Successor Service Dog Battier

What an absolute honor it was to present Battier to her new favorite person Nancy! I have known Nancy since I was 16 years old and I cannot possibly think of a better person in the world for Battier! All the trips and adventures that we went on together during her puppy years will definitely pay off. It sounds like they already have a lot of fun trips planned! Such a lucky dog! I’m a very thankful puppy raiser since I will get to watch Nancy and Battier’s bond grow and see her working. Definitely the best perk of puppy raising! I always love seeing “my” dogs work and Battier is my first local dog.

The Canine Companions for Independence Successor Side Placement Graduation was beautiful! I arrived in Santa Rosa around 1 pm and met my friends who were presenting Battier’s friend Jane who was trained as a Service AND Hearing Dog! We had lunch before heading over to campus. It was a rainy morning, but the rain cleared when we arrived on the beautiful Schulz Campus. I went to the Administration office and gift shop, a must stop on any trip to Santa Rosa! My 10th puppy and Battier’s nice Mary V joined me, she’s only 10 weeks old and an adorable Golden Retriever. Mary hung out in in the kennel office in her own kennel and she had plenty of staff me members that came in and loved on her! Before sending Mary off to the kennels at around 4 pm, I was trying to get her to “hurry”. Apparently Battier was with Nancy and her husband Ramesh at the time in the dorm and I was across the grassy area, but we guess close enough. They said that Battier became very alert and the only thing we can thing of is that she heard me.

At 4:30 pm the Puppy Raisers of Graduating dogs went to the North Training room and were reunited with their puppy. I knew this was going to be a very special reunion. Battier and I had a very special connection and she will always be a special girl to me. I cannot wait until she has that amazing bond with Nancy, I know with how much they love each other already that they’ll have it very soon!

Check out this amazing video of the first time that she saw me in close to 9 months. I am thankful that her trainer Amanda took her into the other training room for when I came in. Some of the other dogs were in kennels in the room, but I  was hoping that I could get this reaction: 

From 4:30-5:30 pm we had “alone” time with the pups and it was nice, but all I could think about was how excited I was to have dinner with Nancy and Ramesh. I was looking forward to sharing stories about Battier and hearing how their week of Team Training went. 

At 5:30 when we went to dinner it was very nice! There were 7 Graduates in this class, 5 Service Dogs and 2 Hearing Dogs (Jane is SD/HD). It was a small and intimate graduation and one of the best ones I have ever been to. I really enjoyed not having the crazy busy day that goes along with the regular graduation ceremony. We did get a slide show put together by the Instructor Assistants and that was very nice! It’s a little sneak peak into the week of Team Training. The Gold Rush Chapter was well represented in this class. We had Battier, Jane, Ralene and Anikan (finished in the GRC after being raised at Crossroad Prison) as the dogs from the GRC and then 3 Graduates: Nancy, Bari and Jay. It was like a big family reunion.

After dinner and the slide show, the IA’s went to get the dogs from their kennels and we got to hand them over officially! It was wonderful. Such an amazing day!

After the presentations there were some comments from Puppy Raisers and Grads and those were all wonderful as well. Once the graduation was officially over at 7:30 pm, the real party started. Nancy, Ramesh, Battier and I went back to the dorm room to go over Battier’s puppy photo books. For a dog with over 9,000 photos, it is tough to make just one book! Battier also opened her presents and she was so excited to have some of her puppy toys back! It was SUCH a wonderful day. Just everything I could have ever dreamed of.

I am so thankful that I will be able to watch Nancy and Battier’s bond grow and see them around Sacramento. It’s going to be a fun adventure!

Ramesh, Nancy, Battier and I.

Battier snuggling with her first trainer Maria! She was her trainer for her first 6 months in Advanced Training! Maria is now at the new Texas Campus!

Amanda, Battier's 3rd semester trainer. She taught her the Service Dog skills like: pull, light, switch, fix it, etc.

Beautiful girl! 

Reunited! 

This will always be a very special photo to me. On December 7th I found out that my breeder and Battier's Great Grandma had terminal cancer....I found this out at CCI and they were wonderful and took Chandra (Shawn) back to meet up with Battier one last time. I wasn't able to see the reunion, but I hear it was very sweet! 

259 days.....

It has been 259 days since I last saw Battier.....the wait is definitely worth it!! After 2+ years of hard work, tomorrow I will be handing Battier's leash over to Nancy to make their team official! This is such a wonderful honor! I have known Nancy since I was 16 years old and puppy raising my first puppy Kedra. Little did I know that 12 years later I would be picking up a cute little 8 week old puppy named Battier that would later go on to graduate with Nancy.

The gift bags are made up for Nancy and Battier's trainer Amanda! Her first trainer Maria received her gift today in Texas, it was fun to FaceTime and see her open her gift! I love making photo books and can't wait to share Nancy's and Amanda's with them tomorrow.

Schedule for tomorrow...I will probably leave Sacramento around noon or so. Puppy Raisers of graduating dogs will meet with our Puppy Program Manager James at 4pm. At 4:30 pm we will be reunited with the dog we raised after 6, 9 or 12 months depending on the dog....Battier was in Advanced Training for 9 months. Then I will meet with Nancy and her husband Ramesh for dinner. I cannot even wait until we can go over stories! This is going to be so much fun and the adventure is just beginning....

To be continued!

Pre-Match!!

I received the call today at 9:30 am....Battier has made a Pre-Match!!! This means that she has placed with someone in the Successor Service Dog class! The match is a pre-match until Canine Companions for Independence makes it a final match, hopefully tomorrow or Thursday. There will be a small graduation ceremony for Puppy Raisers. Before the ceremony I will get 1 hour with "my" girl and then I will have dinner with her wonderful Graduate! There I will hand over the leash and Battier will officially be on her next adventure. I know who her graduate is and I am thrilled, I just cannot share the information yet. 

Over 2 years of training and love has been put into Battier and it is all worth it!!!! Stay tuned.....

Dear Battier....

Dear Battier,

Today you attended your first real Team Training and hopefully your perfect match was there. What I would have given to be able to see you today....the last time I saw you was May 15, 2015. You have grown into an amazing Service Dog since then and I am beyond proud of you! We went on so many adventures during our year and a half together, but your journey is just beginning. My favorite places with you were your favorites too I think...Lake Tahoe, because you love swimming! Disneyland because, who doesn't love Disneyland?! You were perfect and so good for all your pictures. Miami was another fun adventure! Again you were perfect on our crazy long journey there from San Francisco. You've been on both coasts and I hope you get to travel a lot more! I know that you will graduate with the perfect person for you because you are the most and amazing dog I have ever known (and you have some good competition). People often ask us as puppy raisers "how can you give them up?"....well, there are a few reasons. First, I got to have you in my life for a 17 months. Something that I am so thankful for. Also, I always say "how could I not", you are here for a purpose bigger than you even know. Someone has been waiting just for YOU!! You are also so loved and will be loved every single day of your life! I cannot wait to meet your forever person and I will thank you for bringing us together. Thanks to your amazing trainers Maria and Amanda for training you to be the best you can be! I'm so surprised they got you to speak after we tried so many times! I cannot wait to see you do your Advanced Commands! This is just such an exciting time...it's been 255 days since I've seen you and yes I have an app for that...but it isn't because I miss you. I am just SO excited to see you and your new person! I've been thinking about you every day and hoping that you're having fun in Advanced Training. I know you get the best care there and will also be happy when you get to go to your new home. I love you with all my heart and I always will. Thanks for being my friend and loving me back. Love you Batts and I have a feeling I'll be seeing you soon!

Love,
Laura

Reports!

Battier's 2nd report arrived today! It is just as amazing as her first one! I'm so proud of her and I know she has a special person out there that is waiting just for her!! She learned speak too! 

4th week of Advanced Training....

What a treat! For the last 2 years on Chandra's (Shawn's) birthday we have asked our guests to bring toys for the dogs in Advanced Training. Today I received these 3 photos! They didn't come with names, but I think Battier is in them! 

Looks like Pippa, ?, Battier and ? 

I would bet money that this is Battier :) She looks so happy! She also looks good in Blue!

Release! So happy the Advanced Training dogs get to play with toys! 

Disneyland photo book!

Check out my new photo book from Shutterfly!

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterfly's award-winning photo books. Try it today.

Battier's Matriculation

I'll start with a little recap of our time in Santa Rosa. On Thursday we drove to Santa Rosa and started off with seeing Battier's mom Tosca II and her Breeder Caretaker Kelley. It was a great reunion and Battier had a lot of fun playing with her mom in the yard. After visiting I went back to the Canine Companions for Independence campus and met up with some friends from Washington that were coming down to turn in a puppy for another raiser and just for some CCI fun! It was pouring down rain, so that stopped our plans of going to the puppy park at CCI for some fun. I did get to see puppy #6 and it's always such a treat to see the puppies that we have raised, she definitely remembers me! After CCI we left for the Charles Schulz museum, it's a great place for photo ops with the dogs. The Schulz family were huge donors to CCI and sponsored our NW campus. After the museum we went to dinner and then back to the hotel with our friends for some fun before turn in day....

Off to college party! Pam, Shawn, Battier, Inez and Ryann 

I woke up early on Friday (5-15) and had some extra snuggles with Battier. We were at CCI around 9 am for equipment exchange, this is where we turn in the yellow puppy cape and receive the blue matriculation cape. Then it was time for a picture with Battier, we're happy that Chris Kittredge takes the pictures, they always turn out great!

After the professional photo, we went outside and took a few photos of our own. One really cool one that I am so thankful to have is a 4 generation photo of Chandra (Shawn), Akeelah, Tosca II and Battier! 

We had all the dogs play in the yard and it was great to see Battier having such a great time! After play time there was a CCI Service Dog demo and then the puppy raiser appreciation lunch. Right after lunch there was a tour of the campus. This was an awesome tour with one of the instructors. We went through the vet clinic, food prep room (they go through about 90 lbs of dog food everyday!), this is where they also have the names of each dog on a board and I could see that Battier is kenneling with another Gold Rush Chapter dog named Dawn. Next stop on the tour was to the Program office and then to one of the training rooms. It really was an excellent tour. 

After that we packed up the car and headed to the Wells Fargo Center for graduation. It was such a beautiful ceremony and the class speaker was amazing! I definitely started crying when he talked about the puppy raisers and breeder caretakers. It was very sweet. 

Battier was the 2nd puppy to go across the stage because it was in alphabetical order. She did great as expected. Then we were back in our seats for the rest of the program. After graduation we visited with Hiltie's family, she was my 2nd puppy and also one of my favorites. It's been so nice to keep in touch with her family. 

Then it was back to CCI for the dreaded turn in. We sat on the grass and visited for a few minutes and then I gave her a big hug and the tears started to come....I knew I didn't want to cry with her around so she wouldn't think something was wrong when she was going into the kennels. I pulled it together and took her to the training room. I checked her in with our Puppy Program manager and then walked over to one of the trainers and handed over her leash. I didn't cry then, but wasn't even able to say that I was ready for a trainer to take her...I just nodded my head and off Battier went without even looking back. That's exactly how we want it to be. She is a confident, smart and beautiful puppy who will do well with whatever she chooses to do! 

Last puppy class at the UC Davis Med Center

Tonight was Battier's last puppy class as a puppy in training. In the Gold Rush Chapter our last puppy class is always at the UC Davis Medical Center. It's nice for the puppies to get to visit with the kids. They were able to make a lot of kids, parents and staff smile tonight! 

We started class by finding an unused gurney with our hospital host. The dogs practiced UP and after that a JUMP on the gurney. There was a volunteer on the gurney that would pet the dogs so we could see how they would react with the kids. They all passed with flying colors. 

One of my favorite parts was when Battier went to visit a boy in the play room. He seemed to be a little nervous around the dogs at first. I asked him if he liked Batman and he said he nodded that he did. I pulled Battier's Batman mask out of the bag and put it on her. The boy started giggling and then laughing so hard, it was so cute! I then asked if he wanted to pet "Batman" and he did. These dogs make such a difference in the lives of people that they meet. 

I was able to use some of my ASL skills tonight as well. There was a Deaf family and I was able to tell them about Battier and a little about Canine Companions for Independence as well. 

It was a great class and all the dogs are definitely ready for their next step! Off to Advanced Training on Friday. 

You can watch us cross the stage on Friday! Check out the link on Friday at 1:45pm. 

Looking extra cute for the kids! 

Big Dog class: Louis, Nilda, Pippa, Napa, Battier and Nilight. 

Here's Battier in her Batman mask! There were no pictures inside of the hospital for privacy reasons. 

Last Saturday before Advanced Training & Big Dog Party!

Our last Saturday together. We've had a very busy day and it's only half over! We started by going to Sacramento Animal Hospital so Battier could say bye to her awesome vet! Sacramento Animal Hospital loves our CCI puppies and gives them their vet visits for free, we just pay for shots. Battier loves Dr. Nicholas and is always so happy to see her! 

After saying her good-byes, we went to Hobby Lobby to pick up a paw print kit. That was a fun activity! We will add Battier's paw print to the garden. 

The paw print actually looks pretty good in person, it's still drying and it'll be ready for the garden after 24 hours. 

Up next we have our Big Dog party/BBQ at a park in Fair Oaks. We're celebrating the Big Dogs that are going to Advanced Training on Friday. Battier's class includes: Louis, Nilight, Nilda, Napa, Neon, Dawn, Kailee, Pippa and Opal. 

Class of May 2015! 

UP  competition! 

Battier won the competition, longest duration with lots of distractions! 

Battier's face after she was the last dog standing! 

A toy she won! 

Big Day of Giving!

Today is the Big Day of Giving! 24 hours of giving for local charities in Sacramento! Canine Companions for Independence was one of a few charities that were chosen to have a booth at the halftime event!

We went to the Halftime celebration at Cesar Chavez Park today to promote Canine Companions for Independence! The dogs were very popular and it was fun telling people about CCI.

Our "Power Hour" for giving is between 8-9pm! If you would like to donate, click here. If we have the most donations between 8-9pm we will win $1000!

BIG DOG HOURLY DONOR BOOSTERS! (Sponsored by Sacramento Region Community Foundation)
$1,000 prize will be awarded every hour to the nonprofit that has the most number of unique donors within that hour. 

Setting up for the Halftime celebration! 

Hanging out with the Golden 1 dog! 

Wells Fargo! 

Dinger from the River Cats! 

Hanging out at the booth! 

Mayor Kevin Johnson came by to say hi to all the dogs! 

Hanging out with Slamson from the Kings! 

#BigDoG2015