Meet Skyler

After saying goodbye to Christopher & the rest of Missoula I took off in my packed car for the two day drive back to PA. I don't recommend doing thing drive by yourself in two days. The drive took me through 9 states, 5 of which I now get to mark off my atlas. On my last night I stayed w/ TJ & his family in upstate Ohio. Finally the day came when I got to pick up my new little girl. On May 16th I rolled into West Alexander & picked up my new little girl, Skyler. She's an 11 month old blue merle bitch that will be going through the National K-9 program w/ me. I'm very excited to have her in my life & it's been awesome having a dog at my side once again. She was kept by the breeder as a show prospect but wasn't working out in the show ring. She is comfortable making the switch from kennel dog to house pet. Just wanted to share some pictures w/ everyone. There will be plenty more to come so get used to seeing her face. :-) Especially once we return to Montana as I have high hopes for this girl & I to get our certifications in Animal Assisted Therapy once we return home at the end of the summer. Keep us in your thoughts w/ this as I know nothing about it other than the small amount of research I have begun & if you have any information you would like to share w/ us about it, please do! We're both eager to learn.

p.s. I still haven't found my cord yet but as I spent all of last Saturday taking photos for my sister & her fiance for their engagement she took the liberty of buying a memory card reader for me so I can finally start editing her photos... now all I need is for Christopher to hand over some of his skills!

No Great Photos This Time

So I don't have any new photos to add for this post since I can't find the cord to connect my camera to the computer, they're all still stuck on my camera. I'm back in Ohio for the summer living w/ in my brother's house w/ his family & my sister Kristen. I've been working back at the Pet Palace for the past few weeks & will be starting classes at the National K-9 Training Institute on June 16th. Will get some pictures up once I find the cord for my computer! Just wanted to give a quick update. Miss you Missoula. *muah*

Driving Back to PA

Just a photo of this beautiful mountain that popped outta nowhere on my drive home.

Missoula @ Night

On the first switchback I stopped to take a quick shot of the clock tower on the Main Hall on campus.
Missoula @ night.
Myself & Kyle right below the M w/ our back to a beautifully lit Missoula.
Missoula @ night.


Some photos of my travels up the M Trail tonight.

Night Hike Up the M Trail

Taking advantage of the nice weather here in Missoula, I decided to take a little night hike up to M Trail tonight to catch some views of the city at night. Thought I'd send a little video home. *muah*
About 30 seconds after I packed my camera up, 3 huge flashes filled the night sky as a transformer in the city exploded. A portion of the city went dark. At least I got all my photos in before!

Good Karma

This past weekend has been a much needed amazing weekend for me. Friday morning I found out that I had passes my WPA on the first try, a test required to graduate here at U of M, which most students need to retake an average of 3 times. Whohoo!
But my day only got better from there.
I stepped out of my Rocky Mountain Flora lab to take a call I thought was going to be about a house for next year but instead heard myself talking to the National K-9 Training Center located in Columbus, OH. I was shocked to hear from them b/c the last time we had talked they kept insisting there was no space for me in their summer program & that the best they could do was put me on the bottom on the waiting list after I turned in my application (which had a $50 fee attached). After mulling it over for a while I decided to turn in my application but attached my resume too. So when I received this call on Friday it came as a shock when they told me I had been accepted into the summer program of one of the best training schools in the nation. Whohoo!
My mind was reeling all night & after working my shift till 3 a.m. I still couldn't fall asleep. I now needed a dog to go thru the program with. My girl Queenie is to old for the intense training and the pup I am expecting in June is to young. I remembered an e-mail the breeder whom I was originally going to get my pup from that had a young blue merle rough collie bitch that just wasn't working out in the show ring for her. I sent her an e-mail first thing Saturday & on Sunday after talking extensively we worked out an amazing deal for this girl. So say "hello" the newest member of my family, Skyler. She's 9 months old in these photos, 10 months old at the moment, & will be at the perfect age of 1 to go through the intensive training program with me. I'm into my last week of classes. Whohoo!! then a week of finals, packing, then driving x-country for my 4th time in college to visit home for a little while then it's off to Columbus for another life changing summer. Can't wait to see everyone back home. *muah*

Six Billy Goats Gruff

I finally captured these guys w/ my camera today driving back from work. I've been watching this herd all year on my way to work but either never had my camera, didn't have time, or the lighting was bad. So here they are finally.