Many of you know I have a service dog from Canine Companions for Independence, CCI. You may not know that these dogs are the result of extreme love and extensive training. This early training is provided by volunteers called Puppy Raisers. These Puppy Raisers nurture puppies with the end goal of handing the leash to a person with a disability and the stories they collect along the way are priceless.
Elizabeth is currently training a puppy named Calhoun, this is her fourth puppy she is raising for CCI. And here is her story.
Hi All,
I had something hilarious happen today at the grocery store that has never happened with my other pups. I had Calhoun with me and we were next to check out, but the woman ahead of me had a lengthy question about her receipt. The clerk eventually told the young checker to start ringing up my items.
He rang one item and I realized I’d need both hands free to pay, so I dropped Calhoun’s leash and told him “Wait” while I stepped on it.
I got out my credit cards and realized I hadn’t heard the “beep” of items being scanned for a few moments. I looked up to see the sweet clerk just standing there with his hands frozen over the machine, looking at me with big eyes.
It took me a second to realize what the problem was, then I just burst out laughing and said, “I was talking to my dog!” Luckily, he had a sense of humor and laughed about it too. I told him, “You must have thought, jeez, that’s a bossy lady!” He nodded a little sheepishly and just kept scanning items.
Paws crossed that Calhoun will graduate – this would be a great tale for the baby book.
Elizabeth and Calhoun, ADIT #4
Palima, COC and Queen of Our Sofa
Buddy, SC 2/05
Brewster, COC and happy pet
You can learn more about CCI and the Puppy Raising Program at http://cci.org.
Till next time, I am wishing you all a fun filled week.
Comments
3 responses to “Puppy Training/Cashier Obedience Class”
I have met a lot of service dogs and they truly amazing, so intelligent and very thoughtful too. Our dog been training as therapy but we’re inspired by service dogs helping the elders.
I am currently raising Chewy for CCI. Calhoun was a littermate of Chewy’s. I’d love to hear about Calhoun and see pictures if his puppy raiser is open to it. Please forward my name and email. Thank you so much!
Well Met Leigh, The best way to find a puppy raiser is through a yahoo group called CCI_Miracles @yahoogroups.com. Try an Yahoo or Google search, join the group and loads of wonderful puppy raisers will help you find Calhoun. Thanks for raising a puppy for CCI!