Thanks so much for reaching out!

My pup’s name was originally Humbug, but he is MUCH too sweet for that name. We’ve renamed him Lennon because he LOVES John Lenon’s “Beautiful Boy” Every time he can’t calm down, we play that song, and he relaxes pretty much instantaneously. It helps with crate training, too. We play Beautiful Boy 5-8 times when we put him in his crate, and it helps him fall asleep.

He’s been doing really well. He is in training to be my PTSD service dog, and he has the perfect personality for it. He’s been to the Mall of America (including the aquarium), all over Duluth, and to Madison. He was a perfect gentleman at our recent all-staff meeting, and did great with his interactions with the other service dog who was there. Our only real challenge is that he likes to potty in one specific location, and he will just hold it until he gets to that location (or back to the hotel room). But I have diapers from my 16 year old pup left over, so we just use those.

We did have a scare when we were in the Sugar Bush. We were great for the 2 outside days, but when we moved into the garage to finish the syrup, my dad thought he had picked up all the mouse poison and he had not. Luckily, I got Lennon to Blue Pearl in Duluth within a half hour, and they were awesome! After 4 days of bloodwork, we got a clean bill of health. He also met his vet in Janesville, WI (I Work remotely for UW, so I travel back and forth, and this vet is amazingly good) the following week and got a clean bill of health.

He does prefer to be out in the woods and out in nature, so he’s happy that we are at the summer cabin now, where we start and end each work day with a long walk. He also has MAJOR separation anxiety and so we are working on that as well, but he does get to spend most of his time with me. (It would be nice if he could stay with my daughter without panicking some days, though! I’m sure we will get there.)

Favorite Toy: empty water bottle

Tendency to talk back: 98%