Purdy Passed!

My latest training partner, Purdy, passed her CGC test tonight! So very proud of her!

Home by 4, Yes Please!

Would loveit if every day I could be home by 4pm. Maybe I need to work something out on slow days. I could get use to this.

Maui Taco, CGC

So let me tell you the story of Maui Taco. In June 2010, I came across a picture of this dog that was a cruelty case and no one seemed to want. After a week she still had not be rescued. At that point I decided to try my hand a fostering. I figured why not start with this one. An emaciated pit bull none the less. I was able to get in contact with a pit bull rescue group, Treat Em Right Rescue (TERR), and they pulled her from the city pound. From there I met up with them at their vet's office and brought Maui home. All the way home she rode in the back seat just checking out the world for the first time as a free girl.

As she was checking everything out, I was stuck in traffic like always and trying to think of the perfect name as she was just a number up till this point. Adam and I had gone to Maui for our Honeymoon and took the road to Hanna one day. Along the road is a beautiful black sand beach. I thought was a great name for a soon to be beautiful black dog! So there is the story behind the name.

We have been her foster family for a little over a year now. She has gone through basic training classes and passed with flying colors, earned her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) (It took three tries but I think most of it was my fault. Sorry girl and thanks for sticking in there with me while I learned). She loves to swim but there really isn't a great place to swim around here. She plays ball with her foster brother. She basically just follows him around with a ball in her mouth while he plays ball. We are working on drop but still haven't figured out the best way to teach this. She is good a leash.

The best thing, she loves to cuddle on the couch with you at night!

If you are looking for a wonderful dog to make part of your family, please come meet Maui Taco! Pictures just don't due her justice.

For more info on Maui, TERR, and their adopt-a-bulls, visit www.treatemright.org .






Maui Day One!

Maui with foster brother Dash (lab mix) and foster sister Daisy (beagle mix) Now!

P.S. on Purdy!

If you would like to know more about Purdy or Treat Em Right Rescue, please visit their web page treatemright.org.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie!

After walks and lots of ball playing, I finally have three sleeping dogs! Today was a volunteering day at TERR for me. I have been working with a dog named Purdy. She is the perfect little Pit Bull. She is about 40 pounds, super smart, and one good looking dog (very defined muscles and pretty coloring - fawn/gray and white). I have worked with her almost every Sunday and Tuesday for the last six weeks. She has gone from not knowing her name to heeling without being taught! She is great on a leash and knows all her basic commands. In two Sundays we will be taking her CGC test. Which I am confident she is going to pass with flying colors. She got a 100% on her Rally pre-test this past Sunday! Right now we are working on long stays as she is easily distracted by some of the dogs and practic makes perfect. If you know anyone looking for a dolly baby to share the life, let them know about Purdy! She would make a young single guy or gal a great best friend!

A Year with No Fireworks

Thanks to the severe drought here. All fireworks where baned. The only fireworks were from Freedom Over Texas downtown. We didn't venture out to watch. Maybe next year will be better. Big bummer for a girl who loves fireworks :(

What a Year!

So most people write an end of the year letter. This year I am writing a Christmas in June blog update!

Here are some of the highlights since my last post.

• We started our fostering our first dog on June 21, 2010. Her name is Maui and is a Pit Bull. Yep a Pit Bull. I was following a blog of a local animal rescue worker and came across a dog that she keep featuring but no one wanted to help. So I convinced Adam to let me try fostering out. She was underweight we bad skin and needing lots of TLC. A year later she is a healthy weight, has her CGC, and is quite the sweetie pie!


• Our annual Happer Family Vacation was spent visiting my brother in Australia. We toured Sydney, Cains, and a little more of Sydney. We snorkeled the great barrier reef and hiked in the Blue Mountains. It was a great trip packed full of site seeing.


• Adam spent much of the fall in the Netherlands for work. He was gone for 3 weeks home for 3 weeks and gone for 3 weeks. At the end of the second three weeks, I meet him in Amsterdam and we spent our anniversary in Germany! We rode the train from Amsterdam to Munich, visited Castle Neuschwanstein, Oktoberfest, a concentration camp, and went on a wild goose chase for Lederhosen braces, just to name a few of the adventures we had. It was a much needed Adam and Tiffany vacation!


• At the end of October we headed back to Kansas for some K-State football and a baby shower for my sister! It was a great weekend full of lots of quality time with friends and family.


• We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in Kansas this year. Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with Adam family. On Christmas morning, my nephew was born! Jonah Tyron! What a great Christmas present for my sister and brother-in-law.


• In February we headed back to Kansas to visit my family and hang out with friends for the Super Bowl. Before we could make it out of Houston, an ice storm crippled the city and shut down all the roads and airports. Thankfully the ice melted quickly and we where able to head to Kansas the next day. I headed home on Monday and Adam stayed for the K-State Engineering Career Fair.


• This summer's Happer Family Vacation was spent on the Outer Banks, NC. We spent time at the beach, visiting lighthouses, crab fishing, and searching for wild horses! We had four generations on the trip, with ages ranging from 6 months to 75+ years old. It made for interesting dynamics but was overall a good time.

Stay tuned for more regular updates in the coming weeks to see what is going on with the Graebner's!