Welcoming a new member to the family

Hi folks!

You may remember a while ago I shared with you the sad story about my cousin Keegan having to retire. You might be pleased to know that he has adjusted well to his new home - back with his puppy-raisers who now live in the Adelaide Hills. He's learned lots of new tricks and is loving the fact that he has two little kids to spend plenty of time with. We visited him early this year and he's happy and healthy and we could tell that his new People love him very much.

Now I have some other news to share with you. It's been a while since Keegan retired and his Person - My Person's middle sister - has spent months waiting for a new dog to be matched with her (Guide Dogs Victoria are very careful - finding the perfect match cannot be rushed) and relying on a long white stick called a 'cane' to keep her safe. She finally had word a little over a month ago that they had finally found the right dog for her! We were all so excited to hear it! She has now completed her training with the new dog - and brought him over to meet us.

So... Introducing Guide Dog Vollance (more commonly known as 'Volly')

Volly is about 22 months old. Amazingly, we discovered that Volly's parents and mine are the same! This is especially amazing since he is a GIANT and I'm only smallish. I'm serious - he's half again my size, at least!

This afternoon Volly and I were being taught how to ride in the trailer that gets towed along behind the little tractor that the MummyBear uses to cut the grass. We started out just being pushed about in the trailer:

Then I was lucky enough to have My Person's brother take me for a ride behind the tractor - all the people were amazed at how calm I was! Volly didn't try it - his Person doesn't want him getting too used to being behind vehicles with the motor running just yet, since he's still working on his traffic training. Here's a pic of me having my ride:

So, welcome to the family, Volly - my little brother who is bigger than me and now also my cousin!

- Kenworth