Brad chose 131 photos for the official PSDP convention photos. But there were more pictures that I liked and wanted to share but didn’t work on the official page (most are of me, he he he). This blog entry (and two more!) will showcase those extra pictures—my picks of the pics!
This first set of pictures shows our times hanging out outside and the Hangar (a food court area from where we got food). We had Allison’s puppy shower before the convention officially started. The hotel had a great patio area where we loved to congregate. It had big umbrellas to provide shade and a grey and orange theme. Brad got some pictures of me and the girls at the Hangar—including an especially cute one of Hestia in front of a statue of a sheep! And of course a whole series of photos of Brad modeling one of his colorful pink and teal outfits.
Brad took this next set of pictures during the testing we did at the convention. I was Allison’s assistant for the tests, and we had three teams take the tests (a Min Pin, an Australian Shepherd, and a Papillon). We started out in the room where the pups did some basic obedience-type activities. Then we headed outside.
While the riding in the car part of the test was going on, Deanna left her wheelchair and Avery left their walker underneath the accessible parking sign. Brad got a great picture of that. I held Jaxon the Min Pin while sitting in my power wheelchair with the girls in a purple bag on my lap. He did a good job with me!
Then we walked over to Whole Foods. Brad got some great shots of the group walking together and doing our testing outside while people and carts were going past. Thomas (a human) even ran past us! Finally we went inside Whole Foods, where Bela the Australian Shepherd blew us away!
Of course we spent a lot of time in the convention room! It was a large room with a reddish-orange floor and orange-beige walls. The pups did so well in this room! At one point during the convention, a stray cat walked past the open door at one end of the room twice! The second time the cat almost came in! We didn’t hear a peep from any dog in the room! Then the cat went to the other side of the building and was visible through the window in front of the open door at the other end of the room. Still no barking or stress! The pups were so good.
At one point during the convention, all the pups in the room fell asleep! See them taking a snooze in these pictures. There are two Japanese Chin, an Australian Shepherd, a Golden Retriever, and a Min Pin.
Of course we took some fun portraits! Thanks to Deanna we had a giant black backdrop with the PSDP banner on the top. We got a group photo of most of the convention goers. Plus we took some fun photos! Brad is looking dashing in his blue and green outfit. He poses with his hands and legs in the air! I am rocking the galaxy look with my dress while holding Alice and Hestia. And of course the queens of posing Allison and Ruby the Golden show off their moves!
One of the fun outings we had was to TJ Maxx with most of the group. We had a variety of people using mobility equipment (two power wheelchairs, a manual wheelchair, and a walker) and dogs (two Japanese Chin, a labradoodle, an Aussie, a Min Pin, a Papillon, and a Golden). Brad got some wonderful shots of us walking over together. Then some of us shopping! Danny and I had fun in the dog toy section! Danny had a stuffed toy dog that looks like his retired service dog Sheldon (a black lab/dane mix) that we got a great picture of, too. And I liked to cross my legs and relax in my power chair!
Stay tuned for two more blog entries with convention-related pictures in them! There will be one of our day at the Shoreline Village, and another of our downtime at the pool and by the fire.