Official Allina hospice volunteer!

Mom just completed 3 days of training through Allina  Home and Community Services. She said it was the best training and she learned so much!! Way to go mom for making it through the training ... and today, on the last day, I got to go with her because they needed to take my picture for my own badge. How cool is that?? :) And on top of it all I got lots and lots of  hugs from all the other volunteers and Allina staff.

Mom was really proud of me. She kept telling me how good I was ... not sure what the big deal is. Aren't I always good??? Anyway, I slept most of the time right by her side. Occasionally the other volunteers came by to say hi and gave me pats and hugs and I also got some belly rubs ... nice long belly rubs! I showed them that I know how to shake and "high five" ...

so mom graduated from the training today and we both got our badges!! We also got our first assignment and I'm really excited about it. Mom is going to call the family first thing next week and set up a time when we can start visiting ... i'm going to have a new friend now ... this is exciting!!

Here are some photos from today ... if you're a therapy dog or know someone who's a therapy dog i hope you'll also consider volunteering with hospice. Yes, you can email me at ahnung.star@gmail.com.

and if you want to learn more about the hospice training from mom's perspective, she wrote about it on her blog. 

Brother?? I have a brother??

My mom has been having to travel a lot recently ... for work and just recently because her mom just came back to the U.S. from the Philippines and unfortunately ended up in the hospital for a few days. Mom hopped on a plane pretty quickly! I know I talked about my crazy brother Mister before ... yes, I love him a lot especially since he's taught me how to play. He's been gone so much lately though because every time mom has to go out of town he gets "shipped off" (and I mean that in the most endearing way) to auntie Laura at Rescue Buddy Boarding. When he goes there he gets to hang out with La Buddy, a springer spaniel. I think Mister thinks that La Buddy is his brother now. I hope he doesn't forget that he has two sisters (Missy and me!) and a feline brother (Henry!) in St. Paul ... it's quiet around here without him.

Now don't feel sorry for my brother. He loves going to Rescue Buddy Boarding and hanging out with auntie Laura and La Buddy. He gets to go to the dog park, sleep on comfy dog beds, ride around in a Honda minivan with auntie Laura when she has to run around doing errands .... and I even heard that he was pretty sneaky and did some countersurfing last week and got to auntie Laura's banana cake! Way to go bro'!! :) Next time you need to be a little quicker so that you don't just get a corner of the cake and you get the whole cake!! And next time, save me some too!!

You see that photo of him on the right ... that's Mister after his big exciting day at the dog park with Buddy!! If you want to read more about his adventures at the dog park check out the Rescue Buddy Boarding blog.

So Mister .... as much as you have fun hanging out with auntie Laura and Buddy, don't forget about me, okay?? I miss you when you're gone ... although it is kinda nice and quiet :) I hear you're going back there again next week for an overnight and a few days of daycare ... lucky boy!!

Buddhist Dog

Mom is trying to get me to become like Conan the chihuahua. I don't think it's going to work though but i'll let her keep trying.

Buddhists clasp their palms together to pray for enlightenment, but Conan, a chihuahua, appears to have more worldly motivations.
The dog has become a popular attraction at a Japanese temple after learning to imitate the worshippers around him.
“Conan started to pose in prayer like us whenever he wanted treats,” said Joei Yoshikuni, a priest at Jigenin temple on the southern island of Okinawa [from Pet Press]

Check out this photo of my brother Mister .... I think there's a better chance for mom to get Mister to become a Buddhist dog. Mom's been doing a lot of pondering about a lot of things, including Buddha, God, meaning of life, blah, blah, blah  ... you should check out her blog.

Me?? No pondering for this girl ... lots of sleeping and basking in the sun for this buddha dog :)

Free animal therapy informational session

My mom and I will be hosting a free animal therapy dog informational session at Pampered Pooch Playground again.
As you all know, i've been busy volunteering with mom over the past year. 


Date: Saturday, April 17th, 2010
Location: Pampered Pooch Playground, St. Louis Park
Time: 10 am - 11 am

What you will learn:

• What makes a great therapy dog?
• What kind of training is involved and how long will it take?
• What are the requirements for the dog? and for the handler?
• How do I get started?

Yes, it's my dream to start a movement here in Minnesota of animal therapy teams and to inspire others to go through the necessary training. You might think it's a lot of work ... well, it kinda is a lot of work, but it's sure worth it! If you could see the smiles on the faces of the kids and the people I get to visit ... you would know it's worth it! They tell me I'm making a difference. Well, we're making a difference for each other. 

To register for the event visit click here.

Or if you have questions you can email me too ..  I love getting email :) My email address is ahnung.star@gmail.com. 

I sure hope you're enjoying the beautiful spring weather. I had a wonderful time this weekend basking in the sun in our backyard. I have a few weeks off from "work" so am catching up on my beauty sleep :) My next gig isn't till the last week in April where I will have the chance to give a presentation to a class at Avalon school in Minneapolis with my mom. I'm pretty excited about that!! Then mom has to go through her volunteer training at Allina so we can start volunteering at hospice. 

I do think it's almost time for me to schedule another spa day ... i always love seeing auntie Jenny at Pampered Pooch. My brother Mister got a bath when he was staying with auntie Laura at Rescue Buddy Boarding. Check out how cute he is on the Rescue Buddy blog. I really miss Mister when he's gone (so does Missy) ..... I love playing with him. 

Okay ... time to call it a night. It's been a rough day ... all that beauty sleep will wear a girl out :)

Celebrating no bunny ears this year!

For many families they will be celebrating Easter this weekend. For me what I am going to be celebrating is that I do NOT have to put those crazy bunny ears on ... (and auntie Laura, the answer to your question is NO!! NO, you can't come over for a photo shoot with those bunny ears! It's La Buddy's turn to try those ears on this year!) Instead, what i'm going to be doing is lounging on the couch with Mister and Missy or basking in the sun under our tree in the backyard. Yes, that's what this girl is going to do this Easter!

I'm not really sure I get this Easter thing that humans celebrate. Lots of chocolate in the shape of bunnies and lots of painted easter eggs. Mom won't let me eat any chocolate and she also doesn't give me any eggs to munch on ... okay, gum on, since I have no front teeth. We do have these two big bunnies that are taunting Missy and Mister. They've been hanging out in the backyard of our neighbor's house. There used to only be one bunny. I think Bunny 1 must've broadcast to the bunny community that there are these crazy dogs on the other side of the white picket fence and how fun it is to watch them go bonkers. I just sit there quietly and watch them. They're kinda hypnotic if you know what I mean. My siblings, on the other hand, lose their mind --- bark, bark, bark!!! Run up and down the fence. Mister even paws at the fence .... when will they learn that it won't make a difference and the more they do that the more the bunny has fun? 


Well .... this girl needs to go eat breakfast now, then she needs to go back to sleep. Yes, my beauty sleep.

Whatever you celebrate, whatever your religion or faith is, whatever you believe in ..... I hope you have an Ahnung weekend ... in other words, hope you have the best weekend because my weekends are always the best!