A Wonderful Weekend

Tucker and I spent the weekend in Sevierville, TN with my friends Roy and Suzie: the people who taught me about puppy raising. 

We met a fellow puppy raiser, Mary, at Roy and Suzie's optical shop.  She's raising a GSD (German Shepherd Dog) named Ziva for Leader Dog.  Kathy, who works for the Fergusons, also had her daughter's Boxer puppy, Buttercup, in the office.  So, for about an hour, Tucker, Ziva, and Buttercup ran wild in the back of the shop.  For the first time in his life, Tucker discovered what it meant to be overwhelmed!  The picture below is an example of how Tucker attempted to protect himself from the big puppies.  They played a little rough for him.  ;) 

When we got to Roy and Suzie's, we let the dogs play in the backyard.  It didn't take long for Tucker to discover the fountain.  He is a lab through and through. :)  

He had a great time playing with the dogs (and cats for that matter) and learning doggie manners.  When we ate dinner, I put him under the table, and he behaved just as well as he does in restaurants.  The Fergusons have two cats who were found as kittens by one of their Search and Rescue dogs, and therefore named Search and Rescue.  Search doesn't really seem to know he's a cat and loves everyone and everything while Rescue is pretty shy and normally stays in the shadows.  Tucker absolutely LOVED Search.  Everytime we went outside he was looking for Search.  At one point I just sat and watched as Tucker tried to play with him.  He started gently but soon got a little rough with him.  I tried to warn him that it was only a matter of time until a kitty paw landed on his face, but he didn't listen.  Search reached over and grabbed Tucker's face and bit him.  I could tell he wasn't biting him hard, but when he let him loose, Tucker turned around and looked at me as if to say, "Mom, did  you see that?  It bit me!"  It worked though; he was much gentler with Search after that.  Amazingly, Rescue actually made an appearance early Saturday morning when I let Tucker out and let me pet him.  I think he decided that if I was there at 5am, I must be part of the gang.  ;) 

Saturday, we were supposed to go to Search and Rescue training with Roy and Suzie, but my antibiotics made me sick, so Tucker and I opted to stay home.  Honestly, I think it was as good for Tucker as it was for me.  He slept for almost two hours after they left for training, still trying to recharge his batteries from the day before! 

That evening we went into town so Tucker and I could meet Suzie's friend Bonnie who is partnered with a Golden Retriever named Moses.  She loves puppies, so we just had to let her hug Tucker!  I can only hope Tucker is placed with someone as caring as Bonnie.  

 For whatever reason, this computer is refusing to let me turn this picture the right way.  Tucker had entered into his puppy coma of the evening.

 This morning, Tucker and Apache finally figured out the best way to play with each other.  Apache did a great job with him and let him walk all over him for quite a while.  I have several funny videos of the two of them playing.

It was incredibly hot, so Aunt Suzie was kind enough to fill up the tub for Tucker.  He loved splashing around in the water and jumping in and out of the tub.  Suzie tossed one of the rubber balls in the water for him to fetch, but it took him a little while to understand the physics of bobbing for apples. ;)

We got home just before three but had to head out again about thirty minutes later to get to my bible study.  The look on Tucker's face when he realized we were getting back in the car was priceless.  He thought I'd lost my mind.  Regardless, he did pretty well at church.  He got a little restless about halfway through and was a handful for a few minutes, but he eventually got the picture and settled back down. 

Now, he's enjoying being home and being top dog again.  I let him have his big boy bed for the first time tonight.  After he got over wanting to eat it, he settled down and passed out.  Of course, he spent part of the nap upside down. ;)