We Know Drama! Or, Ansel's Report!

We heard from Tonya, Ansel's trainer today.

Ansel's intestinal problems appear to be getting better. They have been giving him B-12 shots and just took him off Metamucil. Poor dog has had an internal problem of one sort or another since the day we brought him home. As long as he continues to get better, she said he will be moved into Team Training (wahoooo)! Tonya said she's enjoyed training him and he has a great work ethic. He always pops up in the kennel when she enters to see if it's his turn to practice. She said that he is "high energy" when off duty and they will take this into consideration when determining a placement for him.

Along those lines...there are 12 candidates coming to Team Training and just 14 dogs. IF he can "get well" then his chances of making a match are good. She did say that he is adaptable enough that she could see him working well regardless of the category (service, skilled companion, facility). If placed as a facility dog, she did say that he would work best as an "active, task-oriented" dog, rather than one that is used more for petting and to have a calm presence. Yes, that sounds like our Ansel!

Maybe he WILL be placed with a Facility Team, continuing the great work of our much beloved and missed Jeb, for years to come! But we won't be disappointed, regardless of his career path!

Maybe...I'll be on the board one day...

Update! Update! Update!

We've been in touch with CCI recently because our "little guy" hasn't been feeling well. You know that we have had concerns about Ansel's medical condition since day 1, what with his cyclical vomiting...this recent concern has affected, ah, the other end. Anywho, we've been appreciative of his trainer, Tonya, keeping us up-to-date on how he's faring. So...we wanted to share this latest email from her with all of you!

"Ansel seems to be on the mend (let's keep fingers crossed). We did a (removed for the faint-of heart). We have him on antibiotics to treat the infection, b12 supplements and a product to aid in digestion health. Hopefully this will do the trick.

You might be wondering how this has effected training. He is continuing to do well learning the commands and is still a little rowdy in the exercise yard. Our biggest concern at this time is the loose stool. We will see how he responds to treatment when considering placement this February Team Training."

Come on, little guy, get well!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 2nd birthday to Mr. Ansel!

Here's a pic from his 1st birthday, giving a high five to his peeps.

Ansel's Monthly Report!

We were on pins and needles today, waiting to hear from Ansel's trainer! She says that Ansel continues to progress with the commands, that he is doing well and she enjoys working with him. She said that he seems to have a nice responsiveness to correction and motivation. She has some concerns about about, ah, the evacuation product and is watching that. He was noted to have the same behaviors as last month...anxiety, whining, forging, rough play with other dogs, licking (what a surprise!--NOT!)and a few others. Our next progress report, assuming Ansel continues to do well, will be an actual telephone call on January 25. Graduation is slated for February 17th--NOTE! NOT February 10th. CCI has had conflicting dates regarding this graduation ceremony!

For fun: one of my favorite pictures with Ansel!

What I am Working Toward...Meet Crisp!

OK, so I am a truant today! But the black market here (don't ask...pig ears, ice cubes, and fuzzy beds are popular items) just delivered this news, and I had to share. It is so motivating, so inspiring, and it makes being here at boot camp so worth it...if I can just be like Crisp!

Crisp was graduating just as I turned in last August, so I got to see him work with his person. And SWMBO and TBG got to talk with him and his peeps too!

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111120/NEWS01/111210310/Dog-makes-life-easier-boy-CP?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Look at Me!

Geezopetes everyone! I mean, I love it here and everything, but it is a bit like boot camp. No time to breathe, much less sneak away to talk with my adoring fans! Speaking of adorable, the puparazzi snuck in a few weeks ago and managed to catch a few shots of me. Here they are!

Gotta run!

Ansel is...a Dog!

Several of our friends traveled to Delaware, Ohio this past week. It was Putnam's time to turn in. He will be missed!

While they were there, they had an opportunity to play with Chloe and Ansel, both of whom are now second-semester PITs (along with Dembre!).

Our friends reported that Ansel looked great, wriggled and wriggled when he saw them, seemed adjusted and very happy. My favorite description was when one of our friends said he was "light-of-foot." I've held on to that as a great comfort.

Anyway, Mark and I were stunned when we saw pictures of our puppy...ahhh...dog. See what YOU think!

WOW, the good news keeps on rolling in!

We received Ansel's November report today. He continues to do fine with his advanced training. He's learning how to turn light switches on and off along with all the other commands he's learned since arriving at Canine College.

He's recovered from his surgery and seems to be loving his new life and surroundings. We heard through the grapevine that both Ansel and Chloe looked great and that new pictures are to arrive soon. Deb and I can't wait!!

Congrats to the dynamic duo of Ansel & Chloe. Keep up the good work you two, we continue to be very proud of you both!

Wall of Fame

We finally got around to adding to our wall of fame.

Marty - the most valued substitute puppy raiser and creator of the Magical Peanut Butter Treats, made us a great needle point of Ansel just before turn in (with the blue ribbon hanging on it).

and

Lisa - a KSDS volunteer puppy raiser and amateur photographer extraordinaire gave us the mounted picture that she took at the lake last summer.

Thanks so much to you both! They are great additions to the Wall of Fame.

Eat your heart out Ansel!

Months ago a new donut shop was about to open in Manhattan. It was advertising Maple Bacon Donuts and we snapped this picture of Ansel drooling on the window.

It finally opened and Deb brought home a sample. OMG, it is THE most delicious donut ever to grace this planet!!

Sorry Ansel, wish you were here to partake, but don't feel bad...Carver liked it.

October report is in.

Ansel's still hanging in there, learning new commands and being the happy dog that he is! He was neutered and has recuperated from the surgery. He got to work with the trainer in a wheel chair this month (not that he hadn't done that before). The only negative things to pop up are that he seems to be protecting food and toys which is new and he's been playing rough with other dogs (probably my fault there).

The trainer wrote:

"Ansel had a little bit of rest from training due to recovery from his neuter. While he has had some vomiting and (removed for the faint-of-heart) he has had the same upbeat personality as usual. His training is progressing without difficulty. He continues to bark and whine out of excitement and sometimes gets a little rough out in the exercise yard. We will continue to progress with his advanced training commands over the next month, focusing on the retrieve and tug."

Keep up the good work little man, we are very proud of you.

Time's Up, Youngster!

And stop calling me Yoda!

Geez, young'uns, I tell ya! Carver and I managed to sneak out of the kennel. It wasn't easy, but we were extra motivated. The office was totally rockin' yesterday, and one of the staff left their computer on at the end of the day! Well, I was drawn to it like a moth to flame, as you can well imagine. But, being the generous soul that I am, I showed Carver how to use the computer first and let him do a practice post. It wasn't terrible for a first try. I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I am quite afraid writing skills are not as appreciated by the CCI trainers as they should be.

Who's Carver? Well, Carver and I have become acquainted over the last few days. He's awfully young and naive, and I have felt it necessary to take him under my paw a bit. You see, he's just 8 weeks old, a Lab Cross, and pretty needy. He keeps asking me all of these questions about my life, and what I've done, and how I got here. It's quite annoying, actually, but I feel like I have to be polite and indulge him. Anyway, he just loved all of my stories, and I am a bit embarassed to say that I think he has a bit of a hero complex about me. He started just begging me to help him get over to the Sellers' household so that he could follow in my pawsteps.

My pawsteps! Humph! I had to set that whippersnapper straight and tell him about the real pawsteps that ALL CCI pups aspire to fill--those of Jeb, the Graduate Dog Extraordinaire! So, of course, he was FULL of questions about him. I did my best to share Jeb's legend with the youngster. I think that was a mistake, because then he was even more insistent that he just had to get to Kansas! At first there was NO WAY I was going to let this insistent, impertinent, know-nothing-of-a-puppy carry on with TBG and SWMBO. But, Dembre heard us talking and chimed in that he heard TBG was missing me quite a bit, and that softened my heart...

Well, I can't give away all of our secrets here, but suffice it to say that I have arranged to have Carver II shipped to the Sellers' household on Monday. I just hope that TBG is up for THIS challenge!

And, if you REALLY want to find out more about the young grasshopper, go to http://www.carvercci.blogspot.com.

CARVER, NO! Get off the scanner! (Have fun, TBG!)

September Report Is In

Good news and bad news today.

Good news is that Ansel is still in training. He seems to be doing well, is willing to learn and is trainable. His trainer will start working on his commands using a wheel chair next month. He exhibits some of the same behaviors that he did with us, like pulling on the leash and whining, but apparently not so much as to warrant release.

Bad news is that he was not chosen to be a breeder and will be neutered. He obviously was not paying attention when I explained how his life COULD be! Oh well, not like that comes as a surprise.

Overall, we're happy that he's doing OK and still in the program....for now.

Looking Forward to Wednesday

Well, the Human-Animal Bond Conference is over and now it is time to look forward to Wednesday...when we will receive Ansel's next progress report (assuming he is not released between now and then!) His trainer will send us a standardized form with her ratings and comments. The one question we are most interested in seeing the answer to is the one that asks, "Do you want to see more of this dog?"--meaning: "Do you think this dog should go into the breeding program?" Although this rating in and of itself won't determine Ansel's future as a potential stud, it is the first hoop that he has to clear to move onward.

So stay tuned!

Ansel and his studly self...

Human-Animal Bond Conference

Natural Disasters... What about the Animals?

FREE AND WEBCAST

Sept 24, 2011
8:30am - 4:00 pm

This conference will take place in Manhattan KS and via a live webcast. Go to this page to view the livestream: http://ome.ksu.edu/webcast/human-animal-bond/

* Who Should Participate? *
Animal Owners
University Students/Faculty/Staff
Cooperative Extension Professionals
Public Safety Personnel (Police, Fire Fighters, Health Care Providers, etc.)
Staff of Pet-related Organizations

Sponsored by Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, K-State Research and Extension, and the Family Caregiving and Companion Animals Communities of Practice, members of the eXtension National Initiative.

Please contact me if you would like more information or if I can answer any questions for you. Please share broadly!

No New Report, But...

I just had to share this video with all of you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OEsMdy7324

This is KSDS Service Dog, Elf, showing off his mean skills! And our friend, Lisa Rickards behind the camera! She is quite the photographer/videographer. This photo of Ansel that she took during our swim date with Hosta and Spark made it into the official CCI newsletter this month--a surprise for us when we opened it up and there was our little man staring at us! (Page 9, all you CCI subscribers out there).



















Every day is a good day with no "release" phone call from CCI. Next report (if we make it that far) is September 28.

First official report from advanced training

We received our first report today on Ansel in advanced training.

He's doing well, has adjusted to his new home and seems to be showing his skills as expected. He has shown some insecurity in new situations, but looks to the trainers for confidence and responds well. He made it through the temperament tests and the initial medical tests, but the more in depth tests are still to come since he's a potential breeder.

The vomiting and abnormal scratching that we dealt with has magically disappeared and we are quite surprised AND thankful about that! The trainer said that he knows his commands and walks nicely on a loose leash and has done well with grooming.

As we well know, advanced training is a day to day ride that could end at any moment, but for the time being, our little man is hanging in there.

CCI Hero Dog!

Watch this story of a CCI service dog finding help for her person after he was hit by a car in his wheelchair. Again, tissue needed!

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/08/29/service-dog-acts-quicklyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif-to-help-owner/

Why I Love Dogs

You must see this. Have tissue nearby.

Dog Stays by Fallen Master's Side During Funeral

Source: Navy SEAL's Dog Mourns Master | NBC San Diego

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/128315683.html

1st week update

Since Ansel is now in advanced training and unable to secure internet access, we (Deb and I) will be adding updates. I apologize up front if the stories are not quite up to Ansel's vivid imagination!

We have heard from our sources that Ansel has seemed to adapt well to his new home and work environment. Here is a picture of Ansel with his kennel mate Dembre.




Deb, myself and Lassiter attended the monthly meeting in Kansas City and had a great time. We got to see new pup Feldon:



and new pup Carlton:



Who is being raised by new first time puppy raisers!!


Here's a pic of Lassiter working with the hula hoop while being distracted with the toy. He did pretty good!



and last but not least, Putnam doing what he does best :^)




We left Lassiter in Kansas City so he would be there when his VPR arrives back in town. I'm sure it will be a great time when Lassiter sees his Mom again! Thanks to her for allowing us to keep him. He was a joy to have in the house and was also a great buddy to Ansel.