Nov. 2012

Monday, July 16, 2012

Cullum World Series

The Cullum World Series happens every year with Isaac and Eli. This time it was the Red Sox and the Rays. It was a 7 game series.  It was a battle too.  It was a fun family activity.

written by Isaac

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The DUKE of Cullum Manor

Surprise....
We got a dog!

Our kids have been asking for a dog for about 1 year. When they began to ask we told them they needed to buy the dog and pay for all of it's needs for 1 year. We researched the possible costs and came up with $1500 needed to purchase the dog, feed the dog, purchase toys and other dog items and visit the vet for 1 year. After saving money gifted to the children from past birthdays and Christmas and additional change jar savings the children had $800.

 In early spring our backyard neighbors offered us a yellow lab for free. The puppy was extremely cute and we almost said yes, until we realized based on the time in our life we were only saying yes because he was free. This dog would have taken a lot of work since we would need to work on potty training and crate training.

 A few weeks ago we were again offered a free dog. This time a 9 mo old Australian Shepherd already crate trained and potty trained, neutered, and immunized. We researched the breed and felt this dog fit our family perfectly, except the hair shedding.

Duke (aka The Duke of Cullum Manor, Dukie McDukerson, Dukie dog) has been an awesome addition to the family. We made the right choice. Since he is already crate and potty trained we have been able to start focusing on obedience training and trick training. Aussies are a very very smart breed and that is evident with Duke. We have hired an in home dog trainer to help us train Duke to be obedient and help get him ready to be a service dog for Prema. After just 2 training sessions, Duke is learning very fast.

Aussies are very loyal to 1 person in the family. Kyle is Duke's person, hence most of the day while Kyle is gone Duke lounges in various places waiting for Kyle to come home. Once Kyle arrives, the playful adolescent comes to life until bed time.

We are super glad we had the kids save the amount of money we did. Dog training, dog supplies and food are not cheap!