A Day About Me (by: Gerrit)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!!!