Everybody gets circled, sniffed and chewed on!

Puppy School!!! Hoooorayyy! All the way there I stood up in my carseat and kept looking out the window. Mom said I was smiling the whole ride to Pet Medical Center where we have our class. We went in the front way and there was Tracy at the desk, just waiting for me. I was so happy to see her that, if I could fly, I would have leapt right out of Mom's arms into Tracy's. Mom laughs at me. She holds me under my tummy and I make all four feet go like I'm swimming an Olympic race. Tracy takes me and I give her a million kisses.

We go in back and ohhhh! HAPPY DAY!! All my friends are there except Bailey. But I guess maybe Bailey is too old for puppy school now? I really do miss him. Anyway, Samantha and Sunny (Maltese) are there. And Dizzle (Yorkie). And Sara (Rat Terrier), Boo (Poodle), Kobe (Boxer) and Softie (Soft Wheaten Terrier). Even Mordecai hung out with us for a bit. He's older and he's like a big star to us little kids. Mordecai can roll over and even jump into Miss Letty's arms right from the ground. He is sooooo cool. He's a Queensland Heeler. I'm not sure I spelled that right, but Miss Letty says he's a herd dog from Australia. He's just the nicest, smartest dog in the whole world. His "brother", Benelli, is pretty kewl too. He's more like a Border collie. They play Frisbee really well. I hope I can play, too, someday. When I get bigger. Maybe.....?

I just love everybody. We only have one hour to play so I skip all the stuff that wastes time. If I want to play, I flip onto my back and let the other pup sniff me. Then, I get up and we tussle a bit. Sometimes, we play Safari where we both eyeball each other and very slowly, without breaking eye contact, we lower our heads just a bit and stalk. And then...kabloooie.....we take off running. I do like that game. We have races, too, to see who runs the fastest. Usually it's me.

Sometimes I practice my detective skills. All by myself, I slip away from the pack (it's really cool to be part of a pack, you know!), and I go and explore the yard. Every little blade of grass, every fence board, even the trees....they all have stories to tell and I know each one by smell. When I'm on the north end, I'm pretty serious here. There are some really good smells by the shovel and the rake. Samantha comes to see what I'm doing and I try to explain about being a good detective but she doesn't want to get down and dirty. She's more into tea parties and dress up. She goes back to the first available lap, and I get back to business.

Uh oh! Softie is all over Dizzle and Dizzle is really squealing. I go to see if I can help. Softie gets a "time out" and Dizzle and I wrestle a bit. We have our cookies for snack, and then it's time to go home. Miss Letty weighs me and I'm exactly 4 pounds. Mom says I'd make a good doorstop. She tells Letty that I remind her of a turbocharged hedge hog. I think it's a compliment, but I'm not sure. Uh...I forgot to mention....this time Letty put the box of cookies on top of the table where I couldn't reach them. She's getting pretty sneaky.

The most important lesson that I've learned at Puppy School: No matter who you are, or how big or how small you are, everyone gets circled, sniffed, and chewed on at times. It's ok to be on the bottom of the pile one day, because the next day you get to be on top. If people behaved more like we do at Puppy School, I really think the world would be a better place, don't you?