Carlo's Dog Blog

He Did It!!! (by: Carlo)

2010-04-11T19:21:00.001-07:00

Well, he did it!!! Gerrit graduated!!! He graduated as a Skilled Companion, which is a dog that enhances independence for children and adults with physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities. Skilled Companion Dogs are trained to work with an adult or child with a disability under the guidance of a facilitator. In Gerrit's case, he was placed with an 18 year old boy and the boy's parents are the facilitators.

I didn't get to go to the graduation, but my pal told me all about when she got home. She said that it was the most wonderful day ever (besides getting me back, of course ;-)!

When she first arrived at CCI, she got to meet and have lunch with Gerrit's new family. She said that as soon as she met them, she knew that they were the perfect family for Gerrit!

After lunch, she got to see Gerrit again. The little clown was so happy when he saw her, that he actually knocked her right off her feet! That must have been so funny! My pal got to spend an hour with Gerrit prior to the graduation ceremony. She said his tail never stopped wagging during that whole hour.

The most emotional part of the day for my pal was the graduation ceremony, when she presented Gerrit to his new family. She said that while she had to wipe away a few tears, she was so incredibly happy and proud of Gerrit. She could tell that Gerrit had already bonded with "his boy" and she knew that the future was going to be filled with fun and happy times for the two of them.

Gerrit - We love you little buddy! You made us all so proud!

My Job (by: Carlo)

2010-04-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

My job this week has been to be there for my pal. She's had lots of tears in her eyes this week. So, whenever I saw her getting a little choked up, I ran over and put my head right under hand. Without even thinking, she would then begin to stoke my head. As she did this, I could feel the tension in her hand release. And, when I gazed up at her, she smiled. That's when I knew that I was doing my job well.

The week started with her returning to work after being on maternity leave for over four months. She misses baby boy. And, she misses me and Lucky. We all miss her a ton too. The days just aren't the same without her constantly here with us. But, as hard as it has been on all of us, it almost makes evenings that much more special. We really cherish the time we all have together. Evenings are filled with lots of hugs, laughs, and belly rubs (for me!).

To make this week even more emotional for my pal, on Monday she heard from CCI that our little clown, Gerrit, is in fact graduating this Friday!!! He will be graduating as a Skilled Companion!!! On Friday, my pal will get to go to CCI to see Gerrit again and present him to his graduate (his person) at the graduation ceremony! My pal is sooooo happy and proud of Gerrit. But, because I know my pal so well, I also know that there is a part of her that is sad. While she always wanted Gerrit to graduate, she always sort of thought he would come home some day... like I did. Call it a dog's intuition, but I knew he was never coming home. I knew that even though Gerrit was a little goofy, he had what it took to graduate. I am so happy and proud of my little buddy!

So, this is why I have been working extra hard this week. My pal's eyes has had lots of tears. Tears for missing baby boy. Tears for missing me and Lucky. Tears of joy at the thought of Gerrit graduating... and, tears of sadness at the thought too. I'm glad that I am here for my pal. Right here where I belong.

Gerrit is Rotating Again! (by: Carlo)

2010-03-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

While I have been busy on vacation, frolicking on the beaches of Southern California, my little friend, Gerrit has been busy training in school!

In fact, he's been working so hard, that the little guy is rotating into Team Training again! And, he's rotating earlier than expected! We were hoping he would be rotating in May. But, an even earlier Team Training class is starting tomorrow and Gerrit is rotating into it!!!

He is one of seven dogs that are rotating into the Skilled Companion/Facility class. IF Gerrit matches as a Skilled Companion, he will be placed with an adult or child with a disability under the guidance of a facilitator. A facilitator is typically a parent, spouse or caregiver who handles and cares for the assistance dog. Disabilities served include but are not limited to, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, autism and Down’s syndrome. IF Gerrit matches as a Facility dog, he will be placed with a facilitator working in a health care, visitation or education setting.

Of course, we can't get our hopes up too high yet because there are a whole lot of IFs. While there are seven dogs rotating, there are only four people. So, not all of the dogs rotating will be matched. But, those that do will be graduating on April 9!

My pal has her fingers crossed and I have my paws crossed that Gerrit will find his perfect soul mate in this Team Training class. We will hopefully find out Wednesday if he has pre-matched. I'll keep you posted!

So, what does the photo above have to do with Gerrit? Absolutely nothing. I just wanted to show you what I've been up to with my own soul mate... my pal!

Happy Valentine's Day (by: Carlo)

2010-02-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Even though we now have baby boy, which keeps my pal and me SUPER busy, my pal still always seems to find the time to incorporate me into her photo shoots. Take yesterday, for example...

Baby boy was asleep in his crib. I was sound asleep on my doggie bed. When, all of a sudden I hear, "Hey, Carlo, come here for a minute!" Groggily, I stood up, did a big stretch and shake, and trotted into the other room to see what was up.

I found my pal with camera in hand hovering over the floor. "Uh oh", I thought as I slowed my pace down. But, then in my pal's other hand I saw a bag of dog treats! Sweet! And, I happily picked up my pace until I was sitting right next to my pal, nose and mouth strategically placed right next to the bag of treats.

However, I was not expecting what came next! My pal had me lay down on the floor and she began laying treats down all around my paws in the outline of a heart! Now if you recall, CCI pups are taught not to eat food off the ground. While I am no longer a CCI pup in training, I'm still not supposed to eat food off the ground... at least not when my pal is looking... ;-) So, there I lay as my pal slowly put each treat down, one by one.

It was torture, I tell you! Well, it was torture between the moments when my pal would look up from her handy work and exclaim, "Good boy Carlo!" as she handed me a treat. But those delicious moments were few and far between... since for some reason my pal thinks I've become a little chunky lately and need to be on a diet. Sigh...

Finally the grueling photo session was over and the photo above is one of the end results. Hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day! Can I go back to sleep now?

Gerrit Made It!... Almost (by: Carlo)

2010-02-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my pal received an email from CCI that Gerrit... as in little clown boy Gerrit... was rotating through to Team Training! He did it! He made it through 6 months of Advanced Training and actually made it to Team Training!

For those of you who may not know, Team Training is a two week period in which people with disabilities, who have applied for an assistance dog, come and stay at the CCI campus. During this time, the people are carefully matched with a dog. CCI does a really good job of making the perfect match... they want to make sure that a person and dog are just right for each other and are true soul mates!

After getting the good news email, we had to wait until midway through the first week of Team Training to find out whether Gerrit had matched. There are always more dogs than people in Team Training, so there are always some dogs that don't make a match. Waiting to find out what the news was on Gerrit was like waiting for a bowl of food... excruciating!

Well, we finally got the news... and Gerrit did not match. But, that's not really bad news. It just means that he didn't find his soul mate this time. He's going to continue his training at CCI and hopefully he'll make a match at the next Team Training in May. If you ask me, I think Gerrit just wanted to stay in college a little longer and have fun. The party boy probably wasn't ready to get a real job yet!

The super cool thing is that Gerrit's work buddies, Dupre and Enso, did make a match! They will be graduating TOMORROW!!! My pal and I are so excited for them and their puppy raisers and wish them all the very very best!

In anticipation of Gerrit graduating, my pal made a Gerrit photo book to give to his future person. That's a picture of it at the top of this blog. It took her awhile to make it cause she had to sort through tons of photos of clown boy. We're going to keep the book in a special place so that it's ready for the day that Gerrit finds his soul mate!

Nick is Home! (by: Carlo)

2010-01-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

Remember Nick?... Gerrit's "bestest buddy"? Well, for those of you who may not have been reading this blog back when Gerrit and Nick were pups in training... Nick and Gerrit both went off to CCI doggie college (aka Advanced Training) back in August. They've both been working hard to become assistance dogs. However, Nick was just released from the program a couple of days ago. He decided he wanted to come back home. And, he is now living in his forever home... with his puppy raiser!

My pal and I went over to visit Nick yesterday. It was quite the doggie party. Not only did I get to see Hope and Nick, but there was also this little beagle dog named Spencer. He was soooo much fun. He would run super duper fast enticing all of us big dogs to chase him. Spencer was not easy to catch... not just because he was like Underdog fast, but also because he bounced off furniture and flew through the air. Come to think of it, he sort of flew just like Underdog!

It was a ton of fun playing and seeing Nick again. After we played, we got to go on the "dog couch". That's right... the "dog couch"! Nick's puppy raiser has a couch that she lets dogs sleep on! It was awesome! My pal had us pose for this photo, and I was so happy about being on a couch, that I didn't want to get off. I even stayed there after all of my buds hopped off. Geesh, I sure wish WE had a dog couch... hint, hint, hint.

And, as for Gerrit? Well, believe it or not, the little clown is still in college!!! I'm sure he's missing his bestest buddy, Nick. But, he's still hanging in there. In fact, if he studies really hard this next month, he may actually graduate next month! Wouldn't that be somethin'?! Go little clown boy, go!

Super Nanny (by: Carlo)

2010-01-14T09:16:00.001-08:00

I know, I know... I've been one big flakey dog when it comes to writing in my blog lately. But, what's a dog gonna do when he's got a super big important job like me? My pal has officially given me the title of Super Nanny!

As Super Nanny, every day I help my pal as she takes care of baby boy. I follow her around and make sure I am always by her side in case she needs me. For example, my super sonic nose is always the first to detect that baby boy has done a stinky in his diaper. Personally, I think it smells kinda nice... but my pal said that I like other stinky smells too (errrrrrr, yeah, that's true). Anyways, as soon as my nose starts sniffing baby boy's diaper, my pal knows she will soon also smell the stinky and that it's time to change that diaper.

Another thing I help with is carrying a toy as I follow my pal and baby boy around the house. My pal has explained to me that it will be some time before baby boy plays with toys, but I like to carry one with me... just so I'm ready when that magic day happens!

I also help take baby boy on walks. My pal pushes the stroller as I walk proudly next to it. And, I glance into the stroller every once in awhile to make sure that baby boy is doing ok. He's usually sound asleep and looking ever so cute.

There are still times when just my pal and are able to go out for a break. Just the two of us. Like the other night when Baby Daddy got home from work, my pal took me to the river. It was loads of fun, but we didn't stay too long cause we were both missing baby boy. As soon as we got home, I ran and brought him a toy. Taking care of baby boy is a full time job... but, being Super Nanny sure is the best job I've ever had!

Best Christmas Gift Ever! (by: Carlo)

2009-12-21T15:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been FOREVER since I've posted a blog. But, you won't believe what happened on Dec 11! Santa delivered my very own baby boy!!!

Well, actually, my pal delivered him... but, she said that the delivery would have been easier if Santa had brought him down the chimney. I didn't get to see him right away cause my pal and baby boy were in the hospital, but she sent home his receiving blanket so that Lucky and I would know exactly what he smelled like before they came home. And, boy oh boy did he smell good!

Since baby boy has been home, we haven't gotten much sleep. Well, I've been getting my sleep cause I can sleep through anything... but, the humans haven't been getting much sleep. Baby boy likes to stay up at night... all night. My pal calls him her little night owl. It's kind of like having a new 2 month old CCI puppy... except noisier. Actually, now that I think of it, baby boy sort of reminds me of Gerrit. He sure did have some lungs when he first came home too. Gerrit said that it was because he had aspirations of being on American Idol. Hmmmmmm... I wonder if baby boy wants to be on American Idol too! Maybe he and Gerrit could do a duet!

Baby boy sure is sweet. I love him so, so much! My favorite thing these days is to lay right next to my pal while she feeds him. I feel so proud and happy to be there!

I leave you with this cute holiday video. The dog is waiting for his Christmas gift. I got my Christmas gift early this year... and it's the best Christmas gift EVER!

Christmas Wishes Video

Holiday Dreams (by: Carlo)

2009-12-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

I've been getting lots o' razzing since my last post. For some reason, people seem to think that I prefer sleeping over holiday decorating. Well, I'm here to tell all of you people... YOU ARE SO RIGHT! But, it's not as if I'm lazy or anything... it's just that when I sleep, I dream... and when I dream, I dream about REALLY fun stuff.

So, what do I dream about that is so fun? Well, when it's the holiday season and it's cold and wet outside... and my pal is busy decorating, I dream about things like summer!!! In fact, this video is a pretty dang good representation of my winter dreams...

In case you hadn't noticed while watching this, these are the same dogs as the ones from the holiday decorating crew video. Oh, and one dog in the video has the BEST name ever... which just happens to be the same as mine... ;-)

Well, I gotta go... so, I can fall asleep and have some more summer dreams... before my pal asks me to help put the Christmas lights on the house!

Decorating... and Napping... for the Holidays (by: Carlo)

2009-11-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

This weekend all the humans in the house decided to decorate the house for the holidays. They went to a Christmas tree farm up in the mountains, found "the perfect" tree, lugged it home, and proudly displayed it in the front window. Then, in anticipation of decorating the tree, my pal showed Lucky and me this video. She said that it would get us in the holiday spirit and show us how helpful we could be...

But, to be honest, the video didn't do all that much to motivate us. Lucky and I got tired just watching these dogs do all of that work! So, we decided that our time would best be spent supervising the humans as they decorated! Of course, supervising made us sort of sleepy... and then we remembered how all of the dogs in the video fell sound asleep at the end of the video. Hmmmm... that looked like fun! So we only supervised for a little bit... and then settled in early for a long winter's nap. We LOVE napping... errr, I mean decorating... for the holidays!

A Special Purpose (by: Carlo)

2009-11-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

My pal was watching this video tonight as I cuddled up next to her. My first thought was, "Geesh, that little dog sure is an overachiever. When I was that age, I was scared of things like walking down the stairs! And here that little puppy is doin' things like the pull command! Whatever!"

But, I kept watching the video anyways (just because my pal kept watching it), and when the dog didn't make it as service dog, it got MUCH more interesting because I could TOTALLY relate. My pal had tears in her eyes by the end of the video. I gotta admit, I was feeling a little emotional too. I'm sooooo happy that my pal lets me just "be" and that she thinks that I'm perfect just the way I am!

Treats and Dogolanterns (by: Carlo)

2009-10-31T17:49:00.001-07:00

For Halloween this year, we made a dogolantern! It's like a jackolantern only better cause its name isn't Jack and it looks like a dog. We actually haven't named it yet, but, I'm thinking Carlo sounds pretty good... as in Carlolantern!

We also went to a harvest festival where my pal said that I was a total kid magnet. Every kid there wanted to come over and pet me. It was great! All of the kids smelled like yummy treats... and they had gooey good smellin' stuff all over their hands... so, being the helpful dog that I am, I helped them clean their hands!

The trick-or-treaters are now about to arrive, so I've gotta get going. Hope you all have a Happy Halloween with lots & lots of treats and dogolanterns!

Stinky Stuff and Showers (by: Carlo)

2009-10-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week my pal came home and told me she had a shower at work. I didn't understand why the heck she would need to shower at work since she takes a shower every morning before going to work. But, I thought that maybe she did something extra fun that day to make herself really stinky. I know from experience, that the best days are the days I roll in stinky stuff!

I told my pal all of this and she rolled her eyes and said, "No, Carlo, unlike you, I do not like to roll in stank!"

"Then why the heck would you take another shower at work?!" I asked.

"Follow me, Carlo," she said, "I'll show you!"

So, she led me out to her car, where she proceeded to unload a bunch of boxes and bags. I didn't really find it all that interesting... until I saw IT. A soft stuffed froggie toy was hanging from one of the bags! I LOVE soft stuffed toys almost as much as rolling in stank!

My pal noticed my interest, and said, "Check out what this toy does, Carlo!" and she pushed the belly of the froggie. You'll never believe it, but the nicest music started playing! My pal said the music was called a lullaby.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" I shouted as I tried to put the stuffed froggie in my mouth, "What else did you bring me?"

My pal pushed my nose away from the froggie, but before she could answer my question, I had already stuck my head in another bag... and saw... a STUFFED DOGGIE TOY!

Smiling, my pal pulled my head out of that bag before I could grab the stuffed doggie and then told me that these toys weren't for me.

"Huh?" I asked, dumbfounded, "but I thought ALL stuffed squishy toys were for me!"

She then told me that these toys were for the soon to arrive baby boy. She went on to explain that the stuffed toys were just a few of the wonderful baby shower gifts that she had received at work. She said that she had the best co-workers in the world and they had given her a really nice baby shower. Excitedly, she showed me other things she had received... like a diaper genie.

Noticing that I was looking a little bummed that the toys weren't for me, she said softly, "Carlo, I'm sure that the baby wouldn't mind playing with his toys with you some day when he is big enough... but, we have to wait awhile before you can do that. And, when you do play with him and the toys, you have to be careful to keep these toys in really nice shape... that means no getting them dirty... and definitely, NO PULLING STUFFING OUT OF THEM."

I pondered what she said for a few minutes, and then gave her a big lick on the cheek. "Ok!" I said, "I'll wait for baby boy! I can't wait to play with him and the toys!" Then, I got distracted and said, "Hey, what are you supposed to do with this diaper genie thingy anyways?!"

My pal explained what the diaper genie was used for. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" I shouted, "Forget the soft stuffed toys... I really can't wait to play with the diaper genie... stinky stuff here I come!"

My Baby Boy! (by: Carlo)

2009-10-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Today my pal was putting away a bunch of itsy bitsy miniature clothing. I'd never seen such small clothing before! I looked inquisically at the mini clothes and wondered what they heck they were for...

The clothing was so tiny that I started worrying that my pal was planning on replacing all of her socks with the tiny clothes. I LOVE socks... and couldn't imagine a house without socks laying all around for me to carry from one room to the next. But, the clothing was so itsy bitsy, I also couldn't imagine it fitting anything but perhaps my pal's feet!

My pal noticed my fretting and when I told her my worries about a house with no socks, she started laughing.

"These clothes aren't for my feet, Carlo", she said with a giggle. Then she sat me down and explained to me that the clothing was going to be for a new addition to our family!

"You mean we're going to get another CCI puppy?!" I asked in excitement. The mini clothing still puzzled me... but, I thought, that maybe they were some type of new assistance puppy in training capes.

"No," my pal laughed, "we're not getting another CCI puppy... or, at least not for a little while," she said, as she winked. "We're going to be getting a different kind of puppy... a human puppy... a baby boy!"

I sat back on my haunches in stunned silence. "A BABY BOY!!!" I then shouted as I pounced on her and licked her face. I've visited lots of little boys while doing my therapy work at Shriners Hospital for Children and I've loved them all... but, I've never had my VERY OWN BABY BOY! "When, when, when?!" I asked as I danced in circles around her.

She smiled and said, "Well, it looks as if he will be arriving in December."

I ran over and grabbed my toy... my favorite toy... the toy that I won at Woofstock a few weeks ago. I proudly put the toy down on the mini clothing and exclaimed in excitement, "I can't wait to share my favorite toy with my VERY OWN BABY BOY!!!"

Surfin Paws Dog Surfing Competition

2009-10-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

SURF'S UP DUDE! Today was the Surfin Paws Dog Surfing Competition in Huntington Beach! It was the first annual dog surf contest to benefit the Orange County SPCA. I sure do wish we could have gone!

Those of you who know me well, know that there is absolutely NO WAY I would get on a surf board. That is just way too scary for me. But, I still wished we could have watched the competition. I would have kept my four paws where they belong... on dry land! And, I would have been the official greeter... greeting each and every dog as they surfed ashore! I would even have brought them a toy!

While we didn't get to go, we did have fun watching the video from the event...

Woofstock (by: Carlo)

2009-10-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Today I traveled back in time to the 60s, put on a tie dye shirt, and wore flowers in my fur! Ok, ok... not really... but, I did go with my pal to an event where other people and dogs did dress up like it was the 60s! The event was called Woofstock and it was a benefit for an organization called PAWED (People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado County).

There were lots of people and dogs there... and like, I said, many were dressed up for the occasion in 60's attire. My pal and I didn't dress up... but, I did sport that cool bandanna my pal got for me when we went up to Tahoe a few weeks ago. Oh yeah, I was lookin' sharp!

There were all kinds of dog organizations at Woofstock. My buddy Hope was working with her human at the Lend a Heart table. Lend a Heart provides animal-assisted therapy to local facilities. At the Lend a Heart table, there was a game where if you rang a bell, you could win a prize. So, I rang the bell and won a toy! It's a plush bone... and I lOVE it! Since winning it, I've been carrying it ALL over the place.

And, guess what else? We ran into my buddy, Jake (aka "The Other Sandy")! If you don't remember, about a year ago I was in a stage production of Annie. I played the role of Sandy. Because there were so many performances, two dogs were selected to play the role... me and Jake! It was good seeing him again and we both agreed that we missed the ole' stage life!

We also chatted up the lady from Music Plus Dogs. This organization teaches the art and sport of musical canine freestyle. My pal and I have been wanting to learn this for awhile. It looks super duper fun! I can't wait to learn some boogie woogie moves! If you've never seen musical canine freestyle, you can check out one of the BEST musical canine freestyle teams EVER here:

Woofstock sure was loads of fun. I wonder if that's really what life was like in the 60s? Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you about one of the BESTEST things... I got a yogurt treat in a cup! It was sooooo good! I licked the whole thing clean and would have eaten the cup too, if my pal had let me! I LOVE the 60s!

Meet Me at the Corner (by: Carlo)

2009-09-21T20:32:00.001-07:00

This week one of my readers wrote and told me about a really cool web site called MEET ME AT THE CORNER, Virtual Field Trips for Kids. The site has tons of educational kid-friendly videos. And, guess what? This week's video features CCI!

In the video, eight-year old, Katelyn, learns about the importance of service dogs for people with disabilities and interviews a puppy raiser for Canine Companions for Independence.

Check it out!

http://www.meetmeatthecorner.org/episodes/canine-companions-for-independence

Art Bark Fest (by: Carlo)

2009-09-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to a super cool event in Tahoe called Art Bark Fest! Art Bark Fest is an annual event at the Village at Squaw Valley. The event benefits the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe & Squaw Rescue Dogs. Lots of artists come to show and sell their artwork... and all of their art features... DOGS!!! There are lots of special dog events too... and dogs are welcome to join in all of the fun. In other words, this is one cool event!

A bunch of my dog friends and their peeps (people) joined us. That's all of us dogs in the photo above! I'm sitting on the monster chair to the left... sporting my brand new sparkly blue bandanna! My pal got it for me at the event! It's blue with sparkly snowflakes on one side and it's purple on the other side. It sure was nice strutting around the event in my new bandanna. People told me I was lookin' very handsome!

There were all kinds of weird chairs at Squaw Valley. In addition to the monster chair, my buddy Hope and I found the chairs in the photo below. They looked sort of scary to me at first! And, I didn't much like sitting on any of them cause I ain't never sat in a chair like those before! But, once my pal explained to me that they were just made out of a bunch of skis... and to stop being such a big baby about it, I didn't mind so much.

We did do lots of other stuff besides just find crazy chairs. My buddies, Cara and Omeeka, competed in a splash dog contest. We also went shopping. My pal bought a doggie necklace that has a dog on one side and it says "Live, Laugh, Bark" on the other side. It's pretty cool... especially cause I helped pick it out! The lady that sold it to my pal gave me treats and loved my smile!

As if this event wasn't enough to make for a super cool day, after we left the event, we went hiking!!! All us dogs got to play off leash. We hiked along a creek... so, all of us dogs would all dive into the creek, and then run on dry land, then dive back into creek. It was the best and we were all covered in mud! You know you've had a good time when you're covered in mud from nose to paw!

Zoom Zoom Woof Woof (by: Carlo)

2009-09-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

Since Gerrit, the clown, went off to college, life sure has been busy! I knew something was going on when my pal started putting all our stuff in boxes. Next thing you know... all our stuff is in a different house! We've been busy unpacking and getting used to the new digs. But, it hasn't been all work and no play (which is a good thing cause life without play wouldn't be any fun at all!).

We took a break this weekend from unpacking and my pal took me to an event called Zoom Zoom Woof Woof! The event featured two things... cars and dogs... specifically CCI dogs! The car show helped benefit CCI. It sure was a heck of a lot of fun! CCI dog training classes were being held and I even got to help out by being the "distraction". I got to walk around all the dogs in class while they were in down stays and sniff and mess with them. Talk about fun!!! To be honest, it sure was a lot more fun than when I was a pup in training and I had to do the down stays!

We also looked at a bunch of shiny cars, visited with lots of puppy raisers and dogs, and sat and watched the band for awhile...

It was a really fun outing! I'm sure that Gerrit would have loved doing it too. Speaking of Gerrit, we still haven't received his first progress report. But, we did receive his "Dear Family" letter. He said that his trainer is named Erin. And, he said that he gets to play in the yard every day and that it even has a pool with a slide. He didn't make any mention of doing any clown-like antics in college... but, I betcha a zoom zoom car he is the biggest class clown there!

Lots and Lots of Play! (by: Carlo)

2009-08-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of one of Nick's puppy raisers, here are some videos of Gerrit and me playing at Dillon Beach before Gerrit headed off to college!

In this video, Gerrit and I are playin' with Hope. Gerrit is the one out in front, I'm the big one sort of lagging behind, and Hope is the one that looks nothin' like us...

This next video is of Gerrit and his bestest buddy, Nick. I was snoozing by this time...

Sending the Clown off to College (by: Carlo)

2009-08-16T20:28:00.001-07:00

Well, the little clown, Gerrit, is off to college. He already wrote about what happened before we took him to college, so I'll tell you all about what happened after!

After my pal turned in Gerrit, we (the puppy raisers and pet dogs) headed back to Dillon Beach. I gotta admit... I was relieved to be heading back. When we first got to CCI, I was a little worried that my pal was sending me off to college... AGAIN! College was ok and everything... but, it just wasn't for me... and I sure as heck didn't wanna have to go there again!

The reason we were going back to Dillon Beach is cause we were all going camping! When we got back to our camp site, the people ate dinner, played a game, and commiserated on having turned in puppies... while us pet dogs slept. I sure was tired! Between playing in the sand dunes, watching a bunch of photo shoots of Gerrit, and stressing out about thinking about going to college again, I was one tired doggie!

The people were tired too cause they didn't even play their game all that long. My pal and I retreated to our huge 6 person spacious tent. Even though we had lots of room to spread out, we cuddled next to each other. My pal was feeling REALLY sad because she was missing Gerrit. I've gotta admit... I was missing the little crazy clown too. But, I did what I do best and comforted my pal, and we soon both fell asleep to the sound of slight beach breezes rustling the tent.

The next day, we all went to the beach to play. It was so much fun! And, the perfect way to spend the day after sending the little clown off to college!

Off to College (by: Gerrit)

2009-08-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

I did it!!! I'm off to college (aka Advanced Training)! And, boy oh boy what a send off it was!

First, as I already wrote about, we had a Big Dog party last week. Our party was so happening, it even made the news! Check it out: "College Next for Service Dogs". If you look really close, you'll see me... I'm the very first dog they show when they squeak the toy. The squeaking toy made me very happy!

As if that wasn't super duper cool enough, this Friday (before I went to college), my puppy raiser took me and Carlo to a place called Dillon Beach. A bunch of my doggie buddies and their puppy raisers were there too!

Dillon Beach had these HUGE sand dunes that were so much fun to play in. We rolled... and frolicked... and ran... and pounced! It was the best! Here is a photo of me, Nick, and Idelle posing in front of the sand dunes...

And, here's a photo of us wearing our shades under the sun umbrella. Yeah, we're gonna make quite the cool crew in doggie college!...

Late in the afternoon, we all headed over to CCI. And, guess what? We got to play there too! By the time my puppy raiser took my official matriculation photo (which is the photo at the top of this blog entry), I had played so much that my tongue was just about hangin' on the floor. You know you've had a good time when that happens!

My puppy raiser then took me to the "turn in room". My puppy raiser was told that my kennel mate is going to be a pup named Storm. I was really hoping that my kennel mate would be Nick, my bestest buddy in the whole world. But, I've met Storm before... and loves to play! Cool!!!

Before the CCI trainers took me to my room to get settled in, my puppy raiser gave me a big hug and told me to be a good boy. She also told me that know matter what happens, to always be my happy clown-like self. No problem there! That's easy to do!!! Well, I gotta go... I gotta clown around with Storm!

PARRRRTTTTYYY!!! (by: Gerrit)

2009-08-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Friday night was our Big Dog Party!!! It was a party for all of us Big Dogs that are heading off to doggie college NEXT FRIDAY!

There were lots and lots of people and dogs at the party... cause everyone in our chapter of CCI was invited. There was even a guy there from the news filming us!

The part that I didn't get is that even though it was a party... us Big Dogs still had to have class! First we had distraction training. We all had to stay in a down position while the trainer tried to distract us with all kinds of cool looking and sounding toys. Talk about tough! Then, we had to go to all of these stations and do different commands. Each station had written commands posted on the fence. Our puppy raisers had to read all of the commands and then give us the commands... and we had to do 'em all. So, for example, a station might have been something like: Jump, Off, Heel, Jump, Off, Down, Side, Let's Go on Right. There were a ton of stations and it was sort of tough. But, because I'm a Big Dog, I knew all of the commands and my puppy raiser said I did really well!

When we were done with class, the real party started! Each of us Big Dogs got special treats... and the puppy raisers all ate ice cream. The puppy raisers talked and talked and talked. It was nice laying on the grass while the puppy raisers talked... but, I was really wishin' they would finish talking and eating ice cream so the real REAL party could start!

Finally, the puppy raisers were done with all of their gabbin' and eatin'... and we got to PLAY! What a parrrtty! Oh boy oh boy was it fun! As soon as I was released, I ran around looking for a toy to play with. When I couldn't find one, I grabbed the nearest thing I could find... a CCI cape! I grabbed it and ran... tempting all of the other dogs to chase me! They chased me... but, didn't try to take the cape away from me cause well... we're not supposed to play with our CCI capes. Oops! Soon, I found a errrr... more appropriate toy... a ball! So, I dropped the cape, grabbed the ball and took off running!

I finished the party off by drinking about a gallon of water. I would have had more, but my puppy raiser yelled, "Gerrit, stop tanking!". It was the best party EVER! I can't wait to go to doggie college! I hope we all get to party there!

Nick's Photo Shoot (by: Gerrit)

2009-08-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

The other day my bestest buddy in the whole world, Nick, came over to our house! We got to play outside for a bit, and then my puppy raiser brought Nick into her photo studio to do a photo shoot of him.

My puppy raiser wouldn't let Lucky, Carlo, and Me into the photo studio to watch. She told us we had to stay out cause the room was too small... especially for us 3 clowns who would want to just goof around. Like we would do that... ;-)

So, we were good dogs, and stayed outside the room. Well, Lucky was a good dog. Carlo and I did our best to mess with Nick from outside the room. Hee hee! First, I peeked into the room...

Then, I grabbed a toy and Carlo and I both peeked into the room...

And, finally, we took a step in and dropped a toy on the floor for Nick...

Staying outside the photo studio sure did turn out to be fun! I can't wait for our next victim... I mean model... to come over!

My Stepping Stone (by: Gerrit)

2009-08-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend we made my stepping stone! My puppy raiser has made a stepping stone for all of the CCI dogs she has raised [Side note by Lucky: Ummmm... aren't you forgetting someone?]. Oh yeah! AND she has made one for Lucky.

Anywaysssssss... today was all about ME and MY stepping stone! It was lots of fun making my stepping stone! Carlo laid on his bed and watched as I put my paw in the cement. Lucky stayed in the house and hid. She likes her stepping stone now that it's done, but she wasn't a big fan of making it. I think she didn't like it cause the cement felt funny. It was cold and really squishy between my paw pads. My puppy raiser made me stick my paw in the cement a few times cause we kept messing up. Every time we messed up, she wiped the cement off my paw and we'd start all over. I didn't mind so much cause heck... I love attention... any kind of attention!

After we did my paw print, we carefully designed my stepping stone with green and blue glass chips... and a heart! My puppy raiser said the heart was cause she loves me, the blue was cause I'm a boy, and the green was cause that was my color when I was a puppy. When us CCI pups are first born, we are assigned a color. The color is based on the order in which we were born. My color was neon green... which means that I was the 4th puppy born! This helps the breeder caretaker keep track of all of the pups in a litter. Of course I didn't really need a color to distinguish me cause I've got my special wish spot between my eyes! But, I do think I look pretty dang cute in green. Here's a photo of me wearing my neon green collar when I was a puppy...

The grand finale of my stepping stone was when my puppy raiser wrote my name in big letters on it. The stepping stone is out in the garage right now drying. I can't wait until it's all dry and we can put it out in the backyard with all of the other doggie stepping stones! I feel like I've just made the Hollywood walk of fame!

Summer Camp (by: Gerrit)

2009-07-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

Geesh, I go to "summer camp" and while I'm gone Carlo totally hogs the blog and just writes about his fun times! He doesn't even write about ME! It sure is a good thing I'm back. I wouldn't want you all to forget about me and how cute and fun I am. Here are some photos of ME and the fun times I had while at "camp" (aka staying with another puppy raiser).

Here I am kayaking. I'm such the adventurer extraordinaire!

And, here I am swimming in the hopes of some day beating Michael Phelps. I betcha he can't swim and hold a ball in his mouth at the same time!

And, finally here I am being the poster child (errr... I mean dog) for the Fourth of July! I sure do look good in red, white, and blue. Dang, I make a good model!

While at "camp" I decided that if I don't make it as an assistance dog, I'm going to be an adventurer seeking Olympic swimmer model! But, my puppy raiser took one look at the photo of me on top of this blog entry and said she sees clown written all over my future!

P.S. All photos are courtesy of Rachel Rosenthal. Thanks for a great time at "summer camp"!

Hounds and Rebounds (by: Carlo)

2009-07-12T11:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Hounds and Rebounds night at the Monarchs Game. That means that since I'm a hound, I got to go on a special outing with my pal to watch a basketball game!!! We went with my hound buddy, Hope, and her person.

The fun started on the drive there. I kept floating some stinky biscuits. Every time it happened, my pal gasped and rolled down all the windows. She immediately blamed it on me. What's up with that?! It could have been Hope (or not... hee hee!).

Once we got to the arena, my pal made Hope and me pose for some obligatory photos. Ugh.

To be honest, the photo taking session wasn't all that bad. From where we were taking photos, there was a lot of interesting stuff going on. There were lots of dogs... all getting ready to watch the game. And, check this out... there was even a little tiny dog whose hair was painted purple (I'm not kidding!)! And, it was wearing a gold cape AND gold booties (again, I'm not kidding!)! I sure felt sorry for the little thing... but, the weird thing is that the dog didn't even seem to mind... it actually seemed proud of its funky get up.

We finally got into the arena and walked up a TON of stairs to get to our seats. All of us hounds and our peeps were in the nosebleed section. But, it wasn't all that bad. We could still could still see all the activity down on the court below. During halftime, we saw dogs playing some kind of game on the court where they raced each other over hurtles to get a ball. Those dogs were really fast... I didn't see why the dogs would be in such a rush to get a ball. I personally believe in the idea of taking your time. It ain't like the ball is going anywhere. But, the dogs racing each other were kinda ball crazy. There was one dog sitting behind us in the stands who got so excited with the halftime show, that it barked non-stop. Hope and I were trying to snooze, but that little dog kept going on and on and on. ANNOYING!

The drive back home was pretty uneventful. To be honest, I was pretty zonked. I was even too tired to float any more biscuits... that made my pal VERY happy.

4th of July Fun (by: Carlo)

2009-07-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Gerrit is staying at another puppy raiser's house right now cause we were supposed to go on a road trip for the 4th of July and my pal only wanted to take two dogs (and Lucky and I were the lucky two!). Unfortunately, the road trip plans fell through. BUT, this weekend still turned out to be a blast cause without Gerrit around, I finally got to go places for a change! 'Bout time!

Yesterday we drove to this place that had all kinds of 4th of July festivities going on! There was live music and food and firetrucks. There was even a parade with kids and dogs. We watched the parade for a bit and then joined in! It was such a fun outing!

At night, we all stayed in and didn't go out to watch fireworks. Lucky was kinda scared... [sidenote by Lucky: I was not scared!]. Errrr.... she was kinda... concerned... about the fireworks. And, she kept whining and panting and pacing all over the house. After we went to bed, she wouldn't even stay on her bed. So, what's a dog gonna do, but take the opportunity of her not being on her alpha bed? While she was pacing around, I quietly grabbed the alpha bed spot (which is on the side right next to my pal!).

The only problem was that not long after I had curled up in sleepy bliss, Lucky came back and practically sat on my head as she whined at my pal to get up and check out what was going on outside. My pal didn't go outside. Instead, she groggily told Lucky everything was ok and to go back to bed. But, then she saw that I was meekly laying on Lucky's bed and Lucky's fat butt was sitting on me... [sidenote by Lucky: My butt is not fat!]. So, my pal sighed, grabbed the other dog bed (my bed), which was at the foot of the bed and pulled it right next to the alpha bed. Lucky immediately jumped on it and and fell asleep.

The next morning, my pal looked over and noticed that Lucky was no longer on the dog bed, which she had moved the night before. She got out of her bed, looked around, and then noticed that Lucky was hiding under her bed... probably cause she was so scared the night before [sidenote by Lucky: Carlo, I'm warning you!]. Errrrrrrr.... so, my pal called Lucky to come out from under the bed. Lucky started crawling, but when she was only half way out, she stood up and got stuck cause her butt is kinda fat... [sidenote by Lucky: That's it Carlo! You are so going to get it!]. And, my pal had to rescue her and help her get unstuck. Ummmmm... I gotta run... hope you all had a happy 4th!

Ruling the Roost (by: Lucky)

2009-06-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

My gawd clown boy (aka Gerrit) sure does know how to hog this blog! He's not the only one who had fun this weekend. We all escaped from the heat and went to the river! And, as you can see... regardless of whether Gerrit becomes an assistance dog... or a clown... or the next American Idol (yes, he still has those dreams sometimes), I will ALWAYS rule the roost.

Clowin' Around at the Fair (by: Gerrit)

2009-06-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

Puppy class this weekend was held at the fair! It was my very first time at a fair and boy oh boy was it ever fun!

The fair is FULL of smells... hot dogs, cotton candy, goats, pigs, dogs, big kids, and little kids. All I wanted to do was put my nose on the ground and just snort it all in. But, an assistance dog isn't supposed to do that. Sigh. So, I had to resort to sticking my nose up in the air where I could smell the scents that wafted through the thick summer air. Geesh, was that ever heavenly!

One of my favorite parts of the fair were the goats. Not only did they smell good, but they were kinda fun to look at. They kinda looked like dogs... but, kinda not. Some were little, like this one...

But, other goats were big... bigger than me! I liked the little ones better. The big ones were kinda scary. One goat stood up on it's hind legs and that freaked me out a bit... I hid behind my puppy raiser.

While at the fair I got to pretend that I was a REAL clown by sticking my head through a clown drawing! That was pretty cool! And, I got some dang good treats for sticking my head through that thing. I told my puppy raiser that when I grow up, if I don't make it as an assistance dog, that I want to be a CLOWN! She laughed, and said that I already am one...

(P.S. Photos from the fair are courtesy Jill Quan.)

Hide the Puppy! (by: Gerrit)

2009-06-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today my puppy raiser and I played the funnest game ever! It was called Hide the Puppy... and the puppy was ME!

My puppy raiser was doing laundry (how boring is that?!). I was just about to take a snooze until she was done, when I noticed that the blanket from the bed fell part way onto the floor. Cool! A hiding place! I crawled under the blanket and was very very still. I heard my puppy raiser come back into the bedroom and she said, "Hmmmm... I wonder where Gerrit could be?"

Hearing her say my name made me so happy! As hard as I tried to be super duper still, I just couldn't control my tail... it started to thump in excitement! But, my puppy raiser had no idea where the thumping was coming from! Or, at least she acted like she didn't...

She looked in the closet and said, "Hmmmm... no puppy in here!".

She opened the toilet lid, and said, "Hmmmm... no puppy in here... which is a good thing!". Hee hee, that one made me laugh!

I heard footsteps getting nearer, and then total silence. My tail was wagging so fast by now I'm not quite sure how I managed to stay under that blanket! All of a sudden, I saw my puppy raiser peek under the blanket as she exlaimed, "Boo! I found you!"

I leaped out in a single bound, jumped in her lap, and gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek! Then, I ran off to find a few toys that I could bring to her! I love LOVE LOVE LOVE playing games!

Doggies in the Box, Yoga, and More! (by: Gerrit)

2009-06-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a weekend this was!!! Not only did I get to do my usual fun stuff like shopping with my puppy raiser, training at a dog park, and playing with Lucky and Carlo, but I also saw a bunch of doggies in the box AND did yoga!!!

The other night my puppy raiser was watching the box in the family room. She calls the box a tv. It has images on it and makes a bunch of noise. I don't really get why my puppy raiser is interested it, but I don't ask cause every time she watches the box, it means she snuggles with me on the floor! Well, the other night, as we were snuggling on the floor, you won't believe what I saw in the box! A bunch of DOGS playing at a DOG PARK! I watched intently and my tail started wagging. Finally, I decided the whole thing needed further investigation, so I jumped up... ran over to the box... and put my nose right in front of the box. I heard my puppy raiser laugh in the background and she said, "You're too close, you're not going to see anything". She was right about that because all the dogs in the box were blurry and no longer looked like dogs. So, I ran around behind the box to see if I could see the dogs there. But, I didn't see anything... except a bunch of dust. After I left my nose print in the dust, I gave up, and went back to snuggle with my puppy raiser. But, from now on I'm going to keep a closer eye on the box... just in case I see more doggies in there!

This morning my puppy raiser did something that she called yoga. She rolled out a mat on the floor and then did a bunch of stretches and funny poses. It was GREAT! First of all, never one to miss the opportunity to jump on a comfy bed, I layed down on the mat as soon as she layed it out. But, she shoved me off. Then, she did this one stretch where she layed flat on the map and lifted her legs in the air. So, I cuddled up next to her and put my head on her stomach. Then, Carlo got into the act by putting his paws on her legs every time her legs came down. She sighed and said, "Ugh, you guys are making this so difficult! ". But, she laughed as she said it. And, she let us stay for a few minutes, until she started doing some other stretch and shoved us away.

After she was done doing yoga, she started telling us a little bit about it. She said that there is one pose that is actually called "Downward-Facing Dog"! I like that pose! My favorite yoga pose though is laying on my back with my paws straight up in the air. Not sure what you call that pose... but it sure is a comfy way to sleep! In fact, I did that pose on the yoga mat and quickly fell asleep... where I dreamed of finding the doggies in the box.

My Favorite Things About Baseball (by: Gerrit)

2009-06-07T17:23:00.001-07:00

Today my buddy Nick and I got to go to a ball game!!! Here are a few of my favorite things about baseball:

1) There are peanut shells... EVERYWHERE! And, if you're really lucky (like me) you will have a klutzy puppy raiser who accidentally spills a whole bunch of them on the ground, right in front of your face! Score!!! The bummer thing is that I got corrected every time I tried to grab one while she was cleaning up the mess. Geesh! Can't a dog have any fun?!

2) There are lots of fun kids... EVERWHERE! And, if you're really lucky (like me) you will have one sitting right behind you that giggles and laughs every time you lick her toes!

3) If you are sitting in the seating area, and there is another CCI puppy sitting in the row behind you... you can stick your nose under the seat and kiss each other!

4) If you are sitting in the lawn area, you can stretch and roll, and hog the blanket that your puppy raiser is trying to sit on!

5) Balls flying through the sky. Need I say more?!

Making my Puppy Raiser Proud (by: Gerrit)

2009-05-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to a CCI Graduation with my puppy raiser, my buddies (Skipper and Nick), and their puppy raisers. It was Skipper's matriculation day... that means it was the day that he headed off to Advanced Training (aka "Doggie College"). It really hit me yesterday that I only have a few months left until I go Doggie College. In fact, both Nick and I will be joining Skipper at the very next CCI Graduation in August!!!

You would think that since my time is almost up with my puppy raiser, that she would wanna put a photo of ME on this blog entry. But, that photo above is just some other pup at the graduation ceremony. Personally, I voted for this photo of my cute tummy to be the "main photo" of this entry...

But, my puppy raiser said, "I don't think so!". Geesh, I don't even get to pick the photos... whose blog is this anyways?! [Side note by Carlo: Errrr... actually, Gerrit, it is MY blog! And, even though I was NOT at Graduation, I personally think that this blog entry... like every blog entry... should feature a photo montage of ME.].

My puppy raiser just reminded me that it isn't always about ME (or Carlo!) and to stop moaning about the photo and write about the graduation! So... the graduation was super duper fun! I got to play a whole bunch in the CCI dog park. It was a blast! In fact, I played so hard, that I also tanked on a bunch on water... and had to pee a bunch the remainder of the day!

My puppy raiser told me throughout the day that when I go to Doggie College, I'm NOT going to be able to play all day. While there will be play time, there will also be a lot of hard work, where I will need to learn all of the advanced commands in preparation of becoming an actual assistance dog!

The hard work part didn't sound all that much fun to me at all. But, when we went to the graduation ceremony, I realized why it is important for all of us pups to work hard in Doggie College. There was this one graduate who received a dog named Playa. He was one of the class speakers and he gave such a wonderful heartwarming speech. While listening to him, it became clear how us CCI dogs can provide so much help and love to others. And, it became clear how important it is for PEOPLE to volunteer for organizations like CCI... organizations that really make a difference in the lives of others. There was not a dry eye in the audience! And, Playa's person received a HUGE and well-deserved standing ovation when he was done!

All of us dogs were laying on the floor during the graduation ceremony...

That's Skipper in the foreground, wearing his fancy blue matriculation cape, and that's me next to him, and Nick next to me. While we couldn't really see what was going on, we could hear every word that was being said... and, those words made us feel so special and so happy that we may some day have the opportunity to help someone in need. So, I wish the very best to my buddy Skipper... and my other buddies, Enso and Dupre, who also headed off to Doggie College yesterday. I hope they all do well and make their puppy raisers proud! And, even though Doggie College won't be all play, I can't wait to join them in just a few months!

I told all of this to my puppy raiser after we got home late last night. She hugged me and told me that she loved me very very much... and that no matter what happens, I will always make her proud. Hmmm... since she was feeling so sentimental, I thought I would try getting something I really wanted. I snuggled up next to her, rested my head in her lap, and asked, "Does that mean that MY tummy photo gets to be the featured photo?"

She gave me "the look" and responded, "I love you... but no!"

Geesh! Oh, well... it was worth a try... ;-)

Super Sonic... and Stank Boy (by: Gerrit)

2009-05-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today, after a little training session, my buddy Nick and I got to play! And, where was Carlo? Stank boy was in the DOG HOUSE... meaning he was in TROUBBBLLLLEE!!! I'll tell you about Carlo in a minute... but, first I've gotta tell you about ME and how much fun I had!

Nick and I played like crazy. We chased this really cool toy all over a big grassy field. Of course, Nick had a hard time keepin' up with me cause I'm super sonic fast...

As, hard as he tried, Nick just couldn't catch me... ha ha!

He finally stopped chasing me and told me that he was going to do the stealth approach instead... this is where he just stood there, waited for me to do all the work of getting the toy, and he just waited for me to return. Nick may call it the stealth approach... but, I call it the lazy butt approach!

But, enough gloating about me and how super sonic fast I am. I bet you all can't wait to hear how Carlo got in trouble! Well, this morning, at about 5:30am, my puppy raiser woke up and decided she would let us all out in case we needed to go to the bathroom. We all went out and Carlo (as always) was the last to return. She let Carlo back in and groggily returned to bed... happy that it was Sunday and she could sleep in. When, all of a sudden she smelled (in her words) the stankiest stinkiest stuff EVER! She thought it was a skunk that had sprayed outside so she covered her head with a blanket. But, the smell remained... and, it not only remained... it seemed to get worse!

Finally she turned on a light, looked around the room... and noticed Carlo was sittin' there with this white goopy stuff all over his nose. What the heck?! she cried. As she took him into the bathroom, to wipe off his nose... she realized that the stench was emanating from him!!!

So, rather than getting to sleep in, she spent the next few hours giving stank boy a number of baths. And, she tried airing out the house... which, she wasn't all that successful with cause after we got back from my playdate with Nick, the house still stank!

She's still not sure what Carlo got into. She's been saying that it smells like a cross between a skunk and coyote urine (although there's no way a coyote could get in the backyard). I didn't want her to get mad at me, but personally, I thought Carlo was smellin' kind of nice today. But, like I said, I sure as heck didn't tell her that!!! Cause in her opinion... Sweet Boy was smellin' anything but sweet today! In fact, she said that Carlo ain't no Sweet Boy... he's a STANK BOY! Ha ha... I just love it when Carlo gets in TROUBBBBLLLEEE!

Splash Dogs (by: Gerrit)

2009-05-17T19:57:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my puppy raiser and I went to a Splash Dog competition. This is a competition where dogs go diving into the water and they get judged on how far they fly through the air! It was AWESOME! I'd love say that's a photo of me above as I fly effortlessly through the air. But, it's not. My paws were planted firmly on the ground, which is where they belong! The last time I tried going into a pool was last summer and it was sorta scary! So, I was totally happy just to watch... and boy oh boy did I see a lot!

There were dogs who sorta toppled in the water...

And other dogs who flew through the air just like underdog!...

Some dogs caught their toys mid-air...

And, others got an "A" for effort...

Some dogs flew so far and high, they even had time to check out the crowd of onlookers...

But, my favorite were the dogs who demonstrated why the competition was called "Splash Dogs"...

The whole thing was super duper cool! There were so many dogs competing of all different shapes, sizes, and ages. No dog was too small or too old to compete. And, the neatest thing was that there was even a cancer survivor that competed! The dog had lots its leg a year ago to cancer... but, competed just like it had 4 legs!!!

My puppy raiser was soooo proud of me for being a good boy around all those crazy diving dogs. And, let me tell ya'... those dogs were CRAZZZZZZY! They all were so excited about diving, that they whined, barked, jumped, and ran in circles as they waited for their turn to compete! I think the whole thing was sorta shocking to me which was why I was so good... :-) I didn't even budge from my spot when that crazy dog in the last photo splashed so much that I got doused with water!

I LOVE Carmel (by: Carlo)

2009-05-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing my pal is so dog-like when it comes to forgiving! She quickly forgave me for the lipstick incident. She told me she was just thankful I was ok. But, between you and me... I think the lipstick artwork (which is still on the white rug) is kinda growing on her! My pal and her guy showed their appreciation for my artistic side by taking me, Lucky, and Gerrit to a place called Carmel this weekend!

None of us dogs had ever been to Carmel before. And, it was the best place EVER! It was the most dog-friendly place I have ever been to in my whole life. Almost every shop in the town had a dog bowl of water to quench your doggie thirst. And, some shops even allowed dogs to come inside... and that's ALL dogs... not just assistance dogs in training and service dogs!

The best part of Carmel though was the beach. Dogs are not only allowed at the Carmel City Beach, they are welcomed... and able to play off leash! When my pal took us all off our leashes, and we felt the squishiness of sand between our paws, and smelled the salty ocean air, and saw all the other dogs romping on the strand and swimming in the water... well, it was exuberance overload! I stood still and soaked it all in for a minute... and then I was off... and I ran, and ran, and ran. I vaguely thought I heard my pal's voice calling, "Carlo, get back here!". But, then again, what I heard may have just been the crashing of the ocean waves. I could hear Gerrit running right behind me... and a little bit behind him, I could hear Lucky. And, again, I thought I heard, "Carlo, Gerrit, and Lucky... come back here right now!". But, then again, what I heard may just have been the wind rushing past my flapping ears. I ran up to some other dogs and started playing with them. And, then Gerrit and Lucky caught up and joined our play fest. It was absolute... bliss!

But, then he came. My pal's guy. He came running up and said under his breath, "Boy, are you guys in trouble!" He grabbed hold of my collar and Gerrit's collar, as Lucky trotted happily behind us, and just shook his head. "She's REALLY mad at you guys"...

And, he was right! My pal was pretty mad that we took off and didn't listen to her. But, we explained that we thought we were hearing the ocean waves and wind. She just said, "Uh huh... " and gave us all a time out while she and her guy ate their picnic lunch. But, like I said before, my pal is very dog-like when it comes to forgiving! Thank goodness for that! She let us all off leash again, reminded us that we better not run off, and then played with us all by the water. It was soooooo much fun! We played, and played, and played! After we played, we took a break back on our claimed slab of rock, where we basked in the sun. And, then we played again. And, this pattern of activities continued for the whole day.

As the day started waning, we packed up all of our stuff, threw it all in the car, and then went for a walk around town. We found this REALLY cool place called The Cypress Inn. Dogs were totally welcome there! My pal and her guy ate dinner, while us dogs all took a nap. Gerrit was sleeping close to another table where there were some people from Canada. They LOVED Gerrit and gave him lots of attention. But, I was too tired to even care that he was getting all the attention... and I just snoozed.

After dinner, we walked to a place called Diggidy Dog. It was a dog boutique that had the BEST treats. My pal got a bunch for us. Here's a photo of us waiting in front of Diggidy Dog for our treats!

The drive home was long, and we slept the WHOLE way home. And, for the rest of the weekend, we were all still super tired. We've been napping and dreaming of that glorious dog-friendly placed called Carmel...

Roses are Red... and so are my Paws (by: Carlo)

2009-05-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of nights ago I was sort of a naughty boy. I know you must be asking yourself how could I, Sweet Boy who can do no wrong, do anything naughty... but, well... it just sort of happened...

My pal and her guy went out for a bit last night. After they left, I headed into the bedroom to take a nap on my pillow, when I came across my pal's purse. It was laying there wide open on the floor... and, even though I knew I shouldn't, I just couldn't help but take a little peak inside. When I stuck my head in, the wafting scent of fruit hit my nose... yum! I fished around and pulled out a pack of gum. I was about to check out this fruity smorgasbord further, when something else in the purse caught my eye. It sort of looked like a little stick, but was shiny all over. Wow, I thought! I LOVE sticks! So, I pulled out the stick and decided that since I had found the ULTIMATE treasure, to retreat to the pillow in the family room for a gnaw fest.

As I began gnawing my treasure, I realized that it wasn't quite as crunchy as a regular stick. In fact, it was a little hard. I was about to give up... when, you wouldn't believe what happened! The stick came apart and the inside of the stick was red and gooey and smelled very nice! Now at the time I had no idea what this miracle stick was... but, I found out later from my pal that I had discovered... LIPSTICK!

I picked up that lipstick and chewed on it a bit. Then, I realized that if I moved it around, it would actually color stuff! So, I took it and drew on my legs and my paws. Oh, and I drew all over the rug too! It was amazing stuff! And, it didn't taste half bad either! So, after drawing for a while, I chomped and chomped until I ate the whole thing! I even ate the tube it came in cause while it was hard at first, I noticed that it softened nicely after a bunch of chewing. In fact, I was just about to make my last final gulp of the metal tube, when I heard keys rattle at the front door.

Now, if I had been a typical dog, I would have thought, “oh, oh... I better hide!”. But, I am Sweet Boy, who can do no wrong. So, I ran happily to the door to welcome my pal home and to show her what an artist I was!

My pal and her guy came into the house, patted us dogs on the head, took a few more steps into the house... and then my pal stopped dead in her tracks. “What the...?!” she exclaimed, as she pointed to the white rug, which now had a very pretty lipstick stained circle right in the middle. She ran over to us dogs, and said, “Are you guys ok???” I didn't realize it at the time, but she thought the red was blood... and that one of us had gotten badly hurt. She looked at Lucky first... and realized she was ok. Then she looked at me... and noticed red all over my legs, paws, and nose. “Wait a minute,” she said, “this isn't blood... what the heck is this?!!”

After a full investigation of the house, my pal and her guy put together what had transpired while they were out of the house. It was all very exciting sleuthing around the house finding the pieces of evidence. Even though I knew what happened, I felt just like a detective!

They picked up a phone and I thought they were going to call a museum to let them know about my masterpieces, but they called the emergency vet instead. I didn't get it... why would a vet want to see my art work? The vet told them that I needed to be carefully observed and that if I started getting sick, to bring me in immediately. Huh? Why should I get sick?

Throughout the night my pal kept waking up and checking on me. It was really nice getting the extra night time pats. And, the next day my pal even worked from home so that she could keep an eye on me. She was relieved to find that I didn't get sick at all!

The photo above is of my lipstick covered paw. This was taken a day after the "incident"... and, after my pal had really scrubbed my paws and legs. I was kind of bummed that my pal didn't take a photo the night I had reached into my inner creative self, cause you should have seen how pretty my paws and legs were then!

A Very Full Week (by: Gerrit)

2009-04-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

Boy oh boy has it been a busy week! Last week I went to a place called UC Davis. My puppy raiser told me that it is a college for people... kind of like Advanced Training (aka Doggie College) is a college for us CCI dogs! At UC Davis there was a BIG event called Picnic Day. There were people... and DOGS... everywhere! Awesome!

Lots and lots of puppy raisers, dogs in training, and graduates were at the event. We had a CCI booth where people could come and learn all about us. We attracted a really large crowd of people!

The best part of the day was when we went to watch a parade. The granddaughter of another puppy raiser watched the parade with us and she was the absolute best! She snuggled with me and my buddy, Idelle, the whole time we watched the parade. She even used Idelle as a pillow for awhile... and she let ME use HER as a pillow!

After we were at the event for awhile, my puppy raiser gave me to another puppy raiser, who took me home and kept me for the whole week! That was really fun too! I LOVE sleepovers! Plus, while I was with the other puppy raiser I got to play with a bunch of other dogs and I even got to go to Point Reyes and go to the beach! The best part though was when a super special lady trained with me. She was was once a puppy raiser and is now just 3 weeks from becoming a veterinarian! She was super duper duper nice! She worked with me on my dog distraction issues and gave a whole bunch of pointers to my puppy raiser, when my puppy raiser picked me up from her on Friday. My puppy raiser LOVED the suggestions because they focused on positive reinforcement, which is the kind of training my puppy raiser really likes to use.

It sure was a fun week! But, I'm glad to be home so that I can get caught up on my naps... and pounce on Carlo when he's not looking... hee hee...

Gerritopolis (by: Gerrit)

2009-04-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

You're not gonna believe where my puppy raiser took me today! She took me to this place where there were TONS of dogs. I've never seen so many dogs in my entire life! And, check this out... they all smelled... very fresh and clean!

I found out from my puppy raiser that the reason they all smelled so good was cause it was a dog show and the dogs had to look there very best. My puppy raiser told me that the dogs compete against each other and they can win ribbons for looking good. I asked her if I could win a ribbon too! She just laughed and said for me to win a ribbon she'd have to change my name to something like Sir Gerritopolis III. Huh? I asked. She tried to explain how show dogs have long fancy names and are bred specifically to be show dogs... kinda like I was bred specifically to be an assistance dog. But, I still didn't quite get it. All I know is that if I had to change my name to Gerritopolis in order to get a ribbon... I'd pass on the ribbon!

We went to the dog show with Nick's puppy raiser. Nick didn't get to go cause he was with his other puppy raisers today. Boy, oh boy I can't wait to tell him all about the dog show! The reason my puppy raiser took me there was to work on my dog distraction issue. Having this dog distraction issue was the best thing I ever decided to do cause I sure get to go go some neat places because of it! The dog show was way fun! I saw great big giant dogs called Great Danes (who looked as big as horses), fancy funny looking dogs called poodles (who had their butts shaved... seriously!), big shaggy dogs called Bouviers des Flandres (my puppy raiser had to help me spell that!), and sooooo much more! There were dogs EVERYWHERE!

And, you're not gonna believe this, but my puppy raiser told me that I was a REALLY good boy at the dog show! I didn't whine at all and I kept making eye contact with my puppy raiser and Nick's puppy raiser. They both rewarded me big time for this with yummy treats! My puppy raiser said that it was amazing how much better behaved I was at the dog show than I was at the event last week. Not only was I good around all the dogs, I was even a good boy when a bunch of kids came over to pet me!

My puppy raiser took a photo of me in front of a Best of Winners sign (above) cause she said today I was so good that I sure was a winner!!! As soon as I came home, I told Lucky and Carlo all about it! Lucky just shook her head and said, "You poor sap... haven't I taught you anything? If you are too good and you make it look like you no longer have a dog distraction issue, she won't take you to all those fun dog events all the time!"

I smiled, wagged my tail, and responded, "Oh, but I did learn from you Lucky! I may have been good around the dogs, but I was REALLY distracted when we visited the dog toy vendors. Those squeaky toys really got me going! Pet stores here we come!!!" :-)

Dog'gone Fun Event (by: Gerrit)

2009-04-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go to an event called Doggun... Dog'gone Doggie... oh heck, I don't remember what it was called, I just know that it sure was Dog'gone fun!

I went there with my puppy raiser, my buddies, Nick and Idelle, and their puppy raisers. My puppy raiser told me on the drive to the event that we were going to work on dog distractions. Cool! I LOVE dog distractions! But, I never dreamed that there would be so many dog distractions at the event! It was awesome!

The event was held at a big park and there were dogs of all shapes and sizes. Big giant dogs and itty bitty yappy dogs. The whole thing was so exciting! The other dogs at the event were being tested on agility and obedience type stuff. We lucked out and didn't have to do any testing, but we did have to be good and observe... which, let me tell ya'... wasn't so easy! In fact, I think it was tougher than being tested. At least if you're being tested, it gives you something to take your mind off the fact that there are soooo many dogs... all of which look like they'd be so fun to play with!

My puppy raiser worked with me for awhile and then she gave me to Nick's puppy raiser so that she could work with me too. Both of them said I was really good... errr... ok, ok, maybe those weren't the exact words that came out of their mouths. But, I think maybe they said I was pretty good... cause I was pretty good... well, except for those times when I was just laying and observing. That's when I started to be sorta whiney. But, I just couldn't help it! It was sooooo much fun being around all those dogs! I just loved it, loved it, LOVED it!

Just to prove that I was good once in awhile, here is a photo of me being a good boy. I'm being so good that I'm not even noticing my tail being kinda funny!

After all the torturous observing of other dogs, my puppy raiser took some photos of us. Here I am with my buddies, Nick and Idelle. In case you can't really tell Nick and Idelle apart... Nick is the one with the drool. Hee hee... he's so funny! No wonder I love dogs so much... they are always doing funny stuff like this! How can I not get excited!

Muddy Ponds and Baths (by: Carlo)

2009-03-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

My pal hasn't worked for the last four days... it's been awesome! We've gone on long walks every day, played in the backyard, watched movies, and hung out. It's been the absolute best time! She said that she's gotta work tomorrow, but that's ok cause I'm a little tired after today's outing.

Today Gerrit and I went to Hunter's home. Hunter is my BIG buddy with the HUGE backyard and ponds with mud in it. The last time I was at his house my pal said she's never in her life seen a dog so dirty as I was! I LOVE Hunter's muddy ponds!

I didn't get as dirty today, but boy oh boy did I have a good time! Gerrit was his usual self. He ran and ran and ran. That dude never stops. He also played keep away with sticks and toys that he found. I ran too, but not nearly as much as Gerrit. And, Hunter ran even less than me cause he's already 8 years old. But, he still played with us is in the muddy ponds... which was soooo much fun!

When we got home, the first thing my pal did was give us a bath. She said we couldn't step a single paw into the house until we were spotless. She also gave Lucky a bath. Lucky didn't go with us on our outing cause she sometimes gets a little pissy at Hunter cause Hunter doesn't accept the fact that she rules the roost. I asked Lucky once if Hunter's home was actually his roost... and she just glared at me and said that she rules the roost no matter whose home she's at. Personally, I think Lucky is a little scared of Hunter cause he's so gigantic. But, I would never ever tell Lucky that! Anyways, Lucky was a little peeved that she got a bath too. She hates baths. She grumbled that she didn't even play in the muddy pond... but, my pal said it didn't matter cause she was way overdue for a bath. So, Lucky sighed and put up with it... mostly because she knew if she put up with the bath she would get treats afterward. I LOVE baths cause of the after bath treats!

Anyways, I'm sorta glad that my pal is working tomorrow cause I sure am tired. I'm looking forward to napping ALL day...

Hellllllooooo Spring! (by: Carlo)

2009-03-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Good bye winter... and helllooooo spring!

The cold rainy days are finally behind us... and the sunny warm days of spring are finally here! That's all I've got to say about it cause I gotta get back to playing! See ya!

Sweet Boy (by: Carlo)

2009-03-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

I sure am loving being a change of career dog and being back home with my pal (who was once my puppy raiser)! I'm finding that every single day I'm gettin' away with more and more. I think it helps that my pal thinks I'm super sweet... hence, her nickname for me "Sweet Boy". She sure is a sucker for my sweetness. Between being back home and being thought of as sweet... life is good... very good!

A few weeks ago I decided to put my sweetness to the test. One morning, when my pal was trying to sleep in, I did an "up" on the bed. For those of you not familiar with CCI lingo... "up" means I put my two front paws on something. The only catch is that CCI dogs aren't supposed to do an "up" unless they are told to do an "up". Well, since I'm technically no longer a CCI dog... I thought what the heck, and I did an "up" on the bed, right next to my pal's head! My pal slowly opened her eyes. She stared into my eyes as my tail wagged back and forth. "Oh Carlo", she said, "you really should not be doing that." And, then I saw what I was looking for. That hint of a smile and twinkle in her eyes. At that moment I knew I was golden! My tail wagged harder. "But you're so dang cute! My Sweet Boy...," she sighed as wrapped her arms around my head and gave me a big hug. Yes siree... I was golden! I was sparkling with sugary sweet success!

A few weeks went by where I continued to do an "up" on the bed on weekend mornings; and each time I had the same wonderful results. This weekend I decided to take things just a tad bit further. My pal was watching a movie Friday night. Lucky was hogging the prime spot... the pillow by the fireplace. Gerrit was sprawled on the floor, laying on his back with paws flopping everywhere. Both Lucky and Gerrit were sound asleep and lookin' very comfy. But, as hard as I tried I just couldn't get comfy. I glanced over at my pal. She was sitting on the couch wrapped in the softest looking blankie. She sure did look super comfy. Comfier even than Lucky and Gerrit! And, then I thought of something. I'm Sweet Boy! I can get away with stuff! So, I got up, walked over to my pal and did an "up" on the couch. My pal laughed and pet my head as she said, "Why hello, Sweet Boy."

Those magical words meant my plan was working! So, as I was doing an "up", I slowly moved one back foot up, and then the other... until I was doing an "up" with all 4 paws on the couch! Now technically, in CCI lingo, this would no longer be considered an "up"... this would be a "jump"... but, as I said, I'm technically no longer a CCI dog. My pal's eyes got really big as she said "Carlo!". But, before she could utter another word, I plopped down right next to her! And, to my great delight, she just started laughing as she said, "I can't believe you just did that!". Well, you better believe I did it! After all, I am Sweet Boy!

I didn't want to push my success by overstaying my welcome. And, to be quite honest, there really wasn't all that much room on the couch and I started sliding off right away. So, I just let my body slide all the way off and plopped down right next to the couch... where I snuggled up next to my pal's feet. And, as I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep, I started dreaming about what "Sweet Boy" was going to try next.

Reading and Playing (by: Carlo)

2009-03-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was filled with FUN stuff! It was the perfect day... I wish we could do that kind of stuff ALL the time, EVERY single day!

In the morning, my pal and her SGF took Lucky, me, and Gerrit on a long walk. Then, my pal took me to my very first R.E.A.D. session at the library. For those of you who don't know, my pal and I recently became an official registered R.E.A.D. Program team. R.E.A.D. (which stands for Reading Education Assistance Dog) is a program that started in 1999 to help improve the literacy skills of kids, by having them read to dogs! The idea behind the program is that kids will improve their reading skills if they read while doing something fun... and what's more fun than reading to a dog?! Plus, us dogs aren't like adults... we don't criticize kids or correct them for making mistakes. We just let them relax and be themselves!

When my pal and I first started looking into the R.E.A.D. program and going through the application process, I thought I was going to enjoy it... but, dang I had NO idea just how much I would enjoy it! It's awesome! There were 3 other R.E.A.D. teams at the library yesterday and each team got their very own blankie and pillows. We had two different sessions... so, two different kids read to me! "My" kids were a boy and a girl. They were sooooo nice. I put my paw on the girl's lap and she pet my paw the whole time she read to me. And, the boy... he kept selecting books about dogs that looked just like me! My favorite book was about a service dog named Buddy!

After the R.E.A.D. program ended we headed up to Tahoe with Gerrit, Nick, and Nick's puppy raiser. Every year our local chapter of CCI has an annual snow day event in Tahoe. The event is held at a puppy raiser's house... they have a HUGE back yard. This is the first year I got to go cause I think last year it was canceled because of a storm or something. Anyways, snow day is the bomb! There were about 40 dogs there and TONS of snow. We played, and played, and played. My pal did make us stop playing a few times... like when she took our portrait above in our cool blue bandannas (which we wore so that she could easily spot us among all the other yellow dogs playing). But, other than that, we PLAYED!

Gerrit, as usual, ran non-stop...

And, he played keep away games with snowballs... which made NO sense to me. This photo is of Gerrit (in the shadows) and Nick trying to take a snow ball away from some poor sap...

I, on the other hand, played more sophisticated games like dance revolution (without a Wii)...

And, I played football (minus a football)... yes, that is me getting body slammed...

After we got home from Tahoe, we all crashed! Sure am glad today is Sunday so we can all recuperate from yesterday's fun!

Rainy Day Blues (by: Gerrit)

2009-03-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Today it rained ALL day. Let me tell you... three dogs stuck in the house all day cause of the rain = NOT good. Actually, Lucky didn't seem to mind... she just slept all day and looked quite happy about it. But, Carlo and I... well, me mostly... were searching for fun things to do in the house!

The only thing that was mildly interesting (other than pouncing on Carlo so that he would start wrestling with me), was checking out what my puppy raiser was doing in her photo studio. She was playing some kinda game where she would balance a bunch of little sticks on top of each other. She said it was a game called jenga... and she was shooting photos of it for an assignment. I didn't get the whole balancing point of it... so, I picked one up and started chewing on it until my puppy raiser yelled "Gerrit, No!".

Carlo then came in to check out what was going on... his tail was wagging as he came up to the tower of little sticks and my puppy raiser yelled, "Carlo, freeze... don't move!" I watched all excited about what was going to happen next. But, Carlo did freeze. In fact, the whole thing ended up being sort of a let down cause then my puppy raiser said "back" and Carlo backed right on out of there without knocking over a single stick from the jenga stick tower. Geesh, Carlo is such an overachiever. So much for my fun!

Sigh. Will the rain ever stop?

Party in New Orleans! (by: Gerrit)

2009-02-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

My puppy raiser and her SGF went to a place called New Orleans last week. I got to stay with Skipper's puppy raiser while she was gone... where I had a super good time! But, after all the stories she told me about New Orleans, I can't understand why they didn't take me! That place sounds like it was one big party... and you all know that I LOVE to PARTY!

She said that New Orleans is a super dog friendly place. There was dog stuff ALL over the place. There was doggie art...

And, doggie stuff in the windows...

And, even cool fire hydrants!...

But, the coolest story my puppy raiser told was how one day they were walking around the French Quarter and they kept seeing dogs EVERYWHERE! Big dogs, small dogs, round dogs, and itty bitty dogs! As the day went on, the number of dogs kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally they asked someone what was up with all the dogs. They found out that there was going to be Mardi Gras parade that afternoon called Barkus... and, it was a parade of DOGS!!!

My puppy raiser took tons of photos of all the dogs in the parade. She said that not only were beads thrown out to people watching the parade... but, doggie treats were thrown to all of the dogs watching the parade! Can you imagine? Doggie treats being thrown all over the place?!! Wow!!!

The parade had funny stuff...

And, it had political stuff...

But the best part, other than the treats being thrown EVERYWHERE, was that it had TONS of dogs...

There was even an Elvis dog that drooled almost as much as my buddy Nick!...

Lucky and Carlo said they were sorta glad they didn't go to New Orleans cause they wouldn't have wanted to wear all of those dorky costumes. But, heck, I would have worn ANY costume if it meant going to a dog party! My puppy raiser said that she sorta wished she had brought me along on their trip cause New Orleans would have been the PERFECT place to work on my dog distraction. Errr... you think?! Heck yeah, she should have brought me along! I would have partied ALL night with all of those dogs! To make it up to me, she put some beads on me and took some photos of me. I was all up for it at first... but, then as I was laying there with all of these beads on me, I didn't quite see how it was the same thing as going to a dog parade with treats flying EVERYWHERE!

Fur-Low Days and Shriners (by: Carlo)

2009-02-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

Because of the bad economy, Friday was a fur-low day at my pal's work [side note by pal: Ummm, Carlo that is actually spelled furlough]. My pal had to work that day, but she gets to take her fur-low... I mean furlog... furlogh... heck, I'm just going to write fur-low cause it's easier and more fun! She gets to take her fur-low day on another day.

The one thing that worried me about fur-low days is that my pal is going to have a pay cut. Lucky, Gerrit, and I were all worried that would mean we wouldn't get as much food or treats. But, my pal assured us that we were her highest priorities and that we will never have to worry about not getting enough food and treats. Hmmmm... I wonder if that means we can get MORE!

I actually think I'm going to like fur-low days because every day my pal isn't working, means more time with ME! I'm hoping that on her fur-low days we can spend time going on hospital visits. My pal had an orientation at Shriners Hospital for Children last week and she came back so excited. She rambled on and on about the history of Shriners. It all was pretty interesting... at least if you're a person... I fell asleep half way through her rambling. But, from what I did hear... Shriners Hospital has something called a Masonic heritage... it was founded by Master Masons in the Freemasonry Fraternity. You're probably thinking what I was thinking... huh?

From what my pal explained, there were a bunch of these guys way back in 1870 that started a fraternity based on fun and fellowship. I like fun! They gave the fraternity an Arabian theme cause one of the guys went to a party given by an Arabian diplomat and thought it would be a neat theme.... that's why the official hat of the Shriners is a red fez with a black tassel. I asked my pal if I would have to wear a fez when we volunteered, but she laughed and said no.

After hearing about the fez, I drifted off for a bit, and when I woke back up my pal, was still rambling. She sure knows how to ramble! She was rambling about how the first Shriners Hospital was built in 1922... and there are now 22 hospitals, and about 400,000 Shriners (people in the fraternity)! The hospitals provide car for orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate. All children up to 18 years old are eligible for treatment and there is never a charge to the patient or family for any medical care or services!!! The fraternity people who wear the fezs donate money to keep the hospitals running! The hospitals also rely on donations from anyone generous enough to donate. Wow, that's pretty dang cool!

Sometime soon I'm going to get to go with my pal to Shriners Hospital to have my badge photo taken and then we can start officially doing hospital visits there. I can't wait! I will get to spend time with children... and I won't even have to wear a fez! Fur-low days will give us more time to do hospital visits at Shriners! Besides the pay cut (which I don't have to worry about cause I'm still going to get food and treats), I LOVE fur-low days!

Walking in Tahoe (by: Lucky)

2009-02-03T19:43:00.001-08:00

When you are an old and wise dog like me, you begin to realize that there is so much in life to sniff and enjoy. Why run... when you can walk?

Gerrit probably ran enough for the three of us dogs while we were in Tahoe this last weekend. Crazy pup. It may have taken me 13 years, but I'm finally realizing that when you run fast, you don't get the chance to smell the roses... among the MANY other things that are good to sniff. So, while in Tahoe, I walked. And, walked. It was amazing all the things I discovered. I found sticks. Pine cones. And, of course, all those yummy stinky things I won't list because people just don't understand why us dogs would ever wanna sniff those things.

What's another benefit of walking? When you walk, instead of run full steam ahead... you don't put others in danger. Gerrit failed to mention that when each of those photos of him running were taken... he was running... no, make that sprinting, right towards my pal (aka Gerrit's puppy raiser). That pup has got a great recall, but he can be a little overzealous. At first, I thought that my pal was old and wise like me. As much as her eye was glued to that camera, every time Gerrit came running, she leaped to the side before Gerrit reached her. But, then something happened to make me think she might be old... but, not necessarily wise. Even though she has been around a LONG time, she failed to use that wisdom that comes with old age. She waited just a few seconds too long. She knew better. But, she wanted to get the shot...

Yeah, that's the shot she got... right before Gerrit leaped into her lap at breakneck speed. My pal was more worried about the camera than her own personal well-being, so when she realized it was too late to leap, she moved the camera high in the air at the last second (which is how she got the above shot)... and the next instance she was flat on her back from being pummeled over by a crazy puppy.

What's the lesson in all this? Always listen to the wise old dog. Walk instead of run. And, when you see a crazy puppy running towards you, forget the shot and leap outta the way. Finally, I've gotta learn how to use a camera so that I don't miss classic shots, like my pal getting pummeled over by a crazy puppy!

Running in Tahoe (by: Gerrit)

2009-02-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

This weekend my puppy raiser's SGF (special guy friend) surprised ALL of us with a trip to Tahoe!!!

We packed up the car Friday after work. And, between two people, three dogs, and all of our doggie travel paraphernalia (dog beds, food, treats, leashes, treats, toys, treats, treats, treats, etc.), it was one FULL car. It was dark by the time we got there, so we didn't get to see much of anything... all we got to do was sniff every inch of our condo. We got to also go outside of our condo just to go potty (aka "hurry"). That was actually kinda scary because we heard monster-like howling nearby. My puppy raiser said they were coyotes! When I found that they were coyotes and not monsters, I asked my puppy raiser if we could go play with them, but she said, "NO!".

The next morning, we woke up bright and early (well, we dogs did... it took some doing to get the people up). I don't know why they would wanna sleep in when there was so much exploring to do! After we finally got them up, we all went on a walk to the lake... and get this... there was white cold stuff all over the ground!!! It was sort of like sand... but cold... and quite yummy! My puppy raiser told me it was called snow. I LOVE snow! It made me wanna run. So, I ran...

Later that day, we went out to this area that is a bird sanctuary. It's covered in water during the summer... but, in the winter there is no water and dogs are allowed there. It was so cool there! It made me wanna run some more. So, I ran...

And, I ran some more...

Here I am running toward Carlo... just before I pounced on him!

To be honest, I never really stopped running the whole time we were in Tahoe! There was something about being in the mountain, and all the smells, and the snow. I think I could have run forever! It was the best time EVER!

Bad Dawgs (by: Gerrit)

2009-01-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

Bad dawgs, bad dawgs, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

Every dog has got to be a dog once in awhile. And, sometimes us dogs like to be well... a little bad. It's what makes us dogs... and it's what keeps life so entertaining!

Yesterday, as part of my new year's dog distraction resolution, Carlo and I got to go to Point Reyes with a bunch of other dogs (and their peeps). We spent the first part of the day doing training type stuff. I've gotta admit, it was super tough for me to keep it together while training. I try super duper hard... I seriously do, but when I see other dogs... I just get so happy! And, then I lose focus.

I did ok though... especially the part where we had to do an under on top of these big plastic tubes that moved. I wasn't scared one bit! We also got to go into a store that had tons of dog food. Our puppy raisers took us in there just to see what we would do... so, we were on super loose leashes, and our puppy raisers did not correct us or say anything at all to us while we walked through one at a time. They just observed. We were all pretty good... just a little sniffin' here and there. I saw Skipper scarf a few pieces of food off the ground and was worried that there wouldn't be anything left by the time it was my turn... but, there was! :-)

After all the training, it was FINALLY play time. Instead of going to play in the water (like we usually do when we go to Point Reyes), the puppy raisers thought it would be a great idea to take us to a big field instead... that way we wouldn't be all wet and smelly during the drive home.

So, they let us all loose at this field... and OMG... I was in heaven! I ran and ran, with my ears flapping in the wind. All us dogs ran as a pack... this way and that! Through bushes, over hills, and under logs, we ran! And, then... well, one of us (I won't mention any names!) came upon a GREAT discovery. Behind some bushes (and NOT visible to the puppy raisers) was a... GREAT BIG LAKE! The puppy raisers saw us disappear for a moment from sight and I could vaguely hear, "SKIPPER, CARLO, GERRIT, IDELLE.... COME HERE!"... before SPLASH! One after another, all 7 of us were in that great big lake, water and mud flying everywhere... it was pure heavenly bliss!

But, then THEY came. The puppy raisers. They came for us... and they were not happy. They were even less happy when they got a few of us out of the water, and while they were getting the others (and before they could leash the few of us who were out), we were back in the water! Ok, ok, we all knew we were being bad dawgs... but, when you've crossed the line to already being bad... heck, you might as well continue having a little fun as long for as you can!

But, the puppy raisers finally got us all out of the water. And, needless to say, after our little water episode, play time was over. We were a little bummed that it ended so soon... but, would we have done it over if given the chance? Would we still have dared pissing off the puppy raisers by jumping in the lake? Heck yeah! Jumping in that lake was way, way, way too much fun!

The photos above and below were taken at a cool old brick building in the town of Point Reyes Station. Painted on the wall was "No Parking"... but, someone had changed it to say "No Barking"... how funny is that?! If we all look a little wet... it's cause we are! I know... bad dawgs, bad dawgs...

Hotel for Dogs (by: Gerrit)

2009-01-17T17:45:00.000-08:00

Today my puppy raiser and her SGF (Special Guy Friend) told me that they were going to take me to a hotel for dogs! "Oh boy!" I thought, "this must be part of my dog distraction new year's resolution... I'm gonna get to go to a hotel FULL of other dogs! How cool is that?!"

Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed when we pulled into the parking lot of a movie theater and I found out that we weren't going to an actual hotel, but a movie called Hotel for Dogs! But, even though it wasn't a real hotel and there were NO real dogs (other than me and the ones on the screen), it was still a good time! As we went into the theater people kept saying "Hi Marley!" as I trotted by. It's weird because these days it seems as if everyone knows me... but, for some reason they all get me confused with that dog from the Marley movie.

The movie Hotel for Dogs was awesome! From where I was laying, I could totally watch it and every time a dog barked or howled in the movie, I snuck a peek between the seats in front of me. We were surrounded by lots of kids in the theater. There was this one part of the movie which was really sad and all the kids around us were sobbing. I won't tell you why they were sobbing cause I don't want to give the plot away... but, I will say that the movie wasn't Marley and Me sad... fortunately, it had a happy ending! And, all the kids around us weren't sobbing by the time the movie was over.

After the movie, I got mobbed by people... but, it was all happy people since Hotel for Dogs had a happy ending. As my puppy raiser was taking the photo above, I had quite the audience. There was one little girl who kept posing with me... she was really funny! And, HAPPY! I love happy people! And, I love happy movies! If you ask me ALL movies should have happy endings... especially dog movies!

My New Years Resolution... which was my Puppy Raiser's idea! (by: Gerrit)

2009-01-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

My puppy raiser told me shortly after the start of the new year that MY New Years Resolution was going to be more dog distraction training. I don't quite get the whole concept of resolutions, but I thought that people (and dogs) were supposed to write their own resolutions! What's up with my puppy raiser writing mine? Anyways, I decided to just go with it because heck, I LOVE dog distractions!

Today I found out that my idea of dog distractions and my puppy raisers idea of dog distractions are totally different. Or, I should say... what we DO with those dog distractions are totally different things. I thought by dog distractions I would get to go play with a bunch of other dogs. But, instead my puppy raiser brought me to a dog park and worked with me on commands!!! It was awful! It was like the biggest tease in the world. Here we were at this HUGE dog park with TONS of dogs of all different shapes and sizes, and instead of entering the dog park, my puppy raiser made me work! The worst part was when we went to this bench and she made me do a whole sequence of commands... down, up, side, jump, off, heel, under, etc. etc. And from where the bench was, I had FULL view of all the other dogs running and playing. I could hardly think straight! My puppy raiser told me that was the whole point. She said I tend to lose a few brain cells when I'm around other dogs and that we need to work on that. Lose a few brain cells? Of course I lose a few brain cells... who needs them when play is involved?!!

After working around this bench, we then walked up to the fence of the dog park and we walked along it. Every time my brain cells would start to fade and I began forging, my puppy raiser turned into me. This was even worse than the bench... because we attracted an audience of OTHER DOGS! They walked along with us on the other side of the fence and every time we turned and went in the other direction, they turned and followed us! Everywhere we went, they went!

After the whole dog park ordeal, my puppy raiser then took me to the pet store where we worked some more! She made me do all kinds of commands right in front of the fish tanks, dog toys, dog food, and OTHER DOGS!!!

Needless to say, by the time we got home I was TIRED... but, not too tired to play of course! So, while my puppy raiser worked in her studio, Carlo, Lucky and I played. But, then we got kind of bummed that my puppy raiser wasn't playing with us, so we kept peeking our heads into the studio to see if she was done yet. She managed to take a few quick shots of us doing this. That's a photo above of me and Carlo peeking in (I'm the one with the nylabone in my mouth)... and here's a photo of Lucky doing it as well.

After a whole lot of peeking, we finally convinced her to set down the camera and we ALL ran outside and played. Whew, FINALLY!

I tell ya'... this dog distraction New Years Resolution sure is gonna be a tough one!

My Very First Hospital Visit (by: Carlo)

2009-01-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

This week I went with my pal on our very first hospital visit to Sutter Memorial!

There was quite a bit of prep before we even made it to the hospital. Before EVERY visit we make, I have to be totally clean. So, the night before our visit, my pal gave me a bath. I hopped in the tub and she scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed me some more. It wasn't like I was even all that dirty, but there sure was a lot of scrubbin' going on! After my bath, she cleaned my ears, trimmed my nails, and brushed my teeth. Then she used the furminator on me. The furminator is this special brush that makes my hair go flying off. Every time my pal uses it, she comments on how much dang hair I have. What can I say? I'm part golden retriever!

All that cleaning was totally worth it because I REALLY enjoyed the hospital visit the next night. We went with a group of four other handlers and their dogs... one dog was big like me, one was sort of medium sized, and two were itty bitty little things. I think I was the youngest one there. There were also three people there who have been Delta volunteers for a long time... they took us around the hospital and showed our handlers what they were supposed to do.

We first went to the high risk maternity ward. We were told that this was a good place to start because it was a low stress environment for new dogs and handlers. After visiting a few patients there, we went to the cardiac monitoring ward. This was a little more stressful because several of the patients recently had surgery. We had to be very mindful of equipment and tubes. Fortunately, because I'm so big, I could walk right next to beds of patients, where the patients could easily pet me. Eventually, I'm going to learn how to also sit on a chair and lay in bed with patients, so that they can pet and snuggle with me even more.

I sure am glad that I had all of that training when I was younger to be a CCI assistance dog. Even though I didn't make it in that program, the training sure did prepare me for my new line of work. I'm used to being out in public and experienceing new things, so nothing at the hospital phased me. But, I could tell it was a little stressful on the other dogs. Some of them got a little nervous around big machinery and in the elevator. The other volunteers kept commenting on how calm and mellow I was, but having been a CCI pup in training, I totally had an advantage!

We got to visit some really nice people at the hospital... and they were so happy to see us! We even got a ton of attention from the hospital staff. They have very stressful jobs, and I think us dogs helped relieve that stress (sort of like when I used to go to work with my pal and my pal's co-workers would pet and snuggle with me when they had stressful days). The absolute best part about my hospital visit was visiting with the patients. When I would enter a room, I could immediately sense a patient was not feeling well. But, then the patient would see me and his/her face would totally light up! Several patients told me about their dogs at home and how much they missed them. I bet these dogs can't wait for their person to come home again. I'm happy that I can be a doggie substitute for these people until they can once again snuggle with their own dogs in the comforts of their home.

I Love Vacations and San Francisco! (by: Gerrit)

2009-01-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

For the holidays, my puppy raiser and I were on vacation for a whole week and a half! That meant no work... just fun! We slept in, went on long walks, played, opened Christmas gifts, and played some more... with our new toys! It was awesome! I wish we were on vacation ALL the time! One of the bestest things we did while on vacation was go to San Francisco with my buddies Nick, Idelle, and Skipper and their puppy raisers.

We drove to Concord and from there took a train named BART into the city. It was kind of weird because you would think that something with a name like BART would be real. But, I don't think it was real since it was a train. Although, it did rumble around and make lots of noises like something that was real! Kind of scary now that I think about it. But, at the time, I didn't think anything of it... and just fell asleep.

Once in the city, we walked and walked and walked. My puppy raiser kept saying that at the end of the long walk we would get to go to a super special beach where we could play. She said she took Carlo and Lucky there last year and they had such a good time. But, after we walked FOREVER, we still weren't there. I didn't mind the walk though cause we saw tons of stuff... like a guy who drummed on bowls, dogs of all shapes and sizes, and huge smelly creatures called sea lions. We also stopped for lunch at a restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf. If you looked out the windows of the restaurant you could see the smelly creatures... but, us pups were too worn out to look. We all just fell asleep.

After lunch, we walked and walked some more. Finally my puppy raiser took out a map and realized that the special beach was a little further away than she originally thought. By this time were near a place called Ghirardelli Square. And, it was kind of late in the day. So, the puppy raisers decided to give up on the beach idea and instead go get some chocolate. Huh?! Chocolate over beach?! We pups were robbed! Now if we had given up on the beach to get doggie treats I could TOTALLY understand, but the chocolate was for the puppy raisers! We pups can't even eat chocolate cause it's bad for us!

I was looking a little sad about not going to the beach so my puppy raiser patted me on the head and promised that she would take me there another time. Oh boy! I can't wait to got back to San Francisco! Is it time yet for another vacation?!

My New Career and Twinkly Eyes (by: Carlo)

2008-12-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

After I wrote about my last performance of Annie, I said to stay tuned as to what was next on my ever busy agenda. Well, hopefully you haven't gotten bored reading about Gerrit frolicking all over town and you're still out there reading my blog so I can give you the scoop on ME!

About a month ago my pal and I received our official letter of acceptance from the Delta Society! We are now officially a registered Pet Partner Team! The photo above is of me sporting my new and groovy Delta vest. My pal convinced me to try it on... but, it was just an excuse for her to take more photos of me. She got all into taking photos that bring out my eyes. She said that my eyes are the window to my soul and that she can tell what I'm thinking just by looking into them. Huh? I think Gerrit was right... that Marley & Me movie sure did bring out her sappiness!

Anyways... becoming a registered Delta Pet Partner Team is just a part of the process. In addition, we will have to apply to each individual place we would like to volunteer. This is because every hospital has its own rules and policies. So, about a month or so ago we started the application process at Sutter Hospital. And, just last week were officially accepted! In fact, on Christmas Eve we went by the hospital and the nice people there took our badge photos.

I really liked going to Sutter. Even though it was just for our badge photos... it was nice walking the hallways of the hospital. Every person that walked by looked at me and smiled! Even people who looked like they were in a rush, smiled as I trotted by. It made me really happy. My pal commented on how my tail didn't stop wagging and my eyes didn't stop twinkling. Dang, she sure is into my eyes lately!

After we got our badges, we stopped at Shriners Hospital for Children and dropped off all those knitted hats and bears that my pal's mom made. I actually stayed in the car while she dropped them off. Even though I'm now Delta certified, my pal didn't want to bring me in there yet since we haven't gone through Shriner's application process yet. Geesh, she's such rule follower! But, she did pick up an application, so hopefully we can start volunteering there too! And, she told me that the staff people were so happy to receive the hats and bears and couldn't wait to give them to the children. If she hadn't been such a rule follower, I could have seen how happy they were... and flashed my twinkly eyes at them!

Marley and Hair Plugs (by: Gerrit)

2008-12-28T16:47:00.000-08:00

I dunno what the heck Carlo was talkin' about... I LOVED going to the movies yesterday. Going out to see Marley & Me at the theater was way better than staying home and reading the book! I LOVED everything... the sticky theater floors, the popcorn (which I tried on numerous occasions to swipe up from the floor when my puppy raiser wasn't looking), and all the people who wanted to pet me... it was awesome! Another cool thing is that I got to lay in such close proximity to my buddies Skipper, Idelle, and Nick. In fact, I was close enough to Skipper that I could bop him on the head with my paw! The whole movie experience was soooo much fun!

There sure were a lot of people at the theater. And, since the movie was about a dog (who I found out looks kinda like me and Skipper), we sure did get a lot of attention! Everyone kept pointing at us saying, "look... it's Marley!". Not only did I find out that I look like Marley... I also found out that my whisker dots on my face look like hair plugs! I have no clue what a hair plug is... but one of the puppy raisers commented on my dark whisker holes and said they looked just like hair plugs. All the puppy raisers laughed and laughed at that. So, not only do I have a wish spot... I also have... hair plugs! No wonder my puppy raiser always says I'm so cute!

At the end of the movie, all the puppy raisers were sobbing cause it had a sad ending. Boy, did I take advantage of that! Uninvited, I crawled up into my puppy raiser's lap. Normally I would have gotten corrected for that (cause I'm not supposed to do that unless I'm given the "lap" command). But, instead my puppy raiser gave me a big hug! So, in return I gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek! And, she didn't even mind! Boy, oh boy... sad dog movies ROCK!

Movies, Books, and Photos... oh my! (by: Carlo)

2008-12-27T07:26:00.001-08:00

My pal told me she was going to take Gerrit to see the movie, Marley & Me today with a bunch of his buddies and their puppy raisers. To make it up to me (since I can't go) she said we could read the book together at home.

Since I'm not an assistance puppy in training... or a graduated assistance dog, I can't go to places like movie theaters any more. But, that's cool with me. To be honest, I would much rather snuggle on my comfy bed and read the book rather than sit on the sticky theater floor (where you can't even SEE the movie).

After my pal told me that we could read the book together... she proceeded to take a bunch of photos of me with the book. Oh my! I think this whole read the book thing was just a ploy for her to take some photos of me. She wanted to try out some of the new photography equipment she got for Christmas. We now literally have a little photo studio set up in the house. I told her that my modeling fee has now gone up to 2 Yummy Chummies, 3 Charlee Bears, 2 Zuke's Power Bones, and a few Old Mother Hubbard biscuits... per shot. She just gave me a look over her camera as she clicked away. Sigh...

Merry Christmas! (by: Gerrit)

2008-12-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May you all have a fun day filled with eating and playing!

Speaking of playing, I've gotta run... Carlo just grabbed my new toy and is running around the Christmas tree with it!

Bowling Alleys and Shoes (by: Gerrit)

2008-12-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got to go with my puppy raiser and her work team to a really cool place called a Bowling Alley. This alley was like no other alley I've ever seen!

When we first got there, I was super intrigued by the whole thing. The Bowling Alley had these long areas where people rolled big heavy balls, trying to knock down these white toys. When the ball hit the white toys, it made a super loud noise. CRASH!

I sat and watched transfixed for bit, but then I got sorta bored by the whole thing. I didn't really understand the whole concept of the game. Why on earth would you wanna roll a ball so far away? And, then not even try to chase the balls after you rolled it?! So, after awhile I stopped watching. Besides, there were far more interesting things at the Bowling Alley... like Bowling shoes... which had tons of smells on them! I tried to figure out just how many people had worn those shoes... but, I lost count after a while. All I know is that it was probably up in the zillions!

My Holiday Comedy Performance (by: Gerrit)

2008-12-21T17:32:00.000-08:00

Guess what?! I'm a star! That's right... Carlo is not the only performer in the family! Last week I got to perform with my puppy raiser in a holiday choir performance! For some reason (which I still don't understand), I wasn't allowed to actually sing with the choir. I was just supposed to lay there and look cute. But what fun is that? So, I decided if I can't sing... I may as well be a comedian!

During my big scene... when I got to be out front with the kids who sang I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus I decided to be my goofball self, roll over on my back, and wave my paws way up in the air. It was quite the comedy routine. And, check this out... the audience LOVED it! They laughed and laughed and pointed at me. I'm tellin' ya... I was better than Jerry Seinfeld! I brought the house down!

So, now I'm thinking that I may just give up my dreams of being on American Idol... and do a comedy show instead!!!

P.S. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of my comedy performance, but here I am after the performance, striking a pose in my Santa costume.

Gin, the Dancing Dog (by: Gerrit)

2008-12-14T19:29:00.000-08:00

My puppy raiser showed us this video today from a show called Britain's Got Talent. Gin, the dancing dog, is so cool! Even Simon Cowell called her "incredible" and said she was better than Rin Tin Tin. What the heck kind of a name is Rin Tin Tin?!

Anyways, I really liked watching Gin... but, I'm sure glad her act is dancin'... and not singin'. I still have secret aspirations to be on American Idol some day... and I don't need any competition!

I'm Cute Too! (by: Gerrit)

2008-12-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

I sure am glad all of that "Annie" stuff is over. It was fun going to the theatre to watch Carlo... but, other than that it just took time away from me! Carlo, Carlo, Carlo... that's all I ever heard for the past month. I'm cute too you know!!! And, I betcha I could walk across the stage all by myself!

Needless to say I was jumpin' for joy when my puppy raiser told me that I would get to go to a holiday party on Saturday! The party was for our local chapter of CCI. My puppy raiser took holiday portraits of all of the pups at the party... and during that time I've gotta say, I was a little BORED. I had to lay on a stage (where I couldn't even do cool stuff like Carlo got to do!). I just had to lay there, be good, and wait for her to finish. Fortunately, my buddies Nick and Idelle kept me company. The best part of the party was the after party. All of us "stage dogs" got to play. It was sooooo much fun!!! Here's a photo my puppy raiser took of me at the party... this was before the REAL party started.

As if my puppy raiser didn't take enough photos at this party, she took a bunch of holiday photos of me on Sunday, while we were hanging out at home. Somehow Carlo and Lucky got out of having to do this... they told me that's what I got for wanting all the attention. My puppy raiser took a bunch of photos of me with a teddy bear and a book called Twas the Night Before Christmas. She told me that she would read the book to us on Christmas Eve. I can't wait! Carlo told me it's a really good story and that has something to do with everyone, including the mice, being asleep...

The Curtain Closes (by: Carlo)

2008-12-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we had our very last performance of "Annie". What a roller coaster the last few weeks have been! I got to spend a bunch of time with my pal... had a multi-night sleepover at Annie's house... received tons of attention from cast members... received tons of attention from the audience after performances... got to go to a cast party... received tons of treats for being a good boy... was in the newspaper... was almost on tv... and had people applaud me and ask me for my autograph! Wow, just thinking of all of that makes me wanna flash my infamous smile... and then take a nap!

Even though the hours were long, I sure do miss stage life. It was fun, fun, fun!

So, many have been asking me now that "Annie" is over... what's next?! Well, a whole heck of a lot! Stay tuned... :-)

Show Biz Life (by: Carlo)

2008-11-29T10:56:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been sooooo busy with all of my showbiz stuff! The week leading up to opening night, we had long rehearsals pretty much every evening. The best part about that rehearsal week was I got to have a sleepover at Annie's house! And I'm not just talkin' one night... I'm talkin' several nights of sleepover fun! It was awesome!

The opening night of our stage performance of Annie was last Friday. Since then, there has been a whirlwind of activity. The weekends have been filled with performances... some days there have even been two performances in a single day! I've been doing pretty well at all of the performances. The only scene that has been a little tough for me is the scene in which I first make my appearance. I'm usually a little sleepy for this part (cause I sleep backstage on my blankie until it's my turn to go on stage). Plus, they use a smoke machine for this scene, which I don't like all that much. There have been a few times where instead of walking on stage, I've turned around to go back to bed, and my pal has had to shove my butt a bit to get me to go out on stage. One time, I did go right out on stage for this scene, but since I just woke up, I did a bunch of stretches as I walked across the stage. People thought that was pretty funny. What can I say? Stage work is tiring! That photo of me above was taken on stage in front of the Christmas tree used for the set of Daddy Warbuck's house. It was taken after a performance. Yeah, I was about ready for nap when that photo was taken!

Lots of my friends have come to see me perform! One day, a bunch of my CCI puppy friends (including Gerrit) came to watch me! SGF has been there a whole bunch of times! I think he's got the record so far! And, my pal's whole family came to watch me yesterday!

I get to give autographs after all the performances. Well, my pal uses a paw print stamp to stamp autographs for me. While she does that, I just sit there, look cute, and wag my tail as people pet me and tell me how good I was in the performance. People sure are easy to please! It's amazing! I mean, even when I've goofed in a performance (like when my pal had to shove my butt), they still think I was wonderful! I can do no wrong!

In addition to the performances, we've also been having special Tea with Annie events after some of our performances. These are my favorite! Little kids get to meet some of the cast members (including me!), eat cookies, and go on a backstage tour. The reason I like Tea with Annie so much is because all of the kids dote on me. They pet me and say nice things to me. A few times I've been so comfy and relaxed, I've even started falling asleep with my head resting in their laps!

Yesterday, the cast got to be on tv! Unfortunately, because of lack of time, some of the numbers had to be cut. One of those numbers was mine, so I didn't actually get to be on tv. But, I had fun hanging out in the theatre. I got to hang out in the audience part of the theatre. This was a different view for me because I'm backstage for all of the performances. Here are few photos of me that my pal took while we were hanging out in the audience. The first shows the rest of the cast performing NYC in the background. And, the second one is of me wishing I could go back to sleep already!

Marley and Me (by: Carlo)

2008-11-16T07:36:00.000-08:00

Last night my pal showed us the movie trailer for "Marley and Me". She wanted me to see another show biz dog in action! Talk about action... that Marley looks way fun! My pal was kinda concerned that Gerrit was sitting transfixed in front of the screen as the trailer was playing. She kept saying, "Now Gerrit, do NOT get any ideas!".

The movie is going to be in theaters on December 25! Cool! I can't wait to add this one to our dog movie collection!

Rehearsing for "Annie" (by: Carlo)

2008-11-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

I've been one busy doggie rehearsing for my upcoming performance in the stage production of Annie! It's super duper fun cause I get lots of attention... as well as nap time between numbers.

For the show, I'm going to be on stage four times... with Annie as she sings to me and protects me from the mean dog catcher, the Hooverville scene in which I hang out with Annie and some other kids until the mean cop comes and we run away, the end of the N.Y.C. scene in which I wander across the stage all by myself, and the New Deal for Christmas scene in which I get to join the whole cast for the grand finale!

I really like all the kids in the play... but, I especially like Annie. She's really, really nice. She gives me treats and sings to me. She sings a song about how the sun will come up tomorrow... and how thinkin' about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow. It's a really nice song.

When we got home from rehearsal I started teaching the "Tomorrow" song to Gerrit, but my pal heard and yelled "STOP!". She then reminded me of how much Gerrit LOVED to sing when he was a little puppy and how the last thing we should be doing is encouraging him to pick up howling again. Errr... oh yeah, I totally forgot about that! That little dude used to keep us up all night!

My pal told me tonight that I may get to have a sleepover sometime this week at Annie's house! Oh boy, oh boy! If I do that she will get to sing to me even more! And, her singing is MUCH better than Gerrit's!

Veterans Helped by Healing Paws (by: Carlo)

2008-11-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

This morning my pal was telling us dogs all about Veteran's Day. She was reading some articles to us that she found on the Internet, when she came across one that mentioned a relative of mine!!!

The article, Veterans Helped by Healing Paws, is in the New York Times and describes how dogs are helping disabled veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The article mentions several dogs and what they are doing to help. One of the dogs mentioned (Sharif), who is teamed with Jeffrey Adams, is a relative of mine! We both have the same dad, Terrell... so, I guess that would make him my half brother! Sharif is a little older than me because he graduated at the same time I went into Advanced Training (February 2008). It makes me so proud to think that dogs like me (and, in particular, my half brother!) are doing so much to help our veterans!

I may not be able to help our veterans directly like these other dogs, but I can show our veterans how much I care by saying thank you. Thank you to all of you veterans out there. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made for our country. Thank you for what you do.

R.E.A.D. (by: Carlo)

2008-11-09T18:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my pal and I interviewed for a volunteer program at a local library. I am going to be a part of what is called a R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dog) program! My buddies, Mason and Hope, have been involved with this program for awhile and they've been telling me that it ROCKS!

An organization called Intermountain Therapy Animals launched the R.E.A.D. program back in 1999. The program uses registered therapy animals (that's me!) to help kids read! During our interview on Saturday, I mostly slept, visited with the nice people doing the interviewing, and snuggled up next to my pal as we watched some R.E.A.D. videos. But, I did listen to all the chatting that was going on, so that I would know what the program was all about. Check this out... the program involves me snuggling with kids as they read to me!

For some reason kids are often scared to read aloud. They are afraid that people will make fun of them or tell them they are not doing it right. I can totally relate to that! I used to be scared too when I was an assistance puppy in training. I was always worried about not doing my commands just right. Since being released from CCI, my puppy raiser has found that I do much better when I am on a "release" because then I'm just myself and I don't worry about things so much. I think the R.E.A.D. program is kind of like putting a kid on a release. They can totally relax and read (to me!) and I won't criticize or correct them. I'll just listen and snuggle and love them! Just like I wanna be loved!

My pal and I are super excited about the program! If you wanna read more about the R.E.A.D. program, check out these articles:

USA Today: Inside the classroom, a dogged pursuit of reading

Washington Post: Sometimes Friendly Ears are Furry Ones

A Puppy in the White House! (by: Gerrit)

2008-11-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

Guess what?! There is a going to be a puppy living in the White House!!! President-elect Obama told his kids in his victory speech that they've earned the new puppy!!!

I asked my puppy raiser if I could go to the White House and have a puppy play date when the new puppy arrives. She said that if we receive an invitation, she will be more than happy to take me there! Awesome! I can't wait to play on the White House lawn!

Happy Election Day! (by: Gerrit)

2008-11-04T18:25:00.000-08:00

Guess what? Guess what? Guess what? Today is Election Day and my puppy raiser took me on a long walk with her to the polls! I didn't get to vote myself, but I got to watch as she put her ballot in a big box!

In honor of Election Day, I got to wear a cool red, white, and blue bandanna. AND my puppy raiser even let me wear her "I vote" sticker (errrr... but, she took it away when I tried to eat it).

Now we are cuddling in front of the television, chewing on bones, and watching the election results (my puppy raiser just asked me to clarify that she is NOT chewing on a bone).

This is so much fun! I love Election Day!

My First Halloween (by: Gerrit)

2008-11-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my very first Halloween! I was going to be a skier for Halloween... not that I have any clue what that is, but it involved me wearing a sweater and hat. The only problem was that my puppy raiser had to make the costume, and when she started working on it the night before Halloween, she realized it wasn't working out. So, after dog training class we ran to the store and she got me a Peter Pan costume. My puppy raiser said it was the perfect costume for me because she can picture me never wanting to grow up and staying a puppy forever! Errr... she's right about that! But, I had no clue who this guy Peter was until my puppy raiser told me his story. Wow!!! He is one cool guy!!! And, check this out... he can fly!!!

Since we were in a rush, I didn't try the Peter Pan costume on in the store. My puppy raiser grabbed a size large thinking it would fit. When we got home, we found out that it didn't come close to fitting around my chubby puppy tummy! It was made for a large small dog! So, my puppy raiser had to sew a bow on it, so that it could tie around my tummy. She was worried that I was going to end up looking really dorky on Halloween. But, she was wrong... I looked super duper cute!

I got to wear my Peter Pan costume at work. All of the CCI pups at work got to dress up and parade across a stage. It was fun because people gave us so much attention! Then, my puppy raiser took a bunch of photos of us. She only had a little camera with her... not the big camera she usually uses. The little camera wasn't working all that great, so she was taking photos forever trying to get a decent shot with it. Here's a photo of me with my CCI work pup buddies. My bestest buddy, Nick (the cow), is next to me... I'm, holding paws with him. Enso is in the green dinosaur costume and Idelle is in the bumble bee costume. Our buddy, Dupre (who had dressed up like a devil), isn't in the photo. He was lucky... he got the devil out of there before the photo taking session began!

We had so many photos taken, that us pups started entertaining ourselves by having contests... like who was the biggest class clown (that was a toss up between me and Enso), and who had the longest drool (it was a close race between Nick and Idelle, but I think Nick won!). What do you think?

All the photos and contests soon wore us out and Nick and I started falling asleep! Halloween is fun, but really exhausting. And you know what? I tried all day long to fly like Peter Pan, but I just couldn't do it! I think my costume wasn't working right... or maybe it was just too dang small!

A Day About Me (by: Gerrit)

2008-10-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

Since Carlo has become the big show biz dog... everything has been Carlo this and Carlo that. Ugh! I may not be in show biz, but I'm still super duper cute! I told my puppy raiser this and she said that every day is all about me cause I get to go to work with her. Uh... oh yeah. I kinda forgot about that. But, still... Carlo has been getting lots of attention lately!

So, to make it up to me, my puppy raiser made yesterday all about ME (and it wasn't even a work day)! I got to go on a special training trip with my buddies Nick and Idelle!

We took a train all the way downtown. It was our first time ever for all of us pups on a train! We all did really well. In fact, the only hard part was getting on the train cause the stairs were kinda steep... and, it was also tough not picking up stuff up off the floor of the train. I found a really yummy peanut and picked it up, but my puppy raiser pulled it out of my mouth and said, "ick!". Personally, I didn't think it was ick at all!

Once we got downtown, we walked around and found a bunch of scary statues. First, we found this statue of a monster-sized cat...

Then, we found this scary dog! He was part of a civil rights exhibit at the library. If I looked scared, it's because I was! At least the scary monster cat, didn't talk. The scary dog growled and barked every time I went up to it. No kidding!!! Nick and Idelle didn't seem to mind too much. They told me there was nothin' to worry about cause the dog wasn't real. But, with the way it was barking, I wasn't quite believing that!

After visiting the scary statues, we joined up with a bunch of other puppy raisers for our actual dog training class. We worked on a bunch of commands, like "stand", "under" (which we had to do under a tiny chair!), and "back". Needless to say, we were all zonked by the time class was over.

It sure was a fun day... other than the scary dog. I told show biz boy, Carlo, all about it when we got home... :-)

Show Biz! (by: Carlo)

2008-10-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

This week has been a busy one with my new found show biz career (for those of you who haven't heard/read the news... I'm going to be playing the role of Sandy in a stage production of "Annie")!

On Sunday I had publicity photos taken and today cast photos were taken. With all the photos taken of me, it was just like being at home! Only difference is that at the "Annie" photo shoots, I received TONS of attention by lots and lots of kids. It was awesome! I also got to wear a big (really big!) red bow. I've gotta say... I was lookin' good!

If rehearsals and performances are going to be anything like the photo shoots, I'm gonna luv this show biz stuff!

Blog Action Day (by: Carlo)

2008-10-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not aware, today is Blog Action Day! This is an annual event in which bloggers (like me!) write a blog about the same issue on the exact same day. Wow! That is so cool that bloggers world-wide are writing about the same issue! And, I get to be a part of it!

The issue for this year is POVERTY.

I've gotta admit, I don't know a whole heck of a lot about poverty. I've never lived a single day in poverty. I consider myself very fortunate that I was born a CCI dog. From the moment I was born, I was given special treatment. Starting at 2 months old, I got to go with my puppy raiser to work every single day. Going off to college was tough on me… but, even there, I was surrounded by loving people, who took good care of me. And, it wasn't long before I was reunited with my puppy raiser. Now that I'm no longer a CCI dog, I don't get to go to work every day like I used to... but, I still get to do cool things like therapy work and show biz stuff. And, even though I sometimes grumble about not getting enough food (because I LOVE food), the reality is that I NEVER miss a meal... and I get treats throughout the day.

I am one lucky dog.

It's hard for me to imagine that there are millions of dogs and people in the world who live in poverty. They don't have someone like a puppy raiser taking care of them. They don't get fed meals and treats. They don't have a warm cozy bed to sleep on and toys to play with. Thinking about all of those dogs and people makes me really sad. No one should have to live in poverty. I wish I could could do something to help all those living in poverty. I asked my pal if we could invite them all to live with us... but, she just smiled and said that we don't have the money or space to take care of all them. But, she said we could help in little ways. And, she said that if I participated in Blog Action Day, I could help encourage others to help in little ways too!

One little way that we are going to help is to deliver a bunch of baby hats to local children's orphanages and hospitals. My pal's mom makes these hats in her spare time. My pal would make them too... but, if she attempted to knit a hat, it would turn out very scary looking. So, we're just acting as the delivery service (which, in my opinion, is the fun part anyways!). We are going to deliver the hats soon so that babies will have the hats when winter comes.

We're also going to figure out some other ways that we can help. I just know that there has gotta be more things that we can do to help others living in poverty... there has just gotta be...

I've been Nootered! (by: Gerrit)

2008-10-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Guess what everybody?! I've been nootered [side note by puppy raiser: Gerrit, it's actually "neutered"]! Yeah, like I said, nootered! I have no clue what being nootered means. But, because I was nootered I got to go on a sleepover at the Veterinarian Office! It was so much fun! Errrrr... at least what I can remember of it was fun! For some reason I was really sleepy there and I slept a whole bunch. But, during the times I was awake, lots of people gave me hugs and pets. It was so cool!

During the end of the stay I was told me that I won a really special collar! I was really excited about getting my special collar at first... but, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I think they gave me the wrong size cause it keeps making me run into furniture, walls... and even my puppy raiser!

Carlo and Lucky were excited to see me when I got home. They kept checking out my new collar. I think they're a little jealous that they don't have one! For some reason, my puppy raiser didn't let Carlo and me play. She thought I could use a nap. Speaking of napping, I am pretty exhausted from my nooter adventure. I'm going back to sleepzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

A Shout Out to Guide Dogs in Training (by: Carlo)

2008-10-13T06:59:00.001-07:00

I'd like to give a shout out to all the Guide Dogs in training out there, who visit my blog on a regular basis. Some of them even nominated my blog for a special "I love your blog" award!!! How cool is that?!

As the winner of this award I'm supposed to nominate 7 other blogs and put links of blogs I nominated on my blog (to keep passing the love!). But, the truth is, between all of my new careers, blogging about important things like how Gerrit is naughty, and sleeping, I rarely have any time to check out other blogs! So, I'm not exactly going to follow the "I love your blog" award rules, but I just wanna give a woof paws up to few blogs that I have checked out: Raising Eyes for the Blind, The Puppy Raising Roller Coaster, Spanky: The Adventures of a Guide Dog Puppy in Training, and Brax's & Frankie's Blog. These blogs are all about guide dog puppies... and all of these pups (and their puppy raisers) have checked and commented on my blog at one time or another!

P.S. Sorry for being such a rule breaker. But, hey... I'm a change of career dog! I don't have to follow all the rules anymore! Hee Hee! :-)

My New Careers (by: Carlo)

2008-10-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Being a CCI assistance dog may not have been for me... but, I finally have a new career! Actually, I've got several new careers!!! My pal has been working hard as my agent and she's been finding me all kinds of cool stuff to do (well, two cool things... and one not so cool)!

The first cool thing is that last week my pal and I passed our Delta Society evaluations! The evaluations were held at a hospital. We were tested on some basic obedience stuff, like sit, down, stay, and here. Then we had to go through a series of exercises that simulated what hospital visits would be like. My pal and I were a little nervous at first... but, it was so much fun! The evaluators thought I was super cute cause I wagged my tail and smiled throughout every single exercise! All we have to do now is submit some paperwork and our photo (for our official badge) and we will be a registered Pet Partner team! We'll be able to visit people in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and other institutions! I'm going to get so much attention... AWESOME!

My second cool career is in show biz! That's right! Last week I auditioned for the role of the dog Sandy in a stage production of "Annie". And, I found out today that I got the part!!! Over the next few weeks I'm going to be in all kinds of publicity photo shoots. Then, rehearsals will start. And, finally... show time! I'll be blogging lots about my life as a show biz dog!

So, what does therapy work and show biz have to do with me being in a witch's costume? Absolutely nothing! But, that brings me to my 3rd career, the not so cool career... photo model (sigh). As you all know, my pal is really into photography... and I (unfortunately) am one of her favorite subjects. I thought that pet therapy and show biz would take her mind off shooting photos of me. But, today she throws all of this stuff on me and makes me pose for some Halloween photos. It wasn't all that bad cause I did get paid heavily in treats. Plus, she only took a couple of photos. The part that's got me worried is that she said these photos were just test shots. Uh oh. I think I need a raise!

Gerrit the Naughty Dog (by: Carlo)

2008-10-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've got so much stuff to blog about. Lots of good news about ME! But, writing about me can wait because first I just have to tell you about how Gerrit got in sooooo much trouble this week! Not only was he super naughty in class this week, but he also shredded a sock!

More on the sock incident later. First I'll tell you about how bad he was at puppy class. I got to go to class with my pal and Gerrit, so I got front row seating in watching how naughty he was. Usually, the little guy is pretty good. But, class this week was held at a dog park. Talk about distractions! There were dogs of all shapes, sizes, and smell. And, all the dogs were playing in this big park-like gated area. Puppy class was held outside of the gated area… but, we were close enough where we could see all the other dogs playin' and havin' a good time. I've gotta admit, even I was a little distracted and didn't watch the puppy class the whole time (but, I'm no longer a CCI dog in training, so I don't have to pay attention! Ah, the benefits of being a change of career dog!).

Anyways… Gerrit, the naughty dog, does this thing when he gets super excited… he starts to whine. It's this high-pitched annoying whiny sound that he sorta does under his breath. He rarely ever does it. But, boy was he doing it during class! Non-stop! AND, to make matters worse, he was so distracted by stuff going on at the dog park, that he started forgetting all his commands. This was really annoying my pal cause she had worked with him all week on stuff (to make up for the time she didn't get to work with him while she was in Hawaii). She knew Gerrit knew his commands. He just wasn't doing them! He got a little better with the commands towards the end of class… but, the whining didn't stop. He was even getting' on my nerves!

During the drive home my pal kept talkin' about how hopefully Gerrit will settle down and stop with the naughty behavior once he gets the 'ole snip snip. Gerrit had no clue what she was talking about. Poor guy. The little guy is getting de-masculinized tomorrow. I've tried explaining the whole thing to him, but he still thinks he's just going to a doggie spa…

Then, there was the sock incident. Friday morning we were following our usual morning routine. My pal was getting ready for work. Us dogs were just hanging out. While my pal ate breakfast, we all layed quietly on the rug, chewing on bones and toys…errrr… well, Lucky and I were doing that. Gerrit was chewing on something, but it wasn't a bone or toy. Unbeknownst to my pal, he found one of her socks. And, proceeded to chew it up like there was no tomorrow! Most of you probably know that I've always had a sock fetish. But, I don't shred them! I just like to carry them around and move them from room to room. But, naughty Gerrit, was shredding. Completely shredding. When Lucky and I noticed what he was doing, we stopped playing with our toys just so that we could watch what we knew was going to happen.

Sure enough, my pal glanced over at us, and said, "You guys are being such goo... Gerrit, what the #@!)@! are you doing?!" She quickly ran over, pulled what was left of a sock away from Gerrit, and yelled, "No! Bad boy!" And, Gerrit, who is totally oblivious, looked at her as happy as can be, wagged his tail, and gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek! Gerrit is one weird puppy. He is happy ALL the time... even when he gets totally busted!

What is Wrong With These Photos? (by: Carlo)

2008-10-07T21:29:00.001-07:00

I'll tell you what's wrong with the photos... I'm not in them... that's what's wrong with them!!! My pal and her Special Guy Friend (SGF) went to Hawaii last week. That's the reason why I (and Lucky and Gerrit) haven't been writing in the blog. Our paws aren't well suited for typing... so, we need my pal's help! But, she was off hanging out on the tropical Hawaii beaches... without us!!!

It wasn't all that bad though. Gerrit went off to another puppy raiser's house where he got to play with a bunch of other dogs. And, my pal's parents puppysat Lucky and me... and they are SO cool! They took us on lots and lots of walks. And, they gave us lots of treats! The best part is that they don't know all the rules... or (like all good grandparents) sorta forget about the rules. So, as you can imagine... we were livin' the high life! Party!

So, while I didn't get to go to Hawaii, I did have a pretty good week. The only problem is that I'm way behind on my blog writing. And, I've got LOTS to write about! But, I'm a little tired from breaking all the rules... hee hee... so, I've gotta take a nap first....

Congrats Cole and Ilia! (by: Carlo)

2008-10-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I wrote about Cole and Ilia and posted their video on my blog.

Cole's mom recently wrote to me and told me the great news that Ilia has just been awarded the ASPCA's 2008 Dog of the Year Award! How cool is that?! They get to go to New York later this month for a special luncheon, where they will celebrate the important role companion animals play in people's lives!

A big Congrats and WOOF to both Cole and Ilia!!!

Upside Down (by: Gerrit)

2008-09-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

Today my puppy raiser asked me what was up with me ALWAYS sleeping on my back. She said she's never seen any other puppy sleep on his/her back as much as me. And, she said that if there was such a record, she is sure I would hold the Guinness Book of World Record for amount of time spent on my back.

Guinness Book of World Record? I didn't quite understand what that was, so my puppy raiser explained it to me. And, then I was so excited that I might be a record holder, that I bugged her to find out if I did indeed have a Guinness Book of World Record! She just gave me a look and said I was getting totally side tracked from the main question... why do I ALWAYS sleep on my back?

So, I wrinkled my wish spot, and thought and thought about this for a bit. As you can see from the photo above, I've been laying on my back since I was just a little puppy. It's super comfy and allows me to air out my tummy and errrr… stuff. Plus, it encourages people to give me belly rubs. And, best of all, everything looks cooler when I'm on my back and upside down! Like at work... my bed is right by the entrance of my puppy raiser's cube. Lots of people... and even other CCI pups in training... walk by all the time. It's fun looking at everyone walking by... but, it's even more fun when I look at them while upside down. Everything takes on a whole different perspective! It's totally cool! In fact, if you ask me, being right side up is kinda over-rated. EVERYONE should be upside down! What makes being upside down even more fun is when you bend your body into really weird positions... kinda like Yoda [side note by puppy raiser: Gerrit, I think you mean yoga]. Yeah Yoga! That's makes being upside down even more fun! I bet that little green guy, Yoda, likes doing that too!

When I finished giving my upside down answer, my puppy raiser just looked at me and then started laughing and laughing and said, "Gerrit, I think you are quite possibly the funniest and strangest puppy I have ever known!"

"Really?!" I asked totally excited. "Is there a Guinness Book of World Record for that too??"

Bark the Vote (by: Carlo)

2008-09-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

These days I've been seeing campaign ads everywhere... yawn! But, I recently found a campaign Web site that is just for the dogs. How cool is that?! On The Dog Vote you can order a campaign bandanna (either Obama or McCain), read interesting articles by canine political analysts, and even check out a doggie electoral map! And, most importantly, you can buy stuff that has not just the typical elephant and a donkey... but, a dog!

Finally, a campaign Web site devoted to dogs! Bark the Vote! Maybe there is hope after all...

I'm Not for Sale! (by: Gerrit)

2008-09-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week at "boot camp". At least that's what my puppy raiser called it... but, I didn't really think camp was very boot-ish at all! It was soooo much fun!

For camp I stayed with the lady who teaches our dog training classes. She's super nice and has 2 little kids that I LOVED hanging out with. The older one read to me, the younger one crawled on me, and... both of them even painted me! And, I loved every minute of it!

Of course, I also had to do some training. I worked on stuff like down-stays, heel and side positioning, bed, and roll. One time I was doing a roll so that I could get my nails dremmeled, and one of the kids came over and straddled me... it was so much fun!

My puppy raiser received a really good report on me! She was told that I am awesome with kids, I have great house manners, and my energy level is perfect (cause I love learning, but I'm not too crazy). Of course there are a few things to work on... my positioning (cause I get a little lazy) and when I get super excited I have a tendency to whine a little. But, if you ask me, I'm pretty dang perfect!

The trainer and I hooked up with my puppy raiser tonight, so that I could go back home. We met at this really cool place that has both a dog park and skate park! They said it was awesome for training cause there were so many distractions. Boy, were they right... it was such a fun place! Anyways, they were working with me on some training stuff and some guy came up and asked me if I was for sale! I was a little worried for a second that maybe I was and just didn't know it. But, my puppy raiser and the trainer just laughed and said, "Nope, he's not for sale!". Whew! What a relief! So, if any of you out there are interested in buying me... I'M NOT FOR SALE! But, if you really want to spend some money... you could buy some raffle tickets and help Carlo and me win this really cool basket of toys! Hee hee! :-)

Back to School (by: Carlo)

2008-09-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

My life since coming home from doggie college (aka Advanced Training) has been full of summer time fun... napping, swimming, playing, and eating! It’s been GREAT! But, now that the dawg days of summer are winding down, it’s back to school for me!

My pal is taking a Delta Society workshop later this month. I don’t have to go with her to the workshop... but, I do have to go the evaluations with her, which will be sometime in October! So, my pal and I have been brushing up on some of my skills and reading the Delta Society training manual. We are going to be evaluated as a team! This means that my pal won’t be able to do pet therapy with any other doggie (as if she would want to!) and, likewise, I won’t be able to do pet therapy with any other person (as if I would want to!). We’re going to be a TEAM... sort of like a baseball team or football team... only there will just be just two of us! We’ll be like the dynamic duo, batman and robin! How cool is that?!

But, first we have to pass the evaluations. We were studying the manual the other day and my pal got kind of side-tracked. She put glasses on me and then pulled out her camera (ugh!). I finally had to tell her to stop messing around or we'd never pass the evaluations. Actually I just told her this cause I wanted her to take the dang glasses off my nose. Now, if she would put me in a cool Batman or Robin cape, she could take all the photos she wanted!

My Wish Spot (by: Gerrit)

2008-09-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today I asked my puppy raiser why I was different.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well," I sighed, "I have that funny mark between my eyes. None of the other puppies I hang out with have it." (side note: You can see the funny mark in the photo above. It's an old photo... and you... errrr... have to look beyond all the mud. But, if you look real close, you can see a little dark spot right between my eyes. My hair actually grows a different direction in that spot. It's REALLY weird.)

My puppy raiser looked at me and smiled. She said, "Gerrit, all the other puppies wish they had a wish spot like yours."

"Huh?" I said, "What's a wish spot?"

"It's that special spot right between your eyes. Don't think of that spot as funny or different... cause it's actually extra special. It's so extra special that if someone kisses it, their wishes will come true!"

"Really?!" I said as my tail thumped up and down.

"Yes!" exclaimed my puppy raiser. "Why do you think I kiss that spot all the time? I don't kiss it just because you're so cute... I kiss it because I want my wishes to come true!"

"Wow!!!" I woofed. "So, I shouldn't be ashamed of it?"

"Heck no!" said my puppy raiser, "In fact I want to kiss that spot right now!" and she bent down and smooched me right between the eyes... right on my wish spot (which, by the way, was clean... and not muddy like in the photo above)!

I flopped down on my pillow as happy as can be that I have a wish spot! I then started thinking about how I wanted to make a wish... I wanted to wish that dinner would be served early tonight! But, as hard as I tried, I just couldn't kiss myself between the eyes! I bent this way and that and flipped my body round and round, but it just didn't work. I finally collapsed from all the effort and fell asleep. I guess I'll just have to ask my puppy raiser to make that wish for me!

Dawgs in the Ruff (by: Carlo)

2008-08-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

The 8th annual Dawgs in The Ruff Golf Tournament for CCI is almost here! It's on Monday, September 22... that's just a few naps away from now! If you think you might wanna play the game where you hit the little white ball all over the big green park (aka Granite Bay Golf Club), then you can register here: Dawgs in the Ruff.

Also, we are having a really cool raffle this year! You can win all sorts of baskets full of neat stuff! If you go to Raffle Information you can see photos and descriptions of the baskets and you can find out how to get raffle tickets! I've already told my pal that she has just gotta win item 5: Dog Toy Chest on Wheel!!! Check it out...

Life is Good! (by: Carlo)

2008-08-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

My pal bought me a cool new collar the other day! She said it's going to be for special occasions (like when we start doing therapy work... if we pass the evaluations in October!). The collar says "Life is Good", which is my motto! Life is good! Very good!

Case in point: Yesterday my pal took Gerrit and me out to the lake to play with our buddies Skipper and Hope! Talk about a good day! Here's me hanging out in the water.

Gerrit and Skipper swam really fast and always got the stick. If you ask me, they were total stick hogs...

Here they are with Hope. She was a bit of a stick hog too... but not nearly as bad as Gerrit and Skipper...

Since I had no stick, I resorted to other activities... like helping my pal out while she took photos. Here I am helping her... errrr... frame the photo with my tail! Notice who has the stick!

My pal and her friends finally made Skipper, Gerrit, and Hope sit while I got to swim and retrieve the stick all by myself! It was nice cause I could take my sweet time. After all, what's the rush?!

An afternoon at the lake... what could be better! Life sure is good! :-)

Check Out My Bro! (by: Carlo)

2008-08-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

Check this out! The first dog in this video... Chisum... is my brother! He graduated in the North Central region in June!

Phelps Ain't Got Nothin' On Me (by: Carlo)

2008-08-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend I've been practicing my swimming skills. And, let me tell ya'... not to brag or anything... but, that Olympics swimmer guy, Michael Phelps, ain't got nothing on me!

I used to just like to get my paws wet in the pool. I'd stand on the first step and just hang out there. But, my pal taught me that if I go all the way in... that's where the fun really begins! My pal throws a really cool toy in the pool (you can see it in the photo above) and I get to swim out and get it! The only problem is Lucky and Gerrit. They both don't like swimming in the pool. Instead, they lay in wait as I go swimming to retrieve the cool toy. And, as soon as I climb the steps to get out of the pool, they pounce on me, and steal my hard earned toy! Then, they go running off with it! Fortunately, my pal makes them give it back.

Well, I've gotta go... it's time for some more swimming!

Dog Level (by: Carlo)

2008-08-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today Gerrit came home from work and asked me what the heck was up with people at work always using the phrase high level. I laughed and told him, "my friend, even when you are an old and wise 2 year old like me, you will still never understand some of the things people say and do."

I still vividly remember the days when I was an assistance puppy in training. My puppy raiser would take me to meetings and between my snores and dreams, I would hear, "Let's keep this at a high level discussion..." and "We are going to provide just a high level overview..." and "On a high level blah blah blah"… SNORRRRE! (the snore part was me… not the people in the meeting… they all just wish they could have tuned out and snored with me!).

So, what the heck is up with work people always saying high level? My pal tried once to explain it to me. But, I still didn't get it. For me (and any other dog out there), there is just one level. And, that is… DOG LEVEL. If us dogs crouch down low, we might be able to see, smell, and eat (if our humans aren't watching) yummy morsels of food just a little better. And, if we do an "up" or a "lap" we will be at a level high enough to give our humans a big wet kiss. Nice! But, even those lows and highs all fall within... DOG LEVEL.

DOG LEVEL is the best level ever! From this level, you can get pats on your head and scratches behind your ears, you can receive treats for being a good boy, you can easily play with other dogs (even if some are smaller or bigger than you), you can fit on those comfy doggie pillows that humans leave on the floor for us, and you can run fast and the wind will hit your ears just right so they flap in the wind.

So, I ask you… why on earth would you want anything to be at a high level, when there is a DOG LEVEL?

Thirsty (by: Lucky)

2008-08-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

My dawg days of summer have been interrupted lately with some visits to the vet. Just because I was drinking a little water (ok, ok, a lot of water) and having a few accidents in the house (seriously, it hasn't been all that many!), my pal got all concerned. People tend to worry about EVERYTHING... especially my pal. And, she especially worries about me. Anyways, before you know it, she was whisking me to the vet for blood tests and stuff.

The longest vet visit was today. I was there ALL day. It really wasn't all that bad cause all the people at the vet's office are REALLY nice. Plus, today they kept taking me outside on short walks. The weird thing is that there was this guy with a bowl that stood behind me and caught my pee every time I went to the bathroom. I'm serious!!! People are so weird!

At the end of the day, my pal came and picked me up. She was waiting for me in the vet's office and gave me a big hug when she saw me. Then she and the vet chatted for a long time. To be honest, I wasn't listening all that much to what they were saying. I was ready to go home. Plus, I was thirsty. I was so thirsty I felt like I had just run a marathon. I wanted big ole bowl of water. But, every time I thought the conversation was coming to an end, my pal would ask yet another question. UGH!!!

Finally, my pal was done with the questions and we headed home. As we were driving, my pal looked in her rear view mirror and said, "Lucky, did you hear my conversation with the vet?"

Uh, no... because I was too THIRSTY! And, by the way, can you drive a little faster?

"Well," she went on, "The vet says you have something called diabetes insipidus."

That's great. But, did you have to stop at the yellow street light?!

"That's just means that for some reason either your pituitary gland or your kidneys are not doing what they should be doing... producing an adequate level of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), so you are not concentrating your urine."

Yada, yada, yada. The speed limit is 40 mph on the street, you know? And, I'm probably not concentrating on my urine cause I'm so dang thirsty! And, what's up with everyone's obsession with my pee?

"...so, there is no cure for this. We can put you on meds (which have side effects). Or, we can do nothing and you are always going to be thirsty. And, as you know... what goes in, must come out. Also, it's important that water is always available to you."

Did you say water?! Now we're talkin'!!!

She sighed and her eyes, which I could see in the rear view mirror, looked distraught. "It could be dangerous if you don't have enough water."

Well, you might want to put the pedal to the metal then!

So, after the longest 10 minutes ever, we FINALLY get home. Yeah, yeah, 10 minutes may not sound like a long drive, but hey, I was thirsty! But, get this... my pal gave me rationed water. She said I couldn't drink too much at once. I tried sneaking a drink out of the pool, but she yelled at me to stop. And, I headed to the toilet (hey, I was desperate!), but, she was right behind me and said, "Lucky, don't you touch that toilet water... I promise I'll give you some more water in 30 minutes."

Sure enough, after 30 minutes I got more water... non-toilet water. Ahhhhh. I love water. Now, I'm ready for a nap. But, I still don't get people's obsession with my pee. People are so weird...

My Bro is a Star! (by: Carlo)

2008-07-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Guess what?! My brother, Caelan, is a star! His photo was in the North County Times (a San Diego newspaper)! You can check it out here: North County Times.

My pal (formerly known as my puppy raiser) keeps in touch with Caelan's puppy raiser (as well as the puppy raisers of my other brother and sisters). All of our puppy raisers compared notes while they were raising us. Supposedly Caelan is a lot like me in terms of our personalities!

Caelan is currently in doggie college (aka Advanced Training) in Oceanside. And, he may graduate this month! My sister, Cammie, may graduate this month too! She's in doggie college in Santa Rosa (that's where I went to school... until I decided to I wanted to come home :-). AND, my brother Corda graduated from the North Central region back in May. AND, my sister, China, was selected a breeder for CCI! My family rocks!

Dawg Days of Summer (by: Gerrit)

2008-07-29T18:03:00.001-07:00

We were all hanging out this evening, sunbathing in the late afternoon sun. My puppy raiser said, "You know, it's been a really long time since we've written in the blog... we've gotta post a blog!". Lucky grunted and said, "Carlo should do it". Carlo looked pitifully at my puppy raiser, blinked his eyes, and said, "Do I have to?" So... needless to say... I was nominated for the job! How cool is that?! I quickly put on my journalist cap, grabbed a notepad, and started interviewing everyone as to what their excuses were for not blogging lately!

I asked Lucky first. She sighed and said, "Can't you see I'm busy, kid?" Then she rolled over and started snoring. Hmmmm... now that I think of it... that is why she hasn't been blogging lately! She's been super busy this summer napping and snoring! That's a pretty good excuse for not blogging, if you ask me!

Next, I asked Carlo! Carlo told me he's been busy enjoying the good life of being back at home. He's been busy teasing me with games like "keep away" and "catch me if you can". He's also been busy with his new career as assistance puppy raiser. He's been attending my training classes (although, usually he just hangs out and watches class... and then plays with all of us little pups after class ends). He and my puppy raiser have also been busy studying a book on how to become certified for therapy work through the Delta Society. My puppy raiser has to take a class and then they both have to go through some kind of evaluation, which I think is going to be sometime in October!

Next, I asked my puppy raiser what her excuse was. But, first I crawled in her lap (my favorite place) and got super comfy. My puppy raiser said she's been busy keeping up after all of us. She said she needs to start teaching us some useful stuff like how to put all of our toys away when we are done playing. Errrr.... why would we wanna do that?! She's also been busy with photography stuff. She's always taking photos. Lucky said that at least she's been taking photos of things other than us lately. I actually don't mind it when she takes my photo. My favorite thing to do is to help her clean her lens by walking up and giving the lens a BIG wet kiss.

As for me... well, I've been busy learning how to be a good boy! I still go to work every day with my puppy raiser. Work has been really fun lately. We had something called a bbq a few weeks ago. There were so many good smells in the air! And, just last week a group of us pups and our puppy raisers did a demonstration and visit at a nearby assisted living home. The people there gave us so much lovin'. I loved it! I've also been busy losing my baby teeth and growing! I'm 5 months old and growin' and growin' (although, I can still walk under Carlo... he's super big!). All that growin' is a lot of work!

As you can see, we've got a bunch of good excuses for not blogging. But, I guess the main reason we haven't been blogging is we've been too busy enjoying the dawg days of summer. Why be on a computer, when we can sleep and play outside?! Speaking of which, Carlo's got a cool looking toy he's running around with outside... I've gotta gooooo!

Breeder Caretakers and Puppy Photos (by: Gerrit)

2008-07-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my puppy raiser went over to a breeder caretaker's house and took photos of a bunch of other puppies. What the heck is up with that? Are we not cute enough?!

For those of you who don't know... a breeder caretaker is another type of CCI volunteer. They take care of the dogs that are selected to be breeders for the CCI program. And, if they are the ones taking care of the mama dogs... they also have to assist with whelping, and taking care of the puppies from when they are born until they are about 8 weeks old.

The puppies my puppy raiser visited yesterday are going to be brought to CCI headquarters in Santa Rosa tomorrow and from there they will go to their soon to be puppy raisers! Some of them will even get to ride on an airplane cause their puppy raisers live in other states!

There were only 5 puppies in the litter of pups my puppy raiser visited. There were 10 puppies in MY litter! My puppy raiser said she has a tough enough time keeping up with her crew of 3 dogs... she could never imagine taking care of 5... or 10... especially 10 energetic puppies like me. Hey!

As I wrote above, I was a little offended that MY puppy raiser would want to take photos of other puppies. But, Carlo told me to enjoy the rest while I can... cause she always has a camera pointed right at us! Lucky was worried she was going to bring yet another puppy home. Boy was she relieved when she just came home with a bunch of photos!

Snakes, Smoke, and Foxtails... oh my! (by: Lucky)

2008-07-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

Summer was made for dogs. Warm days. Swimming. Camping trips. Hiking. Basking in the sun. What could be better?! It's no wonder that the phrase "dog days of summer" came to be! But, when you throw things like rattle snakes, smoke, and foxtails in the summer mix... summer ends up being... not so fun!

It was bad enough when reports of it being rattle snake season started hitting the papers. My pal takes us on hikes and walks all the time... and while Carlo and Gerrit always have to stay in a "let's go" position (walking either on her right or left side), I'm special and I get to go off-trailing (ahhh, the benefits of ruling the roost!). However, when those rattle snake reports started coming out, my off-trailing ventures were seriously impacted. Now, my pal doesn't let me go far out on the flexi leash... and she's constantly scoping for anything that resembles a snake... meaning, I've gotten yanked away from many brown sticks. And, there are certain areas (good smelling areas!) that she won't let me go at all!

Then, there's the smoke. With all the fires and heat waves, my pal has been limiting our excursions to early mornings or evenings. The early mornings only happen if she doesn't have to work. And, in the evenings, if the sun is too far down (or if it's too hot and smokey, like it has been lately), we just go for a short walk in the neighborhood (borrrrrrrrring!).

And, then today... a report on foxtails came out. My pal had to explain what these were to us... cause we were awfully confused as to why a fox's tail would get stuck on us. And, why a fox would come up to us in the first place. Supposedly these foxtails aren't really tails at all... but, prickly plant thingys that people think look like fox tails. My pal showed us some pictures of foxtails, but Carlo, Gerrit, and I just could not see why anyone would think they actually looked like the tail of a real fox. The English language is so weird and confusing! Dog speak is MUCH simpler. But, that's a subject for another blog. Back to the plant thingys that look nothing like the tail of a fox... these thingys can get stuck in our fur, up our noses, and in our ears. They are supposed to be really nasty. Sooooooo... now my pal won't even let me pee in bushes cause she's worried about these things. Ugh!

Snakes, Smoke and Foxtails... oh my! What's become of our dog days of summer? Is it fall yet???

Happy 4th of July... Addendum (by: Carlo)

2008-07-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

So, you're probably all wondering why we just posted a 4th of July photo yesterday of me and Gerrit... and none of us bothered writing anything. Well, with all the fireworks, parades, and parties going on... we were too busy... SLEEPING!

My pal (formerly known to me as my puppy raiser!) thought that since this was Gerrit's first 4th of July, it would be best to spend a mellow day at home. You never know how dogs are doing to react to loud firework noises. Her first CCI puppy, Lonnie (who was well... scared of everything) used to have a meltdown when she heard fireworks and would tremble uncontrollably. An old neighbor had a dog that got so upset by fireworks, he once scaled a 6 foot gate and ran off (it was amazing the poor guy didn't get hurt). So, based on stories like this, my pal makes it a point to make sure her pups are all ok on the 4th of July.

During the day, we went on a long "big boy" walk on the trails to celebrate Gerrit being almost completely vaccinated. Gerrit got his rabies shot a couple days ago and the vet says he is now 99.9% safe from puppy diseases [side note by puppy raiser: The vet said that they have been seeing an increase in Parvo cases in this area, so she will be giving him one more booster at 5 months old.]. Gerrit did pretty well on the "big boy" walk... but, he did get distracted by things like dogs (who did not look like him) and young children. Speaking of children... I saw one yesterday while we were walkin' that was about 2 years old and I gave him the biggest kiss on the nose (my pal keeps wondering whatever happened to that fear of kids I used to have... hee hee!). Anyways, back to Gerrit... when he gets excited he tends to start whining. My pal said that this is something we REALLY need to work on with Gerrit. So, it sounds like we'll be going on lots of training walks. Cool!

In the evening we had a BBQ out in the backyard. While we were back there, the firework shows started. We couldn't see them, but we sure could hear them. Some of the fireworks were really loud. Lucky got pissed at them and barked at a few times when she heard bang bang poppity pop. Gerrit and I played and could care less.

After the BBQ and playtime, my pal brought us all inside to watch a movie. That's when the firework noises really started! Whenever my pal heard a loud BANG! she looked over at us... and noticed Lucky was snoring, I was curled up making dreaming noises, and Gerrit was on his back completely wiped out. Talk about being unfazed by fireworks! Realizing that not even fireworks could wake us up, my pal decided to not bother waking any of us up to write a 4th of July blog.

Hope you all had a happy 4th of July... and that you got in some good naptime like us!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T22:22:00.001-07:00

The G-Dawg Training Guide - Shake... the good kind! (by: Gerrit)

2008-07-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

The other day I wrote about the bad kind of shake (shakin' my buddy Hope by the neck while we were playing). Today, I'm going to write about the good kind of shake!

So, you would think that teaching shake to a puppy would be the easiest thing in the world, right? You just hold out your hand, say shake, and puppy joyously puts paw in your hand. What can be difficult about that? Ummmmm... lots!

When my puppy raiser tried teaching it to me, I had no clue that I was supposed to shake with my paw. I thought shake meant touch nose to puppy raiser's hand... and, if her hand smelled like yummy treats... give hand a big wet lick! She tried over and over and over again to explain that I was supposed to touch her hand with my paw (and not my nose or tongue!)... but I just didn't get it.

So, what did my puppy raiser do? She asked one of Nick's puppy raisers (who is also Hope's person) to try teaching it to me while she was puppy sitting me. And, you know what? I finally learned it! But, it took some work cause I just didn't get the whole lifting the paw thing. Nick's puppy raiser had to be sorta be creative and do things like wrap my paw with a leash and slightly tug it while she said "shake".

Now that I know it, my puppy raiser practices it with me constantly. She says it's not enough just to know shake cause shake for a CCI puppy means so much more than just shaking a person's hand. For a CCI pup, shake is the foundation for eventually learning stuff like turning off light switches. So my puppy raiser has been teaching me that I should lift my paw when she says shake even if her hand is not there (so, it sorta looks like I'm waving). And, I should not lift my paw if she holds out her hand, but does not say the shake command.

Whew, the good kind of shake sure is tough! Shakin' my buddy Hope was so much more fun (errrrr... except for the getting in trouble part)!

Shakin', Singin', and Sleepin' (by: Gerrit)

2008-06-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my lack of blogging lately, but between shakin', singin', and sleepin', I've been one busy little pup (who actually is not so little any more… I'm growin' at super duper sonic speed!). I spent about a week with another puppy raiser while my puppy raiser went on a photography workshop in the Eastern Sierras. While away, I got to play a bunch with my buddy, Hope. It was totally fun…although, I kept getting in trouble for playing a little rough. I sorta kept forgetting that Hope isn't a stuffed dog (she's a real dog like me) and I kept grabbing her by the neck and shakin' her real hard. I actually thought it was a fun game… until her puppy raiser told on me to the CCI contract trainer… who told her what I was doing was unacceptable and that she should poke me in the side every time I did this. I soon realized that shaking Hope like a rag doll really wasn't all that fun!

What was fun, on the other hand, was going to my very first baseball game! Not only did I get to go… I also got to join my puppy raiser and and some other people as they sang the national anthem to all the people in the stadium! It was super duper cool! I even got to wear a fancy red, white, and blue bandanna (that's me wearing it in the photo above before the stadium opened)! My puppy raiser said I was a really good boy while they were singin' (probably cause Hope wasn't there for me to play rough with).

You're going to find this really surprising, but I didn't even sing at the baseball game! I was plannin' on it (cause you all know how I love to sing), but it was super hot and the air was smokey from all of the fires going on right now... plus I sang a little at Hope's house… so, I was too dang sleepy to sing. I ended up plopping down right around the part "And the rockets red glare…" and was pretty much ready for a nap, when the song ended with "…. home of the bravvvvvvvvvvvve". In fact, I've gotta admit... I ended up falling asleep during the actual baseball game... not even the smell of hot dogs could keep me awake!