The walk was 1 mile, with pools and drinking buckets along the way, but the heat took it’s toll. Even so, we had to make Gunny slow down or rest in the shade. He just keeps going. Before starting the walk, and after finishing, we had all of his “posse” piled in a friend’s huge truck, A/C blasting, bandanas soaked in ice water wrapped around their necks. Heat stroke is a very real risk for animals, especially Bully breed dogs. Gunny made new doggie friends along the way, winning more hearts with his amazing personality despite all he’s been through.

After the walk, Gunny continued his AmbassaDog duties at the new building, greeting fans, visiting with Adoptables, and socializing with NMAR graduates. More human hearts were won, more pictures were taken by fans. He did his best to educate a few families on introducing a dog into a family with children, and provided some real-life education and experience to some folks whose only knowledge of Bullies was from biased, incomplete oft-repeated media stories which so many times resemble a game of ‘telephone’. In other words, Gunny did what Gunny always does. He helps where he can, he educates, he accepts, and he loves.

The building address is 533 21st Street in Charlotte. It is at the corner of N. Davidson St and 21st Street near the NODA area. The whole family is welcome but we ask that you please leave your furry friends at home as we will have many there that could use your love.

We hope too see you there!

I finally found time to sort through some pictures from Christmas. It was The Magical Pack’s first Christmas with their Dad. Everyone had a blast. Here is one of my favorite naptime pictures from the holiday.

2011 flew by, and included a lot of life-changing events for The Pack. In February, we met someone who would turn out to be the Daddy the critters had never had. But more on that later.

Oscar made two trips up to Pennsylvania in the Spring, one of which was to celebrate his Grandfather’s 80th birthday with his extended human family. As always, he was the perfect gentleman, especially with his Grandmother who had come to rely heavily on a wheelchair for her mobility. He sat close by, keeping her company during TV time, naps, and of course meals. He heeled beside her wheelchair when we three went on walks around the block. The genetics that guided me to end up as the keeper of The Magical Pack came through my mother’s side for sure.

In April, Gunny achieved his goal of receiving his Canine Good Citizen Award through the American Kennel Club. The timing was perfect, as the students at The Gunny School were in the process of learning about citizenship for their character education curriculum. Once again, The Gunny School had a fun way to reinforce what the kids were learning by using Gunny as a reference and example, and of course the kids loved it. Hope will be next, allowing for a CGC hat trick for the Bullies, as Oscar got his award at the same time he received his therapy dog title. He was an over achiever, passing both exams at only 1.5 years old.

As has become the tradition, Gunny attended the school’s character education assembly in May, and presented the award winners with the Perseverance Award. Gunny and perseverance have become synonymous at The Gunny School.

A few weeks later, Hope headed to the ocean for the first time in her life to do a little preliminary reconnaissance with the aforementioned man I mentioned. The talk of weddings had already started, and Hope was with us as we started looking for venues. On June 9th it was official, and I was engaged. All members of The Magical Pack were fully supportive of the idea.

On September 2nd, exactly one month before my wedding day, The Pack’s Grandmother passed away. As you can imagine, it was incredibly hard on all involved, and it felt very strange to make the trip to Pennsylvania without Oscar. But dogs were not allowed in the Catholic church for Mass.

As the final details of the wedding were ironed out, we decided that although I couldn’t have my Mom with me, I would have one of my dogs. Due to Oscar’s advanced training and calm demeanor, he made the cut. Oscar was our ring bearer, wearing a linen shirt that matched the guys in the wedding party. My niece was the official dog handler, and the ceremony went off without a hitch, with Oscar running up the aisle on cue to deliver the rings to our pastor. Oscar was absolutely perfect in the days before the wedding, during the ceremony, as well as at the reception. He even stayed with us on our mini-moon, and had his first chance to swim in the ocean. He was definitely on board with beach life, and I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to head back at any opportunity.

Married life has been good for The Pack, and the kids are loving the added attention and walks that an additional human provides. Hope has been exploring the idea of being a Daddy’s Girl, though she seems to worry about how that might affect my feelings, and still has her share of Mama’s Girl moments as well.

The holidays were fun and filled with family time, though Hope caused us a good bit of worry. An insidious, persistent lameness culminated in knee surgery 2 weeks before Christmas. I could type on that for hours, but let’s just say that she blew out her ACL and mangled her meniscus, which resulted in lots of driving and very limited sleep for her mother and her new Daddy. Due to the need for constant supervision, Hope headed to McAdenville (a.k.a. Christmas Town) to see the incredible drive-by light display.

On this day after Christmas, things have settled down. Hope is still on mobility restriction and a few medicines, but acting much happier and more comfortable. Things with the cats are quiet, except for some age-related issues with our 17.5 year old Tobbles, who is the last surviving member of my Original Pack. She’s happy and comfortable and enjoying life, but 17.5 year old kidneys can be hard on a kitty.

Gunny’s fan base continues to grow, and his Facebook page has over 1,020 friends. Who would have thought that a nameless Pit Bull, left for dead on the side of the road, would have touched so many lives? For that matter, who would have thought that any of The Magical Pack, all abandoned, would have accomplished all that they have accomplished with saving lives and spreading awareness? So as we head into 2012, I pray that people be willing to challenge themselves in efforts to help other living creatures, whether human or animal. Even if an idea seems impossible, try anyway. Gunny never gave up, and neither should we. Happy New Year from The Magical Pack.

Mini Quote Signs – $10
These fun signs make wonderful gifts! Can do custom quotes (up to 5 words) or select from one of the below. These are around 10×7 although all are different. They include a hanger on the back. Shipping for these is $3.75 and $1.00 extra per sign for multiples.

Personalized Ornaments – $12.00
Such a sweet and special gift for the loved ones in your life. Please send the name you would like on the ornament and your color choice they are available in white, purple, green, blue. Shipping is $1.75.

Back in May Gunny made a return trip to The Gunny School.  He handed out the Perseverance Awards to the students in two assemblies.  Once again, he was unaffected by the hundreds on children and adults in the audiences, and the cheers and applause didn’t bother him one bit.  He posed for pictures, both group shots and individual shots, and got his fair share of love and attention.  He also stopped by to visit his friends who teach in the self contained classrooms for children with Autism.  Gunny was the center of the Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy groups running that morning, and the kids responded very well to seeing their furry friend again.  My favorite moment was when we adults helped a little girl to produce more language by making requests centering around Gunny.  Our intent was for her to tell us what she wanted, and for us to help make it happen.  Instead, she got down on Gunny’s level and worked very hard to say “I…want…a kiss….please”  and no sooner had the words come out of her mouth when Gunny planted a sloppy one right on her cheek.  It was priceless, and so frustrating that we didn’t have it on video.  Talk about evidence for the importance of animal assisted therapy!  The little girl was very excited about being able to ask for something and getting such a big response that she repeated her request to Gunny several times.  He obliged every time. 

New this year was an invitation for Gunny to celebrate with some kids who had put in many extra hours preparing for the end of grade exams.  These kids work hard to overcome their learning disabilities, and are supported by an incredible special education who is always looking for new and fun ways to teach and support.  Since Gunny is such a favorite, he invited us to be special guests at an ice cream party to show the kids a little fun before the exams began the following week.  These kids were 4th and 5th graders, and the small group time with Gunny provided us with an opportunity to talk about dog fighting and animal abuse and how to treat other living things.  Many of them hugged or high-fived Gunny for good luck on their exams.  I really believe that memories of Gunny will stay with some of these kids into adulthood.

Oscar celebrated his 6th birthday on June 1st.  He has been enjoying the kiddie pool in the back yard and some trips to Lake Norman for some wave chasing and swimming.  There are some very funny videos of Oscar’s water-related antics at the following link. 
http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=244721692108

Hope had a few medical hurdles to get over so far this summer, but nothing life-threatening.  Just more crosses for this sweet girl to bear.  She continues to be happy and playful and keeps everyone on his toes around here.

Tobbles the cat celebrated her 17th birthday on May 16th and is going strong.  Millie the cat is 12 years old as of June 19th.  Linc continues to live his life as a dog trapped in a cat’s body.

There are some new leads with the Gunny book, and it involves me researching, researching and researching…but I am picking away at it. 

Gunny will be heading back to “his” school in May, so here shortly we will begin preparing for his visits to the classroom for children with Autism, as well as for getting the permission we need from the Perseverance Award winners’ parents for him to “present” their awards.

Knock Out Dog Fighting is a fantastic program that has gotten attention and awards from the FBI, the President of the US, and the California Govenor.  Its founder is also famous for being the first person to use a Pit Bull in Search and Rescue, and that dog became one of the best the country has ever seen.  She was hand picked for FEMA disasters, and was one of only 6 dogs certfied to locate anthropological remains…she once found remains so old that technology didn’t detect them, and marked off an entire Civil War cemetary that no one knew about.

These guys know their stuff, and it’s so cool that they think Gunny and I have things to add to the Team!

Hold onto your hats…the ride continues.