At least 20,000 new friends

Over Easter weekend Toby came with us to the Royal Easter Show at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland. It was a chance for us to see how he would cope with a really massive crowd - and the answer is that he thought he had just found about 20,000 new best friends.

He was a real hit with the crowd, and it was fantastic to see that everyone listened when we asked them to only pat him while he was sitting as we are working on him not jumping up on people so that it is concrete for him that it is not acceptable. He was there for 3 hours, and in the end he fell asleep which made even more people come over and have a look at him.

He was a real drawcard for Outreach Therapy Pets, though we had to be really clear about what Outreach did as opposed to Perfect Partners as it was really easy for people to get confused. We also met a really lovely lady who was really interested in Toby, and when she found out Toby was from Christchurch she asked about his breeder as she is from Christchurch and looking for a dog. Hopefully she gets in touch with Arangold because the dogs are all fantastic.

Last week Toby also came to the Mount Roskill Community Library where he met about 80 people who had all come along for a special storytime and the chance to learn more about what dogs can do for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - a great tie in for the summer holiday programme topic which is communication. After some stories and songs Toby came out and sat with his puppy raiser as she explained what he was for and what he was learning, answered some questions, and then met everyone who had lined up to say hello to Toby. He was a huge hit and he made some new friends. Marion, Danielle, and the rest of the Mount Roskill Library team were fantastic as usual, making everyone feel at home and totally supported.

Toby has also said goodbye to the team at the Blockhouse Bay vet clinic. The team has provided excellent care for Toby over the past few months - always helpful, friendly, and approachable (although Toby may have preferred not to be neutered). They took really good care of him and he is all ready to go to his family in the next few weeks. It's not the most flattering photo, but here is Lance giving Toby a treat so that we could get a picture of them together.

That's all for now. Look for some more blogging in the future as Toby moves towards living with his family permanently.

Toby's life lesson # 7 'poo makes you smell good

You may not believe it, but at least once a month I get covered in 'poo. Not that my puppy raisers mind, they usually use conditioner afterwards anyway.

Most of the time they use Fidos which has lots of different kinds of shampoo, and they are all soap free so I don't lose all the oils in my coat. They have used Emu oil shampoo, Oatmeal shampoo, and even some really nice Aloe shampoo.

Because my puppy raisers have dogs that do therapy pets visits, they have to bath their dogs regularly which means that they have had lots of 'poo choices - and they can use either the Creme condition of the Oatmeal conditioner.

I have to say that it does leave my coat nice and soft and shiny, and they say I smell nice - though I'm not completely convinced. I am sure that the other dogs are laughing at me sometimes when I smell like 'poo instead of like dog.

Vee Eee Tee spells vet

Today was a big day for Toby, he was neutered this morning which was a bit of a challenge for all of us - including Toby.

First there was last night when he had to go out on the lead rather than going with the other dogs for a last "busy" before bedtime. And then this morning he wasn't allowed breakfast, and he was kept inside except for a few on lead trips outside for some more "busy" breaks. And then there was being left with the vet clinic staff instead of staying with his puppy raisers.

But it was only a small hurdle overall with Toby in very good hands of the team at the Blockhouse Bay vet clinic. Toby has been going there because his puppy raisers take their animals there and the standard of the service and care is very high. The whole team took good care of Toby and made (what he no doubt thinks) a suitable fuss of him on the way out the door.

The only reminder of his trip now is a little tenderness - and a brand new fashion accessory for the next week or so while the stitches are in.

Now that he is neutered Toby can start moving towards being permanently placed with his family which is a very exciting thing for everybody. Toby has been training with a tshirt belonging to his little person and he will sleep nearby if you have the shirt on the back of a chair, and he has been known to sneak off with it quietly if he can.

So now Toby knows that Vee Eee Tee spells vet - and he is milking it for all that it is worth - as you can see, one Toby wearing an Elizabethan collar.

D is for Doggie Devonport

Today was a great day for dog owners on the North Shore - with the first annual dog day being held at Deveonport.

This was the perfect chance for Toby to meet a wide variety of different dogs in a busy and bustling environment - and it was a huge success. Even though Toby has never mixed with a large crowd of dogs before he took it all in stride - and generally showed really good doggie manners with the other dogs.

The day was fantastic and it was a chance for us to get a bit of a profile in the community, and it was also a chance for Toby's family to spend some time with him. They took him for a walk as a family without the puppy raisers in tow and it was a huge success - Toby went with them willingly and was pleasantly tired when he came back to his puppy raisers.

It was also a chance for his puppy raising family to spread the word about Outreach Therapy Pets. While Toby was having fun with his family, his puppy raisers were out talking to people about Outreach and taking pictures of other Outreach volunteers and their pets, and also taking pictures of some of the fun things that were happening.

Here are some of the pictures from the morning: