My virtual run with Mom ... we completed a half marathon!!

Mom ran the San Francisco US Half marathon on Sunday, 11/7 ... the weather was gorgeous when she arrived there on Thursday. And it was also gorgeous on Friday ... but guess what, on Saturday, it rained and rained all day!!! She had prepared herself to run in beautiful California weather ... the hills were going to be enough of a challenge for her and when she heard it was supposed to rain she got kinda nervous ... but no worries ... nung-nung to the rescue!!! :) I told her that running in the rain is so much fun. It's like being a kid all over again and playing in the rain and jumping in puddles!!

And do you notice her running bib??? :) She got to put whatever she wanted to put on her running bib and she chose 'AHNUNG'!! She told me that I'm her northstar and that she was going to carry me with her on this run and in her heart ... well, she may think i'm her north star but she's mine too. She also ran on behalf of St. Jude Children's hospital for children with cancer.

So on Sunday morning she ran 13.1 miles in rain ... and it was pouring. I told her that when she runs over the Golden Gate bridge to look up into the skies and to just take in the beauty of the moment ... and to know that the rain is a spiritual cleansing for her :) She ended up doing a great job on her run and loving it. She said she felt like a kid again and stopped caring about her shoes getting muddy and filthy ... way to go mom!!!

And don't you also just love the # we got ... 959!! The number '9' represents accomplishment and the number '5' represents unpredictability. Well, she got unpredictability with the rain on Saturday when it wasn't supposed to rain ... and I am proud of how she handled the rain, the hills and the mud!!! If she decides to run this race again next year, maybe it will be a sunny day, but if not, looks like mom can handle anything!!!

And this virtual running thing where I can be with mom in spirit and not leave the comfort of my couch .. well ... that's the way to do it!!!

January model for the Pet Haven 2011 Calendar!

Guess what??!!! My alma mater, Pet Haven of Minnesota, has created their first ever calendar for 2011 AND the best part of it, is that I get to be a part of it!! :) I had my photo shoot at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis where mom would take me in November and December of 2008 when I first got to the cities and was living at Bloomington Veterinary because I had to recover from heartworm. She'd pick me up every day so we could go on outings and hang out for a few hours while she worked. And my auntie Lisa took these awesome photos ... actually, she took all the awesome dog photos in the calendar (my auntie Agnes took all the great cat photos!). My auntie Lisa volunteers with Pet Haven and is amazing ... you should check out her website lmj Originals.

These incredible calendars are only $15 and would make great gifts for the holidays ... don't you think?? :) And at the same time you will be supporting homeless dogs and cats and Pet Haven so that they can continue doing the great work they are doing. I literally owe my life to Karen Good who first rescued me up at the Red Lake reservation but then to Pet Haven for taking me into their foster program and nursing me back to health. There's only a limited quantity that's been printed for the first year, so you'd better hurry up and buy your calendar! So .... where can you buy them???

You can buy these calendars at Twice the Gift in downtown Minneapolis (the IDS tower) or at Pet Haven's Fall Benefit on Saturday, November 13th. And some time soon I understand they will be for sale at Pampered Pooch Playground in St. Louis Park.

So if you buy a 2011 Pet Haven calendar you will get to see my cute little face for the entire month of January!! Mom sponsored a month which means she gets to put a small ad in the calendar (it's at the bottom of the page ... she's promoting my blog and fan page on facebook and the work i'm doing as a therapy dog) ... as a sponsor she also got to pick the month and she picked January because I was officially adopted by her on January 3, 2009!!!

And I have to give a bark out to my auntie Jaime who designed and created this entire calendar from scratch. She's an incredible Pet Haven volunteer (not to mention talented!) and she gives, gives and gives!!!

Running a half marathon in spirit

Mom is leaving for San Francisco tomorrow morning ... yes, it's for work but also for what she says is pleasure ... hmmm, she thinks running a half marathon is fun ... nung-nung disagrees!! But what's really cool about all of this is that this time last year mom was not feeling good ... losing a lot of weight and extremely tired all the time and could barely do much of anything. Okay, okay ... so she was sleeping alot like me!! :) So this is a big deal to her because she's been feeling much better and has been able to train for this half marathon. She's running the US Half Marathon and gets to cross the Golden Gate bridge twice! It starts at 7 am on Sunday ....

But guess what the best part of all of this is ..... she got to request for a customized running bib when she signed up for the race AND [drum roll ......] guess what she requested ... her bib is going to read "AHNUNG"!!! So even though I won't be there with her physically I will definitely be there with her in spirit and we'll be running the half marathon together!!!

I don't EVER want to run a half marathon (maybe my brother Mister might be able to do that some day) but I am very happy to run it with mom in spirit .... the weather is supposed to beautiful on Sunday so I hope she has a great run! Run Mom Run!!! And remember, have fun and enjoy the gorgeous sights!!

... Sleep Nung-Nung Sleep!!

Volunteering at The Lab!

I got to volunteer at The Lab (of St. Paul Public Schools) yesterday with mom, Uncle Keith and my buddy Roxy, an 85 pound Bernese mountain dog!! Mom says I look like a tiny girl next to Roxy ... well, i'm only 56 pounds so no wonder I look small!! :)

Yesterday was Roxy and Uncle Keith's first time to volunteer at The Lab and I was there to 'mentor' them ... (mom tells me they really didn't need much mentoring and I agree!! They rocked!). We were asked to present to Miss M's class. Mom and I have visited them before and shared my story. At the beginning of the class Mom asked them how many remembered my story ... wow, they remember the details of my story better than I remember it! They even remembered that my name means 'star' in Ojibway!! This one student said she remembers my name has something to do with the night sky and the stars!! :) When we were there last time, mom told them how i'm her north star and asked them who their north star was and to remember that even when it's dark outside and we feel sad and alone that we can hold on tightly to our north star.

But yesterday was Roxy and Uncle Keith's day to shine!! Uncle Keith got to share about how he followed his heart and his passion and love for dogs and started his business, Pampered Pooch Playground, a doggie daycare. Roxy was so cute and did great on her first day of work!! Good job Roxy!! We've been asked to come back and meet with another class ... i'm excited to volunteer with Uncle Keith and Roxy again!

I love my job!!!

When I was walking through the hallways yesterday I got lots of love and pets from the kids. It's so cool how they all remember me ... they even remember my name and Ahnung isn't the easiest name to remember!! I had an extra special treat yesterday .... I got to see 'R' who is the first kid I got to meet at The Lab over a year ago, and it's because of him that I am volunteering at The Lab. He came out of his classroom when he saw me walk down the hall (mom says his teacher was teasing her about how we were disrupting his class!) ... he came up to me and gave me a big hug!! And you know what he said to me and his classmates, "this is my favorite dog!" Then right behind him was another student 'A' whom I met last school year during one of the dog groups ... he said "do you remember me?" I said, "of course, I remember you!" When I knew him last year he was afraid, yet intrigued, with dogs and never really came close to me to pet me or give me hugs. Well, guess what? Yesterday, he came right up to me with a big smile and gave me a gentle pat on my head and my back!! Wow!!!

I just love these kids so much!! I love how they get so excited to see me! I can't wait to go back to see them ... here are some photos mom took from yesterday ...

Here I am arriving at The Lab!

Relaxing for a minute before going upstairs to the classroom

and here are a few more photos!! :)

Hanging out with my buddy Roxy!

Roxy and I hard at work!! Being a therapy
dog is hard work!! :) I demand a pay raise ...
more doggie treats please!!!

Giving and receiving love from a special kid!

Spa Day today at Pampered Pooch

Guess what today day??? Today is a special day because it's spa day and pamper nung-nung day at my favorite place, Pampered Pooch Playground!!! I have to work next Friday at The Lab, which is where I've been volunteering with at-risk youth in this super awesome program of St. Paul Public Schools. Next Friday is an extra special day .... next Friday I get to volunteer with my buddy Roxy (and yes!! she's an absolutely adorable Bernese mountain dog!!). Roxy recently became a registered Delta Society therapy dog ... she went through class with auntie Danielle of Canine Coach. Roxy and my uncle Keith (who owns Pampered Pooch Playground) will be joining my mom and I next Friday to give a presentation to a group of really cool kids at The Lab! Roxy may even come in costume ... she's getting ready for a big Halloween Party at Pampered Pooch!! Mom has been telling me that she might put a tutu on me .... I have told her NO!!! Absolutely NO!!! No tutu for nung-nung!!!

The first easter I celebrated with my mom (2009) my auntie Laura put these bunny ears on me! As you can see from the photo on the right ... I am not a very happy nung-nung girl!!! :)

So please join me in telling mom that I will support my pal Roxy as she gets all dressed up for Halloween, but NO costumes for me.

Here I am with my buddy
Roxy who is calmly waiting for
a treat from Uncle Keith!

So back to what's important .... Roxy and I will be bringing smiles and joy to these kids at The Lab next Friday. All the kids there know me ... it's pretty funny because when we walk the hallways they all say hi to me and they even know my name - Ahnung! I get lots of hugs and kisses and mom says that they don't even know her name :)

I have to go and get my spa treatment today because mom is leaving town again for work tomorrow and won't get home till Thursday night.  If you ever need to get a spa treatment and want to get pampered (and we all should be pampered!) .... I highly, highly recommend my favorite place of all ..... Pampered Pooch Playground.  My brother Mister goes there for doggie daycare too when mom has a long day at the office.

Enjoy your Saturday my friends!!! Hope you enjoyed the beautiful full moon last night!!

Volunteering with cancer patients

This was supposed to happen about a month ago but due to some health issues mom is having we had to delay our interview and orientation at Regions Hospital!! Well, as of an hour ago we are now both officially volunteers at Regions Hospital and we are going to be volunteering with cancer patients ... my job is to make them smile and make them feel better as they are going through chemo.

I really didn't want to have my picture taken today so I decided I was going to be uncooperative during the picture taking for my badge ... so all you see is this big black (CUTE!) blob on my badge with my name. But if you look closely at my badge (which mom says it's pointless to even show you the badge!) you'll see that it's me!! :)

Anyway, we won't actually start till the second week of November because mom is so busy traveling for work right now ... with her health stuff we also had to take a step back from volunteering at hospice but i'm trying to tell her i'm ready to get started. But next Friday .... guess what .... I get to volunteer at The Lab (of St. Paul Public School) with my buddy Roxy and Uncle Keith. I'll write more about that on another blog post.

Let's play "Follow the Sun!"

This morning we got to play "Follow the Sun!!" There's this one spot in our living room that gets a beam of sunlight ... I hogged it this morning. My brother Mister was pouting and was ready to grab my spot if I got up for a second ... well, I claimed it for a little while .... I actually had to move and follow the sun beam. When I got tired then Mister hogged it ... mom says it's funny to watch us because after Mister got up then my sister Missy moved to lay in the sun beam, then my feline brother Henry did the same thing .... I don't know why mom thinks it's so funny. The sun feels so nice and warm.

The best part of it all is when mom lets me hang outside in the backyard ... then I just throw myself onto a pile of crunchy leaves and take a nice long nap in the sun! Now, that's the way to live my friends!!! :)

For those of you that have to work ... Happy Hump Day!!