GRC goes to Berkeley!

What do you do when you have an open Saturday, and a bunch of GRC (Gold Rush Champions) puppy raisers? You go to Berkeley! Saturday the 14th, about 24 people and 14 dogs went on a train to head on a training outing! The faces on the train were great when they saw all of us with our many dogs! When we arrived, we all went our different ways and went shopping. Well... our plan was to shop! Many of us ended up stopping to talk about CCI and giving out information. Then we all met up for lunch at Spenger's for a yummy seafood lunch! While we all enjoyed our food the dogs practiced their under command. After lunch, a few of us stayed for the later train and enjoyed the extra time for a little more shopping. We all hopped back on the train and said our farewells to the nice cool city and headed back to warm Sacramento. All of the dogs were pooped on the train back and they slept the whole way home!

Yashira!

Halo driving the ship at Spengers!

Linny's turn!

Yalu says "I would rather swim! Why am I having to drive the ship?"

You can never have enough CCI dogs in hand!

Mr. Linny on the train!

Cate Monster

How much longer mommy?

Cate was so tired! Time to go home!

"Isn't it hard to give the puppy up?"

YES!

Giving up the puppy that you have raised for 16-18 months isn't easy. The dog becomes your best friend and the one you can share your secrets with because you know they won't tell a soul. Yes, it is hard. What makes it easier is the fact that you know from the start, that you will be raising a dog that is going off to be something amazing.

Getting to see first hand how a service dog ends up working in the home with my mom really helps with the process. My mom's dog Felice III was raised in Idaho and then her puppy raiser had to give her up to go off to advanced training. Felice made it through the program and was placed with my mom. I got to stay with her at team training when she was placed with her dog, and it was the most amazing experience. Getting to see how these dogs change peoples lives SO much is the best feeling. They learn to make lives so much easier for a person who otherwise had it much harder. Just by having a dog pick up a pen off the ground can make all the difference. Seeing Felice and my mom every day is one of the examples I give to people when they ask about how I will be able to give Halo up.

So the answer to the famous question will always be YES. I know that I am raising a miracle and that is why even though giving them up is hard... I know that I am helping someone else that needs this puppy more than I do. 

Miss Halo

I picked up my baby girl on January 3rd. It's hard to believe that she is already 7 1/2 months. She has been such a blessing and is easy to work with! Halo is great at picking up on commands fast. They need to be perfected but she gets the basic idea and with a little help she gets it done! I am so happy that I decided to raise. What brought me into the program was that my mom had applied to get a service dog. After my mom had her service dog Felice III for 6 months, I was able to get my baby! I have gotten to see the world from a different outlook every since January. You have to think outside the box in every little outing that you go on. You need to come up with different situations that the dog could possibly face in it's future. Halo and I love going to puppy class each week. We get to be around other puppy raisers and Halo gets to see her puppy friends. Halo and CCI have brought me together with so many people. My best friend I just happened to meet because she is raising Halo's brother. It is amazing what Canine Companions can do for people. I am so overly grateful for these past 6 months.

Pick up day!

Shoshone Falls, ID 6/20

Better late than never!

Left: Hunter V Right: Halo II

Halo and I just got back from visiting her brother Hunter V up in Idaho and we decided that it was time to make a blog. I will try and update it as much as I can.