Renewed for another season!

I just received word today that the ratings for the first season of "Cheers Puppies" were very good and that the programming executives at Helping Paws have renewed us for another season of exciting fun. So watch this space for developing news.

Its been a year and a day already?

As I was reminded yesterday, there were 10 puppies (I guess they are not even really puppies anymore) celebrating birthdays. You can see some of the festivities here http://pawls-paws.blogspot.com/ I can't believe how much they have grown, and how well behaved they all are. Congrats to all the foster homes-you are doing excellent work!

Now the real work begins :)

Sorry for the late report on Friday night's ceremonies. I spent most of yesterday napping, and I sent Team Cheers south to deliver some things to Faith.

Anyway, Friday night's transition event at Helping Paws went very well. The new foster homes are all excellent, and this made it that much easier for myself and Team Cheers to deal with all the emotions involved. So good luck to Hudson (Sam), Boston (Kelly), Becca (Rebecca), Hazel/Angel (Diane) , Sawyer (Woody), Izzy (Vera) and Carla, Norm, Cliff, Lilith(whatever your names end up being). I know that you are loved and treasured in your new homes.

And thanks again to everyone who was wearing a Team Cheers T-shirt on Friday night. You all made my job that much easier.

Last Call!

As some of you may know, part of my full kennel name includes the phrase "Last Call", hence the call name "Cheers". And "Last Call" seems an appropriate title for this post. Today is the last day here for the puppies. Tonight they go to Helping Paws and are passed on to their new homes to start the next step on their journey in becoming sevice dogs. As you can see by the above picture, they are so excited that they are nearly climbing out of the pen. A couple have even been able to climb up onto the platforms that I use to get in and out.

Its going to be a busy day here. Team Cheers went to work this morning, but they are only working part of the day. I think they want one last romp with puppies. I know I do. Then its baths and naps as the puppies need to be clean and well rested for the their new caretakers. I do want them to make a good first impression at their new homes!

Speaking of which, to all of you that are getting puppies-Good Luck! I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did.

For Tiga

Yes, those are Tiga's puppies. We've always been inspired by that picture, and staff has been trying hard to get a similiar picture. But 10 puppies don't really fit on any given side of the X-pen, so Team Cheers has been stumped for quite some time. Tonight they finally figured it out.
Tiga-this picture is for you:

Tonight is the second to last night that the puppies will be here. Team Cheers has already been discussing how they will deal with "Puppy Moving On" day on Friday. I suspect that it will be with equal parts sadness and happiness. On one hand, they are very cute and it has been a pleasure to watch them grow and see personalities develop. But on the other hand, they are rapidly approaching the stage where they are needing more attention than they can receive here. And sometimes they can be a lot of work. For example, Team Cheers estimates that it has done between 120 and 150 extra loads of laundry. That's a lot of trips up and down the stairs!

A blast from the past

A former staff member of mine was kind enough to provide Team Cheers with pictures of me when I was a puppy.

The Great Outdoors

Everyone here at Team Cheers has been eagerly awaiting this day. Events have conspired to delay it, but FINALLY we got to put the puppies in the puppy pen. Let me explain-when I employed my current staff, I specified that I would need a special outdoor area just for my future litters. Team Cheers, with some help from great neighbor, got it done. Team Cheers has been eager to use it, but between meetings, the weather and other issues, the pups have not been able to utilize the pen. Until today.

Today when the pups got back from their maiden voyage to Helping Paws (hopefully this will be the subject of a future post), they were taken straight from their kennels and placed in the pen. I honestly thought that the puppy testing would have tired them out, but apparently they found the fresh air invigorating.

They loved the room-it gave them more space to chase each other.

Some, of course were curious about the other side of the wire.

They were also provided with familiar toys, which they enjoyed tremendously

Some learned how to chew on sticks.

They explored the corners.....

Hung out in the tunnel...........

Checked out the flower beds

Posed nicely

Occasionally I had to step in and show them how to play properly

Here you see me giving a sniffing lesson

Another corner is explored. Apparently the blond boy is the lookout.

They also worked on their prancing skills

As well as exploring the dark recesses of their play area.

And they ran! Oh my did they run!

At one point it got so silly that I had to step out. The pups all weigh around 9-10 lbs, and when they all get to running is quite a sight to behold.

And they learning picnicking skills.