The More Things Change...

A little over a week has passed since Alfie came home.  One change you'll notice -- his cute haircut.

I left about an inch of curly brown fur to ward off the spring chill, but overall, I think he feels better, and looks neater.  He's certainly easier to brush!

But in most ways, Alfie's exactly the same as I remembered him. He still loves attention and petting more than anything.  He loves people...

New friends, awesome!

...and people seem to love him!  

Just like I remember from his guide-dog-in-training days, Alfie loves to learn new things.  One difference is what he's learning!  As a service dog, Alfie wasn't allowed to do "tricks"...however, now that he's our dog, Charissa is enjoying teaching him fun and cute little things.  So far she's got him to "shake hands," "spin," "roll over," "back up" and "bow."  It seems like every time I turn around, Alfie's doing something new for her!

Look what I can do, Mom!

Another thing is still the same, too:  Alfie retains his ability to surprise me!  Last week we had guests over at Sunday lunch and, wondering where my nephew was, I asked Alfie to "find John."  I wasn't actually expecting him to do it  -- after all he'd just met John the day before, and I didn't think he'd remember him by name.  He did, though -- trotting straight over to John, nosing him, and then giving me a pointed look to make sure I noticed!  When we all laughed, my sister-in-law asked what happened, and could Alfie please do it again?  All 9 people gathered around to watch -- and to be honest, I didn't know if it wasn't just a fluke!  So I had Alfie sit, "watch me," then I told him again to "find John"...Alfie literally pranced into the living room (show off that he is), threaded his way through all the other people and around all the furniture, going straight to John and giving him a definite nudge.  When spontaneous cheers broke out at this little achievement, you'd have thought Alfie had won the doggy lottery or something!  For an attention-loving guy like him, that was better than all the liver in the world -- he smiled, twirled, wagged and was ever so pleased with himself.  Funny boy!