This weekend, my family and I rented a cabin on the lake to get some lovely time away, so Oliver went back to his previous handler's house.  It was about a 2.5 hour drive from our house to drop him off on the way to the cabin, and he handled the trip like a champ!  The back of the car was packed full with everything we'd need on the lake for the next few days, so Oliver got to sleep by my feet during the car ride.  He didn't have very much space, but he still handled it super well.  It was probably good practice for if he ever has to fly after placement, as there is even less space on a plane!  I was really impressed because he was hardly antsy at all and just stayed curled up for the majority of the trip.  We also stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break (for us and him), and he did awesome for our short time in the store too.

It has been a super fun few weeks getting to work with Oliver, and I can't wait to see him again when we go back to school in the fall!  I am back home now, and it definitely feels a little weird not having an ADEPT dog with me for the first time since January.  However, I am enjoying the chance to spend some one-on-one time with Theo (who I think is missing his buddy too).  I will be starting work back at the Campus Information Desk at the university at the end of August, and we will hopefully be getting our fall teams for ADEPT assigned around then as well!  I have a feeling this semester will require even more flexibility than usual, as there will probably be hurdles regarding COVID and what happens as we progress through the semester.  Regardless, I am super excited to be back on campus soon even with the changes.  Until next time, stay pawsome! 

I'm a little late with introducing Oliver to you as he has already been with me for about three weeks, but I figured it is better late than never!  After I brought Penny back to her previous handler, I picked up Oliver to spend a few weeks with him.  Oliver is a ten month old black lab and is the second youngest dog in the PawPADs family right now (Leo is the new baby).  He still has lots to learn of course, but he is doing super well with everything he has been introduced to so far! He loves "get it" with lots of different objects around the house and is great at getting his food bowl out of the kennel after he eats.  He is definitely still a puppy, but he has matured a lot since I saw him at the end of our time on campus last semester.

Tonight, I took Oliver on our first public access trip together.  Living at home during COVID-19 means I don't go many places besides work since my parents do most of the shopping, but I did go along with my dad tonight to get Oliver some access time.  Since he is still pretty young, I didn't have super high standards, but he did really well!  There were a few times when he got a little distracted by a person walking past or something on the ground, but it was pretty easy to regain his attention.  I was really proud of him!

It has been a super fun few weeks, and I am looking forward to the next few weeks with him as well!  He will be heading back to his first mom the last week of July since my family and I will be out of town for a few days and then I will hopefully be moving back into my house for work training back on campus in August.  I will likely post another update at the end of July about all the new adventures we have had, but until then, stay pawsome!