Oklahoma!

My great teen volunteers in Okmulgee!

My work took me to the wild country of Oklahoma where the humidity made my fur curl and my tail droop.  I soon figured out that air conditioning is the world's best invention.  My upright isn't a fan of air conditioning because she's always cold.  But I love resting right in front of the vent.  
Joey tagged along.  He kept cool by chomping on ice cubes and sleeping on me.  I don't know why he always thinks he needs to sleep on me.  It actually makes me hotter, but he likes to snuggle.  And no matter how far I move away from him, he always finds me...
The car trip was long but full of fun rest areas, dog parks where balls were thrown, and picnics. I love picnics because it seems there's always food to be found.  I'm more adept at finding food on the ground than Joey, but the little stinker's learning. 
We performed in places like Okmulgee and Ada.  The enthusiastic audiences clapped and cheered.  I was the star, but Joey was the show stealer.  And although, I'm not happy with that, I've come to terms with him being part of our show.  I love it when the kids laugh and there was a lot of laughter in Oklahoma. 
Joey finally learned how to roll over, but he rolls in the opposite direction of me.  We'll never be able to roll over together.  I guess he's a lefty and I'm a righty.  I roll right, he rolls left. The trick finally clicked for him—it was as if a little light went off in his puppy brain. 
Have you ever tried to train your dog to do a trick, but the dog refused to learn it or acted completely confused?  Try breaking the trick down into smaller parts.  Try teaching it a different way.  If he still doesn't learn the trick, move on to something else.  Return to the trick another day.  My upright was trying to have Joey roll over in the same direction in which I rolled over, but Joey didn't like that.  When she changed her arm motion to the opposite direction, he learned to roll over.    
Every library had teen volunteers  who helped us bring in our props and dog agility equipment. The volunteers played with Joey and then petted me.  Joey adored the volunteers and gave them hugs and kisses.  I only kiss my upright. The volunteers encouraged the children to form a line when it was time to pet me.  I'm glad the libraries had volunteers.  Have you thanked your library volunteers?  They donate their time to help with programs and summer reading at libraries everywhere.  Teen volunteers are wonderful, so if you see one, be sure to tell them "Thank You!"  A simple thank you lets them know how much they are appreciated.   

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Joey loves his teen volunteer. He gave her hugs and kisses!