My brother, Scott, was in town for the week for training for his job with the VA. He decided to stay over the weekend so that we could spend some time together. We decided to go to New Belgium Brewery as the highlight of our visit.

Last year when my brother came to Denver for training was when Newton started limping and our journey began.

Wow, another year older. Boy how times flies. My brother was in town so we all went to Vine Street Pub to celebrate. Hmmm...beer and grilled cheese...who could ask for more on their birthday.

My sister, Jenny, and Ronnie B came to Denver to help me celebrate one of my favorite holidays...the 4th of July. Fireworks are one of my favorite things to watch.

Newton was in a happy mood because not only were Jenny and Ronnie B here, but we decided to have a BBQ. Laura, Kristin, Chance, Tyler, and Bryce all came over to help us celebrate. We had good food, shot off fireworks, and roasted marshmallows. I always thought that Newton would be a marshmallow guy...not so much

There are days when I am convinced that Newton just wants to give me a heart attack. Today, was one of those days. Newton hasn't ventured up the stairs in what seems like forever. Since his amputation, he has only gone upstairs twice. Well, today makes #3.

Denver has been getting rain for what feels like forever. Today, we had a huge thunderstorm. While I was upstairs showering, Newton must have gotten spooked. The next thing I know, Newton comes walking into the bathroom. He must have been a dog on a mission. I am so glad that I purchased the Ruffwear harness. My regular vet likes to call Newton the over analyzer. When he thinks about doing something for too long, he won't do it. That was the story when it came to go down the stairs. Even though I was keeping him steady with the Ruffwear harness, he would only go down two stairs and then go back up. Since I knew that I needed something to distract him, I went downstairs and opened the front door. That caught Newton's attention. He was 1/3 of the way down the stairs before I could grab the harness and assist him. I'm probably just being the over paranoid Mom, but I would hate to see him fall since my stairs are super steep.

I'm hoping that one of these days he will feel completely comfortable going upstairs. I miss my cuddle-bug at night.

I never thought I would have one of my friends ask me if I was going to get a limo to take Newton to Wash Park. Today, Newton got to be in a calendar photo shoot for the 2009-2010 LimbPreservation Foundation calendar. The mission of the LimbPreservation Foundation is to support the prevention and treatment of limb threatening conditions due to tumor, trauma, or infection. He got to model with a 17 year old girl who had bone cancer in her knee. Newton had a great time and was a very well behaved boy. I can't wait to see how the pictures turn out. They both did an amazing job!!

I was a little nervous that the photo shoot was taking place at Wash Park. Not only are there tons of people and dogs, there are also a lot of squirrels that love to torture dogs. Newton was a very well behaved boy. He is such an amazing boy.