Helper's Graduation

I arrived in San Diego Thursday afternoon with two friends and fellow Puppy Raisers Marsha and Becca.  Marsha was turning her dog (Nessie) in for Advance Training after graduation.  When I walked into the lobby of our hotel I had a great surprise...Helper and her new partner (Nicole) were waiting for me!!!!  When Nicole gave the "release" command Helper ran to me and showered me with puppy kisses!  It was so nice to see her and have her remember me.  After we were done greeting each other,  Nicole took Helper outside where she was reunited with Nessie.  It was so nice to see these two best friends together again!  The picture below is of them cuddling in the hotel room.  It was so thoughtful of Nicole to bring Helper over to the hotel.   Plus it gave us a chance to get acquainted.  She is very nice and most importantly, she loves Helper as much as I do! 

Friday morning Canine Companions for Independence hosted a brunch for graduates and the puppy raisers of graduating dogs (the dogs do not attend the brunch).  I was lucky to have Becca and my good friend Pam come down from LosAngeles to share this experience with me.  It was a very emotional session because you get a chance to hear graduates tell how important the dogs are to their lives.  After brunch the graduates check out of their accomodations and puppy raisers go to the training room to get the dog that they raised.  This is a fun session because the dogs are so excited to seen their puppy raisers for the first time in 6 months!  The picture below is of Helper and me greeting each other in the training room.  This was actually our second meeting but it was still very fun!  After a little bit of time together, the Puppy Raisers take the dogs to the convention center for graduation.  Pam offered to drive and on the way out another couple from Texas (Cheryl and Dick) with their graduate dog Tulah asked for a ride.  We crammed five adults (one of whom did not do well in tight spaces!) and two large dogs in Pam's Lexus sedan...it was a riot!   Thank you Pam for being such a good sport!  I am sure she will be removing dog hair from her car until June! 

When we got to the convention center another very good friend (Jena) from Southern, California joined us for the ceremony!  The graduates sit on one side of the auditorium and the Puppy Raisers and dogs sit on the other side of the auditorium.  When the new graduate team was announced (Nicole and Helper) I walked Helper up onto the stage and handed the lease over to Nicole.  It is very emotional but since Nicole and Helper had spent time with me the day prior at the hotel, it was not too bad.  

This is Helper's graduation picture with Nicole!  I think Helper looks much more mature than she did six months ago.  I am very happy that she will be going to work with Nicole in the DA office.  I am confident that Helper will provide comfort and support to many people in the stressful legal and/or courthouse environment!

After graduation Nicole took Helper to SanDiego where they spent the evening before catching their Saturday morning flight back to Texas.  Nicole sent me this picture of Helper in her hotel room with her graduation gifts.  Good night Helper...you are a graduate Facility Dog tonight and I am very proud of you!

This pic below is from Helper's first day at the office (2/18/14) and all the excitement from the morning has worn her out!  Luckily Nicole has a beautiful new dog bed in her office so Helper can catch an afternoon nap before resuming her duties!

I am thrilled to say that Nicole plans to keep in touch with me!  In fact she has invited me to come down and meet her family and work associates next month in Nacogdoches.   I may even be able to help her out once in a while by puppy siting Helper.  Consequently, I will leave Helper's blog open in the event I can share success stories from her new job with Nicole.

Thank you very much for following Helper's story as a CCI Puppy!!!  It has been a wonderful experience and I will always hold a special spot in my heart for Miss Helper.  She taught me how great a dog can be and I plan to do it again very soon...stay tuned for news on puppy #2!

Carol

The Match "Held"...Helper Graduates on Valentines Day!!!!

I got the call from Canine Companions for Independence today...Helper is going to graduate on Friday!!!  The preliminary match held and she is going to work for the DA's office in Nacogdoches, Texas!  Helper will comfort people who are victims of crime and/or who are having to testify on difficult cases.

Helper's new family consist of a Mom and Dad plus two children ages 8 and 10!  Their home sits on 110 acres of land and they have horses, goats, chickens etc.  She hit the puppy lottery!

This picture was taken when Helper was 9 months old.  My friend Terri introduced Helper to the two donkey and horses on a ranch in North Texas.  Helper also spent time with horses and goats when she visited CCI puppy Rozlynn in Greenville, Texas.  She loved all of these animals so I know Helper will  have a great life in Nacogdoches!

I will provide more information after I get back from graduation.  I am looking forward to seeing Helper and meeting her new family.   Wish me luck...it is going to be a very emotional day!  :-)

The Preliminary Match Was Made Today!

I got the call I was waiting for from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) this morning...Helper was matched to be a Facility Dog!  It is considered preliminary because Helper's new partner will spend 24 hours a day with her from today until next weeks graduation.  This Tuesday CCI will tell me if the match "held" over the weekend.  If it does Helper will graduate on Valentines Day!  What I know about Helper's new person is that she is a 43 year old woman with a husband and two children.  I am so happy that Helper will be living with a family!!!!

I have had several questions about "what a Facility dog does" so I will attempt to clarify it here.  As I have mentioned in previous blog entries, CCI places four types of assistance dogs.  They are 1)  Facility Dogs (partner and dog), 2)  Service Dogs (disabled partner and dog), 3)  Skilled Companion (team of disabled person, caregiver and dog) and 4)  Hearing Assistance Dogs (non hearing partner and dog).  A Facility dog goes to work with their partner in a Heath Care, Educational or Visitation setting.  As an example, Helper could become a courthouse dog and help put people (many time children) at ease prior to or during a trail.  She could go to work in a health care setting where patients are encourages to walk her or brush her to improve their physical strength.  In an educational setting she could go to work with a teacher of autistic children where they are encouraged to communicate with Helper and rewarded by being able to give her treats.  The possibilities are endless!

I am thrilled about her match because Helper is a very social dog and these jobs will give her a chance to touch many people everyday!  Additionally, at the end of a work day she will go home with her partner to a family which I am sure will love her as much as I do!

I will give a quick update next week when I hear back from CCI about the match.  In the meantime, take a look at Miss Helper when she was about 8 weeks old in my back yard...too cute!

Helper has finished Advance Training in California!

I am happy to announce that Helper finished Advance Training at CCI's Southwest Region office in Oceanside, California today!  Less than 4 out of 10 dogs make it through advance training.  Consequently, I am very proud of Helper for completing the six month program!

Helper will be attending the upcoming two week Team Training that starts on Monday February 3rd in Oceanside.  During team training candidates for Service Dogs, Skilled Companions and Facility Dogs will learn how to handle and care for these highly trained dogs.  There will be more dogs taken to team training than are actually needed for the class of candidates.  This is done so that CCI's instructors can have the perfect dog for each candidate.  On Thursday February 6th the preliminary dog-person match will be announced and I will get a call to let me know if Helper was matched with someone.  At that time I will send out another update.  Go Helper!!!!

Fourth Puppy Report from CCI

I received Helper's last progress report from CCI's southwest regional office today.  It contained this note..."Bearing any unforeseen circumstances, Helper will rotate through team training".  This is wonderful news!!!!   When a dog goes to team training they are considered a fully trained assistance dog...they have made it through Puppy College!  Helper's friend Tulah (another Texas dog) is also going through Team Training in February.  Way to go girls!!!  The pic that follows was taken during an outing with Marsha at Cottonwood Art Festival.  Tulah is on the right and Helper is on the left. They were pretty young in this photo...both less than a year old.

Team training takes place during the first two weeks of February in Oceanside, California. CCI will take more dogs than they need to team training so that they have the perfect dog for the people who are there to find a special dog partner.  As an example, the February class could have 10 people looking for dogs and CCI could bring 12-15 dogs to the team training session.  During the first week of team training the class learns how to handle/care for a service dog and CCI observes how they interact with various dogs.  By the end of the first week preliminary people/dog matches are made.  During the second week the decision is made if the people/dog match works or if they need to make adjustments.  If adjustments are needed some dogs are moved to different people.

Since CCI has taken more dogs than they need to team training there are always a few dogs left after team training.  These dogs are either released, held over for the next team training in May or placed with someone in a "side placement".  A "side placement" is used when someone is getting a second or third CCI dog to replace a retiring dog.  In these cases the person getting the dog does not need two weeks of training to learn how to handle and care for their dog.

P.S.  Helper turned 2 years old on January 5th.  Happy Birthday Miss Helper!!!!