Big Day for Al

Today was a pretty big and busy day for Al. First we headed to Raleigh, picked up my sister at my brother's apartment, ate lunch at Wendy's, dropped my other brother off at the airport, and then, on our way home, he experienced something he had never done before. (The picture might give it away.) He went to...THE MALL. Today we took Al to the mall for the first time, and boy was he excited. He wagged his tail at all the people, was interested in all the smells, and tried, but failed, to get the little pieces of trash on the floor. We headed straight for The Shoe Department to me new shoes for fencing. It wasn't as easy or fast as it might seem. We headed up the elevator, went all the way through JC Penney, and kept going straight until finally we made it to the store. Al behaved well as I tried on shoes and was even willing to pose for a picture in front of the shelves of shoes. Although he was REALLY excited, he behaved well and listened to me. We met a few people who greeted him and asked questions, which was nice. Overall it was a really fun and successful day! Until next time...

White Christmas!!!

We had our first ever true white Christmas in Elkin this year and Al absolutely loved it. It snowed earlier in the month and when I first took him out in it he loved it. I attempted to throw a snowball at him but he just caught it in his mouth and ate it! The day after Christmas we took him down to a fenced in baseball field at our local park. We made sure all the doors we closed good and let him go and he went crazy. He couldn't get over the excitement and he still hasn't gotten used to the snow. When he smells something on the ground but can't see it because of the snow he'll dip his nuzzle all the way into the snow trying to find what he is smelling. I love my big, over 70 lb. baby and I can't believe that he is already 9 months old. He's improving with training, but sometimes he just doesn't want to listen. I'm trying really hard to make him a good potential Guide Dog and I know, one day, if he gets matched with someone, he'll love him with all of his huge heart just like he does with me. Merry Christmas everyone! And Happy New Year! Until next time...

Recently Al had another friend over. Her name is Lexie and she is 6 months old. From the moment she arrived Al was excited. They were friends at first sight. They played with each other every day and even took naps leaning against each other. We took them both to NC State for a football game and they loved it. Lexie sat on my lap for a few minutes and loved watching the game. They were very sad to say good bye and love it every time they see each other.