Thanksgiving Playtime

Tucker's had a pretty good Thanksgiving break, I believe.  He and Kalli have played their little hearts out and I hate the thought of separating them tomorrow.

I've had a great time watching them play this weekend - usually chasing and wrestling with each other or trying to chew on the same toy.

I don't really have any specific stories, so just enjoy the photos. :)

Me trying to get Kalli to leave him alone so he can get some rest. :)

Two sleepy puppies.

More sleepy puppies.

This is what happens when they run all day. :)

Get your kicks on Route 66

Tucker and I have had an extraordinarily busy month, so I apologize for my failure to post frequently.  As usual, it will just be easier to list a few things for you. 

Here's what we've been up to this month:

-He has been to two football games and spent part of each game in the President’s Box watching me serve the VIPs.  In fact, he did so well the first time that he was actually invited back by the President’s staff for the second game. 

-He helped me give a tour for GWU's October “Dawg Day” (like Puppy Day at LD).

-He flew with me, my honors director and two other students to Arizona for the National Collegiate Honors Conference.  He did wonderfully on the plane (much better than some of the passengers) and only had two minor accidents in the airport (one of which was pretty unavoidable because our plane was delayed on the tarmac – he just really needed to use the bathroom when we landed!)  We stayed in a hotel in Phoenix for a few days, drove to Flagstaff and stayed in a hostel for a night, then drove to the Grand Canyon.  Next we drove back to Phoenix and then on to Tucson to go to the Sonora Desert Museum.  Since the museum had animals, Tucker stayed outside with my honors director, but he said Tuck did a great job behaving for him.  When we flew back, he didn’t have any accidents in the airport! 

-He has been to several student activities, including an Alpha Chi Honors Society Taco Soup night, and an Honors Halloween mystery dinner.  He was Scooby-Doo. J  I was too busy to find a real costume, and decided to tape Smarties to my pants and call my self a "smarty pants" - bad costume choice with a puppy.  He was constantly trying to eat me!   

-He also attended “Oktoberfest” which is like an indoor trick-or-treat/Halloween party for the younger kids in our community.  I would say he was easily pet by 300 kids, sometimes 5 at once, and he just took it all in stride, loving every minute of it. 

-Preview of next week’s activities – We will be speaking to a sociology class about service opportunities and Tucker is going to be the topic of the special presentation at the Alpha Chi inductions next weekend. 

Okay, so now for a few details and pictures from our trip to Arizona. 

First, Tucker was not thrilled when he discovered that I had brought him to a desert.  Every time he saw grass, he flipped out and took me to it like, "look Mom!  I found it!"  Although it took some convincing, he eventually learned that I was serious when I asked him to park on sand, rocks, and concrete.  He was very professional throughout the conference, and quickly became the unofficial mascot.  The only accident he had in the hotel was somewhat unavoidable for his small bladder.  We'd been in a session with the keynote speaker (which was AWESOME by the way) for a few hours and he'd been asleep (this was after he'd eaten dinner).  When the speaker finished, I had to try to weave through 2,000 people to get him outside.  As you might imagine, that didn't happen.  I was, however, able to get him to the tile, so it wasn't hard to clean up. 

One funny incident in the hotel came one morning when I took him out to park.  We had just stepped into the top part of the parking garage where the parking attendants are stationed when a sports car rolled in.  I think I may have mentioned before that Tucker sometimes struggles with a fear of motorcycles.  Well, you can only imagine what a sports car in a confined area made of concrete sounded like.  Tucker hit the deck - he was "flat as a fritter" (excuse the southern-ims, if you will) on the ground and the poor parking attendant almost peed in his pants.  Once Tuck saw it was a car, he got up and acted like nothing had happened, but that initial look on his face was priceless.  (Tucker did really well with motorcycles out on the streets that trip, so I think it was just that the sports car startled him.)

My other favorite moment was probably when I discovered that he had decided to "taste" a cactus.  On our last day, we drove to the Sonora Desert Museum in Tuscon.  They have native animals there, so Tucker wasn't allowed in.  He stayed with Dr. Jones (honors director) outside the park while James, Mary, and I explored the museum.  When we came out and hopped in the car a few hours later, Tucker's mouth just looked strange to me.  I pried his mouth open and found a chunk-o-cactus stuck in his bottom jaw.  I said, "Dr. Jones, did Tucker try to eat a cactus?"  He said, "No."  To which I said, "Um, actually I think he did."  I had to hold Tuck's mouth open while Dr. Jones plucked the cactus out, but Tuck didn't seem to mind. :)  Dr. Jones never could figure out where Tucker had picked it up, but then again, Tucker is good at snatching things mid-stride when you're walking. ;)

Well, now I think I'll just start inserting pictures and add stories as needed. 

On Thursday, students/faculty/staff signed the last truss to be placed on the top of the Tucker Student Center.  Clearly, Tucker and I were going to sign it. :) 

Tucker and his fan club at the signing of the truss: (left to right) Hannah Riener, Dr. Hunt (Dean of Students), Derek Breakfield (the monkey's uncle), Tucker, Me, Dr. Bonner (President of Gardner-Webb University).

Charlotte-Douglas Airport!

He's looking at Mary saying, "Please get me off this thing. I am SO BORED."  He did a great job on the plane though - much better than the woman a few rows back. ;)

He eventually realized that not even puppy eyes could save him from another hour on the plane, so he gave up and curled up.

"Take me to Narnia!"  Games with James in the hotel.

This was in the Basilica across the street from our hotel.  Tucker liked it because it had grass.  I liked it because I could annoy him by making him pose with random statues. :)

Outside the hostel in Flagstaff - Route 66 :)

"Puppy power" shot :)  Grand Canyon

Just hanging out at the Grand Canyon. 

No dogs on the Canyon trail - which once I started walking it, I was thankful for!  I didn't realize that it was literally just down the edge of the Canyon... it would have scared me to death to have had Tuck with me.  He stayed up top with Dr. Jones.

The gang at the Grand Canyon. Mary, James, Tucker, Me, Dr. Jones.

Dr. Jones "While you were looking around I took a 'Canyon Dog' picture."  Something gives me the impression that Tucker doesn't have as much of an adventurous side as Dr. Jones... ;)

"Hiking" to see the Native American Petroglyphs. 

Giant cactus.  Probably 150-200 years old.

Hanging out with Dr. Jones.

Posing in the park full of volcanic rock... and random white trees. :)

Hanging out with his new buddy, Dr. Jones, in the airport.  Note how he isn't trying to eat that cracker or the wrapper under the chair. :)

We're nerds.  Of course we posed with Einstein. 

So, we had a dinner at a children's science museum, and because we're nerds, we played with everything.  This game measured your brain waves and whichever "person" had the lowest frequency won.  Tucker beat James easily. haha

The Little Professional

The last time I blogged I mentioned that Tucker would be joining me at the North Carolina Honors Conference at Western Carolina University.  Well, he did a FANTASTIC job.  The whole "jacket=working, no jacket= playtime" idea definitely clicked for him that weekend, and I'm sure he impressed everyone who saw him.  Although Tucker was with us when we ate breakfast in one of Western's cafeterias (and had met one of the head chefs who was all in favor of his presence), he really threw them off at lunchtime.  Right after we settled at a table, a man came up to me and said he'd have to leave. I explained to him that he was a service dog in training, that we were both there for the honors conference, and that he'd been approved ahead of time.  Well, this gentleman didn't care, and apparently had not been notified.  He wanted to see Tucker's health records because he was convinced the health department was going to jump down his throat any minute.  While that, I would assume, might be a legitimate concern, I don't carry all of Tucker's health records around with me - they're on file at GWU.  I tried to tell him that he wouldn't be getting in trouble, that GWU let's him in their cafeteria, and that he could get copies of all Tucker's papers faxed to him from GWU Monday morning, but he just wouldn't let it go.  Of course, Dr. Jones was away parking the vans during the whole thing, so I didn't have back up outside of my friends ( who I believe were more upset than I was ).  Finally, one of the Western honors professors saw what was happening and came to my rescue, and the man gave up and left. 

The best part of the weekend, however, was watching Tucker in the Harrah's Cherokee hotel.  We stayed in a smaller hotel across the street, but went inside to view the Cherokee art and stroll through the casino.  Tucker was perfect in the hotel.  He did a great sit-stay beside one of the statues for me to take his picture (onlookers were highly impressed with him).  Not only did he do a great job of holding his bladder and waiting until I released him to "park" to relieve himself, but he wasn't bothered by any of the craziness of the casino.  In fact, he hardly even looked at the blinking, dinging machines and only tried to pick trash up off the floor once or twice.  He was awesome.  Oh, and kudos to the hotel for not kicking me out - in fact, they didn't question me at all and were super friendly.

This past weekend Tucker was pretty busy as well.  Friday night we went to a drive-in movie with a few of "our" friends (they would probably be offended if I just said they were "my" friends ;) ) and saw Real Steel and The Help.  Want to hear something funny?  The outdoor drive in wasn't going to let us in because of Tucker.  Of all places, it would have never occurred to me to call an outdoor drive-in ahead of time.  Thankfully, my friend knew the owner, and once we told him why we had Tuck with us, he was a-okay with it.  Tucker was in hog heaven.  Not only did he get to sit in the back of a truck with four of his favorite people, but he got to snuggle with all of them!  He did a great job - I bet we were the only people who even knew he was there.

Unfortunately, it would appear that Tucker and I royally ticked off a spider at some point during our stay at the drive-in.  When we got back to the dorm, Tucker's eyelids were red and swollen and his nose was covered in welts.  I also had a bite on my ankle, but was unaware at the time how severe it was.  I gave Tucker a dose of benadryl (I've heard the dosing instructions at work so many times I have it memorized), but of course, failed to give myself any.  Saturday morning, Tucker's face was back to normal, but my ankle was quite swollen.  Thinking it would just go away, we proceeded to work the Dawg Day (open house) for GWU.  By the time we had finished giving the tour, my ankle was enormous, red, hot to the touch, and itchy.  I had a nurse take a look at it, took benadryl, and went on to my next job - serving the VIPs in the President's Box at the football game.

I was filling in for someone and had called the day before to ask if Tucker could accompany me for a little while.  When the woman returned my call, I said, "Yes, I was calling to see if Tucker could join me in the President's box."  She said, "Now how old is your son?"  I just about died laughing.  Anyway, Tucker joined me in the box for an hour and got to see Dr. Bonner (GWU president) again and met his wife.  He then slept curled up next to the trashcan for the majority of the next hour while I served people. :)  I know at least one person whipped out a camera phone and took his picture. ;)   At 4, because I knew he would soon be hungry and hard to manage, Dr. Jones (honors professor) picked him up and took him down to the football game to sit with the honors kids at the fundraising table. 

When the game was over, I picked him up and Dr. Jones told me he had been really itchy.  Apparently, although his swelling was gone, the itchiness had just hit.  When we got back to the room I gave him more benadryl, took some more myself, and sat on the couch with my foot up and under a bag of frozen peas. 

Sunday morning we had a Joyful Hands performance (ASL signing choir) so he joined me in the Chapel for that.  While we were practicing he had a hard time behaving, but once the service started he did a really good job.  As soon as Joyful Hands was finished, we left because I was still on benadryl from the stupid spider bite, and it knocks me out. 

Monday was the first day Tucker and I could survive without Benadryl, but this morning my foot was still slightly puffy and it still itches like crazy.  One of my friends suggested we had been bitten by a radioactive spider - I said if Tucker starts climbing the walls, it's game-over.  ;)  I don't think I can handle spider-pup. 

Phew, that was long.  If you survived that whole post you deserve a reward, so here are some cute pictures. :)

Posing with the Cherokee art.

Looking handsome at the conference.

Sleeping while I presented.

With the gang.

"Mom, I said no more pictures!"

Disclaimer- I do NOT let him on the couch - he did this when I went to the bathroom, but I couldn't help but take a picture of the reaction I got when I asked him what he thought he was doing on my couch. ;)

Again, seriously, I have never let him sit on the couch. However - A few nights ago, I left him asleep (on the FLOOR) and went down to the lobby to see some friends.  When I got back, he was passed out not only on the couch, but on my pillows which I had been using to prop my spider-bitten foot up.

I've taken to calling him my "little prince" because he seems to think his little bed on the floor isn't fluffy enough and keeps trying to get on the couch.  I've tried everything I can think of to keep him off of it, so suggestions would be appreciated fellow puppy raisers!

September is Slipping Away...

Tucker's life has been at least somewhat normal since we returned from Big Sweep.  The weekend after that excursion was Boiling Spring's 100th birthday, so we went to the festival out on Main Street.  Tucker thought it was a piece of cake after the Apple Festival. :)  Unfortunately, Tucker didn't get to stay for the whole event - I had to take him back to the dorm so I could be in the first ever GWU flash mob. ;) 

Anyway, the following Monday Tucker and I spoke to the Boiling Springs Rotary Club.  Last year, I gave them an overview of Leader Dog and puppy raising, so this year, we called it Part 2 and I essentially just answered a lot of questions.  We had a good time and everyone seemed really impressed with Tucker.  (I may or may not have had a friend take him on a really long walk right before that meeting while I was in class...)  They gave us a certificate for speaking - "to Chelsea Usher and Tucker."  Love it. 

Wednesday night we went into Gaffney for my friend Suz's birthday.  As usual, it took me longer to get inside the restaurant (Outback) than it did everyone else since I had to park Tucker.  When I walked into the restaurant, I glanced around but I didn't see my friends.  Being the genius that I am, I stood there, puppy in tow and said, "I can't see my friends" to the hostess.  Bad word choice.  My friends had already warned them we had a Future Leader Dog in tow, and instantly, the hostess forgets the "future" part of that title and attempts to help me to the table.  So, after explaining that I appreciated the help but simply didn't know where my friends had been seated, she pointed me in the right direction.  Outback was awesome with Tucker.  They didn't question him at all, they didn't seat us in a back corner because of him, and they really seemed to understand why he was there.  It didn't hurt that Tucker did an AMAZING job.  He settled down almost instantly and remained that way through the whole two and a half hours (they were a little slow).  Everyone was impressed with the little guy, and I think he was pretty proud of himself, too. 

Friday night we went to the South Park Mall to go to a deaf event in the food court.  For those of you unfamiliar with deaf events, that essentially means that my GWU sign language friends and I mingled with members of the Charlotte deaf community while we ate dinner.  Tucker did really well for the majority of the outing.  He wasn't too bad about trying to get to food on the floor and he didn't get overly excited by all the people.  At one point, a little girl (just old enough to be walking around) came up to us and wanted to pet him.  I realize that Leader Dog says no petting period in public, but how do you explain that to a child so young they aren't even verbal?  Plus, I thought it was good practice for Tucker to learn to remain calm even when hyper little kids approach him.  He did an excellent job.  He just sat there and barely wagged his tail as she pet him and then started poking him in the nose.  I got a good laugh out of it, too, watching the look on his face as she held her finger to his nose.  He was absolutely thrilled that the baby was touching him, even if she was trying to plug his nose. ;) 

About fifteen minutes before we were going to leave, Tucker had enough.  He was bored out of his mind, had been really good for almost three hours, and sort of needed to go to the bathroom.  So, what did he do?  He barked.  In case you're wondering, a puppy bark in a food court sounds like that of Great Dane.  It echoed so badly that you could feel it vibrate through you.  I'm not kidding - my deaf ASL professor "heard" it.  At that point I decided we'd just wait outside while my friends finished up. 

Yesterday was a busy day for him.  We went back to Hendo so he could see the vet and I could pick up some winter clothes.  While he wasn't thrilled about the vet part, when we got to the house and he realized he was going to get to play with Kalli, he forgot all about the poking and prodding at the vet.  They played and played and played until they both literally couldn't stand up anymore.  Afterwards, I took Tuck with me to meet Dad for lunch at Piggy's and then we came back to Boiling Springs.  Kalli had worn him out so badly that he slept from the time we got back at 3:30 to 4:40 when he woke up hungry, and then from about 5:15 on through the night (the exceptions being a few forced bathroom breaks).  Not surprisingly, I paid for that long nap this morning at church. 

I don't know what it is about the 9:00-10:00 hour, but Tucker refuses to cooperate.  He wouldn't sit still in Sunday School and I had to take him outside and walk around the building twice before he would even think of settling down.  It's really frustrating and I'm not quite sure what to do about it. 

Regardless, he's precious and although he adds a little stress to my life, the stress he reduces outweighs the stress he adds.

Next weekend, he'll go with me to Western Carolina for an Honors Conference.

Helping Katey do her homework.  :)

The certificate from Rotary.

That Puppy Looks Wet

First, my most sincere apologies for those of you who patiently wait for new blog posts *cough*my mother *cough*  ;).  The words "busy", "hectic", and "insane" don't begin to describe my life at the moment, so please forgive me for pushing the blog to the back burner. 

Anyway, Tucker's biggest adventure since the last blog was Big Sweep.  Each year, the Honors Student Association travels to Ashe County (specifically West Jefferson) to clean out several miles of the New River via canoe.  We camp beside the river in New River State Park, too. 

Tucker is a wonderful traveler - he slept through the majority of the roughly 4 hour car ride.  When we got to camp, I needed to help set things up, so I passed him off to Ethan, the son of two professors on the trip.  Ethan and Tucker were best buddies by the end of the weekend. :)

To answer your next question, yes, Tucker slept in the tent with Stephanie and me and yes, he got in my sleeping bag sometimes. :)  Basically, he used me as his personal heater, so he went back and forth from his spot in the middle of the tent to in my sleeping bag (or on top of me).  Considering that he has never slept anywhere but a crate, I thought he did a great job in the tent. 

Saturday morning, we rose early, got ready, and went to the river to begin our morning/afternoon of canoeing.  I believe we had about a 5 mile stretch, so we were on the water from about 10 to 1 or 2... I can't really remember when we pulled out.  Tucker had his very own life vest, which ironically enough, matched the life vests the park service made Steph and I wear.  Now for a disclaimer - Tucker has always liked water, which is why I brought him.  I thought, "a Labrador and a river - what could go wrong?"  One of these days, I will learn the danger of assumptions....

Tucker hates canoeing.  He loved the river, but he HATED the canoe.  As soon as I put him in the boat, he started to whine.  He whined almost constantly for quite some time, and I felt horrible, but it wasn't as if we could just pull out of the river anywhere.  So, he had no choice but to grin and bear it.  About five minutes down the river, Tucker decided to dive head first out of the front of the canoe (he had been trying before this, but I had always managed to keep him in the boat).  When he bobbed back up, he turned, dripping, and looked at me as if to say, "MOM IT'S COLD!"  Yes, it's September, but this is a mountain river we're talking about - and it was only 10am.  Much to his delight, I got out of the canoe and fished him out of the river.  From then on, he didn't really try to get out of the canoe - he decided that the canoe was at least better than the frigid waters. 

Considering his dislike of the canoe, I thought he did an excellent job.  As I said, he was much better about staying in the canoe after his little plunge, and although he whined (and attempted to howl at one point) quite a bit, he was altogether well behaved.  At one point we stopped on an "island" of sorts made of river stones and I let Tucker hop out for a few minutes.  He was instantly happier, sniffing every rock he could find, splashing in the shallows, and attacking some plants.  You should have seen his face when he realized I was going to put him back in the canoe. ;) 

About an hour from the take out, he got sleepy.  Keep in mind, Tucker's sign name (an ASL thing) basically means "lazy Tucker", so it wasn't pretty when he missed his mid-morning nap.  He tried desperately to find a comfortable way to sleep in the canoe.  He tried resting his head in my lap and on the side of the canoe, but he just couldn't do it.  By the time we got to the take out, he was miserably tired.  I got out of the canoe, picked him up, and carried him across the rest of the river to the shore and handed him off to someone.  By the time Steph and I got our canoe cleaned out and got up on the bank, he was in one of the deepest puppy comas I've ever seen.  We had to carry him up to the hose to wash him off. 

Once he was on land again, he had a wonderful time.  Honestly, we only had one major problem at camp - eating rocks.  The first night, we noticed he was licking the gravel around the campfire, but assumed he was just licking them.  The next morning, when he pooped straight gravel twice in a row, I realized I had been mistaken.  Saturday night, in an effort to keep the rock consumption to a minimum, I sat away from the fire on the grass with him.  Well, the boys had cut up firewood there and left piles of wood chips. Guess what Tucker did.  Yep, he ate it.  While I assumed that wood chips were at least better than rocks, I really didn't want him eating either one.  So, although it was against Leader Dog rules, I let him sit in my lap in the pop up chair by the fire that night.  I figured his physical health was more important at that moment than a training mishap.  He was fast asleep almost immediately anyway, so he may not even remember it. 

He's had a pretty crazy day today as well.  The metropolis of Boiling Springs turned 100 today!  There was a street fair, so we walked around playing with kids and other dogs for an hour or two, and that just wore the poor boy out.  I let him stay in the dorm with a friend while I participated in the first ever Boiling Springs Flash Mob (soooo much fun) and came back to find him passed out.  :) 

Thankfully for me, he slept the majority of the afternoon and let me get some work done.  Tonight, they had fireworks at Boiling Springs Baptist, so we walked across the street for those.  As usual Tucker did a great job even though we were 1. walking on a new road, 2. with heavy (heavy for Boiling Springs mind you) traffic, 3. in the dark, 4. with fireworks exploding.  He's such a trooper.  What was really funny was watching him try to figure out why the sound of the fireworks was echoing off of the Library.  :)  He couldn't figure out why the sound and flash were on his left one second, and then the sound was on his right the next. 

Now he's passed out on the floor. :) 

No, this is not an action shot - he really fell asleep that way. :)  Look at all those pretty, not ridiculously sharp adult teeth. ;)

Here are some Big Sweep pics:

Matching.

"Mom, I hate this."

"Okay, so the canoe is better than the river." (After jumping out of the canoe)

Adventure Dog  (BTW - he was never tied to the canoe just in case it flipped - the leash was for land excursions only.)

Chillin' on a giant rock.

"Are we there yet?"

Puppy Coma :)

That Puppy Looks Dead

Favorite quote of the day by an older gentleman in Villa Roma: "That puppy looks dead."  (He had fallen asleep in the waiting area)

Tucker would probably have agreed at some point, seeing as how we spent a few hot hours walking around the Apple Festival this morning. :) 

We have a new puppy at the house (Kalli), so Friday night, after we got back from a quick trip to the Festival, the two puppies played their hearts out.  Well, they did the same this morning, and then we took Tucker back to the Apple Festival for some more "exposure" to crazy things.  Kalli had already worn him out, we walked a lot, and it was hot - so it wasn't too long before Tucker thought it was time to go.  Although he may have played the pity card with everyone we passed, we really did make sure he had plenty of water, breaks, and that the pavement wasn't too hot on his pads. 

On a side note, we had an odd experience Friday night.  We wanted to eat downtown, and we decided on a restaurant called The Blue Note.  Well, before we asked to come in, we talked with the owner/manager? who told us how she used to be a puppy raiser for the dog guide school in Florida. (Clearly, I assumed she would be totally fine with Tucker)  Long story short, she went back inside before we asked the host if we could come in.  Confused, he left and came back several minutes later and said that would be okay.  Funny thing was, once we had been seated, we were completely ignored.  The owner and waitresses just walked past us again and again.  Once it was clear we were being ignored on purpose, we had a choice to make - stay or leave.  Mom wanted to leave to prove a point.  I wanted to stay to prove a point. ;)  I couldn't understand why they had even let us in if Tucker's presence was going to tick them off that badly. (He was asleep almost the entire time, by the way) In the end, we ended up staying, but it seemed to take forever.  The food was pretty good - the service, not so much. 

Anyway, at the festival, Tucker got to see...
TONS and TONS of people of all shapes and sizes.
A giant, inflatable, dancing policeman.
A giant stuffed dog.
A Lions Club vision screening van. ;)
Several kiddie rides (ie, a train in the shape of a caterpillar and giant spinning strawberries).

I thought he did a really great job considering there were times you could hardly move there were so many people, and there was food everywhere. 

Now, after playing with Kalli again, he's tired and passed out beside the couch. :)  It's been quite a busy weekend for the little guy.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Life is becoming more hectic by the day, so just get used to only seeing a blog post every few days. :)

Sunday, Tucker seemed to be in an odd mood.  He did fairly well in Sunday School ( he got to see a live worship band up close) but when we got to the service, he just wouldn't settle down.  We ended up leaving before it even began.  He had already had a long nap that morning, so I just assumed he had too much energy and that we should go back to school and go for a walk.  Well, before I even got my dress shoes off, he was asleep on his bed.  Why he couldn't sleep on the sanctuary floor, I don't know. 

Monday he did fairly well, although he was definitely more awake in my classes than normal.  We had a good laugh listening to the squishing noises in Southern Lit while he was chewing on his Kong bone. :) 

Yesterday was a big day - Fall Convocation.  For those readers unfamiliar with GWU, each fall during the Dimensions hour on Tuesday mornings, there is an awards ceremony.  I was getting an award for my 4.0, but I was also supposed to hand out programs because I serve as Presidential Associate.  So, it was extremely important that Tucker be on his very best behavior.  Was he? Of course not - 'kids' never are when it counts, right. ;) 

Well, he did okay while I handed out programs, but then when we got to our seats, he had trouble settling down.  After we went to the front to get my award - yes, he went to the front with me (there was a collective "awe!"  from the entire LYCC audience) - he really had a hard time settling down.  I knew he was in an odd mood that morning, so I brought a toy with food stuck in it as my secret weapon - even that didn't really help and actually ended up prompting him to wiggle even more.  Eventually, I put my foot down - literally.  I stood on the leash as close to his collar as possible and made it impossible for him to stand back up.  A few minutes of struggling, and he was asleep. 

Here's the thing - all of the important people who made puppy raising at GWU possible were there - I would have died if he'd barked in the middle of the ceremony.  Thankfully, we survived and several administrators and professors came up to me afterwards to tell me how glad they were that I took him to the front with me.  He even sat (without being asked) when I got my award!  I think he thought Dr. Price was going to give him something, too. :) 

He continued to be a "challenge" for the rest of the day and some of the evening, but he's been better today.  He even let me sleep until 7 this morning!  ;) 

Tucker Palooza

Well, Tucker spent most of today catching up on his beauty rest.  I'm not kidding- the kid slept practically all day.

I felt bad because I thought he was just being nice and letting me do my homework, so about 3:30 I decided we were going to take a walk.  We made it to the lake and back, but he wanted no part of it.  As soon as we got back, he went to sleep again. 

After dinner, we hung out on the quad so he could meet people and tear into a few sticks.  From there we went to Bost Gym for the beginning of the year "palooza".  As usual, Tucker couldn't care less that the DJ was blasting music and that there were a bunch of people with cotton candy and popcorn walking around.  They had snow cones, and I just couldn't help but let Tucker have one (a plain one, of course).

He did a great sit-stay for it!

After that, we went in the gym and had our picture taken in a big blow-up chair.  If Tucker's future handler ever runs into a giant, red, inflatable chair, we now know it won't phase him. ;)

(Hannah Riener and Hillary Leonard accompanied us in the chair.)   :)

After all this excitement, Tucker was tired, so he slept on the gym floor while I visited with some of my friends who were waiting in line for caricatures.  When we got back to the dorm, Tucker fell asleep on the floor of the kitchen while my friend Suz made chocolate chip cookies, and then he slept in my lap while I ate mine. :) 

Now, he's passed out on his bed on my floor.  Looking cute, eating shaved ice, and getting your picture taken can just suck the life right out of you. ;)