Zoe's Photo Shoot!

I know I have to get some shots of her in the snow, but honestly I feel like we live in the dark!! Dark when I go to work and dark when I get home! She absolutely loves it when I kick it up and she jumps like Tigger - all four feet at once!

In the mean time - I wanted to share a photo from her recent photo shoot with Lifetouch. I knew she was cute, but boy, I think she's just beautiful after seeing these pictures! We have really good photographers! ;)

Gunther and "Foster" Sister Zoe

Just had to post a picture of these two on the blog! Gunther's mom, Panda, is Zoe's great-great grandmother. Definitely Snowshoe dogs!

Gunther is 14 years old in this picture and Zoe is 5 months. "Gunny" has a hard time getting around, but has such life about him it's amazing. He still play fights with his "siblings", but mostly he lays down while he does it! He gets to go for rides now instead of long walks... He's a very good big brother! (I lost my Gunny two months after this picture was taken)

The "Golden" Gophers Women's Volleyball

Zoe was able to attend a U of M Gopher Women's volleyball game last Friday night. This was the first time she's attended a sporting event. It's a very fun, loud, rowdy bunch and she did amazingly well!


She was also the hit of the stands...it took us about 45 minutes to actually leave the stadium as we were stopped by countless fans! In fact I actually had to pick her up to finally go - even though she wasn't quite done with her adoring fans...




















The highlight was to get a picture of her with two of the players on the team! The team won three straight games - I think everything was "golden" for the Gophers! ;)

It's Fall!!

You know, I had forgotten how much fun it is to watch puppies play in falling leaves! Or leaves that are kicked up by feet, or piles made by rakes. The only problem is the actual raking - Zoe LOVES to jump after the broom or rake (and my guess is snow shovel later this season) which makes it nearly impossible to get any work done!

Zoe Visits Buffalo Exchange

We had a great field trip to Buffalo Exchange in Uptown, Mpls. Buffalo Exchange is a used clothing store and chose A.A.D. as one of their charities for the time frame Jul-Dec. If a person doesn't take a bag for their purchases, they are given a token to put in one of three charity boxes and that charity receives .5 cents!

Blade also joined in the fun! A BIG thank you to this great store!

Zoe's A Working Girl

Not the kind you may be thinking of though! Zoe is learning to do her commands no matter where she is -- restaurant, busy mall hallway, dog class, home. You get the picture!

These pictures were taken at the MOA and although they're not very good quality (I'll update with better ones later) you can see how even at 4 mos of age, a puppy can learn all sorts of good stuff. :)

She is a hit wherever she goes! You can see in the pictures also that she is getting her adult coat...I'll certainly miss that oh-so-soft puppy fuzz!! She's also getting her adult teeth! Better get more chew toys quick!

She's still a bit put off at dog school, so we're starting the next class in November. The more she's exposed to this environment, the more she'll accept it as normal and just another part of life.

The other morning (early morning I might add!) she spotted the moon and stood looking at it in a very quizzical manner - very funny! This morning she tugged of my socks for the first time..she also tried to walk away with them..but hey, a little at a time!!

October Update - Zoe's Really Growing Up!

Boy how time flies! Zoe is such a fun puppy - she's smart and loves to learn so training is going very well (she definitely makes me look good!) Zoe will be 4 months old on Monday...she's now 25lbs!

Let's see if I can run through all the things that have happened since the last update:



Zoe was auctioned off at a fundraising event for Angel on a Leash (check that out at http://www.akc.org/) put on by Sue and Steve Schnarr. Sue and Steve are the people who so graciously donated Zoe to A.A.D.

O.K. - so she wasn't actually auctioned off... the bidders had the opportunity to donate money towards Zoe's care for the next couple of years while she's in training.


A VERY special thank you to DON AND LAURA BATEMAN for the highest bid and LAURENCE AND KATHY HARMON for their generosity. We will have their links in our "Businesses of Honor" on the A.A.D. website (http://www.americanassistancedogs.com/)






Puppy class started and what an eye opener it was! Thinking that Zoe was more than socialized, it came as a bit of a surprise to see how she hung back and was unsure of herself off leash with the other puppies. She's making progress -- it will be very interesting to see where she's at when the classes are over!

She has the "sit" command mastered and we continue to work on "down", "Stand" and "watch me". Of the skill commands she's learning "tug", "bring the ____", "give", "leave it" and "touch".

Zoe has also become part of the family...as evidenced in the next picture - which I call "Three Dog Night"

She's also been working on using the dog door. While she understands she can come and go through it, she has yet to figure out if she needs to potty she can use that door; she still goes to the back door to let me know "it's time!" - she's a good girl, so I'm just fine with that.

We'll be working at the MOA next week - I'll be able to update with some working pictures after that...it's difficult training and taking pictures at the same time!

Zoe sure has changed in 6 weeks! She's now 20lbs - instead of the 8lbs at arrival.

She learned the "sit" command very quickly - mostly from copying the other dogs. We're working on "down", "stand" and "come" - she's getting those pretty well.

We start puppy kindergarten next week - this should be interesting! She's used to other dogs, but has deemed them part of her "pack". A new set of circumstances will be interesting for her I think.

Zoe - newest service dog in training

Zoe is the newest member of AAD and had to have her introductory picture taken in the littlest coat available! She's awful cute in it!



Zoe has joined the family of Nancy, Gunther and Monty - while Gunther has welcomed her, even though he gives me the, "can't you do something to control this whirling dervish?!" look! He's so very patient and good at showing Zoe the ropes. Monty on the other hand is still a bit put out that another dog has joined us - I think he thought everything was good just the way it was! As you can see...only Gunther has allowed Zoe to sleep snuggled up to him. Good dog Gunny.

Her first day of daycare found her in the land of BIG DOGS and babies! Being just 8 weeks old, she certainly doesn't seem to be too affected! Thanks to Deb for helping me out these first few months - I truly appreciate it.

Zoe is working on her potty training - which is going very well actually; crate training - going well, but not as popular and she's learning how to be a good girl with other dogs and children/babies. We won't start "official" service dog training for awhile. She'll attend a puppy kindergarten class soon to help with social interaction with other dogs and her public outings will help her find her place in the human world. This will be important foundation work for her being comfortable when her role as a service dog really begins.

She's an absolute doll and a joy to have in the house...even though sleep is no longer the priority!

Just a Baby!

This is a picture of Zoe, her mom Flirt and her litter mates just one week old. Although, I can't tell yet which one of these cute little fuzz balls is Zoe! Each litter has a theme and this litter's theme is "Life".


"Zoe" is of Greek origin, and its meaning is "life"...coincidence??!!


Her registered name will be: Snowshoe's The Meaning of Life

To the right is Zoe at 5 weeks of age, originally known as "Thimbles" because of her collar pattern. Look at that belly!!