Milano at 13 months

Milano is 13 months old today, it's hard to believe that she's already this old and that she'll be going back to CCI soon (May or August). She is such a sweet, fun and smart puppy! Everyone that meets her falls in love with her.

 

 

Milano's back

Milano is back with me for a few weeks. It was so much fun taking her
back to school today (the first time for this semester). Milano was
happy to see my friends, so cute that she remembers everyone. After
school we went to the gym, the people at Cal Fit needed a little
education on service dogs and puppies in training. Now they know, thanks
to me and my friend informing them. Milano slept the entire time we were
on the bike and then we went to dinner where she was perfect again! Such
a good girl. When we got home I started to do homework and Milano looked
bored, I told her to go and get a toy and she ran to my room and found
her stuffed monkey. She was entertained and I was entertained watching
her have fun. Now she's sleeping at my feet.

Milano is home!!

Milano has been at CCI for the last 3 weeks and she finally was able to
come home today!! She was so excited to see me, it was nice to know she
missed me :) I haven't seen her in about a month. Tomorrow she will go
to her co-puppy raiser and then I'll get her back on the 18th. Milano's
fur seems to be thicker, but other than that she's the same Milano :)
I'm really looking forward to taking her to school, she hasn't been with
me at all this semester! So it'll be really nice to have her with me
again.

Milano's in a photo contest!!

Check out Milano's photo on Snobby Dogs her picture is titled "A Miracle in the Making". I'm not sure what the prize is, but it's great exposure for CCI :)

Happy 1st Birthday Milano!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Milano!!!! What a great year it has been and I'm looking forward to the next year ahead. Milano will turn in to CCI in August on then hopefully graduate next February, as we all know it's up to the dogs, but Milano has a great temperament and would make an awesome Service Dog!!

 

This year we've gone to school, basketball games, sporting events, malls, airport, shopping trips, Lake Tahoe, my sisters sorority events, friends houses, etc. Milano has been exposed to everything possible and we're still working on taking her to more places. So happy birthday Milano, can't wait for the next year ahead!!

 

 

Crab feed for CCI

Annual Crabfeed hosted by CCI Gold Rush Champion Puppy Raisers and the Lions of District 4-C5 benefitting the Canine Companions for Independence program. Features Crab & Shrimp served family style with all the profits given directly to the puppy raising and training program.

$40 per person

DATE
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010
6:00 PM - 11:30 PM
$40 PER PERSON

LOCATION
JONES HALL, PLACER CO FAIR GROUNDS
600 LAWTON AVE
ROSEVILLE, CA 95678

"How do you give them up?"

A question we hear a lot as puppy raisers is how do you give them up? I always say that I know what I am getting into when I sign up for a puppy and that getting another puppy is always helpful in the process. But really it is so much more than that, I really don't see how I could not raise a puppy. Not only do these dogs do amazing things, but because of "my" dogs I have met my best friends and had wonderful experiences that I would not have otherwise had if it were not for the dogs. I am so thankful for every dog that I have raised and the opportunity to meet new people and the possibility of giving someone the gift of one of the dogs that I have raised is just so special. I started raising puppies when I was 16 and a Junior in High School, since then I've turned in 5 puppies and am on my 6th. For me turn in isn't as hard as it once was, but the waiting process of seeing what the dogs choose is the hardest. What some people don't understand is that working is completely up to the dog, there is no training that will make a dog something that they are not meant to be. Getting the call that "my" dog was graduating was probably one of the best feelings of my life. So sure, I will cry when I turn them in and I will for sure cry when they graduate, but those tears are so much different, they are tears of joy and of all the hard work, patience, repetition and watching that puppy finally have something click where they understand what you are asking of them. So when I am asked how can you give them up? I know that for me it's much deeper than that, it's not just giving back a dog that I have shared the last 18-20 months with. It's giving back a dog that is ready for it's next journey in life, it's purpose. I don't need the dog, as much as I love them, I don't "need" them. There will be another puppy that I will get to share part of my life with and new opportunities and learning experiences with that puppy that I'll look forward to. Because as much as raising a service dog is about helping others, as CCI's website says "transform someones life by raising a service dog. Yours included". And I know from experience that this is true, my life has changed for the better because of Kedra, Hiltie, Shawn, McKenna, Omeeka & Milano!!



No words needed...

Distraction class on the tennis court

Today we had puppy class on the tennis court for all CCI classes. Milano did really well. She worked off leash on heel and side. We did down stays and recalls from across the court, only calling 2 dogs at a time and the other dogs had to hold their downs.

Milano's back

Here's Milano after my Deaf culture class that I'm taking during winter
session. Milano was so cute using my friend Sydney's bag as a pillow.

Milano's busy day at the Mall

Yesterday my friend and I took Milano to the mall for some training. It
was a great experience for her with all the people doing last minute
shopping. We worked on Lets Go, Heel, Under, Side, Sit, Down, Here,
Jump, Up, Visit, Shake and a few others. Milano was great, she's a very
smart puppy.

Milano is going back to her co-raiser tonight to spend Christmas with
her. I'm going to Tahoe with Shawn and my family.

Milano at the Gym

Milano is a great workout partner, she hangs out in the gym during my 2
hour workouts. Such a great puppy, it's hard to believe that she's only
11 months old.

Thanks Bayer!

Last week at the gym when I had Milano with me I met someone who works for Bayer, and she was very nice and said she would send Milano Advantage for free, such a great help with the cost of the flea and heartguard medication going up. So a big THANK YOU to Bayer!

Milano and the world's largest puzzle!

Here's a picture of Milano in front of the World's largest puzzle!! It's at my friends house and her family is in the Guiness Book of World
Records for completing the puzzle first in the world!! Very cool :)

Milano's play time at school

It was a very long week at school for Milano and I. Last night we had an ASL Club Meeting. After it was over and the buliding was shut down we let Milano get out some energy before leaving for the night. With all the rain we've been having in Sacramento she hasn't been getting a lot of play time, so this was a great opportunity to let her get some energy out and work on recalls (yes, I know the body slamming when she reaches us needs to be toned down A LOT, but she is still young and has time to work on this, other than that her recalls are GREAT!) Milano is so patient and works hard, but she also knows how to play hard :) Such a great puppy, I have very high hopes for her!! Today we went to the gym for about 2 hours and she was perfect!

End of the semester at Sac State

It's the end of the semester at Sac State and I'm one semester away from graduation! Next May I'll be graduating with a Double Major in Deaf Studies and Criminal Justice. Milano has been switching between myself and her co-puppy raiser, it's been so nice having a co-puppy raiser, especially with my busy school schedule. We've had a few long days this week and tomorrow will be another long day, but Milano handles it like a pro! Only at home does she get her energy out, it's pretty cute :) She runs in circles as the video shows, but now she's sleeping at my feet.

Happy 7th Birthday Hiltie!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Hiltie!!!!

Hiltie was my 2nd puppy born to OMSI x Taiko. From the first time I saw her at 4 weeks old I fell in love, she was the BEST puppy to raise and I am so thankful for the time I had with such an amazing dog. Hiltie graduated as a Skilled Companion, there was no doubt she would graduate. LOVE you always Hiltie!

Awesome video

This video is about a puppy who was in training for another organizations. Being a service dog was bot what Ricochet had in mind, but she still went on to change lives!

Lemonade for CCI

Article from newsday.com

For four years, Kyle Orent and his fundraising lemonade stand have been a familiar sight around his hometown of Northport. He's the cute kid philanthropist who managed to squeeze tens of thousands of dollars in charitable donations from thirsty folks who needed an ice-cold drink.

Beginning at age 7, Kyle took his stand to local sports games and the annual Cow Harbor Race. He didn't charge for the drinks, but encouraged donations. He raised $20,000 the first year, his mother, Kathy, said. After four years of mashing lemons and auction sales, he's collected $115,000, all for Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit organization that trains dogs to help people with disabilities.

But Kyle's 11 now and a sixth-grader at Northport Middle School, and the lemonade stand has begun to cramp his legs, not to mention his almost-teenager style.

"I'm getting older," he said Thursday night, before accepting a "Local Heroes" award from Bank of America, in a ceremony at the Long Island Children's Museum in Garden City.

The award, which includes $5,000 donated to the recipient's favorite charity, honors community leaders who contribute significantly to the health of their neighborhood. The bank also donated nearly $450,000 in unrestricted funding to local nonprofit organizations.

Kyle is the youngest recipient in the six years the award has been given, said a bank spokeswoman. He says he wants to be a fundraiser when he grows up. His hero is real estate magnate and TV star Donald Trump.

Why Trump? "He always has a Plan B," Kyle said. "After I sold lemonade, auctions were my Plan B."

Kyle sold his own toys in an online auction, according to his Web site, kyleslemonade.org. He also writes to celebrities such as baseball great Hank Aaron, asking them to autograph dog collars. He auctions the collars on eBay's "Giving" charity site.

Almost a third of the money Kyle raised came from the lemonade stand, and the rest from auctions and matching donations from individuals and corporations.

And he hasn't totally given up on exchanging big glasses of lemonade for big bucks. His mother, Kathy, said Kyle's hoping to recruit younger kids to carry on the lemonade tradition.

Milano update

Milano is back again from her co-puppy raisers house. It has really been great sharing Milano, she gets a lot of different experiences and as puppy raisers we get breaks when things get busy.

Milano went to a birthday party for CCI SD Lynell. Looks like they all had a great time! SD Whisper also joined the fun.

Demo at CSUS

Last semester I was walking to class with Akeelah and a professor
stopped me and asked if I would come to her class to do a demo sometime,
I said of course. Last semester I went with a group of other assistance
dogs and people showing adaptive equipment. Today it was just a demo on
CCI. My friend came to help and learn more about CCI. Chandra showed off
her commands and Milano was a good girl. The class loved it when Chandra
turned the lights on and picked up my keys. Overall the demo was
informative, the class is for people who want to run/manage parks,
hotels, and leasure activities.

Courthouse Dogs

(Crites Photography, New Albany, OH)
Here's a great website about the use of CCI trained Facility Dogs (FD) in Courthouses across the country.

Enjoy!!

Sigma Kappa Hat Chase

We're at another sorority event for my sister. The dogs love the
attention and it's great training for Milano. This event is a hat chase
where guys from a frat are running around a field and the girls have to
tackle them and take their hats, should be very entertaining!

Milano and Tyson's playdate

Milano had a playdate with her friend Tyson a boxer, here are a few pictures from Milano's co-puppy raiser.

Milano as a Milano cookie

Here's Milano as a Milano cookie!! Pretty cute! We're getting ready to
go trick-or-treating..being around kids and their costumes will be a
great training opportunity for Milano

Happy dogs!

Shawn and Milano are playing on the tennis court! They love it and it's
good for Milano to get her energy out.

Milano's commands at 9 months and Happy Halloween!!

Milano has been working on her commands, right now we're working on sharping up the commands she already knows. "Heel" and "down" with her hips rolled out are what I'm focusing most on. She's a very smart puppy and learns new concepts quickly.



Tonight Milano is going Trick-or-Treating in the neighborhood to get used to being around more kids and the costumes will help with training in different environments. I just bought some fabric to make Milano a Milano cookie! :) Should be cute!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!

Here are some pictures of Milano at work with her co-puppy raiser..she looks thrilled to be dressed up ;) Just like her mom, Shawn would always give me a sad face when she was dressed up!!

HAPPY 9 MONTHS!

Milano and the "M's" are 9 months old today! She celebrated by seeing
her friends at school, going to class, sitting with me during my ASL
midterm and now were going home so she can get some much needed time off
to play and be a puppy! She's such a good girl :)

Milano is back

Milano is back from her co-PR's house, she had a very busy day today! Milano went to Sacramento's GRC Bone Appetite It was a great event put on by the volunteers of the GRC group. When I picked her up we went straight to school and I started studying for my midterm that is going on later this week. We had a movie night with the ASL Club and Milano was very good as usual :) She loves seeing our friends and knows when she's working and also when she's off duty, after the movie Milano had some play time with the officers of the club. She thought it was great, then it was back to work mode. It's fun because she has a great on/off switch. Before the movie I brushed her with a furminator, I think it removed a small dog! ;) Milano is shedding SOOOO much, I can't wait until this part is over. Tomorrow Milano and I have a busy day..gym, lunch with a friend, school and tests.

2010 CCI Calendar

Today I went to the CCI gift store while on campus for the HD and Side placement class graduation. I was surprised and happy to see that they picked a picture of Milano for the 2010 calendar! Milano's brother Mica is also in the calendar, he's actually the featured puppy!! Very cool :)

9 Months

Milano is almost 9 months and she's doing great! Her commands are coming along nicely and she's just and easy and fun puppy to have around. Last night she went back to her co-puppy raisers house. Having 2 puppy raisers is really nice for everyone because the puppies get to be in different environments and also get used to different people. Last week Milano went with me to school and to the gym. We had two very long days. On Wednesday we were in school for 10 hours again and then we went straight to the Kings game. Milano loves being at Arco, she's been going to games since she was 4.5 months old. On Thursday we helped out with ASL midterms and it was a lot of fun, Milano started to snore during 2 of the tests and I had to wake her up so she didn't distract the students. Yesterday we went to Sac State's football game and Milano again was really good. Nothing distracted her, she watched the cheerleaders and the band and then went to sleep. Milano will stay with her co-raiser until the end of the week, I'll update next week.

VOTE for CCI!!

VOTE for CCI!! There's a chance CCI can get $10,000 in donations from Christie Cookies Company.

Search for Canine Companions for Independence

Happy 8th Birthday Kedra!!

Where has the time gone?? My very first puppy is turning 8 today!! Kedra was born 9-29-01 (Neffa x Washaki). She was a fun and challenging puppy and I definitely learned a lot from her. Kedra went to high school with me for my Junior and Senior year and now she's living with a family just outside of Sacramento.

A weekend in Tahoe

Magic, Milano & Shawn- Happy to finally be in Tahoe Tired dogs, ready for bed..they're good at sharing :) The end of the race, beautiful! There's nothing like Lake Tahoe!! Over the weekend we went to Lake Tahoe. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect! My friend was running the Tahoe half marathon in preparation for her marathon in October. Milano, Shawn and Magic came with us to Tahoe. They had a lot of fun playing in the yard. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to let them swim in the Lake. Here's a video of the dogs playing in the yard:

Milano is back

 Happy Dogs!!

Omeeka & Milano (half sisters) Omeeka is from Shawn's 1st litter and Milano is from her 5th.

Milano came back from her Co-Puppy Raisers house, sounds like she had a GREAT weekend in Tahoe at Bark at the Park. In the above picture she is in the middle of the bottom row. She was able to play with her half sister Omeeka who is now a breeder for CCI ("B" and "O" litter so far).

Milano update

Milano has been a good girl. She has been going to work with her co-raiser and she has been going to school with me. Wednesday's are really long for us, we're at school from 9am-7pm. Milano handles it really well and gets plenty of play time during our breaks. Today we went on a long walk on the American River trail with Shawn and Magic. We started out with the dogs walking next to me while I was on rollerblades, it was a little faster pace, but not a run since Milano isn't old enough. Shawn started to get tired, we went back to the car to switch out my rollerblades for shoes and then we continued on our walk. All 3 dogs were so good, one lady stopped and asked me how the dogs could be so good and I told her about CCI :)

Back to school

Milano has joined me again for my Senior year at Sac State! She's done really well with everyone on campus and the long days. On Wednesday's we're on campus from 9am until 7 pm. She gets play time and plenty of water breaks, it's been really hot here in Sacramento. I've been posting pictures of her on her twitter account, pretty cute :)