the week that flew

well, it's another week down here at bergin u. i can't even really remember what happened, the days go by so quickly. we had a lot of lectures and guest speakers on topics like disabilities, marketing, vet care, puppy fostering, boards of directors, so on and so forth. also, we did both puppy and adult dog trainings each day. phew! NIGEL spent one night with me, on wednesday. recall, this 6 month old pup just arrived here last weekend, and had very different living conditions. all in all he is verrry sweet and has learned very quickly, but still has no clue on general manners, especially in a house. i had high hopes that sleeping in a crate would go well, however after 20 minutes of excruciating screaming, i gave up. he does not have to be crate trained, at least not now, so i decided not to put either of us through it...as sleep is a rather valuable and highly essential commodity for me. rather, i leashed him to the foot of my desk, right next to my head, so that nothing was within his chewing distance. he laid his chin on the bed with our noses a few inches apart, and i petted him until he slowly fell asleep and eventually collapsed onto the floor. a few times in the night his cold nose met my cheek, just to be sure i was still there, and the petting to sleep to floor routine repeated. all things considered, it was a very smooth night for a dog's first time in a bed room. needless to say however, it was no the most solid sleep i've had, between his waking to check on me and mine to check on him. nevertheless, it was very sweet, and i will attempt to do it at least once a week. other than that, i will bring him home for the afternoons after class some days and return him to his room in the kennel/offices before the puppy bed time (lights out in the kennels!).

also, yesterday i had a wonderful birthday. thank you to everyone who called or wrote or posted to wish me well! my friend here were very sweet...karen and jen had a present outside my door when i woke up, some classmates surprised me with cake after lunch break, and everyone went out to dinner at the "hopmonk" a local restaurant and microbrewery where i got some more cards and gifts and jen treated me to dinner. also, of course, my friends and family made sure a had a few little care packages so i wouldn't feel so far from home. although it's always the ultimate to be home on my birthday, it was a very nice distance-celebration and i appreciated it very much!

i hope you all have a very very wonderful independence weekend. may God continue to bless all of you and our wonderful country, and of course those who are fighting for it while we enjoy our 3-day weekend. take care : )

LOVE,K
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