Last week, you had a birthday. I know your  birthday had a 7 in it like my birthday did, but I don’t remember the rest. We asked you what you wanted for your birthday. You said you wanted to drive all the way across Wisconsin to see some more dogs like me, a Bearded Collie. Well, there aren’t too many dogs like me around, because I am a very special dog. It took one very long birthday of driving to find them, but we arrived at a house where there were some dogs who did look like me. It was already late in the day and almost too dark for us to see, but they weren’t all the same color.

There were bigs and littles and puppies. I had a doggie good time running around in the grass. You stayed inside and talked to their mother. She has a lot of dogs. I heard she other dogs at another house. That is a dog-lot of dogs. You did not take any pictures, so you will have to imagine a lot of dogs in all sizes that look a lot like me.

I had to bark at the big boy dog because he was trying to show off and he needed to hear from me. His mother didn’t like my barking at him. (Not everyone loves me as much as you do.) I only barked a few times. After a while, I got tired of playing with so many other Beardies, and it was time to drive all the way back across Wisconsin to Minnesota again. 

On the way home, the two of you were talking about getting me a little brown sister, but I don’t really need one. Spring time is good for lambing, but I am not a lamb. Not by a long shot. 

It will be winter first and then we’ll see.

Oliver’s Advice: Sometimes, a “wait and see” attitude is best.

I’m not really a star. I’m just one of many wonderful therapy teams who make other people happy. I’ve told you a lot about what it’s like to be part of a therapy team. Now you can watch my brief little video to see for yourself. First you see my rear end with my wagging tail (I’m the only black and white shaggy one). Then, you see us together. I’m smart, but no tech genius, so if we’re very lucky, we can make this work.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1YzT5NjeQw&feature=youtu.be

Did you see us? We’re at the MSP airport. You can’t see all the people who come to visit and pet me. We average about 130 a day. We go to the North Rotunda on Friday mornings at 10 am, at least once a month. Security officers are some of our best customers. You think you feel stressed when they frisk you? Well, let me tell you, they must need us too because they go c-r-a-a-z-y when they pet me! “Oh Oliver, you are so wonderful. You make my day!” They thank us and show us all their happy teeth.

Please let us know if you like this video.

Oliver’s advice: If you want to be a star, help someone else feel happy.