We woke up and had breakfast like any other day. After this our little pack met and decided on a walk for the morning; we chose the little town of Port Jefferson, just a few blocks away from the water and the ferry. One member of the group decided to go with Tim's group instead, since she had already walked Port Jeff. while we were in Manhattan.
The walk was quiet and short. We walked in a loop with two quiet street crossings, and made it to the local Starbucks for a coffee. While we warmed up Doug gave us a little bit of the "going home talk" where we asked him some questions about how to handle things at home. He also mentioned how and when he would be finishing training; he will be visiting me third, the week before Valentine's Day.
On the way back to the Foundation we stopped to pick up Audrey at the mall. Then back to water and break dogs before lunch. Lunch was actually a pretty eventful occasion; the CEO of the foundation was there to dine with us, as was the Former director of training. I never met him, though most of the retrains remember him. From what I hear he is a great guy.
After lunch I met with CS and ordered some Frontline for Traveler, before rushing to the leather lounge to meet with the vet. Traveler was excited and whining, which I thought was because of the vet, but Doug came over and let me know that there was a kennel worker there who used to take him home at night. The vet talk went well. I found out the details about my partner.
He birthdate is February 19, 2006, and he weighed in at 77lbs before leaving the Kennel.
While he still as a couple of pounds to lose, he has lost weight since Doug brought him to me. Most of the dogs did well with the vet, and some class members has litter mats!
After the vet's visit, everyone headed pack to their room to get ready for the "posh" pictures and class picture. I hope this picture came out well; I hate being in pictures, but I'm proud of this boy, so I can't wait to see it. Once the excitement of pictures subsided, Doug started the "going home" lecture with the four of us about tomorrow. We didn't get a chance to finish before 4:30, but he said after dinner he would finish. In the midst of all these activities I was trying to pack so I wouldn't have to rush at night.
The rest of the evening was pretty much a blur. Dinner was great, Kevin made salmon with asparagus and red skin potatoes. He really is a great cook and so down to earth. I hope they keep him around for awhile. :) Audrey's PW was also there to meet her and see the dog. After dinner Doug regrouped us to tie up loose ends. At this point we were all exhausted, even Doug, but he did his best to finish everything. We each got a bag of Iams and a bed tie for home. He went over the grad pack and all the paperwork in it. We haven't signed ownership or custoday yet though, since we technically haven't finished training. He also went through the airport security procedure; he pulled a little rug up to one of the doorways that lead down the hall to the dining room, and we practiced there! Traveler got a little silly about this, especially when Dough started patting him down. By this point all of the dogs began to sense that things were different. Each dog responded in their own way. One whined like a puppy, one got quiet, and one got silly. Traveller just seemed to drift a bit while guiding, and he was more interested in everything!
After this Doug brought me into the trainer's room, where he called Traveler's Puppy Walker so we could chat. I have to admit I was a little nervous about this. by this point everyone had already met theirs in person. While I was a little disappointed about not meeting them in person, I was grateful for the phone call.
The woman I talked to was just wonderful! Her name is Carla, and she told me storoes about the family and Traveler's puppyhood. The family has raised seven dogs for the Foundation, which is just great! Five of them are now working guides, and one is a bomb sniffing dog. Both Carla and her husband are in education; so as a pup Traveler spent A LOT of time in schools. Helf the week he would be with Carla in admin. and the other half snoozing in the classroom with the husband. Carla said that even as a puppy, Traveler was "unflappable" and sat quietly even in the midst of school chaos. He also likes the water; Carla described a picture they have of him floating on a lounge in the middle of a pool. She also asked some questions about me, and said that she would send pictures to the Foundation in the next few weeks for them to forward to me, which would be just great! I hope that works out.
The phone call was rather short, and afterwards I headed out to finish the lecture, where I was shown how to clean doggy ears again. After the 8:30 break Traveler and I headed back into the lounge to listen to Mike D's beautiful guitar playing. For break, walked up and down the halls playing a song and singing "It's Break Time!" to the tune of "Wild Thing." This was cute, and reminded me to go listen to more music.
Once he packed up and left i finished packing and went off to bed. Friday was going to be a day full of Travelling! :)
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