<html><head></head><body><div class="ydpcadcc40yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px;"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">well, i planned a great vacation in september. didn't go so well. broke my head, broke my car...let's just say i now know more about my car insurance then anyone should ev er know (and i now qualify to donate my brain to the place where football player's brains go after they die. yea me!)</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">so i had to replace my vehicle and in the first week of october i took my addled brain and the dog to mystic conn. it's a short ride and i figured ifit was too much i could easily return.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">dexter has now been trained as my service dog, as well as still serving as a therapy dog. so the first place we went was the aquarium. dex did really well walking inside...he stood and followed the fish in the tanks,didn't freak out at penguins (which says much for a dog who is terrified of chickens!) , seals (who where interested in him).</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">the big excitement happened when we went over to the beluga whale tank. there were 3 whales on exhibit. one, "juno" is weirdly social. he likes to interact with all the visitors by flashing his teeth and watching folks jump back, it's pretty funny. he also splashes folks too. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">juno was swimming by when he saw dexter. her stopped and swam to the bottom of the display window. he hovered there and just looked at dexter. obviously he has never gazed at afine looking basset hound before! dex went right, juno followed him. moving left, same thing. juno made noises and dex barked. they repeated this for 10 minutes...juno grinning and just "playing " with dexter. it was amazing to watch. he ignored everyone else and just hung out with dex. i couldn't help but smile..juno came over to me and "smiled" without showing his teeth. made all the $$ i spent to get into the aquarium so worth it! my dog interacted with a whale! he was bouncing, and barking and so happy. (not being the calm steady service dog he was supposed to be but hey, he just met a whale friend)</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">made my trip. the 2 of us also ventured inside the casino . we bet $25.00 and left with $18.25. i'm ok with that..dex handled himself just fine in there. we also did mystic seaport too. on the ship, off the ship...so many new experiences!</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">proud of the boy! someday my head will heal & we can adventure elsewhere. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">lois & dexter (i've got friends in big tanks!)</div></div></body></html>