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Showing posts from October, 2017

Day 15 - September 29

Flying home!  So today we leave the safety and comfort of the school and head home to see how things are really going to go.  For Bill and I, this means getting onto an airplane and flying back to Vancouver. I was up at 6 am to grab a shower and make sure everything was packed.  At 6:30 Courtney called to make sure I was awake and offered to do a room check for me.  I knew I needed her help to find Gonzo’s ball and she also found a t-shirt I had thrown on my bed and forgotten about.  Courtney offered to take my suitcase on the elevator.  A very welcome offer.  I headed downstairs for the last time.  Gloria was there and offered to take Zeigler and Gonzo out to the courtyard for a run.  That way they will burn off some energy and relieve themselves as well.  No dog can run without getting rid of everything that is inside of them.  We had a little snack with Betty who was catching a morning train home as well. At the airport Courtney stayed with the van while Gloria helped us

Day 14 - September 28

Well, here we are, unbelievably it’s the last day of my shortened two week program.  It feels like I’ve been here forever and only just got here. This morning we had our dogs weighed and my little fellow only weighs 46 pounds.  However, Courtney has no problems if he gets into the low 50 lb area.  Next we signed our contracts.  All sounding very daunting but whatever.  Courtney read through the dog guide contract and weight management contracts so we could never argue we hadn’t read them.  Once those were signed and appropriately initialed we were an official team. After that we were basically done for the morning.   We had now officially graduated and could take the dogs out on a walk by ourselves if we wanted.  We decided to go for a group walk.  They nicely waited for me while I went to do my photo shoot with Pet Value.  Pet Value sponsors several graduating teams and takes photos to put in one of their monthly magazines.  I guess they own stores out west like the Tisol and B

Day 13 - September 27

Today turned out to be a slow day.  We met in the office at 9 am and through the questions being asked we ended up having our going home talk.  This is where we are given tips on flying with our dogs, like to stop food approximately 12 hours before flying and water 6 hours.  Always to get the dog out for a run if it is possible.  This goes for any trip that you might be going on where you can’t control when the dog can relieve itself, like train trips, bus trips or even long car trips.  Courtney clipped the nails of any of the dogs that need it, like Gonzo.  We talked about getting food at home.  In the west we don’t have Purina products, so Bill and I will have to switch our dogs over to a new food with a similar protein content.  She talked to us about keeping our dog on a leash for at least the first day after we get home.  Also, to relieve it before you take it into the house or apartment.  If you have a house, you are to always leave through the same door, usually the back door,