back on the streets....

Thursday, we were back at NEADS for our monthly check in with Dave (yes, already!!!) It's always fun to go down and I look forward to it each time. Not only do we get the look over of the current pups, but we get the updates of the turned-in pups.. and there was news about Norton. First off, it's this a neat drawing of him... it was done by his handler in the prison... and I think it really "captures" the personality of my muppet dog. Sadly, the news of Norton was not exactly happy, he has been dropped from the training program... because his hips did not pass the medical exam. This is a sad report for sure. Training wise, and personality wise Norton "had it"... and then with is non shedding coat, he was a desirable dog for many clients of NEADS... However, he was not long on the adoption list. Dave, our head trainer, has decided to adopt him!!! So, not only will Norton be a great family pet, he will be accompanying Dave at his training classes, and other type demos. Maybe Norton won't be a service dog, but he certainly will continue to be a good ambassador for the service dogs and will be well loved by his new family. (and I got a chance to say hello to him and gave him a big hug!!!)  

And for the current puppies in training, it was hit the streets of the city once again. The day was overcast, but the city was still hot and full of the activity that it always is. Everyone is progressing well... we got our "usual" excellent progress report.

We popped into the train station... talked with Dave, shared some stories and the doggies practiced unders....

And the ever famous stair work. Believe me, by the time you have hiked up and down them a "million times" so you can work the dog.... you get a pretty good work out yourself. No one ever said that service puppy work was for the lazy!!!!!

This is Vickie... she has been raised by June who is in Mass. But Vickie needed to do a puppy swap, so she is "home" in Maine with us right now. I took a little time to work with her and here we are doing an under. Vickie did quite well, wearing the back pack instead of the vest, gives the dogs another type of work out.

We were also joined with Lorna who currently has Bogey's sister - Rayvan... she's a little cutie pie, and it was neat to get a picture of the siblings together. Both of them are a little small for "goldens", but Bogey seems huge next to his sister!!!! (and they both did quite well in the city!!!)

OK.. so I'll fess up to this part of the story. When we met in the morning, we had to decide if we travel in one vehicle or two. I opted for one, because it's just so much fun for all of us to be together. The others, weren't so sure, traveling together put four humans and four dogs in one car. But, I guess I convinced them, because we all piled into the jeep. I didn't think about the return trip though... because coming back we had another dog with us (Vickie) plus all our supplies (ie: bags of dog food) ..so we all squished big time... five dogs, four humans, 3 huge bags of food.... it was quite interesting and we headed home quickly. Guess it will be two vehicles from now on!!!! But over all, just another fun day in the world of service puppy training...

And paying a visit to the puppy house.... the future looks bright....