You never know what kind of talents you're going to have. Who'd guess a five-month-old Lab puppy would know how to write? I didn't know that I knew anything to do with a keyboard except sniff it. Maybe chew around the edges a little.
I thought I had my life figured out when I came to Colorado in July. I was two months old, more or less. My people were very nice, loving folks. They told me I was going to be a Canine Companions for Independence service dog - they hoped. That means that, if I pass all my training, I'll get a very special owner and help him or her do neat stuff.
Actually, my plans were different. I had planned to play all day long and be the boss of everybody. Not so, I guess.
So they started teaching me manners. They taught me how to sit and stay and sleep in a crate. They taught me to sit beside them (on the floor) while they ate dinner. They give me lots of time to play. And I like to play! I like to be the boss of playing.
I'm not sure what happened then, but somebody got sick (not me). So I lived with some neat folks who puppy-sat me (they didn't sit on me - they took care of me) for a good two weeks.
Then today they put me in their car and drove east a long, long way into the country. At the end of the trip there was a strange man waiting. I didn't know whether to like him or not. But he had puppy treats in his pocket so I liked him. He put me in his car. (Am I thankful? Yes! I've heard about some dogs who get out of their cars in the country... and are left there all alone. Yikes.) We drove a long, long, loooong way again. Then he said, "Welcome to your new home."
We were at a brick house with a nice back yard. I like back yards. My new PR Mom was there, and she had puppy treats, too. I got to sniff and play and sniff some more. Then she put a leash on me and asked me to do some things. I wanted to keep playing. So then she told me to do some things. I remembered those treats and did the things.
So this is my new home. There are creatures here I've never seen before. Birds I know. Deer I know. Squirrels I know. These dudes have long tails and pointy ears like squirrels, but they have longer legs and the tails don't curl up, and instead of saying, "CHK CHK CHK," they say, "MEE-YOW." They even come inside my new house! I don't know if I like them or not.
It isn't all different! I still have my yellow cape. I still have that Gentle Leader (sigh). I still have a leash. Some things never change for a CCI pup.
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I was raised as a Canine Companions for Independence puppy, but now my career is going in a different direction. I'm a therapy dog! Rrrrrowlf! (That's dog for woo-hoo!)
6 comments:
Mom, your have a twisted sense of humor...
Kelda, I think you are a great writer.I look forward to hearing from you often. I am a blogger fanatic. You'll enjoy all the friends you will meet this way.
When you go with your new family you can get Mary to have your blog entries put in a book by Blurb.com.
Mary's close friend,
Cindy
I'm having vague recollections of Buster's obituary as I read this and trying to explain my mother- the animal whisperer- to my college friends. Hope Kelda does well.
Kelda,
If you can write then I know you can read, too. Please try to remember to explain things to readers who don't know about CCI puppies. Like, what's a "PR Mom"? What's a "Gentle Leader?" The more you tell people the more they'll want to read what you have to say.
I hope you blog regularly! I read a blogger who blogs Every.Single.Day. But I bet you'll be too busy for that.
Your "PR Mom's" mom,
Elizabeth
This is a test.
Pam and Steve
Hi Kelda,
We typed you a long letter on your blog a few minutes ago, but it did not publish...so, here we go again! Sorry it took us so long to see your blog! Sounds like you are still a spunky girl. We are happy you have such a good family and we know you are being a good girl most of the time.
We are still grappling with Steve's Dad's illnesses and making periodic trips to Missouri. Steve's Dad's dogs wish they could have met you. We are sure you would have kicked their farm-dog butts.
The house seems very empty without you, but we know your new PRs are great and you will be a wonderful CCI dog. We miss your response to the unofficial command "kisses", we miss you laying on our feet under the kitchen table during meals, your long "conversations" all throughout the day...never did figure out what it was you were trying to say! Yeah, we miss you a lot.
It sounds like you are having some issues with stairs. I don't know if this will help your PRs or not, but when you lived with us you were leary of the stairs at first, but then would bound up and down them, no problem. However, you did have big issues with the deck outside leading to the stairs. You would come to the sliding glass door, do a Wait, Release, and then bound for the stairs as quickly as your legs would carry you. When you had finished hurrying you would come up the stairs and literally hug the wall to the slider and be very relieved to get in the house. Many times I would carry you outside on the deck (you quaking with fear)and sit with you in a chair trying to get you over your fear. You would finally settle down, but the second I put you down you would bolt for the door. Our guess was that you did NOT like looking through the railing on the second floor deck and looking down...just a guess.
You probably don't remember it, but one day we took you to the park in Ridgway for a walk. Steve was loosely (big mistake...) holding on to your leash as we walked. You took full advantage of that and took off like greased lightening for parts unknown and the least flew out of Steve's hands. He knew if he ran for you he would never catch you so he ran and literally did a dive onto the grass, landing on your leash and bringing you up short! He didn't know he could move that fast at
61,I'm sure!
We will watch your blog closely now and monitor your progress. Many thanks to your PRs for stepping up to the plate to help us out of a very stressful situation. Finding you another home was a very difficult decision for us - we had your best interests and the interests of your intended "person" in mind when we made the decision. No hard feelings, Kelda? Hope not. We look at your puppy pictures daily.
Pam and Steve
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