Hi Friends –

Last week my pack and I were supposed to load up in the truck and take the human puppies on Spring Break down to Florida, with fun stops along the way, to see Dad’s parents. Mom has met them but the puppies and I haven’t been able to yet. Mom and Dad were getting everything all set up but we noticed that one of the basement monsters who is typically always hungry and always voicing her opinion about how cats, especially herself, should only be fed on fine platters and drink milk from silver goblets had taken her act to a strange new level. She was getting extremely thin but maintained the appetite and persona of a cougar. We gave it a few days but nothing changed, so Mom brought her to the V. E. T. and they found that she has a hypothyroid condition and needs medication. So on top of trying to plan a 2400 mile round trip they had to decide what to do about her. Along with input from the doctor they decided it was best to watch over her themselves and not put anyone in a position to medicate and feed cats multiple times a day. So, with that rather easy decision made we all agreed day trips would be the best way to have fun and watch over our family at the time. I have to say that it really makes me feel good to know that they’d completely give up a vacation to take care of a basement monster. I mean really, if they do that for them think what they’d do for me! With the plans changed Mom picked up a shift at her job on Saturday morning and the older puppy went to see her other family for an overnight. We kept the small puppy because she was getting over a fever and we didn’t want her to spread her nasty germs to them too. Mom got back early and the puppy was feeling better so we all went out for dinner and a movie.

The weather forecast suggested that Sunday and Monday were going to be nice so Mom found a friend to check in on the basement monsters and we headed to Massachusetts. Sunday started with a trip to the farm so that I could play with my Dane family and catch up with the SDP pack. When I had my fill of running around the farm and trying to convince everyone to give me treats that I can’t have, we loaded back up in the truck and headed to Boston. Dad knows that I need to know every detail of a plan so he shared it with me on the way. We were going to check into a kennel complex that lets you rent a kennel for the night with enough space for your pack and then we’d head downtown for a ghost tour. As it turns out Mom said she got mixed up and didn’t know she needed a reservation along with the ticket he had already purchased online. The later tour would have been too scary for my puppies and I wouldn’t let them go. It wasn’t her fault. It turned out to be OK though because our room was not ready for us and was several hours late. I’m going to help her write to the kennel and let them know that our time there was about as fun as getting vaccinations from the V. E. T.

The next day we woke up and checked out as soon as we could. Once we made it into Boston it was a great time. Oh, except the Dunkin’ we found didn’t make lattes and this made Mom grumble but the weather was so nice she took it well. The next stop was to see a man in a box. It looked like maybe he was selling sideshow tickets so I was skeptical. As it turns out, he gave us our CityView trolley passes and pointed us to our tour. We got on the trolley and Dad wanted me to work on my backing up so I backed down the entire isle like a pro. I know he knew I could do it; I think he was just showing off. We did the same thing each time we got on the trolley. The guide that we had for most of our trip was fun, he made a lot of jokes while telling us about the sites like the Old North Church, the USS Constitution, and the site of the Boston Massacre. That made me nervous but as it turned out only five people died and it was really a mistake that they were fired on at all. We got off the trolley at the next stop so we could see Central Burying ground. Soon after that we took a break at a Starbucks where Mom found her latte and I found a cup of water. I don’t know what the big deal is about Starbucks? The water tasted the same to m. Whatever, humans are strange. The best part about that stop was that I met a couple of really tiny human puppies that wanted to give me their peanut butter crackers. Dad stopped them no matter how many times I insisted they WANTED to share. Mom and Dad sat there temping me while they chatted away with some nice ladies who were involved in a service dog group. We told them about SDP and of course shared my card. Then it was off to Boston Common, that was really fun, there were all kinds of dogs there and I was super excited to meet all of them! I don’t know why I didn’t get to meet many? It’s OK though the one I did meet growled, so I barked. It seemed fair to me but Dad was NOT pleased with me. I forget sometimes, he doesn’t speak dog as his first language and I didn’t translate so I understand. Dad said the best part about the Common was that we met a mounted Park Ranger and her horse Mystic. I was really scared of her and kept my distance. I don’t know why everyone calls me a horse, I am not that big! She was gigantic, really pretty but gigantic, you guys. Dad really wanted a picture of us together to share with everyone but I made him keep his distance. The Ranger totally understood and admired me from a distance. I shared my card with them too, so maybe next time we’re there we’ll meet again and I can have some time to get used to having friends in high places.

We finished our trolley tour a couple stops up from where we got off and turned in out tickets for the harbor tour. It was part of the package and really fun, windy and fun. I don’t think we’ll ever forget that 75% of Boston is on man made land. The narrator of the trip told us about every two minutes so it made us laugh toward the end. Of course Dad wanted to correct her and say that man did not make the land, they just moved the earth into position and forced it to stay there. Our little puppy made us proud when she had a correction of her own when we were being told of Paul Revere’s ride and the misquote “the British are coming” she said, they wouldn’t have s”That’s Right,” with pride! (Editors Note: this puppy is very distracted most of the time so to know she had learned and retained something like that at school was very impressive!) As that tour ended I headed back up the pier and we decided it was about time to head out of the city so that we didn’t hit too much traffic. Before we made it back to the garage, though we spotted John, our first trolley driver. We stopped and chatted with him for several minutes so I could share yet another card and get some pets.

This turned out to be a really fun couple of days and even though I’m not much of a city dog I’d be happy to do it again soon, just not too soon. I can’t wait to see what the rest of our spring break brings. I’m sure whatever it is I will share it with you, so don’t go too far.