The more I think about it. . . *EDITED*

The more I think about it the more okay I am with Spankys potential cc because:
A. a graduate is saved from getting his awful name for at least another two years. :)
and B. If he doesn't want to be a guide he doesn't have to be and GDB will make the best decision for him.
His future is up to him and I am so proud of the progress he HAS made. Thanks for all your comments and word of encouragement, it really helped to make me feel better. And I know that not every person is destined to be a doctor just like not every dog is meant to me a guide dog. (even if we wish they could) Spanky is a great dog and he would make an awesome, and fun pet. I kind of wish that I could keep him. Alyssa: No, I would not change his name. As much as I dislike it, it totally suites him. And it has grown on me since it does fit him so well. I can't think of a better name for him. :)

And some good news that I forgot to mention was that at my eval my CFR asked me what breed/color/sex puppy I wanted at the end of October. So, I am one step closer to that glorious puppy breath. I imagine my new puppy would be around 4-5 weeks old right now and as cute as a button. :) (I won't give out details until I get an assignment though . . . sorry ;)

Also, we are getting a change of leadership in our puppy club. Our leader drives down from Salt Lake (usually 45 min to an hour drive depending on traffic) every week for puppy class so she has joined a group up there and we are getting a new leader. It will definitely be an interesting transition but I am sure our new leader will do a great job. She has been raising in our group for about 2 1/2ish years now and is raising her fourth puppy. So that will be fun. Although, I am sure we haven't seen the last of our old leader. We know she likes us too much to stay away for too long. . . I mean we are the greatest group in Utah just so's you know. Just kidding. :)

And also, Saturday (September 27th) was my pretty yellow girl, Glennies 3rd birthday. I really wish I knew how she was doing. I have send a few letters to puppy placement for them to forward to her adoptive family but have never gotten a response. I miss that sweet little girl and her two toned belly it was pink with dark brown spots and I loved it, it made her so unique. Happy Birthday Glennie, I am sure you are doing wonderful wherever you are!

And finally (I think, I meant for this to be short but I just keep thinking of things to say, lol) Today I took my little sister to the doctor and while we were in the waiting room this lady came up to us and asked if she could pet Spanky. I said yes and the Q&A commenced. :) After talking for a good twenty minutes or so with the lady petting Spanky pretty much the whole time she finally said "You are so cute I just want to take you home!" Spanky looked up at the lady and then looked at me and then he got up came and sat between my legs and rested his head on my leg. It made me laugh so hard. My boy knows who loves him the most.

The Future looks Cloudy. . .

So, Spanky had his evaluation with my CFR yesterday. He did really well during the eval, we had all our club pups their plus a few others from different clubs (including Bracken who is Burgess' brother he is really cute and minded really well) We started with going around and introducing us and our dogs and their ages and then we took a walk down State Street (busy street) so she could see how all the dogs reacted to traffic because there was one puppy in particular who had trouble with traffic noises. After that we went back and told the best thing our pups did and the worst thing. Spankys best thing is that he is great out in public and knows exactly what I expect of him and his worst thing is that he is not the brightest crayon in the box. He is kind of thick and it takes him a while to "get it" it can be frustrating at times! Anywho, then we went out to the parking lot and my CFR and leader turned on their cars and we had the dogs walk around them and then get in and out of the car. Spanky had no problem, he didn't even notice the car turn on and he loves to jump so he loved jumping in and out of the car. After that we worked on recalls. And then we were free to go. Except, I knew that my CFR wanted to talk to me about Spanky after the meeting so I hung back to talk to her. We discussed some of Spankys issues and she thinks that a career change is in his future. She has to talk to Pat at Guide Dogs and see if they should bring him into training or if they should just cc him. My CFR said that it would most likely be a cc. Especially because the string of dogs going the end of October is going to be in the new accelerated learning pilot program and she thinks that Spanky would crush under the pressure of that. So, I don't know when I will know for sure because I know she is here for a few more days placing the high school program dogs so probably not until the end of next week. I am sad though. If he does end up being cc'd then that will be four in a row. . . Can one of my dogs PLEASE graduate!!?!?!? My CFR was also telling me that she thinks his first raiser would take him back so if that happens I will still keep him until the end of October and then put him on the puppy truck to be delivered to Colorado, so that would be nice for him not having to go to Oregon and then back. That's about it from here. Sorry nothing more upbeat. . .

Big Day

Well, my mom did it again. On Friday morning she called me at 11:30am to tell me that at 12:30pm she wanted me to come to her classroom and then talk to her kids about Guide Dogs and then I rotated to three other classes and talked to them too. It was fun and the kids (it was three 1st grade classes and a 5th grade class) had some really good questions and I think they learned a lot. I always love talking to kids about guide dogs they get so excited to learn and to see the puppies. :)

After the classes me and Spanky went to do the grocery shopping, he was very good while I held him and the cart and walked nicely beside me and behind the cart. Then I went to Chuck-E-Cheese's to meet up with my sis and bro-in-law and my nephew. Spanky had so much fun and I was surprised how well all the kids reacted to them, most of them asked before petting which was so nice and Spanky was really great with the kids too.

My bro-in-law put Cannon inside the basketball game so he could make some shots. Cannon loved it and made a bunch of baskets, it was really cute.
This was Spankys favorite game, there were these balls that would shoot around in there and he loved watching them. It was funny how intense he was and how sad he got when the game was over.
On the way home me and my two sisters, mom and g-ma were hungry so we decided to find a place to eat. I looked out the car window and saw this sign. I got so excited I made my mom stop and we ended up eating at SPANKY'S DINER. It made my day!! How random, I had no idea there was a Spankys Diner. This is the back were there is an old school ice cream parlor and gift shop.
This is the front with the big neon Spankys sign for the restaurant part. It was a fun diner, set up to be from the fifties or sixties. The waitress got a kick out of my puppy named Spanky too. We had a good night.
That was our Friday. So a big day for the Spanky-doodle.

Just Needed some Fun

It has been a few weeks since me and Spanky went on a fun outing. We have been stuck in the routine of work, school, maybe the store, and then home, for a while so I decided to take him to a park to play. We had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

Spanky going down the slide. It was really funny he kept trying to jump down a few times, and it took him a while to get up the nerve to go down the first time but after that he was loving it.
My handsome boy sitting on the shredded tire stuff on the playground.

There were no steps so I had him jump on the lowest step that was about three feet up. He was really liking having to jump up really high.
The twisty slide. "Are you kidding, I am not going down that!"
"That wasn't so bad"
I have lived here. . .

and here. . .
AND here. . . where am I going next?
"Not quite sure how I got up here. . . or how to get down."
Reunited with the nephew. Cannon was so happy to see him again. It was so cute. Spanky got lots of hugs that day.

Spanky, Sherman, and Adeline!! (but not in that order) :)

Well, today I got a bit of news on my last three puppies. It was a pretty good day. Each e-mail I read made me smile and beam with pride. First, this morning I got an e-mail from Adeline's mom with this picture and a note saying:

"Last weekend Adeline completed her AKC Rally Novice title (RN) at the Santa Barbara dog shows, earning 2nd place. The week before, Adeline earned the 1st legs in her AKC Novice agility Jumpers and Weaves and also Standard titles with 2nd place in each. This trial took place in Ventura. In July she also passed her Therapy Dogs International test to become a therapy dog, and is awaiting her "badge" in order to start."

I could not be happier. And I love that my girl was adopted by someone who keep me in the loop.
My pretty girl doing what she loves!

My news about Sherman was short and sweet. I got an e-mail from his trainer at D4D and she said this:

"Sherman is doing very well, he loves the game of learning to find the scent. I'm glad you got to see him at fun day"

I am glad he is progressing in his new career and hope that he continues to do well. He is one remarkable doggie and I think about him every day. "I miss you baby boy!"

Spankys news did not come in e-mail form it came in the mail. My heart kind of skipped a beat when I saw the big envelope from GDB in the mail. I took it in the house and just stared at it. It was pretty thick and I wasn't expecting any mail. . . what could it be. I finally opened it and it was his puppy info, his vet reimbursement forms, and monthly reports, and id card, and parent/birthday/puppy project record (guess I should get on filling that out *sniff*) funny that they sent that out after I have had him 3 months, and he is leaving in a month. I was also told that our CFR is coming out on the 24th for puppy evaluations. So good luck Spanks. Our last puppy class was at Bridal Veil falls, one of my favorite hikes is to the top of the waterfall, I used to take Prudy up there all the time so I was a little distracted. Funny the first meeting we had after she passed away was at Bridal Veil Falls and then a little over a year (can't believe it has been a year) later there we are again. I have kind of avoided it since then but I need to go again I love it up there. Anywho, the pups had a great time splashing around in the water and I got some really cute pictures of the pups in our group. Here is the Spankers at the bottom of the falls. :)

And I am sure you all recognize this big guy. Ontario came to stay for a day. It was so nice having a normal (meaning not a guide dog puppy) dog for a day. I loved playing fetch with him, he was so loving it to, he did not want to stop. It was fun to have him join us for a day.

Well, that's about it. Have a good night everyone. And hug those pups for me.