Me and CNN

I know it's not all about me (not all the time, anyway) but if you look closely, you can see my gleaming black coat in these CNN video clips. How, you ask, did I come to be on national television and internet videos? It's all because of the work my wonderful trainer, Mary Cortani, has done to match rescue and shelter dogs with military veterans.

In 2010 Mary started an organization called Operation Freedoms Paws. Her idea was to match up dogs to military veterans with visible and invisible combat wounds, then teach them to work as a team and eventually pass the service dog test. The Saturday morning classes I attend are geared toward these service-dogs-in-training, so I've been doing extra lessons with them. They work hard! They have to be extra-focused on their people so they know when to help and what to do without even being told.

At Saturday class a few weeks ago, there was a man with a camera even bigger than Janet's, and a lady talking to the people. They came all the way to Gilroy to visit because Mary was being given a "CNN Heroes" Award.

Pretty exciting stuff for a stray pibble from Berkeley, right?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/07/us/cnnheroes-cortani-veterans-dogs/index.html

Presents!

I love tennis balls. I love to roll them around and throw them and chew them up. Today there was a person at the door with a big box, and Janet said it was for me. She asked Bill to take pictures of me when I saw what was in the box. WOWEEE!!!! 110 used tennis balls ALL FOR ME!

I took several out for tests, and put each one back before taking a different one. When I had chosen the one I wanted to play with, Janet put the box away.

Life has been pretty good for me lately. I've been to Berkeley the past two weekends and had a chance to visit with my shelter friends Tim, Thomas, Patsy and Auntie Ferne. I got to see her husband Sterling, too, who walked me a few times when I lived at the shelter. When I got close enough to sniff him properly, I remembered him right away! One of the Berkeley trips, Janet and I rode up with my Auntie Toni from Gilroy class, and I got to sniff and lick her all the way up, and all the way back---it was WONDERFUL having her captive, strapped in the front seat and unable to escape my kisses!

Janet says I have calmed down a lot and I'm behaving really well. This means I get to be off-leash in the yard and in the house. This is a good thing. Sometimes Bill and Janet eat food in the same room with me, which she thinks is great progress and I think is rude. They should share, but I'm not allowed to ask or snitch anything. We have playtime after dinner in the family room with my FABulous Squeaky Snake. So far, I have only chewed the tail off. I would like to hide it in my crate and chew more pieces off, but Janet only lets me have it when we play together and I don't have enough time to chew much. Squeaky Snake makes a lot of noise!! He lives in my toybox in the bedroom closet. I know he's there, but I'm not supposed to get him myself. Other Dog guards my toybox. Other Dog lives behind the shiny closet door and looks EXACTLY like me, but doesn't smell like a dog at all. Very strange....

I still love my crate. When I decide it's time for bed at night, I go there by myself and wait for my biscuit. Janet brings it to me in pieces and hides them under my blankets. Finding things is FUN!! In the morning, Janet hides treats in the patio, and tells me "go find", and when I do I get to eat them up. My teacher Mary says she wants me to come to something called "search and rescue" training and see if I can find things outside. Will I get to eat whatever I find? I hope so; otherwise what's the point?

My schedule is quite busy. I try to walk with Bosco twice a week, and I go to three training classes a week. Janet says I need more training on new things, and to work on my "stay". Whenever I'm staying and she says my name, I want to run to her. Why is this bad? I don't understand. She says I need to stay until she says a different word, and also not jump up to greet people. After I have learned those things I can take my therapy dog test. Sounds like therapy dogs just don't love their moms or other people as much as I do.

As for dogs, I've learned they are all pretty much OK. There are sometimes people in the park who let their dogs walk right up to me while they're asking Janet if I'm friendly. Good thing I am now!!! Last Sunday I was in Berkeley to help Bad Rap celebrate their 13th birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAD RAP!!!) and there were a whole bunch of dogs and people, and I just laid down in the sun and relaxed and let them all walk around me. Some people there were friends from the shelter who remembered when I was a barky fence-fighter, and they told me how wonderful my new calmness is. Janet is very proud of me! Maybe that's why I got that big box of tennis balls.....mmmm....where's my tennis ball???

My First "Clover" Birthday

Even though I'm now about five years old altogether, I've only been "Clover" for a year.  It was one year ago that I was picked up off the freeway.  Since then I've been escorted to the Berkeley shelter, taken for walks by staff and shelter volunteers, assigned to Janet for Bad Rap classes, gotten spayed, adopted by Janet and Bill, taken to MORE classes, introduced to Bosco and lots of other dogs, and earned my CGC.  A lot has happened in a short time!! 

Ever since I passed my CGC test, Janet says I've been a brat.  But my Gilroy trainer Mary Cortani says I'm a fast learner and that I have "potential".  She thinks I might even be a good therapy dog.  She works with lots of military veterans helping them train their dogs.  I've been joining her classes with them on Saturdays, as well as going to her Wednesday-night group classes.  All this extra training is giving me the opportunity to learn lots of new things---but it's really cutting into my blog-writing time. And sometimes a busy girl like me just wants to SLEEP IN!

Guess Who's a Canine Good Citizen????

When we got to my Gilroy class tonight (we missed last week) Janet had to fill out paperwork for me to take my CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test, which was being given to my whole class.  Janet said it was a good thing she didn't know in advance, or she would have been a nervous wreck.

We figured it would be a good opportunity for us to find out what we needed to focus on so we'd be ready the next time the test was given.  But guess what?  I PASSED FIRST TIME AROUND, AND WITH FLYING COLORS!

Janet's so proud of me that she won't shut up.  She's told Mr. Bill and called Scott on the phone.  Then she told me I had to update my blog and share.  Frankly, I'm just glad I have soft blankies in my crate in the house.  I've scooched and wadded and piled them up so I can sleep soundly and warm all night long.  AAAAhhhhhhhh.......nighty-night!

Bone Jour!

Janet asked Bill to get me a bone from the butcher, and he brought me THIS.  

We didn't expect a mastadon femur!  My eyes got HUGE when I saw it----the first night, I was so excited that Janet had to take it out of the kennel so I would eat my dinner.  At first I couldn't figure out how to pick it up.  I spent a couple of days getting the physics right so I could move it around easily.  Even though Janet now latches my kennel door whenever I'm not inside, I like to hide this FABULOUS bone by wrapping it up in my blanket.  I don't want some darn cat coming in and sniffing at it and getting cat-cooties all over it.  I've now learned that "Meaty Bones" biscuits are not the real thing.....they're OK, but my horizons have definitely been widened.

It's gotten cold here, and I don't like it.  Even though it's inside, I hate sitting on cold concrete in my Wednesday-night class---and lying down is even worse!  I've been spending some of my daytime at home in my sleeping crate inside the house.  Boring, but at least it's warmer.  When it's wet I don't even want to go for a walk.  I've always turned my nose up at these dogs I see in sweaters and boots.....but maybe I'm secretly a little envious?

So the really big news (even bigger than my bone) is that I have now been to a dog park!  Bernie and Bosco and Janet and I had been to the one in Gilroy one day, but we were the only ones there.  It was still hot, and we didn't feel like playing on gravel.  But last week we went to the Morgan Hill dog park and it's all grassy (and you know how much I love grass) and there were a bunch of other friendly dogs and owners who made me feel like I could trust them.  So Janet let me off my leash, and we dogs ran and played and jumped on each other like a pack, and had GREAT fun!  Unlike Bosco, who acted like he'd never met Bernie before in his life, I checked in with Janet a few times and laid down in front of the bench to observe everyone else's behaviour.  Janet says if it doesn't rain that we're going back again on Friday, so I'm looking forward to running with the pack again.  And by the way, Amelia, I wasn't BOSSY at all!

Janet's making me work on down-stay and sit-stay forEVER.  She says I have to be able to do that for my Canine Good Citizen test.  I already know I'm a good citizen, but apparently I have to prove it....sigh......



Bone?  What bone??



Oh, LOOK!  Here's my bone!
I wonder who wrapped it up in my blanket???



Three-Month Anniversary

It's been exciting around here lately.  Janet's smooth child, Scott, got married on September 30th to Megan.  I love her too, so I'm glad she's officially part of the family now!!  While everyone was out of town, my Auntie Trudi came three times a day to walk and feed me.  Trudi knows a lot about dogs and I'm really comfortable with her.  I slept in the doghouse inside my big kennel all night long.  Janet thought I might bark at night when I didn't get to sleep in my crate in the house, but the neighbors told her I was very well-behaved, even when they had a late-night party right on the other side of my fence.

Last weekend Janet had something called an "Open Studio" where a bunch of people came to look at her garden and the pottery she made.  Let me point out that no one asked if this was OK with me.  Saturday was all right because it was only people, and even Trudi's mom came and met me.  But Sunday there were a lot more people and some of them brought their dogs right into MY SPACE!!!  I'm fenced up in my kennel trying to be a good greeter, and here are these strange dogs walking around in MY YARD, going places I'm not even allowed to go and peeing on MY PLANTS.  I didn't care for the whole scenario one bit, and I spoke right up and told everyone so.  Janet told me they were customers and guests and we both had to just suck it up and be quiet.  Not my idea of a good time.  I still haven't quite gotten over this insult, and I'm making sure Janet knows it, too.

That being said, between Bosco and all the well-behaved students in my training classes, I'm starting to get over my cautiousness around nice dogs.  Today Janet and Trudi introduced me to Tobin, her 2-year-old yellow lab.  We took a long walk that ended with us side-by-side and being very friendly with each other.  He's very handsome-----not as hunky and mature as Bosco, but definitely a lot of fun.

Janet says this Saturday we have to skip all the "Pit Bull Awareness Day" get-togethers because we're going to an "agility event", whatever that is.  If it's like at my Gilroy school when we sometimes get to walk up on ramps and jump over little bars, I think I'll like that.  On Sunday we'll be back at Bad Rap class, which I've had to miss twice because of my people's activities.  If I'd been consulted, I would definitely have traded that stupid open studio for a training session with Tim.  It sure will be nice to see a bunch of good-looking square-headed dogs again!!!

Progress Report

Today it rained in Bad Rap class!  I guess there's just nothing I like about blacktop.  I already knew I hate sitting on it when it's hot, and it turns out I also hate sitting on it when it's wet---plus it gets my pretty white feet all dirty.  We did lots of spins and weaves today in Tim's class.  As long as I didn't have to sit, I really enjoyed the exercises.  On the way home I chewed a hole in my "indestructible ball".  SCORE!!!

In Gilroy class on Wednesday night, we did an off-leash "sit and stay" exercise.  Janet got very upset when I turned it into a personal romp through the entire building, running as fast as I could around the room until the teacher caught me.  (Apparently I wasn't supposed to do that??)  The next day, Bill installed a zip line that follows the sidewalk all the way across the back of the house.  Janet clips my leash to the cable and makes me do "off-leash" lessons on it.  I'm not happy about this.  I put my ears back and hang my head down, so Janet must know I'm not happy about it, but she doesn't seem to care.  Really?  I have to be on a leash when doing "off-leash" lessons?  That sucks.  On the up-side, I am getting extra treats while I'm doing this stuff.

Janet found me, Bernie and Bosco a terrific new place to walk---the levee in Gilroy.  It's wide enough for me and Bosco and our two people to walk in one "lane".  In the other lane there are lots of friendly folks and dogs walking toward us.  People ride bicycles and pull wagons with babies in them, too.  It's never boring.  One time we met some teenage boys who had found a little snake I thought it might be fun to play with.  They were a little intimidated by me at first, but they warmed up after Janet introduced me.  Bosco always enjoys the squirrels, but he says he likes me best.

By the way, Bosco knows our car and gets overly excited whenever he sees it.  Bill took our car to Bosco's house the other day without me, and I was told that Bosco looked all around inside the car and then laid down next to it waiting for me to jump out.  He's taking this "socialization" thing pretty seriously. And I have to admit that since he came into my life, I've become a WHOLE lot more comfortable with other dogs!!