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

Puppy Truck

The other day I got to go with Mitch and Mom to the puppy truck. I’ve never seen the puppy truck before because I came to Utah on an airplane. The truck had the biggest puppies that I had ever seen on the side of it. I’m glad they don’t live at my house because they would squash me when we play. The puppies that they took out of the truck were really small. It reminded me that I’m a big girl now. Everyone kept holding the puppies but I got to meet a couple of them. One lucky puppy got to eat right there in the parking lot. Me and Julimae and Breeze and Lacole watched him very carefully to make sure that he ate everything in the bowl. I offered to help but I was told that the puppy had everything under control. Julimae and I then said goodbye to everyone. We had to say a special goodbye to Breeze because she is going back to school to learn to be a guide. Julimae and I will miss Breeze but Dad says that we can keep track of her and Kyle on the list of friends that are in school.

We will get to see the new puppies at our meetings soon. Dad says that I have to be an example for the other pups and he would prefer it if I was a good example. I’ll see what I can do Dad. Welcome to Utah Hazelle and Stan. And a late welcome to Mozart, Athens, Roscoe and Tartan.

6 Months Old

Hey everyone, big news today, I’m 6 months old today. Dad said that he had a surprise for me today and this morning I found out what it was. Dad woke me up really early and took me out to take care of business and then I ate. After that, Dad made me sit with him and he took my collar off and he gave me my big girl collar! We had to adjust it a few times but we got it to fit me. It is so great to be wearing my new collar; it has a really cool decoration that has my ID and Guide Dogs for the Blind on it! I feel so official now.

Silvana in her Big Girl collar



That wasn’t the only thing that we had planned for the day. Dad took me out of the house at 6:00 this morning and we went on a walk. Only we didn’t keep going around the park, we crossed the street and walked down the other side. As we were walking, I saw other people lined up on the sidewalk and we got in line too. I didn’t know what we were waiting for but the people in the line were really nice and kept smiling at me and telling me I was cute and asking Dad about me. We talked for awhile and then a big bus showed up and the people started to get on. It was our turn and dad told me to go but I was already going. I jumped up the steps and said hello to the driver and then picked out a seat for us. It was a long ride and I was able to take a nap. Before I knew it, Dad was waking me up telling me that it was time to get ready. When the bus stopped, we walked down the aisle and I heard people saying what a good girl I was. We then caught another bus and it took us to the train station. Not the train I rode on before but a much bigger train. It was nice but we had to wait a long time for it to start moving. Once it did, it rumbled and woke me up. Dad said that everything was fine and I went back to sleep.

Silvana on the train on her way to meet grandma and grandpa

We got off of the train in a place called Layton and Dad made a call to someone he was calling Mom. I thought Mom was going to come and get us but a different car came with an older lady in it. Dad opened the door and told me to get in. I didn’t know the lady but I thought she needed kisses so I gave her some. She laughed and told Dad to get this dog off of me. We drove to her house and I figured out that the woman was grandma that Julimae told me about. Then I got to meet grandpa, he really liked me and I liked him. Grandpa kept calling me buddy and chasing my paw with his foot. Both grandma and grandpa told me what a good looking dog I was and how well behaved I was. Dad told them that I was just tired and that was the reason I was being good. I was being good because Dad told me that I had to be good and I didn’t want to disappoint him. When we left, grandpa said that I would have to come back again and to bring Julimae with me.

Our girl at grandma and grandpa's house

On our way home I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until we were in Salt Lake again. Dad told me that we had one more stop and it would be a quick one. I didn’t know that it would be where Dad works during the day. I was pretty excited and I got to meet some people that Dad works with but I didn’t get a chance to try coffee. Dad is hoping that we can go out again and so am I.

Carnival and Puppy Evals

I live in a pretty fun city. We have a big party, called Pony Express Days, every year that lasts a whole week. They have concerts and food and carnivals and food and cookouts and food and helicopter rides and food. This year they even had a rodeo and crunch car derby. We didn’t go but Dad explained them to me. He said that cowboys, who are men with big belt buckles, ride on huge overgrown cows. He told me that the crunch car derbies are where cars get into accidents on purpose. When I have an accident, it usually involves Mom or Dad taking out a poop bag. I can’t imagine that a person would make their car have an accident on purpose. Those must be some pretty big poop bags.

Dad took me on a walk to our park only this time we didn’t just walk around it on the sidewalk. He took me on the grass to the carnival and we walked around through the food booths and games but didn’t go by the rides. There were people all over the park and everyone was having a really good time. I was taken away with all of the noise and excitement but I still followed my commands and showed people I was a good girl. When we got away from the games we walked toward the most wonderful smell ever. Dad told me it was barbeque. I didn’t get to have any but I sure liked it there and I didn’t want to leave. Good thing for me that the Captain of the fire department came out and talked with Dad. It gave me a chance to soak up some more of those wonderful smells. The Captain invited us to visit the firehouse and Dad asked if we could bring all of the other puppies and the Captain said that we could. After we left the wonderful smell of the barbeque, we stopped and watched a boy sing a song. He wasn’t very good but I wagged when he was finished to make him feel like he had done a good job. When we got home, Dad told me what a good girl I was and took Julimae to the park for her turn.

The day after the carnival; Julimae and I had to go to puppy evals. I got to meet Barb. Barb was supposed to have given me to Mom, Dad and Mitch when I first got to Utah, but things change and I had to fly instead. Barb was very nice and greeted us as we came through the door. I was told to be on my very best behavior so I didn’t jump on her and give her kisses like I do when my family comes home. We waited and Jacinda, Antigua, Keiko and Mozart, who is new to our club, joined us. I was tired and fell asleep but I heard my name and woke up. They were talking about what a good girl I was and things where I needed to improve. After we were finished, we went on a walk and that was pretty fun. I got to play dance, dance revolution and sit with Dad in a racecar game in the arcade. We won both games, or at least I think we did, everyone was really happy after we stopped playing.  We then went on top of this big scary grate and walked on the curb near traffic and the train that I rode on the week before. Then we went up these stairs that scared me. I didn’t want to go but Dad said that it was OK and I went…Twice. Once I got up to the landing, I got to look over the side at everyone. I could see that Mom and Julimae were really proud of me.

Dad was really happy and he said that he had a special treat for me on Tuesday. That is the day I turn six months old. I don’t know what we have planned but I know I will have fun.

Public Transportation

Mom and Dad took me and Julimae on the train. Dad said that I handled it like a pro but I do have to say that the train did scare me just a little. We got to the lot and Julimae and I took care of our business and we headed to the train platform to buy Mom’s ticket. After we got Mom’s ticket, we went to the train and the doors opened with this strange high pitch noise. It kind of hurt my ears. Dad went up the stairs first and told me “let’s go” but the stairs were really steep and I was a little afraid of them. Once I got going I was fine. Dad and I found a nice seat for everyone. I wanted to relax during the ride but Julimae wanted to look around. As Julimae was looking around, she stepped on my ears a few times, which made it hard to sleep. At each stop, some people got on the train and some people got off the train. I wagged at everyone to tell them hi or goodbye. When we got to our stop, we got off and I got to see where Dad works at night. It looks just like it does on TV. Julimae had been there before but she wasn’t very excited about it because she doesn’t watch basketball like I do.

We then went to the Mall which made Mom and Julimae happy. While we were waiting to cross the street, we saw another guide dog puppy in training going into the mall. We caught up to them and found out that it was Paulson from the Park City group. I wagged and wagged and wanted to play but Dad told me “that’s enough” and I knew that I had to sit and be good. We then wandered around the mall for a little bit and Dad took us to the water deck and we played in the water for as long as we could before we had to leave.

Silvana at the Gateway



After we got on the train for the ride home, Julimae and I were just too tired to care what was going on around us and we took a nap until it was time to get off the train. I used Mom’s foot as a pillow and Julimae used me as a pillow. It was a pretty fun day.

Our tired girls sacked out on the train

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