Hi Friends –

There is so much going on with the family it’s hard to keep up. The fact that dad can’t type fast, or at least can’t type fast well, also adds to the fact that I can’t keep you as updated as I’d like. I can’t remember what information I’ve shared on any one particular media option, so that doesn’t help much either. Let me start by saying that we are all happy, healthy and keeping busy; that, is the most important detail to me. Being a Service Dog I am always trying to keep everyone safe. I do mean everyone, from Dad and the family, to the baby that has come over for a visit. It may be a Dane trait, or it may just be me, I can assure you the block is on lock.

Now, on to the important shenanigans, Ha-ha I like that word, shenanigans. So, what has been keeping me up at night? Nothing! I’m a dog, I sleep wonderfully. In fact, I sleep so well that I overheard Dad telling Mom that he wishes he could see what I dream about. You see, Dad doesn’t dream much, and when he does, which is more often than he thinks he does, he doesn’t recall it. His recall is so bad… (How bad is it!?)… Even if he wanted to write it down as he woke up he couldn’t. I see the appeal, but I’m not telling, just know that it’s Great to be a Dane. (See what I did there? Huh?)

Anyway… We are again, in the process of making a move. A few weeks ago I guess, we put the house up for sale. Many assume that when you do this you have fallen out of love with where you are. In our case that is not true. We came to Oklahoma with the purpose of providing a richer experience for the human pups. We moved closer to a large segment of our family; that has been a blessing. We moved for a better school system, and we moved to get away from the cold New England winters, which have an effect on dad physically and emotionally. We have stepped up in so many aspects of life by being in the mid-west. So why leave? That’s a valid question. First we don’t plan to go too far, just to somewhere in Tennessee (it looks like, greater Memphis, as of this post) . The move accomplishes a few things. Moving, gets us away from a poorly run political system, with only the light of a train at the end of the tunnel. It improves the pups education opportunities (See a trend here in why we move about?), and hopefully opens new career doors. See, as many of you may know, and stop me if you’ve heard. Mom is a lady of many talents. First, She is a mom and a wife (married to dad by choice, sheesh!, but I guess I chose Dad too, so I get it.) she is a singer, a stage actor, a voice artist, and so much more. I say this because it’s true, she’s awesome, and if we can help he career by making all of these options easier, we’re all in. Next, Mom and Dad are gross, co-dependent people who don’t like to be apart, so if Mom goes to a conference alone they both quickly have issues to put it nicely. Moving puts us closer to where much of the voiceover action is. Luckily, Dad can work virtually anywhere I guess Dad’s bosses like him, for some reason, because he still works for a major company in CT. Another factor, farther down on the list is we may get to pay fewer taxes. (Dad says he doesn’t mind taxes if they are used to help everyone, and right now the more we have, the more we can do.) I don’t know what those are, but I heard it’s like getting to have more kibble in your bowl at every meal, while still sharing with the others in the house; that sounds good to me.

This process has brought us to our most recent adventure. We loaded up into the truck and took a long drive to central Tennessee. We would rather experience the places and decide if the community feels right. This is a contrast to how we came to Oklahoma; where we visited for a short time, relied on Mom’s experience and family in the area to essentially buy a home sight unseen. Mom and Dad drove for what felt like half of forever. (Dad said it was closer to twelve hours with food and fuel breaks. We ended up in what they call ‘Middle Tennessee’. We met some wonderful people, like Penny, our Realtor (and her office mates). People in general were very accepting of a big boy like me. The excitement and acceptance seemed much more than we get back home. There was one guy, at the hotel out at his Jeep while we were out, I was “doing my business…” and he and Dad chatted. He knew that I was a Blanket Harlequin, and was as excited as a puppy to see me. He asked if he could meet me, but I was in my work clothes and “occupied”, so Dad pointed out the vest; with great courtesy he thanked us and went about his day. We overheard him explain that I was a working dog as he loaded up with family, and waved as he drove off.

Mom had an endless list of properties for us to look at. I have to say, Penny is a real trooper to bring us to so many places. Mom & Dad like the idea of a house with character (read as OLD!) like a farm with out-buildings or a barn. Since that type of property would have plenty of space for zoomies and bitey-face that sounds good to me too. The problem that we have found so far is that in order to have any amount of land we have to be far away from town. This would be okay, as long as the pups have a way to get to school and back (…but what happens when they miss the bus?) The other issue is that Mom and Dad both have jobs that require high-speed internet with 100% up-time. Satellite just won’t cut it; we’re talking power use here folks. Dad has a 24×7 on-call job. Mom works in Voice-Over and graphic design, so she needs to be able to get her product out and receive instant feedback (and not with a bad mic). The average person obsessed with social media on their smartphone really doesn’t grasp how important the Internet is to putting kibble in my bowl. We will find a balance, even though I we think it means that we need to look at different areas.

We made it through all the properties we could possibly fit into a long weekend but I was exhausted at the end of the day. It’s funny; Dad pretends not to understand that I NEED to be in each new house first so I can make sure it’s safe! For some reason he wanted to go slow and look at everything. Dad felt the need to explain to Penny (our Realtor) why he had to keep asking me to go slow. I think he feels silently judged sometimes. At one property though, we were in a safe area so he let me off lead. I explored every room while he chatted, then when I came back, I was clipped back on-lead and we walked the property as calm as could be. (We do really know each other pretty well.)

Mom really felt the need to find the perfect home because we did have showings of our house at the same time. I understand, if we had an offer then we could make an offer. As it turned out the market in TN (a seller’s market) is commonly seeing a four day contingency and we haven’t sold yet, so we returned without making any official offers. Based on the amount of research Mom is doing, I think it’s good. We will find the perfect location, with the perfect schools and a home we will love for years to come. I hope it has a pond or brook for me to play in (or is it a Crick in Tennessee?). Whatever we do I know the move is going to open new and exciting doors.

Don’t look now, but I hear that another trip is planned.