Milano - CCI Service Dog

Milano graduated on Friday as a service dog!!! It was wonderful seeing her again and meeting her graduate. She is going to have an absolutely wonderful life :) Pictures have been posted at my website

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MILANO - CCI Service Dog!!

It's official, MILANO is graduating as a CCI service dog!!! I am SO proud of her and cannot wait to meet her new partner. Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey since Milano was born! I will update everyone after graduation.

The call!!

Just got off the phone with our puppy program manager! Milano has made a pre-match as a service dog!!! :) YAY!!! I'm so proud of her :) Final matches will be announced next week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday with graduation on Friday.

Waiting....

This waiting game...Milano started Team Training this week and today is the day CCI calls for pre-matches! I've been thinking about her all day...hope to hear from CCI very soon :)

Milano & Macy update

Today I received a great surprise!! Our puppy program manager sent a picture of Milano's class! She looks like she is having fun :) Milano is next to the black lab.  (I'm not sure who the other pups are in the picture)

Macy also has news to share, looks like she is doing great things as a Facility Dog in Texas. Here's a video of her, we are so proud!

Update from Team Training

Milano did not match last week at Team Training. We knew this would be a possibility since there were more dogs than people in class and there were a lot of dogs held over from the previous graduation that had priority. Milano is being held over for the next graduation, so I will keep the blog posted!

In other news, sister Macy III is graduating this Friday at SW! Congratulations to everyone involved!! :)

Milano update

I received Milano's monthly report and I am happy to report that she is doing very well!! She has gone on field trips and is working hard on learning her advanced commands. Hopefully she will continue to do well and graduate in February!

Milano goes to college

Milano went off to college at CCI's NW campus in Santa Rosa on August 13th. She was such a great puppy to raise. She had a very fun personality, but at the same time she could work hard.

I will keep everyone updated on her progress! Her first report should come the first week in October. At turn in we found out that her trainer is Jaime and her kennel mate is Tulip.

California State Fair

Today CCI had a booth at the State Fair. Milano and Shawn hung out and did what they do best, sleep and let people pet them! :) It was a great day informing the public about CCI dogs and the great things that they can do. Shawn showed some of her advanced commands, a crowd favorite was when she picked up my keys for me. It was really nice for Shawn to get to go out to this event, I know she liked getting out of the house! Milano was awesome, I think she's going to do very well in advanced training :)

Milano update

Here's Milano! Amy sent updated pictures and Milano looks great!! I miss having her, but school has been so busy (I'm in my last class before I officially graduate with degrees in Deaf Studies and Criminal Justice).

Milano - 16 months video

Milano is doing well in her training and still having fun and enjoying life everyday! She is such a happy puppy :) Milano will go back to CCI for advanced training in August. Two of her siblings, Mica and Maura already went back to CCI in the NCR. Best wishes for them!!

Milano's fun filled weekend!!

Milano has had a great weekend!! Check out these fun pictures her other
puppy raiser sent to me. Looks like she had a blast!!

Fun in the sun!

Milano and Shawn are at Lisa's Sigma Kappa kickball tournament. It's
such a nice day here in Sacramento!

Makia II

I recieved an email from Makia's puppy raiser. Sounds like she is doing well :) Here are some pictures of her:

Milano's busy weekend...Cal-Ed, mall and GRC Crab Feed

Milano had a very busy weekend with me! It started on Friday when we went to the Sheraton downtown to help set up for Cal-Ed, a conference for teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in California. Milano was awesome, hanging out as I helped set up rooms and tables. She was happy to walk with me around the hotel, hang out under and table or anything else that I asked her to do. She was perfect during a workshop that I sat in and overall was very comfortable with the conference and people around the hotel. After Cal-Ed I went to the Roseville Galleria to see a friend after he shaved his head for donations for cancer research, for more information check out his site! The mall was very busy and Milano was a little stressed by the amount of people, but it was a stressful environment and she handled it well. After the mall we went to the GRC's Crab Feed to sell raffle tickets. Milano was great again :)

Back to school

Milano had a week at the office, now it's back to school for her. She
loved getting some attention before class started. Such a great puppy!!

Milano's home until August

Just received word today that Milano will be going to Advanced Training in August (there were some thoughts that it could be May). So we get an extra 3 months with her, she would have been ready for AT in May, but it's always nice to give them a little more time to mature. Looks like Milano made the cut by 1 litter letter.

Milano's turn in date is August 13, 2010

BOBBY

Over the weekend CCI's famous breeder Bobby passed away. Bobby was 14 years old and has many graduates and breeders. His legacy and great service dog tempermant will live on in his puppies! Bobby is related to oaver 3,300 CCI dogs!!

Milano is related to Bobby, here's how:

Milano (LAWRENCE II X CHANDRA)
Lawrence II (BAUMANN X KEENA)
Baumann (HANFORD II X QUINTARA II)
Quintara II (BOBBY X OKLAHOMA)

Milano's busy day

Milano had a busy day today. It started out with her going out
rollerblading with me (her 1st time since she just turned a year old).
Milano was so good, still maintained position and didn't pass my knee.
After rollerblading we went to the park and Milano worked on her
commands on the play structure. She did "up", "jump", "under", "stand",
etc all on different surfaces and from different angles. After the park
we went home for awhile before going to school. Milano got to sleep
during my ASL literature class then we had a break where she was able to
sleep more while I hung out with friends before my last class that
started at 5:30. Milano was great all day, no problems, her confidence
level has really grown.

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.