So it's that time of year when the weather's changing...I'm a big fan of it, and so is Archie (he likes to chase the leaves!) but one thing I forgot about were the messy paws! We had a huge storm yesterday which left the ground muddy, and of course Archie knew how to step in the biggest puddles...can you blame him? Splashing's fun! The cooler weather also makes our walks much easier. For those of us who take our dogs most places, the summer is particularly hard because I'm always making sure Archie isn't too hot, did he have enough water, did I leave him in a cool place in the house when I went out by myself, etc. But bring on the fall! We can walk on campus comfortably, and play outside in our fenced in area without worrying about the heat.
I'm also getting excited because Archie's officially going to be a Puppy Parent! As part of the breeding program, we're not able to have a "tell all" approach to which dogs are bred to each other when, but eventually we'll be able to talk about which ones are "Archie" puppies. I keep wondering about how many of them will look like him, how many will act like him, etc. I have been graciously invited to the host house for the breeding stock female to visit the puppies after they are born, before they are placed with their foster families, and am really excited to be able to witness this part of a Paws dog's journey. What I am realizing, that I didn't before, is how much work the hosts of the female breeding stock actually do! These families are incredibly committed to starting these pups off on the right track from day 1. Being a host mom for Archie has its challenges, but nothing like what the families of the females do. It's pretty much a 24/7 job for 8 weeks. I have had enough trouble in the past dealing with my 8-week old foster puppies, let alone lots of new little puppies! For my foster puppies in the past, I always thought their journey started when I picked them up at Paws, but now I know how much effort was put into them before I even knew about them.
I can't wait until I get to see my "grandpuppies", and hopefully I'll be able to document names and pictures for all of them so I can follow them through their training, and see where they are eventually placed. It will be fun in a couple of years to see how many working service dogs came from Archie...I guess only time will tell.
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