Monday, April 26, 2010

A brighter ending to the day

There is nothing like a bad stressful day ending on a brighter note. With only one more week of class before finals, let’s just say I am a little on the stressed side. I got home late today from a long day of class and tests. Of course it had to be raining to bring down my mood along with all the rush hour traffic. I got home to find a letter from SEGDI, it was thanking me for raising Rocky and the sacrifice that I made to raise Rocky and kindness to help someone else. It was just what I needed to make me a little more cheerful.

To make my day even brighter, I got word from one of my spies at the school that the new IFT dogs are getting out and about on campus with one of the kennel assistants and they are being walked in harness. Makes me so happy that Rocky is getting a lot of attention and the weather is wonderful down there. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY WONDERFUL SPY!!!!!!

So if my calculations are correct, Rocky will begin working with his trainer later this week or early next week. If they pair up trainers with dogs like they have in the past, Rocky will be getting a fabulous trainer, though they are all fabulous.

Seems like forever since Rocky left, in reality it has only been a little over two weeks.

Keep studying hard Rocky Road!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Through a Dog’s Eyes

I watched 'Through a Dog’s Eyes’ on PBS tonight. It is always so amazing watching the process of training and then placing service animals. Watching it made me realize two things: 1) that I love raising guide dog puppies, even though I don’t get to see much of them after they leave my home, I know that they have and are changing lives. 2) it just confirmed what I had decided to do with my life. There were several kids getting assistant animals on the show, seeing how excited they got and what a positive outlook on life they had just made me smile. I am 99% sure I want to be a special ed teacher; I get to work with several autistic children every week either with babysitting or doing therapy and I love every minute of my time with them. Raising puppies has taught me so much that has helped with working with these special kids from using positive reinforcement to keeping learning fun and I am so grateful for that.

When I first looked in to raising for an service animal organization 7 years ago (has it really been that long!?!) I had attended a meeting about working with canine assistants (which the show was about). They had two gorgeous goldens who did so many commands it was quite fascinating. I was too far away to actually work with a puppy and since I wanted to raise a puppy I continued on my search and found a wonderful organization through a co-worker of my dad who was a puppy raiser. They had a huge group in my city and I fell instantly in love, especially when they let me work a 5 month old puppy, named Bristol at my first meeting, I was hooked at that point.

I never get tired of watching individuals with service animals; I am honored enough to see them all around campus and it is truly amazing how the team works together in unison. Watching this show showed a side that most puppy raisers don’t get to see and that is how all that hard work truly changes peoples lives. I could not help but think about my boys as I watched this show and the lives they have and will change. It just reiterated how I would much rather go through the pain of loving and letting go of a puppy, so that someone else can have freedom and independence.

If you have not watched 'Through a Dog’s Eyes’ yet, I would strongly recommend it!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Have come to a conclusion

So I have finally come to a conclusion . . . I miss my Rock Star! All this week I have gotten some strange looks at school; I realized that I was saying left and right out loud along with find the door and step, I was able to catch myself most of the time just every once in a while it slips out.

It is way too quiet around our house, no Rocky coming running when the freezer is open or when you turn the hair dryer on. I think Ely misses his housemate. He has been much more attached to us than his normal self. For once I wish Ely had a little bit more energy.

One of Rocky’s best friends, Cole, who lives across the street, was going for a walk the other day and his owner stopped to talk to us. Cole went crazy trying to get in our house or to try to get Rocky to come to the door. We both have glass doors, and so they were too funny watching each other through their door as they grew up. Poor Cole does not understand what happened to his friend.

Hopefully Rocky is enjoying college life. Rocky’s personality is just so happy that I know he will be content where ever he is.

As for the many people who want to know if there will be another puppy? The answer is yes, it just might be a few months. Puppy raising is a highly additive activity and is too much a part of my life. I was offered a puppy that would be ready in mid-May, but since I am still trying to catch up with life, which has left me behind again, I might need a little bit more time and focus on some important stuff for my future. Hopefully I will have another bundle of joy to raise before the end of the summer.

Puppy raising has been such an rewarding experience for me and I have a hard time seeing myself without being a part of such a wonderful organization.

Till then, I am filling up my spare time with a ton of jobs and puppy sitting just happens to be one of them. I will have a very sweet puppy in training named Bingo next week. She is so sweet and I can’t wait! I also get to watch her housemate Singita who was CC’d from SEGDI and is Ely’s age.

Man, I miss those eyes looking back at me!