Best pals

Lucca and Anna, close in age, have developed a special bond.  Play dates are the best!

Christmas cheer

Home and hearth.  Does it get any better than this?  Lucca thinks not.

Getting in shape

...or at least being a good girl while mom does!

Holiday cheer

We always enjoy our holiday meeting, now in Hyde Park Village.  Crowds, music, and lights keep the dogs engaged as they explore the shops and decorations.

You don't see that every day

Puppy raisers stumble upon lots of interesting things with which to photograph their pups.  These pigs are part of a display outside Tampa's Ulele restaurant.  Having been in storage for decades after the closure of Lowry Park's Fairyland, they were purchased and refurbished by Richard Gonzmart to give today's children some of the memories that he enjoyed as a child.

Mass transit adventure

Our nearly annual bus ride meeting is both fun and important for our pups.  Since guide dog users don't drive, many are dependent on the bus system.  We park our cars at one shopping center and ride to another, about three miles away.  The schedule being what it is, we have nearly an hour to kill before our ride back.  The length of the ride is less important than the other exposures:  boarding and disembarking, settling under a seat, fumes, noisy air shocks.

Lucca and Anna doing a great job of ignoring each other as Marie and Lori chat.

Anna

Lucca

Doing a little shopping in our free hour.

After a lot of excitement, the ride home tends to be very peaceful.   ;-)

Start early!

Thanksgiving is officially past, so Susie can start thinking about Christmas tree shopping.

Perfect beach day

With apologies to those whose Thanksgiving weekends are somewhat cooler, ours provided a beautiful day for Lori and Lucca to stroll along the beach.

Exploring the forest

Anna and Cocoa take their turn on the bridge at Morris Bridge Road Preserve.

Pups pitching product!

Sales sure to soar.   ;-)

Bass Pro never disappoints

Having the holiday carousel set up was just a happy accident (that made for some fun photos).

Anna considers an interesting scent.

Anna and Susie inspect some large stuffed critters.

This face!!!  Hard to speculate what Susie's thinking about the giant fish tank.

Anna, blissfully unaware of the massive fish swimming overhead.

Spirit of the season

Lucca finds a nice backdrop at Citrus Park Mall.

Doing her patriotic duty

Anna and CeCe have their voices heard.

Practice in the park

This morning we worked on stairs and grates at a local park.  

Multiple dogs on the stairs at once made them have to focus on their handlers and the steps rather than on each other.

We never have our dogs cross "large-slotted" grates that could catch a paw.  Susie takes this one with ease.

Brave girl!

Lucca finds herself in some serious spookiness.   ;-)

Pups enjoy beautiful music

It's been several years since we've exposed the dogs to the grandeur of the St. John's Episcopal Church pipe organ.

During convening time, we met this little sweetie, Susie, in person for the first time.

"Grandpa" Keith approves.   ;-)

Our meeting started at the end of choir practice, so we were able to listen to a few minutes of exquisite choral music.

The choir members had fun saying Hi when practice concluded.

Susie settled in quickly.

Those who might not be familiar with the workings of a pipe organ received a tutorial from our host, Simon, who then demonstrated the wide range of volume and tones that an organ can produce.

Many people don't realize that it is the pipes, not the console, that constitute "the instrument."

Anna and Cocoa listen respectfully.

Now...  Normally this blog takes rules and protocols very seriously.  Dozens of photos have not been used over the years because a puppy was caught doing something it shouldn't be doing.  But this moment was just too audacious for us not to snap the pictures first and correct later!  And Cocoa is not a program puppy, as you might have deduced from her grey whiskers.  Cocoa, we're glad the music put you in such a relaxed mood, and we love you.   :-)

Thank you, Simon, for your always-gracious welcome.  Tonight was a treat.