July, Jackson and "It's me under all that hair!"

I got my haircut!  It's been almost 100 degrees for the last several days so it was about time.  Amanda, the nice woman that cuts my hair was on vacation, so we decided to wait until she came back.  Boomer! and I really like her.  She is really gentle and caring.  Boomer! had a mani/pedi and brush out and I got my haircut and nails done.  Very cute!

Mommy and Daddy, celebrated the third anniversary of their kidney transplant.  Daddy gave her one of his kidneys and saved her life.  Here is the July Tip of The Month I wrote earlier.  It shows how important July is to us.

For me, July is a month filled with celebrations of new life.  In July 2004, I was adopted by Mommy and Daddy and started a new life with my family.
My daddy was born on July 5, my big brother Dexter, July 4.  Many wonderful friends were born in July.  It is a great month for birthdays.
On July 4, 1776, the United States of America (the country where I live) was born.  Wow!  That was a big one!  Everybody in the nation celebrates it every year.
My final example is really important to me.  On July 16, 2009, Daddy donated a kidney to Mommy and saved her life.  I think that is very much like a birthday.  It gave her another chance at life, just like being born again.  How special is that?
Whether it is the birth of people, puppies, nations, new families or new lives, July has had a huge impact on everything I know and love today.
Take a moment to think about your special dates and how much they mean to you. 

I included a link to a story done on TV about a little boy named Jackson.  We met him last month at the NKF Volunteer Recognition Event.  I wrote about him in our 06-07 Blog entitled "A Boy Named Jackson."  We are very happy he got his transplant and his 20 year old cousin Brett generously donated one of his kidneys.  What a wonderful story!


Summer is flying by quickly.  I don't know where the time has gone.


Hopefully this heat wave will break soon and we will be able to spend more time with our friends Hobey Baker, Gertie and the little Yorkie across the street.  We don't know his name yet.  He is even smaller than me.  That's pretty small!


Love,
Rudy the "I think I lost 2 pounds of hair" poodle

Hot Days and Fun Days

The heat wave is over in Minnesota, at least for now.  We had 8 or 9 days in a row with temperatures over 90 degrees.  Two days were over 100!  That's really hot!  We didn't get much time outside.  It was a little difficult burning off all of our energy in the house.  Boomer! chased his tail a lot, I danced more and teased Boomer!  We both ran up and down the stairs and did a few laps.

Daddy had a couple days off for vacation.  It was so much fun having him home.  We don't get to spend that much time with him normally.  He had a chance to relax, mow the lawn (once it got cooler outside), fixed our red car and did something with oil in his motorcycle.  Even on vacation Daddy works very hard.

We celebrated Daddy's birthday and had "Happy Birthday Fun Day."  Lots of singing and dancing filled our world!  Boomer! and I were a bit afraid of the fireworks on the Fourth of July.  The noises are very loud.

Since we don't have an event scheduled until August, we are starting a very big project.  It involves tons of research, writing, some video work and plenty of planning.  We hope it will be a successful outreach.  We will see what happens!

The last two days were pretty cool so we spent more time outside.  What a relief!  Just in time to go back to work.

Love,
Rudy the I can't believe how time flies Poodle

Seeing the Kids, Helping and Off to Denmark

On Tuesday, we had a fun program with the younger crowd.  The 3-4 year olds loved Rudy O'Tooty and did a great job singing Rudy's Dance Song.  The adults may have helped a little.  I will include a link to some pictures at the end of this blog.

We received a very nice email from a mom in Chicago.  She said our books were very helpful. "We loved them and she is talking a lot about having one kidney now and I love that we can educate her with the help of your books!"  We feel so blessed to be able to assist the parents and children with these difficult subjects while still having some entertainment too.

Friday we hit a new milestone.  We are crossing the Atlantic Ocean on our way to Denmark.  We received our first order for two copies of Rudy Gets A Transplant!  This is so exciting!

The weather has been extremely hot and humid.  The forcasters say it will continue into the next week.  Boomer! and I will have to limit our outdoor time until it cools down.  Hot weather isn't good for us because we don't sweat!

We have a busy week ahead.  It's the Fourth of July on Wednesday and Daddy's Birthday is July 5th.  The whole country celebrates his birthday the night before with fireworks.  He's very special and deserves it!  I watch the fireworks on TV because I am scared of the noise.

Here is the link to the program pictures, I hope you enjoy.

Happy Fourth of July!  Happy Birthday Daddy!

Love,
Rudy the Yankee Doodle Poodle who loves his Daddy.

New Video

Many of you may remember the trip Mommy and Daddy took back in January.  They went to a fun and exciting big city called San Francisco.  It's in California by a very big body of water called the Pacific Ocean.

The people they spent the day with sent this video to us yesterday.  I hope you enjoy it!

Love,
Rudy, the always cheerful, pleased as punch Poodle

Grads and Dads

Mommy and Daddy went to a graduation party last weekend.  It was for the youngest son of Mommy's friend.  They have known each other since 1967.  That's a long time!  Daddy took a picture of the high school graduate.  Boy, they sure are growing kids tall these days!

Sunday is Happy Daddy's Day!  Boomer! and I have a great daddy.  I think I will give him two of my favorite Gentle Snackers!  They are my special low protein treats and I love them.  I love Daddy more, so he deserves them.  I think Boomer! plans on doing some special Frisbee tricks and will actually come when Daddy calls him.  Usually Boomer! makes Daddy chase him, he thinks it's a game.  That would be a nice present.  I'll let you know.

The weather has been nasty with the threat of severe storms.  I think Boomer! and I will have a refresher class on what to do in case of a tornado.  If I remember right, we are supposed to follow Mommy and listen to her.  We will need practice.

We are preparing for our children's event later this month.  It is so nice to talk to the kids again!

Summer officially arrives next week.  I thought it was already here?  Have a great weekend!

Love,
Rudy

A Boy Named Jackson

Mommy and Daddy were invited to a volunteer recognition event last Tuesday for the NKF.  NKF board members and staff introduced the volunteers.  It was a lot of fun.  Mommy and Daddy had a good time talking to the people who have helped share our mission.

The highlight of the night was meeting Jackson and his family.  19 month old Jackson toddled his way through the crowd, charming everyone he met.  His family volunteers in many ways to raise funds for the NKF.  Big sister Brooklyn made the announcement that Jackson found a match for his transplant earlier that day.  If all goes well, the surgery will be in mid-July!

As Mommy and Daddy headed for the door, Jackson and Brooklyn's mom asked Mommy for her autograph!  They received a copy of Rudy Gets A Transplant that day!  Mommy was honored.  It is so much fun meeting the children and families that read our books.  The mom was flustered because she didn't have a pen or piece of paper.  Daddy is so smart, he quickly ran outside to get a couple of books.

Recently we have corresponded with moms from Wisconsin and Chicago.  Both were looking for ways to explain kidney disease and transplants to their children.  One mom had kidney disease, the others child had it.  I'm so glad we can help.

Love,
Rudy the Proud as Could Be Poodle

P.S.  Here's a little slide show.

Mommy's Home in Time for Happy Anniversary!

Wow, have we been busy!  Boomer and I are well.  My labs came back just fine so I don't have to go back for 2 months.  I will also continue to take my lower dose of medicine!  What can I say about Boomer?  He's always Boomer!

Memorial Day weekend was eventful!  Mommy got very sick.  She had to go to a place to get better.  Some nasty thing made her ill so she got very dehydrated and some of her labs were wacky.  I knew what was going on, I've been through this a few times.  Boomer! was confused.

Mommy came home in time for her and Daddy to celebrate their anniversary!  I was very happy!  I greeted her at the door with many kisses and did a little dance.

Boomer! looked at them with a funny look.  I think he was saying, "Where did you go?  Why did you leave us?"  After giving her a few sniffs, I think he figured out she didn't mean to go, but she had to.  He was fine then.

Mommy and Daddy went out with their friends for an anniversary dinner.  They loved it!  And had a great time.  I wish they brought home some leftovers for me, it sounded really good.  Daddy and Mommy have the best friends.  I would rank them right up there with Hobey Baker, Bronson and Gertie!

In the next week we have 2 graduation parties and the NKF event.  It sounds like fun!

Love,
Rudy the "next time you want to say hi to your hospital friends just send a postcard" Poodle