7-7-08:  Today I had the chance to go on a brand new fieldtrip…it was something called “going to get the oil changed” and it happened somewhere called “Meineke“.   My Biggest Fan took me along when she volunteered to take one of the rescue’s vehicles in for this oil-related experience.  I honestly can’t tell you much about it except that I got to lay on a nice, cool, tile floor beside My Biggest Fan and eat treats and drink cool water.  Lots of people commented on how well behaved I was.  A few people even came over to rub my belly---man, I love that.  One of the mechanics let me take a good look at the inside of  something called a “vending machine” while he sat on the floor with me and scratched my ears.  That was fun.  I heard My Biggest Fan give her “Pitbull Education Speech” to two different people, who were very receptive to what she was saying…it really helps when I am on my best behavior while she gives that speech, so I tried really hard to do all the things she has taught me.

My Biggest Fan told someone that she thought the funniest part was when we were actually leaving the Rescue to head over to this Meineke place.  My Aunt Lisa asked me if I was going to School (I used to go there with My Biggest Fan to learn cool tricks, remember?)…My Biggest Fan said “nope, we’re going to Meineke”.  Apparently, to a lot of people, this would sound odd and they would ask for clarification or more details.  But Aunt Lisa just said “Oh, OK, have fun” like it was an everyday thing.  I guess she is used to hearing about My Biggest Fan taking me all over the place to less-than-expected places…to be fair, you just never know where I may meet My Very Own Human, right?  And I’ll go ANYWHERE if it means I get to meet him/her soon…I sure do miss them…and I haven’t even met them yet.

Til next time, this is Ozark, telling everyone to keep an eye on their oil, or their change, or whatever it is that the people at Meineke check when you go to visit them!

6-25-08: Wow, was Gunny’s Meet and Greet ever a success! So many people showed up to meet my buddy Gunny…and Baxter, Ryder, 2 fluffy puppies whose names I didn’t catch, and I actually got to meet him face to face for the first time too! It was a bit overwhelming…My Biggest Fan was taking care of Gunny, so she didn’t get to spend all of her time with me like she usually does. Instead, I stayed with a few new humans and my Aunt Beth, and tried to give Gunny space to “work the room“. To be honest with you, I am really not used to having someone ELSE be the center of attention at public events! Gunny even had TV cameras and newspaper people come to meet him and film him…even I, The Official Ambassador, have only had my picture in the paper once…and have never been on TV. Way to go Gunny!

I wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out. I heard through the grapevine that the rescue raised a big chunk of money to go towards Gunny’s vet bills---that was really nice of the humans! And of course a big thank you to The Wine Vault and its staff for allowing us to have our party at their place…they sure are nice Dog People! I had a lot of fun meeting new people and changing people’s minds about dogs like me…I’m still a little sketchy on the details, but apparently some people are afraid of me and dogs that look like me. Odd, huh? I mean, how scary can I be when I spent the majority of my time with my belly primed for belly rubs or licking the faces of anyone who lets me get close enough? I don’t know, sometimes humans are just way too confusing.

6-21-08:  Happy First Full Day Of Summer to everyone!  Have you guys been as busy as *I* have been lately???  My Biggest Fan has needed a copilot for her MANY trips out and about to get things (more) ready for Gunny’s Meet and Greet…I have  a feeling we still aren’t all-the-way ready, so I may be called back into duty at a moment’s notice.  A few days ago, we had to drop off pictures of Gunny at The Wine Vault, and My Biggest Fan had totally forgotten that they have bands and radio stations and whatnot on certain days…the shopping center was PACKED. We had to park so far away, it was crazy.  My Biggest Fan thought about coming back another time, but I convinced her that that would be silly, so she and I waded off onto the crowds.  We had to dodge all kinds of crazy drivers just to get through the parking lot!  If I hadn’t listened so well to My Biggest Fan, I am quite certain I would have gotten squashed!  But I knew that she’d take care of me, so I just stuck close to her heel and waited for her to tell me what to do.  I wasn’t even the slightest bit nervous, even with cars so very close to me.  When we got to the shops, the crowd was crazy.  It was loud and crowded, and people were drinking stuff out of these bottles and glasses that I really think might have been making them act silly…I haven’t seen such goofy humans anywhere else, so I am only speculating.  The more crowded and loud it got, the even BETTER behaved I got.  I tried really hard to remember all the  stuff My Biggest Fan had taught me, and it really did end up keeping me safe.  Anytime My Biggest Fan stopped wading through the crowd, I sat right beside her, really close.  One time this BIG man cut us off, never even saw us, and My Biggest Fan had to slam on the brakes and her nose ended up about 2” from the (bottom of!!) the guy’s shoulder blades and I slammed on the brakes and sat down really fast and MY nose ended up about an inch from the back of the guy’s knee.  We had to stay like that for a good minute before he quit talking to some dude about what was in his bottle, and I never even flinched…didn’t sniff his knees or anything!  He didn’t even know we were behind him!  Stuff like that happened more times than I could count, and My Biggest Fan said I did a FANTASTIC job, because every time, I listened to her 200%!  I had a great time, and got to show off how well behaved I was to a very cute little girl who is going to be a great dog person when she grows up! 

Today we had to go BACK over there to bring MORE stuff for Gunny, and My Biggest Fan took me for a walk around the pond.  I got to visit with more cute kids (have I mentioned that I *LOVE* kids???), and then the craziest things happened.  My Biggest Fan pointed out something called a “swan” sitting about 1 foot from the edge of the sidewalk.  It was HUGE and My Biggest Fan said they are very strong birds, and she was a little worried if it would get upset with us for walking so close to him.  So, My Biggest Fan was keeping a really close eye on this bird (even though she knows NOTHING about birds or their body language, so we were really flying blind, no pun intended)…I could tell she was nervous, and I kept trying to tell her it was no big deal by how calmly I walked by the swan.  He wasn’t mad at all, and it wasn’t going to be a problem, but My Biggest Fan just wasn’t feeling too safe.  So, after we walked past with no problem, we sat for a second and just watched the swan…those are some cool creatures.  I think My Biggest Fan thought I might get excited or want to chase the swan, but I made a really big point of being good…I was as calm as could be…no difference being near a swan or a bench…it’s all the same to me---behave!  But she was still proud of me, and I like to hear her tell me that!  A little further along, we encountered about 20 Canadian Geese all across the sidewalk.  I tried to warn My Biggest Fan by slowing down and pulling back and averting my eyes from the geese, and pulling over off the sidewalk, but she told me “Don’t worry Ozark, they will move.”  And some DID start  to move, but My Biggest Fan didn’t realize that there was an almost-grown baby in the flock, and when we got to the dead center of the group, a few of the geese really started hissing and acted like they would come after us.  THAT was when My Biggest Fan saw the baby and I heard her say “Uh oh!”.  So while she started apologizing to the geese, I pulled her over off the sidewalk away from the baby and it turned out fine.  Once we were in the clear, I went right back to my calm self and walked like a gentleman.  Not too much further down the path, we saw four adult ducks nesting under a tree and I got to watch them waddle over to the lake with 6 teeny tiny fuzzy brand-new baby ducks scurrying along behind.  We sat and watched them for a little bit, as they were VERY cute.  I was just as calm as I was with the swan.  Neither the ducks nor the swan wanted to hurt me or My Biggest Fan, and I knew that…I was really just trying to get it through My Biggest Fan’s thick skull that the geese were NOT happy to see us.  And when she didn’t listen, I did the best I could to get both of us out of that situation.  Like I said earlier, she is clueless about birds…not like me!

So, that’s what’s new around here.  Between my time with the birds and my good behavior around Thomas The Cat the other night, My Biggest Fan is believing me more and more when I tell her that I can be very good around small animals, as long as I am with someone who knows how to remind me of my manners and who makes smart choices about how to handle introductions.

OK, you’ll have to excuse me now please.  I have to go rest up from my busy week.  I need to be ready in case the humans need more help getting ready for Tuesday’s big event for Gunny!

Hope to see you at The Wine Vault,

Ozark

6-7-08:  I went on a fieldtrip with My Biggest Fan today!  See, my buddy Gunny needed a few things from Petsmart, and he wasn’t quite strong enough to go himself.  I didn’t want My Biggest Fan to get lonely, so I offered to go along.  There were also a couple of errands to run, and since everyone knows to NEVER leave a dog in a car on a hot day (and MAN was it HOT today!), My Biggest Fan asked my Aunt Jill to come along.  That way, Aunt Jill and I could stay in the car with it running and the air conditioner BLASTING while My Biggest Fan ran in to all of the No Dogs Allowed stores to get all the things we need for Gunny’s Meet and Greet.  On the way home, we stopped for a treat at Sonic.  I’ve never been there before, but I have decided that I LIKE it!!  We packed everything up and headed back to the rescue to sit in the shade and have a picnic with our snacks.  I had my very first Ice Water Slushie!  I also talked My Biggest Fan into a few French fries and a lick of her cup when her milkshake was all gone.  Not to brag or anything, but I was on my absolute best behavior and even though I didn’t get a chance to mingle with the public too much, people were definitely looking at me from afar, and I could tell they were watching to see if any “crazy” stuff happened.  Silly people, why would they possibly think *I* would do any crazy stuff???  Don’t they know that I am the Official Ambassador???  How silly to judge any other living thing just by how they LOOK, right?

Well, anyway, it was a blast.  There is no better way to spend your day than with people who love you.  Maybe I’ll find My Human soon, so that I can spend ALL day, EVERY day with someone who loves me.

Until next time,

Ozark

6-4-08

Wow, even in this heat wave, my duties never end!  I am not complaining, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my job…I am so excited to be able to get out there in the world and DO stuff!   WAY better than sitting here at the rescue day in and day out, waiting for MY Human to finally find me.  They sure are taking their sweet time making their way to discovering that I am Their Dog, even though they don’t know it yet!

Today, My Biggest Fan needed my help on an errand she had to run.  See, she is the one who is fostering Gunny…you may have heard of him?  I hear he and his story are getting quite famous around these parts.  Anyway, people have shown so much interest and support in Gunny that the rescue really wants to give the public a chance to meet him when he is feeling strong enough.  So, today, My Biggest Fan had to go scout out some sites for a potential Meet and Greet opportunity for Gunny.  She figured that, when approaching management about allowing us to meet at their establishment, it might be nice for them to meet an actual resident of the rescue.  Since Gunny isn’t strong enough to go for himself just yet, I was happy to help out.

It seems the humans have decided that we will have the gathering at The Wine Vault in the UNC-C part of town.  I think that is a great plan myself, since the people went ga-ga over me as soon as I walked in the door and put my spotted paws up on their counter.  They gave me lots of belly rubs and even some treats, so in my book, they are Good People. 

When I hear more details about date and time, I’ll let you know.  I try to keep the social side of things running smoothly around here.  Keep checking back for information….we hope to get Gunny out and about sometime in just a few weeks…he is doing really well!

Hope you’ll be able to make it out to meet Gunny!

Ozark

Ozark’s Movie Night

Hey everybody!!  Now that Easter is over, my Ambassador duties have changed just a bit.  On Friday night, My Biggest Fan took me to the first Movies In The Park, held  in Harrisburg.  Even though I was there in my official Ambassador capacity, I was still able to watch the movie----Bee Movie---and had a blast.  I highly recommend it to those of you who live nearby.  My Biggest Fan said it was like going to a drive-in movie, without a car.  I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I know I really liked this concept of sitting around outside on a beautiful night, eating snacks and meeting new friends.  And as always, I drew a crowd if I do say so myself.  This movie thing seems to attract a lot of people of all sizes, which suits me fine, as everybody knows I love love love love people.  Just can’t get enough of them!  Too bad Chewy wasn’t around to go with me this time, but My Biggest Fan told me that Chewy found his Forever Home, so I had to go on my own this time.  I don’t mind because I am so happy for my fellow Ambassador…he’s a great guy and deserved to catch a break.  Who knows, maybe there will be another family looking for an experienced Ambassador, and it will be MY turn to take that job!!!

4-20-08: Chewy, Ozark, Hooch and Curtis Lowe attended an event up in Mooresville today. Thankfully the weather cooperated, and The Humane Society was able to hold its fundraiser for a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in that area. There were dogs, of all shapes and sizes, participating in a dog walk to raise money, and hoping to be the winners of some great raffle prizes. The NMAR boys all put on a good showing, and spent a good bit of time schmoozing with the public! We heard nothing but compliments about behavior and “cute-ability”! Chewy even had a visit from a local politician, thanking him for getting the word out about dogs in need. Photos were taken, and apparently Chewy and the NMAR info is supposed to end up on some political website! Ozark did his part to try to influence some people’s opinions about his breed. Chewy and Ozark were grooming Cutis Lowe and Hooch to be the next generation of Official Ambassadors, as we are all thinking positive thoughts that someday soon, Ozark and Chewy will find their Forever Families and leave NMAR for wonderful homes. The Big Boys feel that the Little Guys have a lot of potential!!