Week Two is Complete

Hi all,

Not much to write, I suppose.  Leeta's fitting in fine around the house.  Pretty comfortable with the set-up.  Likes the bed in front of the fireplace, just fine and doesn't mind the holiday tree near her.  She keeps looking at me while I decorate and fix up lights and stuff for the outside.

Thanksgiving saw us having six guests at varying times of the afternoon and evening.  All of them did well when it came to Leeta and she acted just the way she was supposed to.  She was quite comfortable on her bed while we all ate our fill of maple syrup-glazed turkey with "roasted roots" (carrots, beets and parsnips with pecans) homemade gravy, a wonderful mixed greens/veggies/fruit salad, great rolls. and for dessert a sweet potato concoction.  Simple but satisfying.

But I digress.

A good description of puppy raising

I wanted to share another blog with you.

It details the raising of the puppy from the time he gets separated from his mom until the day he headed to advanced training.  It'll give you the other side of Leeta's story.

The following link has the index of all the blog posts:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/family/14095199/detail.html

Pre-Thanksgiving Post

I just talked with Leeta's mom's (Koala) caretaker tonight.  She's very nice.  She was also Koala's puppy raiser and gave her up for her to go into advanced training.  Somewhere along the way, she was chosen to become a breeder and she eventually had 4 litters before she "retired" from being a breeder.  that was when her puppy raiser got her back for keeps.

While she was in the breeding program, she lived with another family who would take care of her while preggers as well as the puppies for the first 8 weeks of their lives.  Leeta was in the last litter for Koala.

I also found out that Leeta was a "light pink" pup.

There's a whole language to the CCI world.  Other than the commands for the dogs, I'm still really a newbie in this world.  I can read Dwarfish language in J.R.R. Tolkein's world though!

Anyway - a light pink pup in CCI terms would have a birth order of number 7.  When the pups are born they get marked two ways to keep them from getting mixed up.  This is important because temperament testing begins even before they get sent to separate puppy raisers.  The two ways are a simple collar of colored yarn and a splash of non-toxic paint just north of the tail.

The color/birth order goes: red, blue, purple, neon green, neon pink, brown, light pink, turquoise, orange, dark green, rainbow, rainbow, rainbow, and no color.

So Leeta was number seven in a litter of eight.  

And the "rainbow, rainbow, rainbow?"  Well each of the rainbow strings is reported to have a dominant color as in mostly blue, or a whole lot of yellow, etc.

Fascinating huh?

Leeta and the Kitten

OK, OK . . .

I'll tell THE STORY.

Why I didn't tell it the day it happened?  Well it was a busy day and I can't vouch for my intelligence level.  It was around the time I was seriously doubting my level of intelligence compared to Miss Leeta's

This happened the day we went to Olive Garden for lunch - our 3rd "real world" trip.  Here we were, feeling pretty good about going out with Leeta.  Days 1 & 2 went quite well and this should be pretty good considering much of the O.G. outing required Leeta to be sedate under the dinner table for an extended length of time and except for her occasional vocalizing, she was (and is) really good at that.

By the way it's 10PM as I write and she's dozing and snoring a couple feet away on her bed.  What do dogs dream of that makes them move their legs while they're asleep?

. . . but I digress.

So we're heading to O.G. and we're the first team to pull in and get one of the close handicapped parking spaces.  As I'm pulling in, I look towards the entrance door and see two CCI staffers sitting there waiting for us.  And in front of the door, on the sidewalk, is . . . wait for it . . . a kitten.  Not a nearly full-grown kitten.  A ball of fur size that I could hold without too much problem in one hand.

Now a quick bit of background info.  During Team Training, we had been told of a really useful tool that is used to get the dogs used to certain situations called a "set-up."  A set-up is sort of a controlled situation.  For example, say your dog snarfs some food dropped on the floor in a restaurant and you miss the opportunity to correct her.  Later, at home, you can recreate the situation and correct her if she does the no-no again.  Do that enough times and she'll learn.

So anyway, We're parked and I see the kitten.  I roll down the window and call outto  the CCI folks - "Hey, is this a set-up?!?"

Of course they swear it wasn't but I still don't know for sure.

So we get out of the car.  Remember we're the first ones there.  We're all supposed to line up to the side of the entrance and that would put Leeta within about 5 feet of the kitten.

Great.

Really - here we are getting the extra-special situation.  But as you can guess from the digging the kibble out of Leeta's throat event, I was not about to show weakness.  We strolled right up to the right spot while I was quietly hoping that the ktten would get a look at Leeta and run for the hills.

No such luck.  We get up to the assigned spot and I said "Leeta down" and Leeta hit the concrete.  I don't know if she just didn't notice the kitten or really had no interest in it whatsoever, but regardless, Leeta was a champ.  She didn't pay it any mind, even when the kitten decided to get it's fur up, arch its back and hiss.

I didn't know what to do, but Leeta wasn't doing anything so I figured that was a safe activity.  I'd say long story short at this point, but it's a bit too late.

So the kitten hissed and arched and backed up a bit because of Leeta's proximity.  I don't remember how long it was, but pretty soon, the kitten realized that the world in front of the O.G was becoming lousy with dogs and people, and it took off and went around the corner.

Leeta did exactly what we hoped she'd do in that situation though from that point on, I never really trusted the trainers ever again.

Kidding.  I'm kidding.

The little dog in the stroller that came up in Macy's while we were waiting for our elevator test however, was almost too much.

First Sunday at Church

Leeta did just fine today at church.  Susan sings in the choir, and I'm helping the choir out with a gospel song for next Sunday, so we were rehearsing before the service today and Leeta came along for moral support.

She did great and didn't even make any comments about the quality of the music!

The service was next and she was nice and quiet through it as well.  Only yawned a couple times and I'm sure Rev. Jay didn't mind.  He's got a black lab named Scooby at home.

And the best was yet to come.  Leeta rocked coffee hour.  All those tempting smells, the noise and the people wanting to be able to make a fuss over her.  We're so proud.  Tuckered her out though, as it did Susan.  They're both napping right now while I get stuff prepared for holiday decorations.

Thanks!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on & off the blog!

More info on Leeta

Hi all,

Got some new info.

Her mom is Koala II, dad is Beckett, there were 8 in the litter, all black.  4 boys, 4 girls.  One other puppy has graduated, Lowden.  Other pups in the litter were Lamont, Latrice, Lowell II, Lulu, and Lynton.  Latrice and Lulu IV were also raised at Montgomery.

Koala II is yellow in color and Beckett is black, as is his parents.  Koala's mom parents are black as well.

Koala's mom is Ressa and dad is Bobby (THE most prolific CCI breeder! I think he has sired over 600 or 700 puppies) Koala was raised in Washington state.

Beckett's mom is Bonnie II and dad is Niles (a Guide Dog for the Blind breeder dog - CCI shares breeding stock with GDB sometimes) Beckett was raised in Sevastopol CA.

Grad. Photos

Graduation photos by Steph Garber

Leeta's "bling" in the photo above is a strip of reflective fabric which CCI puts on either side of working vests for night-time protection.

Notice we ended up wearing matching colors with Leeta's vest and collar.  I had planned to once I saw what Susan chose to wear, even though she says she accidentally chose blue, even though it's CCI's official color.

More on CCI & the dogs

Some quick notes about the program.

CCI's headquarters are in Santa Rosa, CA, outside of San Francisco.

CCI's dogs all come from their own breeding program.  The have about 120 breeding dogs currently and there are always some of the puppies turned in for graduate training who are used for breeding stock for the future.  All others are spayed or neutered.

All the breeding stock lives in comfort in various homes throughout the San Francisco area - with in 90 miles of Santa Rosa, so when a lovely lady goes into heat, there's always a lucky fellow who gets the nod.

As for the names - we still don't know the origin of Leeta's name & we may never know, but I'll keep looking.  Puppies are named through approval from the national office.  The names come form various sources.  Firstly, each puppy in a litter always gets a name with the same first letter as the rest of its litter mates.  That means Leeta's litter all started with "L."

We have no ideas what the others are at this time, but we know she's one of eight in her litter.  There may be others in her littler waiting to graduate next class here in Orlando and some may have graduated in the other regions at the same time Leeta was.  We'll check the website in the upcoming weeks to see.

The actual names can be suggested by the people who take care of the breeding stock, can be suggested by National and are sometimes named because of a nice donation at the right time.  Others are named for companies who donate as well (such as Ballard).  Dogs can share a name with another CCI dog, but only when the original dog retires from work.  So in our class, there was a Rossie II and a Ford V among others.  

Since there are around 600 CCI puppies born every year, the name list is a long one indeed, though all the puppies who don't make it through advanced training can share their name with a working dog eventually.

That's probably how Leeta got named - an unusual name to come up with when all the common "L" names were occupied.  One other thing, a name cannot be confused with a command either, so no "Joe" (go), "Kit" (sit), "Fred" (bed), etc (well technically Etc could be a name...)

So far so good

Hi all,

Leeta came with us to occupational & physical therapy today.  It was a shot in the arm, since our PT turned in her first puppy on Saturday at graduation.  The whole office was in love with little Ballard and now they get to see Leeta occasionally.

Leeta is part of Susan's exercise program, so that's why she'll come with us occasionally.

Good questions

Keep asking questions - I'll keep answering them.

As for "kennelling" or "crating" Leeta, here's the scoop.

Leeta was raised using a dog crate - for those of you unfamiliar (as I was) with them, they're the big plastic crates originally used to transport them in airplanes.  It has a wire grille front hinged door and a lot of air holes on the other sides.

CCI has asked that for the time being that we crate her at night and basically anytime we're not actually spending time with her.  There are several reasons for this including that it will be a while until our house is truly Leeta-safe.  We're knew to this, and taking our time getting things situated is good, especially since I'm still working on parts of the house and have tools and other potentially dangerous stuff around.  Also, the crate is Leeta's safe place.  She's known a crate since she was 8 weeks old and first away from her mom.  She and all CCI dogs know that they can rely on the fact that when they're in their crate that they won't be bothered or expected to do anything other than the regular stuff they're never allowed to do unless we give a command - this includes barking and toileting.  So Leeta likes the crate and is comfortable in there.

Later, when she's more comfortable around the house and we're certain that it's safe, she can sleep out of the crate.  We got her a nice cushioned, fleece bed that we have in front of the fireplace (yep, there's a holiday card in there somewhere).  Some owners want her to sleep in bed with them and CCI doesn't have a problem with that, but for us it's pretty much not feasible, so we've chosen not to allow her in bed or basically on any furniture.

By the way, we have on of those front loading clothes washers & I brought in the closet for a tour after she had napped and decompressed for awhile and I had put a load of laundry in it and Leeta was fascinated with the tumbling soapy water.  This reinforces an idea Susan has.  At the CCI dorm, Leeta was always wanting to look into the laundry room which we passed going back and forth to our dorm room.  It didn't matter if anyone was in the room, or even if the washer & dryers were in use.  So Susan things that while Leeta was in prison, that maybe they had her working in the laundry.

Graduation Day

We're home now, graduation went well.  Thanks to Chip & Toni, Mary, Steph, Linda, Dayle, Gladys, James, Madyson & Kennedy & Carolina & Ken who came to graduation to see all the cute puppies.

We had a great time and are happy we're home.

We're supposed to get a video of the graduation ceremony as well as Cd's of the photos.

I'll keep doing the blog for now, to let people know how Leeta settles in at home.  She's snoring away in her kennel right now, so apparently she's relaxed.

We Passed!

Got the test results.

Written test - got a 101 1/2 out of a possible 102 points (2 points extra credit).

Public test - passed with flying colors - only suggestions on what to be aware of and potential inappropriate behavior in Leeta, but all really good.

We've got the official vest and we'll be getting id cards later.

We're meeting the official from the prison program at dinner tonight.

Leeta

OUR GIRL LEETA

Finally had time to take a few pictures.

Testing Over

We are done with all the official testing.

Today was a long day (I know, broken record).

We had the written exam from 9:30 to 11:00.  We did well on it.  Were confident of every answer.  Susan and I worked well as a team answering the questions - some 70+ including fill in the blank, true-false and short answer.

After lunch (with no nap for Susan), we headed straight into Hell once again - the Florida Mall.  Did the same tests again and we all did pretty well.  The extra bit that was added unintentionally to the elevator part was a little dog in a stroller who's owner thought it'd be fun to introduce the two dogs and then two families with strollers and kids.  Leeta did well and we muddled through.  Leeta went after a piece of food, but I corrected her before she snuffled it up.

Everything else went well, and the trainers said we all did fine.  Only a couple points will be brought out on the one-on-one interviews tomorrow.  So we expect we've passed both parts and will be able to bring Leeta home and take her out in public.

Yea!

Tired

Really tired. 

A lot happened today, but the biggest stuff was the video shoot and photos we did for the presentation at graduation on Saturday.

We also went to Pet Smart, purchased a portable kennel and fleece bed.

Hopefully I let you know more later, but don't really have the energy.  

Tomorrow, bright and early is the written test.  Luckily, Susan and I get to take it together.  We studied our quizzes and handouts last night and tonight and will either pass it well or draw a complete blank.  

Then, after lunch, we head back to the Florida Mall for the public certification test.  It'll be the basic stuff we did yesterday (that was only yesterday!?).  The other automatic fails, by the way, are not having the official CCI working dog vest on when we get there and if Leeta eats food dropped in front of her and I don't notice it and make no attempt to stop her (the third was holding the door of the elevator until she's all the way inside it).

We're probably good to go.  Some of the students say we'll all pass because they already took the team picture.  One word of caution: Photoshop.

-------------------

Once again, we really hope that a bunch of you will come to graduation.  Susan would LOVE to hear a raucous cheering section when we're up on stage.  Plus, you can laugh at the pathetic way we act on the video and marvel at how smart Leeta is.  And did I mention PUPPIES? 

Don't forget it's 11am on Saturday.  Directions on the website - I did a listing of it on one of the earliest blog entries.

By the way, our team training was led by 4 absolutely wonderful women who love the dogs and are somehow really able to understand the different disabilities that the 7 recipients have.  No two situations are alike and all the dogs seemed to be really well matched for the teams.  We love Leeta as if we've known her for years already and are excited about the future.  Most of all, the trainers/leaders are the ones to be praised for their hard work and talent and caring.  Lori, Mari, Jen and Holly are all wunnerful, wunnerful, as Lawrence Welk would have put it.  The whole staff has been nothing but professional, welcoming, helpful and patient with us and every person in training.

And no, I haven't given them the address to this blog, so I'm not trying to sway their decision.

Leeta's Past

So we found some stuff out yesterday evening and this monring.  Apparently Leeta has a bit of a past.  We're looking for familial and friend support here folks, but I have to say that for most of her puppy-hood, she was in prison, and she has a tattoo.

All right, you're still with us?  No, this isn't the ABC Movie of the Week.  Actually we're quite proud that from 8 weeks old until she matriculated and moved onto advanced training that she as well as 5 of the other 6 dogs in the current team training were in a state penitentiary.  CCI has several puppy raising programs in prisons throughout the U.S.  Below is a copy of an article written for the Sun Sentinel in Palm Beach from earlier this year.  It tells the important parts.

So we won't be meeting the inmate who raised Leeta, and the probability of getting puppy pictures is slight since cameras aren't allowed in prison, but we will be meeting the director of the program for Leeta's prison.  Not sure which one, but it's somewhere near Montgomery, Alabama.

Some vital statisitics:  Leeta is a purebred Labrador retriever.  She was born on October 16, 2006 so she's just 25 months old.  She's of medium size in the program, weighs 56 lbs., has been spayed and likes long walks in the moonlight.  

Now about the tattoo.  Her right ear, on the inside has a distinct number for identification.  It's put there by CCI so that she can always be identified.  It's only in the CCI database, but she'll always have a tag on her that says CCI and their 800 number.

---------------------------------

Sun Sentinel/Carline Jean / August 15, 2008)

By Jerome Burdi |  South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jailhouse dogs provide therapy while they are trained

 Puppies that will one day work as service dogs for disabled people spend the first year of their training in jail.

 The Palm Beach County Jail inmates give the puppies basic training and in return, learn responsibility and caring.

 "Working with an animal like that brings out the best in people," Sheriff's Col. Michael Gauger said.

 The inmates cuddle the puppies, attend to their yelps, brush their teeth, bathe and train them.

 Sherriff's officials say it's therapeutic for the inmates. The yellow and black Labradors live in the dormitory cells and the inmates look after the dogs like parents.

 "The same way I train him, he trains me for when I go back into life," said Frank Alexander, 38, who is doing time on drug charges. The father of four said the dog he's working with, Conrad III, has taught him the parenting skill of patience.

 The inmates, at the Stockade west of West Palm Beach, have been training the puppies for Canine Companions for Independence since 2005.

 A California breeder sends the Labradors to the jail when they are 8 weeks old.

 Training dogs behind bars is part of a growing trend around the country, having inmates socialize and train them.The dogs, in turn, bring renewed hope to the incarcerated.

 "She gives me a lot of confidence," said Jessica Daniels, 25, convicted of burglary. She gushed as she watched Yanna perform during a training session. "You have to earn a dog's respect like you have to earn a child's respect. It raises your self-worth. It proves you can accomplish something."

 Mentors from Canine Companions teach the inmates, who must have no history of violence, how to train the dogs. The puppies spend about a year in the jail learning basic commands like "heel," when to bark, and other house manners.

 Mentors go to the jail once a week to monitor the training. The dogs graduate from the jail to a two-week course with professional trainers at Canine Companions' Southeast Regional Center in Orlando. That prepares them to be service dog companions to people with autism, cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities. The dogs, which are donated, are trained to open drawers, turn on lights and pick up items for their owners. Canine Companions has 24 dogs being trained in Florida at the Stockade and two state prisons in Panama City and Quincy.

 The Stockade inmates have a history of drug abuse and do their time in a yearlong military style program. The day begins at 5 a.m. with exercise under the command of fatigues-wearing drill instructor Sgt. Robert Harris. The inmates also attend therapy sessions and multidenominational religious services.

 The idea to incorporate the Labradors, which sleep in cages in the cells, came from Palm Beach County Public Defender Carey Haughwout, whose mother had a service dog that was partially trained in a prison.

 "I saw firsthand what a wonderful assistance it was to her," Haughwout said, "and how important it became to the quality of her life."

 Tash, one of the first two Labradors trained in the jail, returned to South Florida last year. He's the sidekick of Jared Main, 9, of Coconut Creek, who has cerebral palsy.

 "Jared is never alone," said his mother, Amy Main. "When his friends come up and play, Tash is right there. When his friends are not there, Tash is right there."

 Tash makes Jared want to walk more.

 "Who doesn't want to walk their dog?" Main said.

 She likes that dogs such as Tash not only help her son, but also people in jail who are trying to improve their lives.

 "They had gone astray," she said, "and they ended up in a bad situation turned into this positive."

 Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.   Jerome Burdi can be reached at jjburdi@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6531.

Biggest Day Yet.

It's 11 pm and this is the first time I had to sit and write anything other than a quick status comment on Facebook.

Busy day.

We continued to work on commands in the classroom today, first of all.  Susan napped yesterday during command training since the trip to Olive Garden and Borders did not allow for a nap as usual.  So today we worked on having Leeta "get" an item (pen, keys, remote, etc.), "hold" it in her mouth, "sit" down, "visit" Susan by putting her head on Susan's lap (all together: awwwwww) and "give" - open her mouth and place it in Susan's hand.  

I mean, come on, there are 10 year old humans who probably couldn't do that correctly and this is a d-o-g! ;~}

Directly after that, we saddled up the ol' PT Cruiser and headed for the Florida Mall.  Last time I was there?  1994, July 4th, working for the Supervisor of Elections to do voter registration.  I've lived in Orlando since before the place was built and I'm not sure where it is!

First off in the mall we headed into Macy's - my first time in one of those and it was to ride an elevator.  Our team (S, L & T) got on, went up a floor, watched the doors open and close and went down and got out.  No, even Leeta didn't think that was all that exciting.  Of course Leeta is an old hand at elevators.  We were learning the correct and SAFE way to use one. 

More than one person looked at the 7 dogs, 17 human students and 6 trainers &; CCI staff and said outloud that the dogs must be training.  Of course it was the dogs who knew what to do.  I'm surprised that none of the dogs corrected the viewers. . .

Today's excursion was a precursor for Thursday afternoon.  That day we head back to the mall to take our official "Public Certification Test" which in non-doghandling terms means if we past it, we get to take Leeta out in public to places that restrict animals except for service animals.  If we don't pass the test, we can't take Leeta with us when shopping, eating out, to church or other venues that say: 

NO DOGS ALLOWED

except service dogs

There are 3 parts of Thursday's test that are automatic fails - one is not holding the door of the elevator until the dog is all the way inside.

After the elevator excursion, we headed out into the mall proper.  Did you know there is an M&M Store there?  I don't want to offend anyone who happens to love that store, but come on, an entire store for M&Ms!?!  We didn't go in but hung outside to test the dogs in their ability to withstand having food dropped in front of them.  Leeta didn't do as well as we hoped, but I saved the day.  One bit of kibble was dropped by  a CCI person and rolled right under Leeta's nose.  She slurped it up, but good old Tom was there to rescue her in case it was poisonous or at least fattening!  I did as previously instructed and pulled open her mouth and stuck my finger deep into her throat to dig that damn 3 calorie kibble out of her mouth.  After what seemed like 5 minutes and me just touching the errant nugget a couple times, I was rewarded with praise by the trainers and when I didn't succeed in getting the offending bit of crunchy out of our lovely Leeta's gullet, I got the comment, "Well at least she knows that that was unpleasant."  Proudly holding up my soaking hand, I replied "And she's not the only one."  Gotta remember to bring a towel on Thursday.

From there, the trip was better.  We did the crazy stroller test, the person stepping over the dog test, the random act of petting test, the standing in one place while your dog was napping peacefully and comfortably on the floor test (OK, the last wasn't really an official test, but it sure was a pain in the patut.

We did better than the team who's dog, Julia, pooped in the middle of the mall, though my response when hearing that was, who'd notice if it was close enough to Crabtree & Evelyn?  By the way, that is NOT one of the automatic fails. 

We all ate lunch in the food court (not Leeta, of course, we've taught her better than to eat fast food) and did a second food test - this time with goldfish (the cracker).  Leeta did excellent that time and I didn't have to do anything but praise her.  Then after 2 hours of dealing with foreigners and noise and odd smells and giant M&M characters waving to us around every corner, we we're released, but told we still have a bit of time to shop if we wanted to.

30 minutes later we were back at CCI and Susan was napping and I was downing three Goodys packets and a Mtn. Dew to kill a headache . . .

The other 2 automatic fails?  Got me, I don't remember anymore.  Apparently I didn't do them, or I would have been corrected, but I expect we'll bremindeded just in time to stew about them before the actual test.

Grad Day approaching

Hi all,

We're not exactly sure what Graduation Day entails (ha, ha) but it will include a video/photo montage of our work at the team training.  I think the dogs do get to wear some sort of mortar cap, but I could be wrong.  Wed. we take part in a video shoot. and they've been taking photos all along.

The Graduation Day is shared with puppies that will be "matriculating" from their puppy raising family into advanced training here in the CCI kennels.  They're hardly puppies, however.  All are over a year old and I think most are around 18 months old and all but full-grown.

Should be fun, I'm sure Susan will cry most of the time, like our wedding night (ha, ha, again).  We really hope a lot of you can make it, we'd love to have a crowd.  There will also be CCI branded merchandise for sale at the Graduation, we've been told.  And no, you don't get a discount if you say you're friends with a CCI graduate.

By the way, Friday night will be a neat night too.  We'll know then if we're graduating, the written test will have been given and graded, the public certification test will have been done too and we'll get to meet Leeta's puppy raiser(s).  We don't know anything about them yet, so it'll be cool.  They're probably excited too, since only 3 out of 10 dogs ever make it to placement in this program, so statistically, it's not unusual for a puppy raiser to have raised 3 puppies (at 18 months a piece) before one gets placed with a CCI recipient.  I'm guessing their metaphorical tails will be a-waggin'.