Visiting the Charles M. Schulz Museum

I wanted to see the Charles M. Schulz Museum because he and his family have done a lot for CCI. 

So after class, I made a quick trip to the museum, and it was very interesting.

Besides the museum, there is also the ice rink, and the gift shop, where I picked up a few souvenirs.

Here are some photos, but if you're ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit. 

Approaching the museum, note Snoopy
on top of his doghouse on the right

Amazing 2-story high wall mural made out of
actual published Peanuts comic strips

Close up of wall mural

a small section of the upstairs

Everything is so detailed,

even the bathrooms!

Nice touch! Tile repeats throughout
the bathrooms, including the stalls.

Snoopy and Woodstock playing in wet cement?

Snoopy's Home Ice

Art gallery and gift shop, note the replica of Charles M. Schulz'
Hollywood star in lower right corner.

Sopwith Camel, taken from the upstairs of the gift shop,
picture taken in honor of my father, a pilot

An example of how international Snoopy was

pictures taken in honor of a friend in Italy

Second Day of Class

Today started very foggy, which is typical for Santa Rosa at this time of year. Even though it's autumn, the flowers are all still blooming which amazes me. The grounds here are just impeccably gorgeous! CCI is very fortunate that Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts/Snoopy comic strip, and his wife Jean Schulz donated the 11 acres and funds to build this amazing campus, home of CCI's National Headquarters and home of CCI's Northwest Applicant Program. Even though Charles Schulz has passed away, his wife Jean Schulz has very generously continued to support CCI. Mrs. Schulz sends her personal gardener over twice a week to work on the grounds here at CCI, and everyone, dogs included, enjoy the various flowers and scenery.

Everyone was so excited at breakfast, as we all knew that we would have our pre-match this morning. I was excited, but also cautiously optimistic because we were constantly warned a few times that pre-matches can be changed during the rest of this week. I have seen matches changed before, but it's not common. K has been training here at CCI for many years, so I am confident in his and S's decisions on the matches.

I was pre-matched with a dog, but out of respect for CCI's wishes, I will keep the details quiet for now. Everyone seems delighted with their pre-match. Some of us are understandably nervous and unsure, but that is normal. I didn't like either one of my two previous Hearing Dogs at first, but of course grew to love them and am so thankful to have met two wonderful Hearing Dogs and shared my life with both of them. So I look forward to welcoming and loving a new successor Hearing Dog.

As the day went on, everyone started becoming more at ease and more confident in their own dog handling skills. We practiced commands such as "no/don't", "sit", "down"; then we learned new commands such as "heel", "come", "stay" and "wait". We practiced on Fluffy (what we call the "invisible dog" that is actually a trainer) first, then we were able to start practicing on the dogs we were pre-matched with. We practiced inside at first with less distractions in a more controlled environment, then we got to go outdoors and walk around in two different sessions so that was nice to get outside for a bit, as the fog had lifted by then and it turned into a beautiful warm autumn day. 

Edited after Graduation to add this photo:

First time meeting B, during the pre-match

 

Visiting CCI's Santa Rosa Campus

In early August, I went to visit the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) organization, at their National Headquarters and Northwest Region Campus in Santa Rosa, California. I was very impressed by this program.

First, we started off with a tour of the campus. This was delightful, especially when we saw the puppies being socialized in their playgroup under the supervision of several voluncheers (volunteers). 

Wouldn't this be a fun job to volunteer at?

Next, we saw dogs being bathed and groomed. Throughout the tour of the campus, we learned about how Charles and Jean Schulz (of Snoopy and the Peanuts comic strip) donated the land and funds to build the campus. Jean Schulz is still very active with CCI.

Walking all over campus, we saw rope pulls on doors, along with items on the ground such as dropped wallets and cell phones. This is for training dogs to open doors and pick up dropped items. 

At the end of the tour, the tour guide (one of the Hearing Dog trainers) gave us an overview of the program, then had us walk with a dog a short way down a hallway. After we walked with the dog, we all had our individual interviews. My interview went well and addressed my concerns and questions. 

It is a gorgeous campus, and the grounds are meticulous. All of the staff is professional and extremely dedicated to the program, the dogs, and the well-being of the dogs. The dogs I met were well-adjusted, happy and cheerful dogs who behaved very well. 

The agility course. The dog wind vane on the roof is a cute touch and an example of how meticulous the details are.