Fall Days and Halloween

I took Hope to the pumpkin patch hoping to get some nice Fall pictures of her. As usual, she put on her serious face and wouldn't smile and these were the best I could do. Oh well....

We also took some time to meet some new friends, Porter and Ginger, two King Charles Cavalier Spaniels who belong to our Volunteer Coordinator at Sutter Hospice who runs the WAGS program. I've been thinking how it would be nice to have a smaller dog to use for our therapy work, especially at Sutter. She taught me a lot about this breed and it is something I would consider, it just depends on if I want to raise another CCI puppy, or if Nick comes home as he has priority in my life if he gets released. While I think Hope has adjusted to being the only dog in the house, I often think sometimes she gets bored as there is no one to play with. Who knows, its a big decision with a lot of unknowns at the moment, time will tell I guess.

Here is a picture of Hope with Porter and Ginger...Some of the things that sold me on this breed? They are very people oriented and make good therapy animals, like to take walks, like to swim, Porter and Ginger even go kayaking!

Halloween is not Hope's favorite holiday...we all know about her issues wearing "clothes"... Well, I did spare her the humiliation of wearing a costume for our Lend A Heart or Delta visits, but I did put her in a costume for our Sutter Halloween party as they were having a fundraiser. Sorry Hope, I'm glad you were a good sport.

Hope says, "Why did several people call me a dalmation? I just don't get it, are they dumb or what, isn't it obvious that I am a cow? This is the reason why dogs should NOT wear costumes!"

These are a few of the other WAGS dogs, Rascal (the black lab fairy), Sheeba (as "Queen of Sheeba"), Hope (losing her head!...), and Taylor (the pumpkin).

I did spare Hope the dignity of wearing a costume when we answered the door on Halloween night as the trick-or-treaters came to the door. She was a big help passing out candy as she held the handle of the candy bucket for me as we answered the door. I kept the bucket filled with just a little bit of candy this year, as last year she dropped the bucket and all the candy went flying all over the floor! She did a much better job this year, until a young girl dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz knocked on the door... she was accompanied by her sidekick, Toto, and yes it was a real dog! I just laughed as Hope dropped the bucket and proceeded to greet Toto. Oh well, can't blame her I guess....

Happy Halloween!