Thursday, June 10, 2010

The College boys report cards and something very special!

I just want to say I am scared to death and extremely excited every time I get an e-mail that has Rocky or Sherman’s name in the subject line! This morning when I got back from the vet with Ely, I had an e-mail with Sherman and Rocky’s reports as the subject. The good news is that they are both doing great!!!! The Sherminator is dominating in phase 3 (which means he is class ready and is just waiting for his forever person) and the Rock Star is rocking it out in phase 2 (which is the half way point with more demands being placed on him than in phase 1). I am so happy with how they both are doing! They sure do know how to make me proud! They really are doing great and I am glad that they are doing so well and having fun learning. You should be able to click on the training reports to make them bigger. Below is Sherman’s report card: Up next is Rocky’s report: I seriously could not be happier with how they are doing! There are still some things they need to work out, but hopefully a little bit more practice and they will have it in no time. Keep up the good work boys! Note to Rocky’s trainer: I really did try to fix Rocky’s love affair with water bowls! He was smart enough to flip over a no tip bowl when he was just a baby. He just likes playing in water I think. Luckily he is a sweet, smart boy and makes up for it. Hope you are having as much fun hanging out with Rocky as I did! He still gets talked about a lot around town from his huge fan club! They are cheering him on all the way up here! And as if today could not get any better, I got an envelope in the mail from Southeastern which I knew exactly what it was. It was a picture of Rocky in harness. All those modeling shoots paid off; he is posed perfectly with his ears in alert mode! He is such a handsome boy! There was also a certificate of appreciation for raising Rocky, which will go on the ‘wall of fame’ and a letter of thanks that will go in the scrapbook. The picture that I got is a lot better quality then this, but the scanner did not want to work with me today :)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Rocky update!

So I found out last week that some little girls will be missing out on the cutest, smartest yellow lab boy around. Rocky will be continuing his training as a guide dog, just not as a breeder candidate anymore. I kind of figured that he would not make it as a breeder since they have picked a ton of male labs in the last few months to be breeders. Since they don’t need that many boys in the breeding program, it was not a big surprise. However, I am extremely proud of my little Rocky for making in through puppy training and two months at school as a breeder candidate. It makes me happy to know that they thought Rocky was just as smart as I all ways knew he was. As much as I think that Rocky would have had adorable puppies, I personally don’t think he would enjoy the life of a breeder. His favorite times were when he was on the go, he loved going anywhere which would have not been possible as a breeder. Though there was someone who lives near Southeastern that wanted to be his breeder host if he made it, which I am very thankful for their offer! I am just happy that he is on the road to doing something that he loves! Whoever gets him will be extremely lucky to have such a great pup like Rocky.

The good news is that one day he will be an uncle. His sister Cassidy made it as a breeder, congratulations Cassie! The rest of his siblings are still in training and are doing great!

Speaking of Rocky, there was another picture of the Rock Star posted on twitter this week! It makes me so happy to know that he is doing well. He looks so grown up! It seems like a lot longer than two months since he went back!

A huge thank you to one of the most wonderful trainers in the world for taking this picture of Rocky!

The past few weeks have been crazy around here. I am thinking puppy sitting is a full time job! I have kept several pups in our group who all happen to be from the same litter. It is fun to see how different they can be! I will post some pictures later when I have a bit of time.