Graduation!

Graduation day was wonderful, and such a great day for all of us.

First, we met our puppy raisers, then had lunch with them. Lunch was generously provided by the Petaluma Lions Club, and they did a great job - everything was delicious and the tables were beautifully set. 

B's puppy raisers are two amazing women. I was so impressed with K and S, and so thankful to them for doing such a great job with B. I really enjoyed meeting with them and having lunch with them. B has had a wonderful life with the puppy raisers, including learning a lot and being exposed to a wide variety of different things, including other animals. 

The graduation ceremony itself was very touching and emotional for most of us. 

After the ceremony, I was fortunate to be able to visit further with B's puppy raisers K and S, and to meet B's breeder caretaker (B's mother Z, and her person D), and B's grandmother B (whom she is named after, how sweet!), B's half-sister G, and their person B. I thought it was wonderful that D and B support CCI and all the puppies that Grandma B and Mother Z have had. It really does take a village to raise and train one little puppy, and I am so appreciative of all of the people involved with CCI. 

After everyone left, we said good bye to our classmates and their partners that were heading home. I choose to stay one extra night rather than brave the Friday commute traffic. Luckily I had some classmates keeping me company, and we all went out to a wonderful dinner at Old Chicago Pizza in Petaluma. After dinner, we all had a nice visit, and our dogs played.

In all, it was a wonderful class and amazing experience. I will miss everyone and their partners, but look forward to keeping in touch with everyone.  

Our Official Graduation Photo

 

Last Week of Class

This whole week has been a blur. We have been more "hands on" with our dogs this week, going on field trips, plus busy with establishing a routine with our dogs. 

We had our final exams today, and everyone and their dogs did well.

Tomorrow is graduation and we are all so excited to be starting our new lives with our partners. I think everyone has the perfect partner for them. I am really looking forward to meeting the puppy raisers. They have done a wonderful job with B, and I am so grateful to them and everyone at CCI.

Introducing My New Partner

My new partner is a beautiful Golden Retriever / Labrador Retriever mix. She is two years old, and so smart. 

B is a joyful girl, and always has a wagging tail. She enjoys cuddling, but is always ready to work at a moment's notice to alert me to sounds.

I am grateful to her breeder caretaker, her puppy raiser, and to the trainers, for doing such an excellent job with B. Thank you! I really feel very blessed, and I am so grateful for having B as my partner.

Thank you also to everyone associated with CCI, because you are providing so many people with wonderful, smart, confident and joyful Assistance Dogs. 

Sixth Day of Class

Everyone seemed relieved it was Saturday. It was such a beautiful day out, and we have all had a long week, especially those of us with colds. The trainers were wonderfully patient with us, and I'm sure they both were looking forward to having Sunday off also.

We started with reviewing the dogs' second night at "home" in our dorm rooms. All dogs did very well. Then we moved on to soundwork, and did that most of the morning. We worked with the timer and also an alarm clock.

The National Board was here for their board meeting, so we were all looking forward to meeting the board members and sharing with them how much we appreciate CCI, the staff, and the wonderful dogs. I know I would have liked to be able to talk more to the board members, but I had lost my voice due to this cold, so I didn't really talk to them as I had hoped to. I'm sure my awesome classmates and their TAs (Training Assistants) did a great job in expressing all of our appreciation to the board members.

We all had a wonderful lunch with the board members, which was delicious Mexican food. I wasn't able to get the name of the restaurant that catered it, but the food was absolutely perfect. Some "volucheers" and some CCI staff generously came in on their own time on this weekend day to assist with the set up and clean up of lunch.

After lunch, we learned some new commands, which were, "bed" and "shake". We also learned how to explain to people that may approach us that these dogs are working dogs, and that it really is best not to pet them. When petting the dog, the dog then thinks it is off duty and doesn't have to work. If you ever meet anyone with a service or assistance or working dog, it really is best to ask the handler what they prefer before acknowledging the dog, as everyone is different and has different ways and methods. Some may allow shaking the dog's paw, but some may prefer you not do that. All dogs and classmates did very well, as usual, with using "bed" and "shake".

As the day went on, I was losing more and more of my voice. I stopped trying to give the dog commands because it was starting to get a little confused, especially if I started saying the first syllable of the command hoarsely then lost my voice on the second syllable. So it was only setting it up to get into the habit of not always responding, which I don't want to occur. It is a smart dog, and it is testing me because it is still getting to know me, and getting to know what I will accept and not accept, and that's only natural.

At the end of the day, the trainers reviewed the day with us, and said they were very pleased with everyone doing so well. They also gave us the choice of kenneling or not kenneling our dogs for Sunday. I chose to kennel it because I wanted to rest, and especially to get over this cold quicker and hopefully get my voice back. I thought maybe I could get a few naps in and it would be bored, so maybe it would get to play with other dogs in the kennel.

Saturday evening most of us just hung out and started to recoup from the long week. We really learned a lot, and as the trainers pointed out just before end of today's class, that we all have made amazing progress with our dogs. I agree, and it's thanks to the breeder caretakers, the puppy raisers, and the trainers who ensure the dogs are fully trained and ready before class begins, and then the way the trainers present the material to us, we learn quickly and easily.