The Nice Game

Dad taught me a new game and I’m really good at it. The game is called the nice game. Here is how it works; Dad says ‘nice’ and gives me a treat. There are some other things that happen too, but THAT, is my favorite part. Dad gets really excited when he tells me nice and that makes my brother Cruiser come downstairs and play the nice game with us.  Cruiser’s version of the game is different than my version. I have to go to my blanket, lie down in the middle and not chase the cat along the way. Cruiser just sits in front of Dad to get his treat. Dad says it is the best that he can expect from Cruiser.

Silvana playing the "nice game"

Goodbye Kyle

The first guide dog puppy I met here in Utah, other than my sister Julimae, was Kyle. Kyle came to my house the day after I came to Utah and we played and played for a long time that day.  Mom and Dad told me that Kyle had to go back for his formal training and that I wouldn’t get to see him anymore.  It made me sad to know that I wouldn’t get to see him or play with him anymore. But I also know that Kyle is going to be a great guide and will be happy being someone’s eyes.

Kyle giving Mitch a hug

Catching Up

Sorry I haven’t written in awhile, I was grounded from the computer because of my online shopping addiction. Speaking of which, I have $5000 worth of dog toys for sell. One or two are Guide Dog approved. Now that I can use the computer, I need to catch up with everything that has happened.

Mitch

Mitch got something called a drivers license the other day. The whole family was excited and to celebrate, Mitch took me on a ride to the school.  I am quite fond of Mitch and I like spending time with him. I hope he will take me to school next year.

Puppy Meeting at Dinosaur Museum

We went to a place called Thanksgiving Point for our puppy meeting. I really liked it there. They had these really big, tall things called dinosaurs. All that were left of the dinosaurs were the bones. They were kind of scary but they sure looked tasty. I tried to bring one home but it wouldn’t fit in the car.

Silvana at Thanksgiving Point

Puppy Trade

I had my first puppy trade. I got to go to Lacole’s house and play with her family. I got to play with Kate and Maddie and I got to go to work with Brenda and I just had a good time. Brenda and I had MANY discussions about why puppies shouldn't have Dr. Pepper. That still didn't stop me from trying to taste it. When I got home, I told Julimae all about how I got to taste Dr. Pepper. Julimae told me that Dad's Boss, Terri, let her lick her coffee cup and she was up all morning running in circles. I do that anyway but I bet I can go faster on coffee. Julimae said that Dad wasn't happy about Terri letting her lick the cup but Terri said that they were just sharing.

Discovery Academy

We had a really fun puppy meeting at Discovery Academy. Discovery Academy is a therapeutic boarding school, whatever that means. I just know that it was full of kids that wanted to play with me and pet me and love on me. It was so much fun; I loved every minute of it. I had so many belly rubs and kisses and hugs to last a lifetime. What a great way to celebrate my 5 month birthday.

After the meeting, I got to go with Dad and help pick out something special for Mom because it was mother’s day. It was a big deal and I took my time, I wanted everyone to be proud of what I picked out, Mom especially. There were people all around watching me work. I finally decided on a nice rose bush and nudged it with my nose to tell Dad that I had made my decision. Dad agreed with me and we put it in the cart. I walked with my head held high as we went to pay for Mom’s gift. Everyone was also really impressed with how well behaved I was in the store too.

Silvana and student from Discovery Academy

Julimae's Birthday

Today is Julimae's birthday. She is a year old today. Best of all, her birthday falls on International Guide Dog Day. I love my big sister.

The Mall

Mom and Dad had to take Mom’s car to the mechanic and I went with them. When we got there, Dad got me out of the car and got me dressed. As we were leaving to get in Dad’s car, someone called me a cute boy, I didn’t like that so I didn’t wag at him.

After we left the mechanic, we went to something called a mall. The mall is just a big place with a lot of different types of stores inside. Mom said that girls like the mall and that we should go there a lot. Dad just grumbled at the thought of that. Good thing for Dad that the stores the mall weren’t open. We just wandered around the mall looking into the windows at the dark stores. It was really neat; every store was selling dogs that looked exactly like me. The other dogs had the same green jacket and the exact same tags as mine. The only difference I could see was that the words on their jackets and tags were spelled backwards. I was very nice to all of the other dogs in the mall and I wagged at every one of them. As we walked, more and more people started coming in and opening their stores. There was one girl there that had a train. Mom and Dad thought it would be neat to put me in the train and take my picture. The girl said it would be OK and opened the door for me. I was kind of bummed that I couldn’t ride the train but I did get to ride in the elevator.

Silvana on the train

Mom wanted to keep looking around mall after the stores opened, so Dad and I went and sat on the bench and waited for Mom to finish. It was so nice and quiet there that I went to sleep.  After Mom was finished, we decided to do one more lap and go home. That’s when Mom was distracted by a place that takes your picture. Mom talked to the lady there for a long time and even won something from the store. Mom said that we would go back and she would get a picture of both of her girls. Dad thought it would be a good idea to keep me outside of the store while we waited because there were a lot of people. I think it is because he likes to show me off but he calls it training. While we were waiting for Mom to finish at the picture place, a couple of little kids started to come at me and they had sticky donut hands. Dad was quick and told their Mom that I was working and she moved the kids away from me. Thank you Dad for not letting them pet me.   



Going to work with Mom

On Friday, I got to go to work with Mommy for the first time. Now I know why Julimae likes to go to work with Mommy. She works in a place that does something called Physical Therapy but it just sounded like they were having people do funny things like something called a “dead bug”. I really liked the people there and new ones came and went all day long! I wagged at everyone to let them know they were welcome and to show them what a good girl I was. My favorite person was a little boy named Ben. He is special. He is 6 but he was sick a few years ago and now he is learning how to walk and do lots of other things again. He was very sad when he came on Friday. He was crying and trying to tell his Mommy he didn’t want to do therapy cause he was tired. So Steve, the therapist, came and told me that Ben needed some puppy therapy. I felt so important! I went and met him and gave him a kiss on his hand and that made him smile. Then he bent over and wanted me to give him a kiss on his face. I know I am not supposed to but Mommy said it was ok because it really makes Ben happy. He laughed when I kissed him. Then he was happy to go do his therapy. He came to see me again before he left and I kissed him on the ear just to make him laugh again. I think they should do puppy therapy for all of their people.

I hope I get to go back again soon. 

Silvana's Busy Week

Wow! Sorry I haven’t written anything in a while I’ve just been so busy. I knew my life would change after I had my final set of shots but I didn’t know it would change this much. It was a very busy week. Dad and I went to a different grocery store and they had a dog and cat aisle. Dad let me pick out a new toy for me and Julimae. I was so proud of my new toy that I carried it through the store right up until we saw Lauren. Lauren, who works at the store, is part of our puppy group and is Clyde’s mom. I took this opportunity to throw a fit about my Halti and started rolling on the floor trying to get it off my nose. Dad wasn’t too happy so we just went and paid for our stuff. The cashier wasn’t very happy about the soggy toy that Dad gave her but she still said I was cute.

Riding in Dad's car

The next night was really exciting. We went and watched my big brother’s play. Cruiser was a shining star up on stage. I still don’t know why it was called Guys and Dogs; Cruiser was the only dog on stage. I have to admit though that I slept through most of it. Mom and Dad woke me up whenever Cruiser was on stage so I could see him though.

Cruiser with Ashley and Kyle at Guys and Dogs

Then we went to a craft store the next night and just wandered around for about an hour. I liked it in there too. No one bothered me but they all looked at me and Julimae and said how pretty we were. I got tired at the end and tried to go to sleep every time we stopped to look at something.

The next night, Dad had to work at a Jazz game so I just stayed at home waiting for him to get home. He came home really late and told me good night and then fed me the next morning and got me ready to go to work with Mom. I’ll write more about that later. It is a story all by itself.





Pinch Me...

I must be dreaming!
Dad and Mitch took me to the store yesterday and it was the neatest thing. A whole store that sold nothing but food! Have I mentioned that I love food? In case you didn't know, I LOVE FOOD! Dad and Mitch just let me wander around with them as they shopped. I made sure to be on my best behavior because I want to go back a lot.

Silvana watching Mitch pick out something tasty

We got a lot of stares as we walked around doing our shopping. I heard kids asking why there was a dog in the store and some of the parents trying to explain it to them. A few kids tried to come pet me, I couldn't figure out why their dad didn't have THEM on a leash, I was better behaved than any of those kids. I heard one Mom explain to her son that I was a different kind of dog, one that you don't pet. I really liked what she said about me, she said that when I get big, I'm going to be someone's eyes. That made me feel special and I walked with my head held a little higher after that... it was that or the head collar. Dad thinks its the head collar but I know it was the compliment. There was also one girl that commented on how cute I was. She was strange, she stood there with her hands held to her face just shaking. I thought she was going to scream. But she didn't.

When we got back to the car, Dad took off my jacket and told me how proud he was of me. I got a feeling I'll be going back again.



My First Outing

I got to go out in public today! It was soooo much fun. First I had to get dressed so Dad selected an adorable green jacket for me to wear. Then we all got into the car and went to Coffee Creations, it is kind of a tradition because Mom knows the owner and all of the other guide dog puppies went there on their first outing. The ride to the shop was really neat because I got to ride with Julimae in the back of the car. Once we got to the shop I got to see Kyle, Rio and Snickers again. We were all wearing the same jacket and we all looked really good. We went in and I got to meet Cindy. I really loved the smell of the shop but I didn't like the slick floors, I fell down a few times because my paws slipped. Everyone thought that was funny. We then posed for pictures, but we just wanted to play once we were all together in a group so the pictures aren't that great.

Silvana and Cindy at the Coffee Shop

Next we all went to the puppy meeting and I got to meet more guide dog puppies. There was Clyde, Breeze, Keiko and Paris who is a career change dog. Mom ran the meeting and she wanted to work on toy and food distractions. This was really mean because I just love food and it was all over the place and I was expected to just walk past the food. Dad wasn't paying attention and I almost got a cracker but dad reminded me that I shouldn't pick up things that are on the ground and I dropped it. All of the other puppies were really good at ignoring the toys and food. They even sat down while they were surrounded by food and they all just left it on the ground like they should have. After puppy class, we brought Keiko home to stay with us and Julimae went to Keiko's house. Mom and Dad told me it was good for guide dogs to spend time at the home of the other puppies. I hope I get to go somewhere soon.

Waiting for Puppy Class to Start

Jolly Ball

Julimae, Cruiser and I went outside to play. It was the funnest time EVER! I started playing by jumping on Cruiser but didn't realize that he was using the bathroom so he got a little grouchy. Then I chased Julimae around the yard. Julimae taught me a new game, its called Jolly Ball. Here's how it works; Julimae swings the ball around by the rope and I get hit in the head. I didn't really like it too much but Julimae thought it was great. I changed the rules to the game a little later. The new way of playing Jolly Ball is to have Julimae carry the jolly ball and I bite her ears and see how long I can hang on. She didn't like that too much so we just played tug, even Cruiser joined in during the tug game.