Evaluation Day!

I passed.  Not by a lot, but at least I'm still in it.

We went to the Roadrunner's Farmers Market on Saturday morning.  So early, I didn't even get to have breakfast.  Mom tried to feed me before we left the house at 7:00 a.m., but I like to eat when they do, and they weren't eating.  So I got there pretty hungry. 

Mom and Dad walked around with me to let me get used to the place.  Then Dad went to the car.  That got me VERY worried.  Where was he going?  What was he doing?  I kept trying to see him but Mom kept moving me along to the market.  I kept looking around to find him, and Mom seemed to be getting really worried.  "Guinness", she said, "work with me.  We have to pass this test."  Test?  An evaluation is a test?  Uh, oh.  What if I fail?  Will Mom still love me?  What do I have to do to pass?  I'm getting VERY nervous.

We wandered through the market and Mom kept pulling me here and there.  I kept looking for Dad.  Then she brought me to a picnic table a bit apart from the market and we sat until a gal came and smiled and said, "Hi, you must be Ellen."  So I knew Mom must have been expecting her.  This must be The Evaluator! 

Right away I liked her.  She had treats hidden in her pocket.  And she offered me some.  Well she made me work for them.  First she held out her hand with the treats and I tried to get them.  Then she pulled back and said, "Wait."  What, can I have them or not?  Finally, I gave up and just sat.  I guess she wasn't really going to give them to me.  And what do you know?  Then she did!  What a weird gal.

She asked me and Mom to walk around left and right and backwards and forwards, all on a short leash.  I tried really hard to follow, but it wasn't easy.  Then she wrote a few things down and we went to find some people I could say Hi to.  That was fun!  First Mom found this fun guy who was fishing in a pond.  She told him we were training and would he mind petting me.  He said, "sure".  I walked up to him, and he petted my head and I gave him a kiss to thank him.  That was fun! 

THEN, we went into the Farmers Market.  WOW!  It was full now.  With lots of smells and people and other dogs.  Mom kept telling me to Heel.  But that was really hard.  I just wanted to smell everything.  After we passed through the market once, the gal told Mom to ask people to pet me.  So every so often, Mom stopped and talked to someone and they would pet me.  It was great. 

One gal had a German accent, and I could tell she really liked me so I jumped up to give her a kiss.  Bad move.  Mom grabbed my collar and the Evaluation gal frowned.  The German gal seemed to like it, so what was the problem?  But we kept on going and I got petted by lots of people. 

When we finished, the Evaluation gal filled out a form that said whether I passed or failed.  And I passed!  Thank heaven.  Mom would have been really mad if I didn't.  But she did make a note that Mom was to watch the jumping.  Uh, oh. 

We came back and I was really tired.  So I found my favorite place and vegged out! 

I have to rest up for next week.  We're going to a nursing home.  What's a nursing home?

I'm learning lots of stuff.  Hope I can keep up.  I'll tell you all about it next week.

Love, G (Yawn....)