Internal Clock

I'm really good at telling time. I always know when it is breakfast time or dinner time.


Training update: Julimae, Jacinda, Antigua are in phase 0...still. I wish they could come home. Clyde Phase 6. Kyle will have a different career. Sorry Kyle.

Things I learned at School

I've been really busy with school and I have learned a lot already. I have learned that I can fit under a desk quite easily but that I can't see everyone. I've caught on very quickly that the halls are crowded and people don't watch where they are walking. I learned that not everyone with a beard in high school is a teacher. The first settlement was Jamestown and the formula to calculate the weight of air at any given altitude.

I was also in school when I found out that Mom has special needs. At least that is what the woman from the student government said about her. I tried to figure out what Mom's special need was and the best that I can figure is that Mom's special need is for a Math tutor. I try to help her by nudging her leg when she forgets that she needs to use the slope intercept form but I don't think she understands what I'm trying to tell her. Mom seems to be catching on to things now though.

I have to go now; I have a paper to write and some very important guide dog stuff to do.

Training update: Julimae and Jacinda are still in phase 0. Clyde is in phase 5 and Kyle is in phase 8. Antigua will be training as a guide now.

Vacation

I've been away on vacation for the last week. At least that is what Dad called it. It sure didn't feel like a vacation though because I did more work than ever. I spent a week with Lacole's family while she stayed at my house.  I got to go to work with Brenda, went on a lot of outings and even went to a football game. It was a really busy week for me. I got to play with Brenda's girls, the neighbor kids and her big dog Maybel too. Brenda said that I was a very good girl at her office. There was even a day when she left me alone with her lunch sitting on her desk. And as far as Brenda knows; I didn't eat any of her lunch. Of course I'm not going to tell if I did or not.

Around the house I wasn't so good though. I got pretty carried away when Maybel and I were playing. I really like Maybel and it was good to play with her. We played a game of follow the leader, at a very high speed, through the house. There was one time when Maybel caught up to me and I didn't know what to do so I just jumped. I jumped so high that I ended up in the kitchen sink. I didn't know how I was going to get down so I just waited for someone to save me. Everyone thought it was pretty funny but I knew I shouldn't have done that. I felt so bad about it that I put myself in timeout inside of the X-pen.

After the week was over, I went with Brenda to a puppy meeting and Dad and Mitch were there waiting for me. I got pretty excited and I wagged so hard that I may have given myself a concussion. The puppy meeting was fun too. We met in the park and Jill sang a couple of songs for us. She really did a great job. Kris even offered me a potato chip but I knew I shouldn't take it. I was right about that too because it ended up being a test to see if I would behave.

After we got home I just crashed and Dad had to carry me to my kennel. It was a pretty fun week.

Training update: Julimae phase 0, Jacinda phase 0, Kyle phase 8, Clyde is in phase 4 and Antigua is still being evaluated as a breeder.

First Day of School

I had my first day at school yesterday and it was fun. I went with Mitch to the high school and got to go to all of his classes and meet all of his friends. During drama, I got to go way up on the cat walk and look out over the stage. The catwalk has to be at least 20 feet off of the ground and it felt funny on my feet.  Julimae  liked to go up there with Mitch too. There have been two dogs but no cats up there and I didn't think it was right that it was called a catwalk. Ms Morrey agreed and it is now officially called the West Lake Dogwalk.

After I got home, it was Dad's turn to take me to the College. We went into a computer lab and got to learn about creating websites. I wasn't very interested so I just helped my self to a bone out of my bag and chewed all throughout class. Dad said that next time we need to bring a rope or something quiet. After the class, the Professor asked dad what it was that I did for him. He told the professor that I make him happy and then explained about my training.

As we were on our way home we got into an accident on the freeway. I was sitting on the floor where I was suppose to be and I wasn't hurt. Dad had to wait around for the Troopers and fill out a report. I took this as an opportunity to climb into his seat and take a nap. The Trooper and I became fast friends even though he woke me from my nap. I must have been asleep when they cleaned up afterward because I don't recall seeing any car sized oops bags.

Quick Julimae update; She and Jacinda are in phase 0. Kyle is in phase 8 and Clyde is in stage 2.

Goodbye Julimae

Today was a very sad day for me. My sister Julimae had to leave for Guide Dog College. We got up really early and had to drive to the puppy truck. When we got there we got to meet a whole lot of other dogs that were also going to college. There was Jacinda, Antigua and Keiko from our group that was going with Julimae. And there were also a lot of Julimae’s litter mates that were going back as well. I got to meet Jorinda, Joe, Joliet, and June. I’m glad that Julimae will be with dogs that she knows. Maybe they can study together.

I love my big sister and everything that she did for me and everything that she taught me.

She would take me on a walk around the backyard.

She taught me that the toys belong to her but it was OK if I played with them.

She taught me that car rides can be fun.

She taught me that it is ok to sleep during school because Mitch is really smart and does all of the work.



She taught me that there are just times where you had to dress up.

She taught me that there were times when you just had to humor old people.

She taught me that it is NOT impossible to be pretty all of the time.

And even though she was young like me once…

Eventually you grow up and leave for College.

College

I was given some good and bad news this week. The WHOLE family is going back to college. I will get to go to three different schools this year. I will be attending high school with Mitch, who will be taking additional college courses as well. I'll be going to UVU with Mom. Dad will be going to something he calls 13th grade at a place called SLCC and he will take me when he can. Dad says that I will be going to school so much that I can someday be the Vale-dog-torian. Dad made me type that because he thinks he is funny.

We also heard that Julimae will be going back to Guide Dog College in Oregon. I think she is really smart and will do a fine job but I'm going to miss her. I only have another week to play with her and Dad has already planned extra time for us. I love my big sister and she has taught me a lot. She taught me how to show off my toys, how to follow another dog while at the same time sharing a rope, and how to race to the jolly ball. I'm really going to miss her but I'll still have my brother Cruiser to play with in the back yard.

My Reward

I’ve been a very good girl recently and Mom and Dad felt it was a good time to surprise me with a nice reward. They loaded me and Julimae into the car for what appeared to be a normal outing. We went into the store and wandered around and then Dad took me to the pet aisle. Mom and Dad unloaded ALL of the beds and let me pick one for my very own. We attracted quite the crowd and everyone was wondering which bed I would pick. I quickly narrowed it down to two, but there was only one that was just right for me.

Silvana taking it easy on her bed while we drive home

Movies

I got to spend the whole weekend with Mitch at his Dad’s house. I got to meet Mitch’s nephew Ollie and Petey, that’s Mitch’s other dog. I liked Ollie; he walked me a lot. On the last day, Mom, Dad and Julimae came and picked up me and Mitch and we went to a movie. I’ve never been to a movie before and I was excited to see the show. First we had to get our tickets and snacks. I was walking with Dad and we had to go through a maze. When we got to the end, I thought we would get a reward but instead, Dad had to hand over a lot of money. It didn’t seem like a very fun game to me. Then we went into the theater, found our seats and waited for the movie. The movie started and scared me awake. I spent the next half hour watching the movie until I got tired and fell asleep again. My favorite part of the movie was when Dad spilled popcorn on my head. I was a good girl and didn’t eat any of it, that got me a lot of pets and love from Dad and that made me happy.

People I meet

I meet a lot of people while I am out doing my job. Most are perfectly fine and look at me and smile, especially the kids. I’ve also had a couple of experiences that I would sooner forget about. Experiences like the woman I scared while we were shopping and the little boy that kicked me while I was sitting and being good.

Most of the time, the kids spot me first and tell their parents. It is kind of funny because everywhere we go we always hear, “Mom; there’s a dog. Mom, Mom, Mommmmmie; there’s a dog” or “doggie, doggie, doggie”. A lot of the kids ask their parents why I’m in the store. Most parents take the time to explain that I’m learning to be a guide dog. I don’t know if the kids understand what that means. I wish that more parents would take the time to explain to their kids what I’m training to do. The best experience I had was on my very first outing to the grocery store. There was a woman with a boy and she kneeled next to her son and pointed at me and told him that I was training to be a guide. She told him that I will be someone’s eyes. The boy smiled at me and I wagged at both of them to tell the mom thanks. Most of the time I hear ‘don’t pet her because she is working’, which is fine, but it leaves the kids a little confused about me.

We also had some strange encounters. There was one Mom that tried to convince her kids that Julimae and I weren’t dogs. I walk like a dog, bark like a dog (although I don’t do that anymore) and I wag like a dog. I’m pretty sure I’m a dog. Her son thought so too because he told his Mom that he was pretty sure we were dogs. There was also the time that we took the train with Mom and Julimae and some man said to Mom, “What’s wrong with you?” There was also the time at the grocery store when a woman stopped Mom to tell her she thought I was cute. She talked to Mom for a long time and she said that there were guide lizards. Dad tried to save her by saying that it was probably an emotional support companion but the woman insisted that the lizard was a working guide. I can’t imagine what a lizard would look like in a harness. But through the course of the conversation, we learned that guide lizards and guide ponies are acceptable to JetBlue airlines.

The fun thing about having a blog are the emails that I get and checking to see who reads about me. I’m big in Turkey and Canada. I’ve even had an email from a celebrity. I can’t say who it is but it came from Russia with love.

Baseball

We went to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game and we had so much fun. It started with a ride to the train. When we got to the train station we were met by Amanda and Rio. Rio and I are the same age but he is really big now. We rode to the ballpark stop and we all got off the train together. People thought it was really neat that we were there and being so good. We had to walk a couple of blocks to the ballpark and people driving by slowed down to look at us. Everyone was really impressed with how we lead our people across the street at the proper time. Once we got across the street, we saw Hannah, Kris and Roscoe waiting for us. Brenda and Lacole were there too and together we bought our tickets and went into the stadium. There were a lot of people and a lot of stairs but I handled it like a pro. Dad and I lead the rest of the group through the people and into the outfield area where we saw Megan, Snickers and Tartan waiting for us. We had great seats on the grass under the scoreboard. I liked sitting out there on the grass and it was fun to play with the other dogs but we were in public so we had to behave and show what good dogs we really are.

There were so many fun things about being at the park but there were two things that were my favorite; the train full of kids and Bumble. The train runs along a path in the outfield and kids get to ride it for free. The train was fun because the kids would get excited when they drove by us. Bumble is a really big bee and we got our picture taken with him. We also met some people that Dad works with and they were really nice to us.

We left the game a little bit early because Mom and Dad had to work the next day and we had to catch the train too. We waited a long time for the train and when it got to our stop, it was really full. Me and Dad had to stand and I thought that was really fun. I’m a pretty good train surfer. After a couple of stops, there was enough room for Dad to sit down and I thought that was a good time for a nap. Before I knew it we were back to our car and headed for home.

Hannah and Roscoe; Trielle and Snickers; Megan and Tartan; Bumble; Amanda and Rio; Mitch and my sister Julimae; Dad and Me