Let it Be (by: Lucky)

Last night G-Dawg (aka Gerrit) decided to practice his American Idol skills by screeching up a storm when my pal put him in his kennel. He was singing something about missing his mom and his siblings. It was a pitiful sad song... but enough already! He went on and on and on. Just when I thought I couldn't take it any longer, my pal started singing the Beatles song Let it Be. "Oh great," I thought, "as if it weren't bad enough that one of them was singing... now they are both doing it!"

But, get this... my pal's singing put G-Dawg to sleep! Seriously! By the time she got to "whisper words of wisdom" the little dude was out! And, he was out all night! He didn't wake up until 5:00am!

Let's hear it for whisper words of wisdom!

G-Dawg Day (by: Lucky)

Just when I was getting used to having my pal all to myself... just when I was getting used to some peace and quiet... G-Dawg Day arrives. That's right. Gerrit has arrived. He seems pretty cute and fun. He already seems to be taking to my pal. He loves snuggling with her. Personally, I think he's going to be a mama's boy. I barked once at him and he went running and hid his head in my pal's lap. Gerrit also likes to sing. Well, he calls it singing... I call it screeching. He told me that he had high hopes of being on American Idol. My pal overheard this and told him he may as well kiss those hopes goodbye because the singing has gotta stop.

Gotta go... it's time for my bedtime snack! More on Gerrit later!

Carlo's First Report Card (by: Lucky)

We got Carlo's first report card (aka Advanced Training report) the other day! The kid is doing well! Actually, I gotta admit... he's perfect! I mean, not as perfect as me. But, then who is?

Carlo's report was the best report we've ever received on a pup. Well, our first pup, Lonnie, doesn't count cause she was released before we ever even received a report. She was scared of everything... including fire hydrants! Can you believe that one?

Carlo is learning all kinds of stuff in college right now... retrieve, hold, get, and push. He's got really good marks on overall performance. His learning rate is high and his energy and level of management are low. His trainer wrote that he is eager to please his handler, he interacts appropriately with the other dogs, and he's adjusted well to kennel life.

In fact, the only issue reported is that he showed fearful reactions when approached by young children. He attempted to hide behind his handler. Sigh. Poor Carlo. I used to tell him that kids were like little dogs... nothing to be afraid of... and, the best thing is that they always are eating and dropping food! What could be better than that?! Anyways, CCI is going to continue to evaluate that issue. Hopefully, he'll get over it... cause if he does... watch out! That boy is gonna be a superstar!

Go Carlo! We're all rooting for you kid!

More News: CCI and American Idol (by: Lucky)

This news just came in...

CCI on American Idol Tomorrow Night
American Idol's special Idol Gives Back program will air this Wednesday, April 9th. While the program supports six international children focused charities, they are doing a special segment on national volunteer based organizations... and Canine Companions is included! Three CCI volunteers from the Los Angeles area will appear during this segment. The three will appear during Maria Shriver's segment, and can be seen on the stage, 2nd row on the left, wearing their CCI logo gear.

News from the Homefront (by: Lucky)

New Puppy Arriving

For those of you whom have not heard the news, we are getting yet another rug rat [glare from Carlo's puppy raiser]... errrr... adorable CCI puppy to raise. This is going to be CCI puppy #5. His name is Gerrit. That's him in the photo above. I sure hope he comes with that bunny cause he ain't getting any of my toys [glare from Carlo's puppy raiser]... I mean, he is welcome to play with any of my toys... if I'm not interested in them at that particular moment... :-).

Gerrit (or G-Dawg as I like to refer to him) is arriving exactly one week from today. That means I've got one week left of getting ALL the attention. So, I've really gotta play it up now to get as much of that attention as possible! It also means that I've got one more week before the sleepless nights begin [side note by Carlo's puppy raiser: Ummm, Lucky - you NEVER have helped take out the pups in the middle of the night when they need to go]. Yeah, but I've gotta listen to the pups whining... and then I've gotta listen to you frantically jumping out of bed to get them outside in time. That really interrupts my quality sleep time!

My pal just asked me to post this photo too. This photo is of Gerrit's mom, Brindy, with her litter of pups. Gerrit may or may not be in that wagon full of pups. There was something like 10 pups in the litter. Dang! I'm so glad we're just getting one of 'em!

Carlo's Progress Report

The other big news is that we are supposed to receive Carlo's 1st progress report soon. So, we'll finally have an idea of how the kid is doing in college. We should get that report sometime this week or next. Stay tuned!

To All You Non-Assistance Dogs (by: Lucky)

This blog entry is in honor of all you non-assistance dogs out there (aka "pets", or in puppy raiser language "keepers"). In case our peeps forget just how much assistance WE provide, here is a reminder list that can be posted on the fridge (so they can read it as they are getting you something to eat):

1) We protect the home from mailmen, gardeners, workers of any kind, squirrels, cats, and children selling girl scout cookies.

2) For those of us who have to deal with assistance puppy after assistance dog, WE provide these pups with all of their fundamental training (i.e. we teach them that they are the lowest pup on the totem pole, they can only play with toys when we are no longer interested, and don't bug us unless we want to be bugged).

3) We remind our peeps that they need to get off their butts and get some exercise... and going to the gym, or doing anything else that doesn't include us, does NOT count.

4) We serve as an alarm clock on weekends (for some reason alarm clocks always seem to break on weekends and our peeps tend to oversleep).

5) We keep our peeps from being idle (i.e. recently, I gave my pal the opportunity to fix the blinds and drywall I chewed up).

6) We remind our peeps when it's time to eat... which is pretty much always.

7) We show our peeps where our leashes and food are located... just in case they forget.

8) We refrain from howling when our peeps subject us to tv shows like American Idol.

9) We remind our peeps that there are things in life MUCH more important than work... like playing with us!

10) For those of us who have peeps who are puppy raisers, we provide them with a shoulder to cry on when they've turned in a pup... and, we remind them there is no reason to be upset cause they've still got us!

Think like a dog (by: Lucky)

My pal was feeling stressed tonight. Stressed about work. Stressed about doing taxes. Stressed about an upcoming test she's taking. Geesh, she's such a stress head! So, I posted this photo of Carlo to make her laugh. It was taken in Half Moon Bay before the kid went off to college. Check him out... have you ever seen a longer tongue?! What a goof!

I don't understand why people always stress about things. They should think more like us dogs. We never stress about anything. Well, we do stress about some things... but, just important stuff like when our next meal is coming and when we're going on our next walk (cause those things can NEVER come soon enough). But, we don't stress about all those lame little things that people stress about.

It sure is a good thing that I know how to get rid of my pal's stress. She totally laughed when I showed her the funny Carlo photo. And, she laughed even more when I grabbed a toy and started prancing around with it. In fact, she pushed aside the stuff she was working on (I think it was taxes... whatever the heck that is) and told me it was time to play! Woohoo! She's FINALLY thinking like a dog!