Zephyr has graduated

Zephyr has graduated. He was initially matched with a gentleman from Spain, but that match didn't work out. He went home with a woman from Alabama, and we wish them all the best.

Last visits and new home

Zephyr with his mother













Zephyr with his mother and half sister














Zephyr at the park



















Zephyr in the school lobby














Zephyr in his temporary home

Last days with us

Zephyr has gotten pretty comfortable around the office. He is enjoying these last few days with us, but he doesn't really have any idea that it's coming to an end. We had one last fun day on Saturday. We went to a Kiwanis pancake breakfast, the farmer's market, and a dog event to support the local humane society. Zephyr had a great time but would have liked more oppor- tunities to play with the other dogs. He had a puppy visit him today. She was a little shy, but warmed up to him after awhile. He has really settled down into a nice dog who works hard and plays hard. He's still fairly stubborn, so he isn't always that easy to work with, but he's a good dog nonetheless.

2 weeks notice

We have two weeks left with our Zephyr before he goes to school. We spoke earlier this week at the local Lions Club. We weren't sure we could fill the entire time with talking, so we had some demon- stration time. Zephyr did a good job of showing off his skills. He was pretty well behaved and sat quietly under the table during the business portion of the meeting. This weekend, we'll make our last visit with him down to my inlaws. Next weekend will be his last trip to church. I start thinking about things like the 4th of July parade and realize that I won't have a puppy to take to the parade this year. I begin to recognize that this is the end and Zephyr will be leaving soon. He has been very stubborn and inde- pendent, but he is also very sweet and loving. He worries about me when I don't feel well. He even tries to help me. He is happiest taking a nap nearby, preferably on a soft surface, but sometimes he chooses to be close by rather than on a mat. He has been a good dog and I will miss him greatly.

Beginning of the end

We are in our final weeks with Zephyr. He will be going back to school on May 5.

We met with our puppy counselor last Saturday. It was way too cold to even think about pulling out a camera and taking pictures. Our counselor was pleased with the progress he has made. He has settled down quite a bit in the past month. He does a good job of working when he's on leash and letting himself play and have fun when he is given free time.

We will have a tough time giving him up.

Yearling

Zephyr's birthday has passed by during this extended time that I haven't posted anything. We've been busy at work photo- graphing right of way and rolling around in the grass, and at home watching through the door while I took pictures of my flowers. He is one year old now, and will be going back to school in just over a month. At this point, we have taught him most of what we expect to, and we are just working at polishing up behaviors such as ignoring distractions. He spends a lot of his time in the office chewing on his toys. The nylabone in the pictures was new for his birthday.

Snow Storms

We have not had a very active week this week. It has been bitter cold with ice and snow storms. Work closed up early on Tuesday when the ice was falling. Wednesday morning, we waited until noon to let the plows do their work. We haven't been out in the field all week to do any inspections, so Zephyr has been suffering some cabin fever. I offset the inactivity some by bringing in his favorite big kong toy. He has had a lot of fun carrying it around and chewing on it. I'm sure he'll be as happy as me to see some warmer weather and getting out of the office more.