Yay it is finally time to bring Nilani home! I just finished packing the car and getting everything out of the hotel room and wanted to update everyone on our doggy tales. Team training has come to an end and now it is time to prepare for what’s to come.
Yesterday was graduation and I had a chance to meet Nilani’s awesome puppy raisers, Cassie and Walter. There is no doubt in my mind that Nilani was loved and well taken care of as a puppy. They exposed her to as much as possible including playing in the river, flying, the Grand Canyon and yes she has even been exposed to the hospital environment. I couldn’t have asked for better puppy raisers and I hope that we can stay in touch. They brought gifts for us. Her favorite stuffed animal when she was a puppy, a box of her favorite treats, and a picture album of her baby pictures. Nilani’s breeder and caretaker also came to the graduation. Nilani was ecstatic when she was reunited with her mommy.
After the luncheon and graduation we went back to campus and said our goodbyes to the many new friends we have made over the past 2 weeks. Everyone is leaving this team training a better person and with a much larger family. I was than brought out to celebrate the new addition to the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital family. Thank you ladies for the lovely party, it was so great to be able to share this day with all of you.
I truly appreciate everyone's support during the past 2 weeks and for my cheer squad at graduation. Everyone said that they were very impressed that 4 people came to show their support. THANK YOU.
We are going to go to her dog park one last time before we leave town and than off to Pacifica to introduce Nilani to her new home.
Thanks again everyone.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Final Exam and ADI Public Access Test
Yesterday was amazing and a perfect example of why we need a CCI dog at UCSF. There is a little boy that is going through the training with his mom to get a dog. He has been through the ringer medically speaking and has not said a single word in almost 8 months. After spending a week with his dog, yesterday he said the word NO. One week of cuddling with a dog, walking the dog, and grooming a dog this child said his first word. Needless to say there was not a single dry eye in the house when this story was shared at our luncheon yesterday.
Today was one of our big days. We had our final and ADI public access test. Everyone was so worried. There were people in my class having panick attacks and pulling all nighters. After a very long and stressful 2 days it all came down to this. The final took about 2 hours, by the last page I felt like I had just hit a wall. I couldn’t remember answers and was way too easily distracted. Luckily we were able to stop taking the test and take a walk or get up to move around. In the end I missed ½ point YAY!!! Next came our public access test. This is what will define whether the dog is allowed to work in public ect. She did great. They took us to the mall and some of the things that we had to do were:
• show that we know how to load and unload the dog properly,
• that we can walk a dog through a parking lot without losing control,
• get on and off an elevator while keeping the dog safe (very important for us),
• the dog will not each food off the floor or food that is thrown at them (this is very hard for the dogs). The instructors walk by and drop doggy bones in front of them while they are standing, again while the are laying on the floor, and a third time you talk with the instructors while they push gold fish off the table in front of the dog. A few of them had trouble with this but not our NILANI
• they had to pick up a pen and keys off the floor and deliver them to us
We passed with flying colors. I am only given public access for 3 months. I have to come back in October and re-take the test, if we pass we than get a public access pass for a year. This is very important: Nilani and I must be allowed to continue to grow together as a team and in her commands otherwise the ADI test will be much harder in October. If we do not pass the test she can not work in the hospital.
Today we also learned that the dogs can play with only certain types of toys and certain types of bones. Nilani can only use sterile bones. She can not have bones filled with any sort of stuff like peanut butter. She can not have rawhides, pig ears, nylabones or rope toys. They recommend the KONG branded toys and the goughnuts toys (indestructible). She loved the jolly ball and tennis balls.
Well tomorrow is our FINAL big day of team training. We have graduation!!! I also get to meet what they call “the puppy raisers.” These are people that volunteer to raise the dog and start training the dog. They have the dogs from about 2 months of age until they are ready to come to CCI (normally about 1.5 years). That will be exciting but hard. Nilani’s puppy raisers are Walter and Cassie and they did an amazing job with Nilani. I know that it will be hard for them to give up Nilani but I hope they know that she will be well taken care of and loved.
Thanks for reading. We can not wait to come home and meet everyone at UCSF!!!
Today was one of our big days. We had our final and ADI public access test. Everyone was so worried. There were people in my class having panick attacks and pulling all nighters. After a very long and stressful 2 days it all came down to this. The final took about 2 hours, by the last page I felt like I had just hit a wall. I couldn’t remember answers and was way too easily distracted. Luckily we were able to stop taking the test and take a walk or get up to move around. In the end I missed ½ point YAY!!! Next came our public access test. This is what will define whether the dog is allowed to work in public ect. She did great. They took us to the mall and some of the things that we had to do were:
• show that we know how to load and unload the dog properly,
• that we can walk a dog through a parking lot without losing control,
• get on and off an elevator while keeping the dog safe (very important for us),
• the dog will not each food off the floor or food that is thrown at them (this is very hard for the dogs). The instructors walk by and drop doggy bones in front of them while they are standing, again while the are laying on the floor, and a third time you talk with the instructors while they push gold fish off the table in front of the dog. A few of them had trouble with this but not our NILANI
• they had to pick up a pen and keys off the floor and deliver them to us
We passed with flying colors. I am only given public access for 3 months. I have to come back in October and re-take the test, if we pass we than get a public access pass for a year. This is very important: Nilani and I must be allowed to continue to grow together as a team and in her commands otherwise the ADI test will be much harder in October. If we do not pass the test she can not work in the hospital.
Today we also learned that the dogs can play with only certain types of toys and certain types of bones. Nilani can only use sterile bones. She can not have bones filled with any sort of stuff like peanut butter. She can not have rawhides, pig ears, nylabones or rope toys. They recommend the KONG branded toys and the goughnuts toys (indestructible). She loved the jolly ball and tennis balls.
Well tomorrow is our FINAL big day of team training. We have graduation!!! I also get to meet what they call “the puppy raisers.” These are people that volunteer to raise the dog and start training the dog. They have the dogs from about 2 months of age until they are ready to come to CCI (normally about 1.5 years). That will be exciting but hard. Nilani’s puppy raisers are Walter and Cassie and they did an amazing job with Nilani. I know that it will be hard for them to give up Nilani but I hope they know that she will be well taken care of and loved.
Thanks for reading. We can not wait to come home and meet everyone at UCSF!!!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Drum roll please......
FINALLY it is time.....Drum roll please........ Our dog's name is Nilani!!!
Some fun facts about our dog:
*She is a yellow lab and gold retriever mixed.
*Her birthday is May 12, 2008
*Loves to play with a blue ball called the jolly ball and tennis balls doesn't care for frisbees)
*Loves to have her tummy rubbed, in fact, once you start petting her she will normally roll onto her back.
*When I give her the DOWN command she normally crawls under my chair and goes down
*She is 54lbs fully grown and her head is right above my knee in height when she is walking around.
*When she rides in a car she tends to put herself in the foot well(see picture below)*She has many boyfriends at CCI, a picture of one of them is below
Some fun facts about our dog:
*She is a yellow lab and gold retriever mixed.
*Her birthday is May 12, 2008
*Loves to play with a blue ball called the jolly ball and tennis balls doesn't care for frisbees)
*Loves to have her tummy rubbed, in fact, once you start petting her she will normally roll onto her back.
*When I give her the DOWN command she normally crawls under my chair and goes down
*She is 54lbs fully grown and her head is right above my knee in height when she is walking around.
*When she rides in a car she tends to put herself in the foot well(see picture below)*She has many boyfriends at CCI, a picture of one of them is below
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Day #7
This morning was our day off and we slept in a little. I than took N on a mile and a half trek and she was exhausted towards the end. I think her pads are a little sore from walking on real asphalt for the first time in about 9 months. I need to start walking her every morning to get her ready for the hospital.
The stress is finally coming out of N. Her stomach is upset and I had some pretty messes (luckily all over the side walk) to clean up towards the end of today. The instructors say that the dogs are under so much stress from being constantly worked and meeting so many people during the first week of team training. I hope that is what is wrong. I will check in with them tomorrow though.
Anyways, We are half way thru training, YAY!!! This has been an awesome experience and everyone has been amazing but it is exhausting! Only 5 more days left but with that being said I haven't seen anything yet. The next 5 days will be filled with group training sessions, lectures, personal training sessions with our instructors, 4 more field trips making sure we can handle the dogs in public, class and ID photos, a practice test to prepare us for the ADI public access test, a written final, the real ADI public access test, meeting our dogs puppy raiser, graduation and than saying good bye to all of our new friends.
Good news is that I can share lots of pictures and our dog's name at the end of class on Monday. I am about to burst over here. I learned today that N is not that into frisbees. But she does love tennis balls and a ball called the "jolly ball." It is a blue ball, twice the size of her head, that she loves to run after and pick up in her mouth.
Alright, time for bed. Good night all. Thanks for reading!!!
The stress is finally coming out of N. Her stomach is upset and I had some pretty messes (luckily all over the side walk) to clean up towards the end of today. The instructors say that the dogs are under so much stress from being constantly worked and meeting so many people during the first week of team training. I hope that is what is wrong. I will check in with them tomorrow though.
Anyways, We are half way thru training, YAY!!! This has been an awesome experience and everyone has been amazing but it is exhausting! Only 5 more days left but with that being said I haven't seen anything yet. The next 5 days will be filled with group training sessions, lectures, personal training sessions with our instructors, 4 more field trips making sure we can handle the dogs in public, class and ID photos, a practice test to prepare us for the ADI public access test, a written final, the real ADI public access test, meeting our dogs puppy raiser, graduation and than saying good bye to all of our new friends.
Good news is that I can share lots of pictures and our dog's name at the end of class on Monday. I am about to burst over here. I learned today that N is not that into frisbees. But she does love tennis balls and a ball called the "jolly ball." It is a blue ball, twice the size of her head, that she loves to run after and pick up in her mouth.
Alright, time for bed. Good night all. Thanks for reading!!!
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