Rockstar Azul Fan Club

 Traveling with a Service Dog on a Holiday Weekend What started out on a road trip that we've made together hundreds of times, soon became a weekend filled with new experiences for Rockstar Azul the Service Dog. Most of you know that I visit my adult children and grandchildren in Illinois as often as I can. Most times, it's all about visiting family and friends and a little about PA and petting zoo animals. This trip was a bit different. About 1/3rd of the way there, our transportation (my Kia) broke along the side of an expressway. This was a new experience for Azul seeing the cars wiz by us while we sat still. It didn't take me long to realize my car was in "limp mode" and I could drive at a snail's pace to the next exit and gas station to wait for assistance. I'm sure Azul could hear the stress in my voice as I first called my husband then AAA for a tow. After about 15 min of phone calls and 20 min of going on a field sniff-a-bout, we saw the tow truck ...

  Kids and Dogs...and Husbands! We all know and have heard horror stories of kids who are bitten by dogs because no one saw the warning signs of an uncomfortable or trapped dog. (This is NOT that story!) This is a "How Well Do YOU Know Your Dog!" story. My grandson, Forrest, in this picture is 1 yr old than Azul. They've grown up together and have a certain relationship with each other that neither has with another sole. Forrest is wild and crazy but calms down around Azul & Azul is calm and chill but will get crazy with Forrest to entertain him. Not quite 1 yr old Forrest taught puppy Azul to do a finger nose boop as a silly game long before I taught any formal hand targets. ( I think I may have just started basic hand targets at the time.) Fast forward a few months and Forrest and Azul tired each other out playing the choo-choo game running circles around the dining room table and kitchen island.  Just for fun, check out this video of Forrest and Azul playing the Ha...