanky (you can't really see but I have a bunch of holes in my pants with red fishnet tights under them. It looked pretty cool) Below: You can see Spankys devil side complete with Angel wings.
We stopped at the Mall for some trick-or-treating (fast easy way to get a bundle of Candy) and we ran into the Sanderson sisters (Hocus Pocus) I was just tickled pink because I am pretty much obsessed with that movie so I asked if I could get a picture. They look pretty darn convincing it made my night.
We got home pretty late but I was in the mood for Hocus Pocus after the mall so with Spanky laying across my stomach I laid on the floor and watched Hocus Pocus. :) Saturday was pretty uneventful. Me and the Spankster went to my grandmas house to watch a football game and have a chili dinner which was good. My nephew came over (sorry no pics) and he and Spanky got to hang out one last time. After that me and Spanky went home. So his last day wasn't as fun as his first last day but oh, well. I enjoyed my few extra days with him.

This morning I got up at the crack of dawn. (5:30am) and got myself and Spanky ready for the puppy truck. I fed him breakfast and remembered that I have been meaning to get a picture of him waiting for his food because when he has to wait he sucks his lips into his mouth and it is really funny looking. This morning he only sucked in one side but I got a picture anyway. So here he is sucking in his lip. :)
Then my leader picked me up at 6:30am and we were off to the puppy truck. We got there around 8am. We were the first ones there and the puppy truck drivers were nowhere in sight so we took a couple pictures while we waited. It was quite rainy and windy but they turned out okay anyway.
The drivers came out about five or ten minutes later and took me onto the truck and showed me all of the new fun stuff on the truck like the extended kennels (they said they are three inches taller and wider than the old ones so more room for the adult dogs. There is more storage space and everything it really is quite nice. Me talking to one of the drivers, Lee. You can see a couple pups behind me the one on the top is Adeline. She was the first one I saw when i got on and it just made me smile that I could meet the Adeline after my Adeline. She is a cutie! and the one on the bottom is Alonzo.
I also saw Spankys brothers Shakespeare and Salvador on there and asked if I could take a couple pictures of them then Lee offered to take them out of the kennel so I could get a few pictures. That made me so happy so here is Spanky, Shakespeare and Salvador with truck drivers Joe and Lee. I was so happy that they would do that for me.
The boys reunite, Spanky, Salvador (facing Spanky) and Shakespeare (facing away) I was surprised how similar they look to each other. Especially Shakespeare and Spanky.
Here is another picture of Shakespeare. This was taken by Emily while they were still in Colorado. THANKS EMILY!! He is a lot bigger than Spanky though, and so handsome.
Then it was time. I had stalled long enough and Spanky had to get on the truck. Here we go ready to board.
Spanky didn't make it any easier by freaking out in the truck and putting on the breaks halfway down the isle. Lee managed to get him in a kennel and then I had to say goodbye. I gave him a big kiss on the nose and told him that I love him and to be a good boy with his new family. I was able to contain my tears until I started walking away and luckily it was raining so that camouflaged them a little. :)

It felt so anti-climactic walking off the truck, there was no anxiety of a potential graduation, no excitement about seeing his name on the phase reports, nothing, just an empty feeling. No matter how many times you do it, it never gets any easier. It is so heartbreaking knowing that this could possibly be the last time I ever see my boy. Bye Spanks, I love you so much and I will miss you. Be a good boy and I know that GDB will take good care of you and find the the perfect family where you will be spoiled and loved forever.