Ruling the Roost (by: Lucky)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!