Subject: Husky Bootcamp Progress Report
Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 18:45:53 -0700
Hi to Jo Anna All The Wild Things,

MOM!!! Help!!! I don’t think I want to be in Husky Bootcamp any more!They have pulled my “Puppy Permit” and now they are expecting me to start behaving like a big dog. I don’t wana grow up!!!

They are now insisting that I do not bite or nip them any more. Big Dog (Doc) made it very clear, and besides he’s “Big Dog” so continuing to bite and nip him is out of the question.; But Lady Dog (Isabel) is a totally different matter.; We are currently struggling to see who is next in line for the Alpha position under Big Dog. I hope I win but it doesn’t look good for me. Lady Dog is getting quite stern and assertive about the biting but she is always still filled with love and compassion for me so it’s hard to be mad at her for long. Besides, she’s the one with most of the food.

I hate this having to behave and grow up. I had hoped that I was going to remain a puppy forever and just get larger in size. Well, I guess all dreams are victims of change and adjustment. They are really very loving to me and give me great care but this behavior bit is getting a bit annoying.One of the most degrading things that happened this week was my first bath (picture attached). Look at what they did to me. Look at how they treated me.Now I smell nice (yuck!!) and clean (double yuck!!!). I had spent such a great deal of time getting that fragrant dog smell just right and I was just feeling at home when BOOM, it happened, right out of the blue…. a bath. And to add injury to insult I then got my first flea treatment. Now all my personal, carry along friends, who do not mind my biting are gone. And this FU-FU smell of the shampoo… well, I’m going to start looking for some of those nice Deer Droppings in the front yard to roll in. That will fix the FU-FU smell.

On the exercise front, I have now learned to be a roller-blade partner (see pictures attached). Boy is that fun because at times I get to lead and pull Lady Dog along and she seems to like it. In fact she encourages me and spurs me on by saying things like “Hike” to start out, “Ahead” to keep going forward, “Gee” is when she wants to go to the right, “Haw” when she wants to go to the left, and “Whoa” when she either wants me to stop or not to pull her into the ditch in attempts to catch the mouse I saw. Sometimes I get it confused and she will take a spill to the ground, but she wears all this armor plating that she puts on before we ever start and she just laughs and always makes sure that I am OK. This is as much fun as being the Bicycle rider partner. We alternate each day with one or the other and on some days we get to do both. This part of Husky Bootcamp is the fun part.

Both Big Dog and Lady Dog have noticed that I am really growing up now and sounding like a big dog also.; I can bark now and even growl (I sound so stern and vicious that I even scare myself sometimes). However, I still seem to have the squeaky, yowly voice as well at times. Big Dog says that I sound like a typical young man who voice is changing. He told me that it happened to him when he was a maturing pup as well, although that is hard to believe that he was ever a small pup. And my ears… My wonderful ears… They now do all the things I only once dreamed about. They show my current attitude and my personality. They have become so expressive and I can really lay them back when I want to look real stern and tough.

My coat seems to be lightening up quite a bit and I am sure that I am starting to look more like my Father.; I still have the wonderful shoulder markings of Mother, and best of all my beautiful mask is still there and as dark as ever handsome young man. All the neighbors and friends just adore me and always come by to see my progress.; I am almost 18 pounds and have more than doubled in size since I got here.

They now have given me the nick-name of “The Phantom, Ghost Who Walks”. I almost made it out the door the other day when Lady Dog wasn’t watching and thought I was on the other side of the room. But alas, she grabbed me by the scruff of the neck just as I was half way though the front door, unleashed, into the world outside. She now says it time for my “set of tags”, whatever that is. She says that will let them know where I am without me having to announce myself. Go figure!!I guess I will have to wait to find out how this will go.

If it wasn’t for the wonderful food, great exercise, all the loving attention, special biscuits and treats, the wonderful adventures, all the great people, and the genuine loving care, I would be marching right back home. Well, now I think about it, I guess a bit of discipline and a bath now and then is not too bad. I think I will stay for a week or two more and I will let you know then.

I hope that you are feeling better. I know that Big Dog does his “Meditation” every morning and he told me that you are always included in them. He says that he makes the aspiration for your suffering to lessen each day and that you regain the happiness that you felt before the accident. I always spend the time with him being “Zen” also. It is tough though. Mostly I just sleep through it, but my wishes and dreams are the same as his aspirations. Peace, compassion, happiness, and a reduction in your suffering are what we all hope and dream for.

Hope you enjoy the pictures I send each week, and that they convey the wonderful (and wet) times I am having.

Well, it is dinner time now at Husky Bootcamp, and I don’t want to miss out on that so I will close now. Know that I always have you and all the wild things in my heart and soul.; Get well soon.; Big Dog said to tell you that he more than understands about the recordings and that you need to take the time to recover before anything else. Time will see to it at all that is supposed to be is (Real “Zen”, huh?)

Love to you and all The Wild Things,