I'm Back!

Some of you may remember me, but for those who don't...allow me to introduce myself. I am Josette, the most beautiful German Shepherd you will ever encounter. I am coming up on 19 months old (the 27th in case you want to send me cookies). I am Mom's newest pet-HAHA Irie, you are old news now! Anyway, to back track a bit...Mom raised me, like she did with Irie, until I was 7 months old. Then I went to live with my dad. He was cool and I had an awesome sister, Donna, but I still missed my mom. She came to see me every once in a while and I would lose my mind I was so excited! Well, a few weeks ago I went to the vet. They made me go to sleep for a while, and when I woke up my tummy hurt and Dr. S told me I wasn't a guide dog pup anymore. That was alright with me, I wasn't that into it anyway. Apparently my hips and elbows aren't good...whatever I think they are fantastic. And they work just fine, see:


So, a few days ago Mom came to Dad's house to visit...or so I thought. I gave her my usual exhuberant greeting and was surprised when she brought out a leash and collar. She put them on me and then I got into her car. Could it be possible? Could I really be going with her? Sure enough I was! She took me back to my puppy house and told me I can stay for good!!!! Now I get to sleep on the bed, get yummy treats (like cheese last weekend for having my nails done), and I even have a little sister to boss around. Not to mention my new back yard and new spiffy collar. Life doesn't get much better than that!




So I won't take over Irie's blog too much, but I thought I at least owed you all an explanation. Hopefully she'll let me post every once in a while, though. You do deserve the real story, you know?

My Trip

Well, we're finally back from our Christmas family visit. While the two yellows went on their own vacations, I got to stay with the family. Mom said that I am "travel-sized" which I think is a nice way of saying I am small. It took us three days to drive out there, but only two to get home. Either way it meant a lot of car time for me!


We left the day after Christmas (Friday) and drove about 3 hours where we stopped, I ate dinner, and then they left me in the car. After about an hour or so they came back, walked me, and then we hit the road again. The next time we stopped was at our hotel. I LOVE hotels! The whole family is in one room and I get to jump between two big beds! I think that was my favorite part :)



On Saturday we got up really early and got back in the car. We spent the whole day driving with a few breaks where Mom ran me around the rest areas. Later that night, we got to our next hotel which was even better than the first one! Mom slept on the floor that night, but I still got the bed-HAHA!

On Sunday we got to sleep in a little before leaving in the car again. This time we just went in the car a little bit before we got to our family's house. I went there a few summers ago, so I knew the rules-dogs in the basement! Mom and Grandma made sure someone was down there with me all the time and the house where we actually stayed let me go everywhere. We went for a long walk after we unloaded the car and then I had to go in my kennel, but I got a peanut butter-and-cookie Kong so I was glad to do so!

Every day from Monday to Thursday I went on a long walk in the morning. Then we would usually go to the basement place for the rest of the day. It wasn't too bad, especially since I had my walks before.

On Thursday we got back in the car for a few hours before we got to our third, and final, hotel.


Bright and early on Friday we headed out. We got home just in time for dinner and then Mom went and got Indiana. I was so happy to see my best pal again! Unfortunately today that little brat, I mean Fay, came back. At least she is tired from her vacation and is leaving me to my marrow bone...

Happy New Year!

I thought I would recap my 2008 for everyone to help enter into the new year.

January

In January I completed Phase 2 of guide dog training. This is what my trainer Jean had to say about me:

Irie is a bright girl who is a quick learner. She has good drive and initiative which also correlates to a high level of distraction and desire to chase. She has however developed a very nice focus while she is working and she is very accurate in her work. Irie is body sensitive and this sometimes causes her to react to the harness. She also tends to stiffen and shy away from physical contact. Irie is impulsive on leash. She finds it difficult to remain composed around other animals. Irie is currently living with both Skip and Atkins who are male black Labs.

February

In February I zipped through both Phase 3 and 4. I was also deemed class-ready and Mom kept her fingers crossed for a March or April graduation. This is what Jean said that report:

Irie has continued to do very well in training. She is a bright girl who learns quickly. She has developed an excellent work pattern. She has good initiative and readily problem solves. Irie's level of animal distraction is high and this can cause her to deviate from her work. The distraction is even more noticeable on leash as she becomes a control problem. Irie has shown a sensitivity to noise and traffic, however thus far it has not interfered with her work. Irie has only to finish with a couple of exposure items before she will be ready for class.

March

So I didn't make class this month. Mom didn't hear any news on me either :(

April

Happy Birthday to me! I turned 2 this month. I celebrated with a brand new trainer-Kate. She was so awesome and thought I was just too cute! Here's what she said about me:

Irie has been passed to us in Special Needs to spend a little extra time in training, so she can work on a few areas without any time pressure. She is such a sweet girl and very bright. I have enjoyed getting to know her during this training period.

She has improved a lot in self-control around distractions from her previous reports. She is still interested in these distractons--especially animals, like other dogs--but at this point she does not present a control problem. We are supporting and rewarding her for this self-control, and I would like to see it continue as we change our handling to mimic a GD user rather than a GD trainer. In addition we are continuing to work on walking over manhole covers, which she does fairly willingly at this point.

Irie lives with a cute little black lab male named Gus, who she really likes a lot. For a short time she and Gus were part of a large 4-dog run. Whenever Gus came back from training (far more so than when the other dogs would come back) Irie would be SO happy to see him, would want to run around with him, etc. Cute!!

May

I still hadn't found my perfect match yet, but everyone had their fingers crossed for me. The best thing happened at the end of May-Mom came to work at my school! I was so happy to see her, but I often cried at night when she walked out of the kennels without me.

June

I continued to do well in my training. I got another new trainer this month, Graham. He found the perfect person for me, who would be coming in August to get me. Until then, I got to go work with Graham and my roomie, Sancho, everyday.

July

My last guide dog workout was in the beginning of July. A big scary monster tried to eat Graham and I while we were out working and I protected us by going backwards a few feet and into a restaurant. While Graham appreciated my help, he guessed that my person would not appreciate it quite so much. He told Mom and she snatched me out of the kennels as soon as she could. She was disappointed that I wouldn't be a guide dog, but she sure was happy to have me home. I loved my new brother, Keller, although he only stayed a week and I was especially happy to see my Indiana again.




August

In August Mom and my time at school was coming to a end, but we still enjoyed our time there by doing lots of swimming, off-leash work, and we fostered a dog from the kennels. He let me boss him around which was great and we even attended our pal Farrell's birthday party together.


At the end of August, Mom and I went back to her school. I had a blast staying at her apartment and enjoying being a pet.


September

I spent this whole month with Mom. We went to the park a lot and I thoroughly enjoyed the college lifestyle of sleeping in late (especially now that I could sleep in bed).




I also took my first and probably only attempt at dock diving. It was a fun day, but I did not enjoy the actual diving part of it.



I also met my friend Yara. We had such a great day together!


At the end of the month we went on a road trip to visit Aunt Wendy. It was a long trip but with all the swimming I did, it was so worth it!





October

Fay arrived in October which meant I had to go live with Grandma and Grandpa. I love being here, but I miss Mom.


We also attended Walkathon. It was such a blast!


November

In November I stayed with Mom and Fay for a little bit. I got to meet my half-sister, Kylie. She is pretty cool!


December

In December Mom and Fay came home. Not before the little brat opened all my Secret Santa presents...


We also got our first real snows, which I LOVE!


And that brings us to our Christmas trip (see separate post) and the New Year. Wow, what a year I've had, huh?

Pill Day

Don't forget your pill today!

Merry Christmas!

SNOW!!!

Mom and that little brat...I mean Fay, came home last week. And then they left again...And then they came back. I was so confused, but Mom told me they are here to stay for a whole month! This weekend was the best ever. My pals Hattie and Edna came for a sleepover AND it snowed, what more could I ask for?


Thursday is my first Christmas as a pet. I can't wait for all my presents! It's hard to think that last year at this time I was hanging out with my pals in training and now I never have to leave my mom again. On Friday, we are going on a Christmas road trip. I am the only pup going, so I will be spoiled rotten by the family :)

Pill Day

Don't forget your pill today!