Hi Friends –

We’re back to share more stories of family time in Oklahoma! Mom has a big pack of humans that care for her so these stories sure could take up a lot of everyone’s time. Dad says it would be like throwing a party and pulling out one of those old slide projectors. I don’t know what that is, but he thought it was funny. He says it’s like Instagram for old people. I couldn’t imagine giving you that much detail; it would interrupt my nap schedule.

One day we hopped back in the truck and went for a ride. I asked where we were going but all Dad would tell me was, “It’ll be fun, go lay down,” I asked, “Is it Rib Crib*?” Dad said “No! It’ll be fun, go lay down” I asked again “Is it Taco Bueno*”? Dad said “No! It’ll be fun, go lay down” Mom said not to worry about it, because I don’t get people food anyway.  I do get people food when it’s on the floor and I’m quicker than Dad but Whatever! What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him (shh!).

As it turned out it the day was pretty great. We ended up at Papa Joe’s house at the lake. I know that not every Dane likes the water, but I DO! Papa Joe and Nana Mary are super nice people. Mom said Nana Mary has dog allergies but she loved me so much she didn’t mind. I tried not to get my hair all over so it was good that it was a nice day outside.  Papa Joe has cool toys. The first one I spotted was an off road golf cart; they tried to get me to go in it but I didn’t want to. It was way more fun to chase it down and cross in front of their path like we do at SDP.

After everyone had lunch we packed water toys up for a quick ride down to the lake. It was basically in Papa Joe’s back yard so the trip wasn’t long.  I didn’t waste any time and ran right in. The lake is much bigger than the pond on the farm so when the family got in I had to protect them. When they got out too far it made me nervous. I’m comfortable when everyone is close to shore and I can touch bottom. Mom and Dad got into a big float tube that was tied to a dock so I was sure they were safe. The girls really made me nervous because they looked like they were having fun but they kept screeching like something was wrong. I don’t know why, but Mom and Dad weren’t reacting. I jumped into action and tried to help them. I even swam out over my head and kind of panicked. Dad laughed when I swam to a dock float and hung on for dear life until he got there and pointed me toward shore again. I panicked so much that I tried to crawl onto an inner tube with the biggest puppy and I scratched her leg and gave her a bruise. She was really nice about it because she knew I was scared and just a baby. I really love those human puppies! Dad explained that the puppies were fine; they had life vests on and this is how they play in the lake.  That’s fine, but I don’t have to like it! Mom kept yelling at the girls to stop yelling because they were making me nervous but it never lasted long. My biggest problem was that Papa Joe kept throwing the littlest pup up in the air and that makes her screech and then hit the water with a big Sploosh! I really don’t see how they thought this was a good idea? Human’s Geesh!

After we finally got done playing in the water we went out on a big pontoon boat. This was really fun you guys. The whole family in one spot where I can safely watch over them is a plus. The bonus was when the boat would go fast. I stood up and let the wind blow my ears all around. Everyone laughed and took pictures. I don’t really like the puparazzi very much but I have to let all of my fans see me sometimes, and this was a pretty fun time. (Check out Instagram for lots of photos from the trip!)

When we got back to shore I took Dad up to change his clothes and take off my wet harness. Dad left it on me in the water for safety’s sake; I appreciate that. The girls played for a while longer and followed us up to the house. I had dinner first, and then took the family for their dinner. It was another Oklahoma place called Charlie’s Chicken. It smelled tongue-wagging good and I could tell the humans loved it. We met some nice people who told Mom and Dad stories as they said hello to me. Of course we started the visit with one of my secret service aliases, but before we left everyone was genuinely interested in our cause so Mom shared the blog and Facebook information. They understood why we use a cover and now they follow me. I really think that a brick of business cards would help, and keep Mom from writing on scraps of paper. It’s a tough job be a celebrity service dog but I really love my job and fans so much, I wouldn’t trade it for a truckload of treats!  – Stay with me and I’ll post the next chapter soon!

*Oklahoma has a lot of restaurants we don’t have in Connecticut. Mom talks about them a lot. We understand now what the big deal is!

written by DFS

Tagged: balance and stability, big dog, cerebral palsy, Charlie's Chicken, Connecticut, dane, disability, disability awareness, dog, family, food, Friends, fun, great dane, human puppies, Instagram, Lake Eufala, leash, mobility, mobility dogs, Mom and Dad, Oklahoma, playtime, puppy, Rib Crib, roadtrip, sdp, service animals, service dane, service dog, silly puppy, Taco Bueno, updates, weekend