I have some exciting news! I will be going to school in a few months! Kat homeschooled her two daughters, but she said there are things I will need to go to classes to learn! I think it’ll be fun! She will still teach me lots of things at home, too!

Our nice vet, Dr. Betts, https://animalcareofgloucester.com/about-our-clinic/our-team/

told Kat about a dog training place here in Gloucester, so she called Perfect Paws Pet Training

http://www.perfectpawspettraining.net/homepage.0.html

and talked to their training director, a super nice lady named Jean.

Jean told Kat (I got to listen in on all their conversation) that I need to have more of my shots before I go to school, and that the puppy class that starts April 16 would be a good time for me to begin! I will be four months old then. I don’t mind the shots so much if I know they’ll make it where I can go to puppy class.

The class I will be taking will make me a STAR if I work hard!

S.T.A.R.

Socialization

Training

Activity

Responsibility

After I graduate from Puppy class I will be eligible to move on to the Basic class, then the Obedience 101 class, then the Intermediate class. Finally at the end of the Intermediate class if I am ready I can take the test to be an AKC (American Kennel Club) Canine Good Citizen AND take the test to be a therapy dog!!!

Then I will get to wear a pretty therapy dog bandana!

It will be a lot of hard work for Kat and me this coming year with all the school and classes and studying and homework and tests. But Kat and I are a team and she says we can do it if we stick together!

She says finding Perfect Paws is a blessing from God because they are exactly what she was hoping to find. Jean is an approved AKC evaluator as well as a TDI (Therapy Dogs International) evaluator and local chapter head. So once I am a “real” therapy dog we can work with Jean to go on visits and make contacts! Kat says God led us to JUST the person we needed to know!

Also, Kat says Perfect Paws is dedicated to positive training methods. I like the sound of that! I like treats and rewards and pleasant, kind voices that help me learn. Kat says some people yell at their dogs and punish them for things they don’t even understand. So I’m very thankful Kat believes in accentuating the positive to eliminate any negative, just like the song says that she sings to me!

I like being happy!