The E-litter is growing up

Everest, Elliott, Ebony and Eddy
2008FEB22

At puppy class last week I was finally able to get a more up-to-date picture of the E-litter (minus Enzo). They had just spent an hour running around and playing with each other. The picture is a little misleading. Everest is still the big boy of the litter. He towers above everyone else. Elliott has replaced Ebony as the smallest puppy. Ebony, Eddy and Enzo are all about the same height but they each have very different body types.

Big sister Ebony?

Ebony is proud to announce that her parents, Liberty Belle (Libby) and Wally, are pregnant. The puppies are due at the end of March. There is a new blog to track the progress of the 'F' Litter....

Dogs With Wings Puppies

Puppies vs Snowblower

It doesn't matter what you are doing, the dogs always have to be involved. Even something as simple as using the snowblower to clear a path in the backyard becomes an excuse to play.

A work and a play day today

Today was the nicest, warmest day we have had so far this year. Beautiful, sunny and +7 degrees. We started the morning out at West Edmonton Mall where Ebony attended puppy class with 6 other puppies in the Dogs with Wings program. Things started out a little shaky with Ebony doing her best imitation of a teenager who no longer thinks she has to listen and do what her Mother asks her to do. Eventually she settled down and she made me proud to be her Foster Mom.



After class we headed to the off-leash park to burn of a little excess energy and to enjoy the marvelous day. Ebony met a lovely, female Rottweiler name Akira and they had a wonderful time wrestling and chasing each other in the snow.

Westmount Safeway Cares!

A group of loyal Dogs with Wings volunteers gathered at Westmount Safeway to help bag groceries and to ask customers to round up their bills to the nearest dollar and donate their change.

Ebony spent two hours visiting with customers and supervising the volunteer baggers. She also managed to sweet talk Maureen, a very friendly Safeway employee, into rubbing her belly.

Six months old and acting like a teenager

The 'E' litter turned 6 months old on Feb 3/4th. I don't know about her brothers but boy is Ebony acting like a teenager sometimes. She likes to test to see just how serious I am about enforcing the rules. She also appears to have forgotten her name on several occasions because she just ignores me when I call her. Although this is pretty typical behavior for a puppy, it can test your patience.

On the positive side, she continues to learn new behaviors very quickly. She has become my helper around the house. Anytime I drop something she is right there to pick it up and give it to me. She is learning how to help me undress. She just loves pulling off my socks....the only problems is that she really likes doing it when I am trying to put them on in the morning.

Ebony has earned her wings

We got back from Clicker Expo late last night. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about taking Ebony with me. It was a lot to expect from such a young puppy. I am so proud to say that both Ebony and Tulsa were amazing. They were incredible ambassadors for Dogs with Wings.

On the trip from Edmonton to Calgary, Tulsa sat in the row behind us but that didn't stop her from trying to say hello.

Ebony and her foster Dad waited patiently in the Calgary airport for our connecting flight to Los Angeles.

WestJet placed us in the first row so that the dogs would have a little more room to lie down. They also have an extra oxygen mask in this row so that a service dog can wear the mask if there is a problem with the cabin pressure.

It took almost 10 hours to get Ebony to go to the bathroom. She only knows how to relieve herself on snow....the green grass was just too strange and she wasn't sure if this was a place that she should go to the bathroom. My only thought was I hope we won't have to go through the same transition when we return home to snow-bound Edmonton.

There were close to 350 attendees and dogs of every shape and size. The days were long and demanding. During the lectures, the dogs were expected to lie quietly on the floor for 90 minutes. We also had a few hands on training labs that allowed us to work with our dogs.

We met a beautiful, gentle Mastiff named Emma.

On Friday night we went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner and the 'girls' quietly went to sleep under our table.

On the way back, our flight was delayed leaving LA. By the time we got into Calgary and went through customs they were already making the pre-boarding announcement for our flight to Edmonton. We had planned on having enough time to take the girls out for a potty break....instead they had to hold it for almost 11 hours (including two take-offs, two landings and long walks/runs through airport terminals). Once we landed in Edmonton and they had the opportunity to take a much needed potty break, they were rewarded with a big, stinky, delicious 'bully-stick' for their outstanding performance!!