Happy Holidays!!

A picture of me wearing Arwen's Santa hat.

Happy Holidays everyone! We each got a nylabone today and we've been playing with them all day long. And I was a very good girl for Momma and wore jingle bells as we took a walk and wore this Santa hat for the picture. Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season! 

Momma's Back!

Well, my Momma's back! She got back a few days ago and we've been having a lot of fun. Marley from the puppy group came to visit and we played and played. It's hard to believe he's just a baby. Then we went to the group Christmas Party. Momma made me wear these jingle bells around my neck, but that was ok. We had a lot of fun and it was great to see everyone again!

A picture of me wearing my green fuzzy necklace with jingle bells.

Unfortunately, we might not get to go up to the snow. We were going to go today, but since yesterday Momma was busy when she didn't think she would be she has to do some stuff today. So she said we would go the day after Christmas (she calls it Boxing Day. I don't know why...I guess there are a lot of boxes after everyone opens their presents so they made a day for the boxes) but now it looks like that my other Grandparents are coming in to visit that day and she already made plans to go shopping the day after that. She said if we have time we'll go on New Year's Eve and get back in time to get to sleep before Santa gets here.

Yesterday we went to the Dog Park! I'll post pictures of that later, but it was soooo much fun! There wasn't a lot of puppy friends there yesterday, but I did get to play with two friends. One of them happened to be Rosie's half sister! That was pretty cool! Hopefully we'll get to go again. Momma says that we can go more since it's cool enough to go in the afternoon.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Not to Long Now

Alright, I know I've been a little absent from the blogging world, but it's exam time and my grandfather hasn't gotten off the computer for the whole week. He says he needed it for work and I would just have to wait until his break started.

Anyway, guess what tomorrow is! That's right! It's the 18th of December. The 18th of December is when my Momma gets in for her short visit. I'm one very happy puppy! She said she's got something yummy for me, Rosie, and Arwen. She's also got a lot planned for us while she's here.

To Do List While Momma is Here:
1. Dog Park visit
2. Long walks around the lake and through the park
3. PWAP Christmas Party
4. Picture with Santa! (I'm really excited about this one! I've been really good. Well...good enough)
5. Snow Play Day

See? We've got a pretty full schedule! I'm so happy. Momma says that I might get to meet one of the group's newest puppies almost right after she gets back! I can't wait to meet my new friend!

32 hours (plus or minus a couple of minutes) and counting...

An Update

My sister Halette is still in the last phase of formal training. I hope she finds her special someone soon! My brother Hermes graduated on November 19!!! I wasn't sure if I was allowed to post the picture I found of Hermes and his new partner because it's copyrighted but you can just follow the link to the GDB flickr site! The first link goes straight to his picture and the second to the flickr site. You all should check out the great pictures there. There are pictures of my and my brother and sisters when we were little babies too!  

Also, because it seems that I get into a lot of trouble when my grandparents are away at work they and my momma have been talking about what to do. With all this talking my Grandma Marion decided to start taking me to work with her whenever she could. She took me for the first time on Monday and she said I did awesome! She said I was a born supervisor.

She said that I do have to stop pulling so much, but I can't help it. I'm just so excited about getting to go to work! I get to wear my ambassador scarf and everything.

Saying all of that, I still can't wait until Momma comes back for her winter break! Just 17 days left!



ZZZZZZZ...

I'm one pooped puppy!

My grandparents were really busy Wednesday and Thursday. So, Arwen and Rosie and I didn't have much to do for those couple of days. But Friday and today! Gosh we did a lot.

Elliot came over on Friday and took us to the dog park. Now, the dog park always tires us out. There's sooo much to do and sooo many doggie friends to be made. I'm hoping that Momma takes me to the dog park a few times when she's back (which I'm still really excited about).

Then my granddad took me for a walk. They haven't been able to take us for walks every morning for a while because my granddad is really busy at the University and there have been a few days of rain. I keep offering to be his shop dog but he says that I can't. Something about a lot of wood being around. I don't know why that would be a problem. I'm a real good wood chewer.

Then Elliot and his friends had a party. It was because he passed the Bar? I don't know what that means, but there were a lot of people here all night! Rosie went to bed with the grandparents around ten. I tried to keep up with Arwen who stayed up and watched the WHOLE party while making friends, but I couldn't. I don't know how she does it. I fell asleep just an hour after Rosie.

Anyway, this morning I was laying on the bathmat being a good watch dog while Grandma Marion took a shower and I dozed off! I fell asleep on the job. Can you believe it? Gosh, I must have had too much fun yesterday. I was told that it was a good thing I was a pooped pup because my grandparents have some church business to do today.

Maybe I'll just sleep all day.

ZZZZZZZ....

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly  

Best Gift Ever

I know, I know. The whole post a day thing isn't working out very well. I had a little bit of a bump these past two days. I was grounded from the Internet. I decided to steal clean another pair of my grandfather's reading glasses. Did you know that dog slobber isn't good for cleaning them and the humans don't  like it when you do it? I do now.

Anyway, I just received the best early Chrismachannukwanzica gift ever! My Momma told me that she's definitely coming home for a little bit over her break! Isn't that great!? I can't wait to see my Momma again. Maybe she'll bring me back something cool from Scotland. I only have a month to wait! Oh, it's going to go by so slow.

Well...thirty days and counting.

Puppy Meeting Tonight

I'm so excited! My grandparents are letting my go to the puppy meeting tonight! Hooray! Now I just have to wait another whole hour to be picked up! I should probably go and get ready. A girl's got to look her absolute best when going out. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. For now, here's a picture of Arwen and myself.

Me and Arwen laying on the couch. I tired to tell my grandparents that they should have put two dog blankets up there.

Love and Lab Kisses,

Hilly

They're Back

Well, my granparents got home last night. Arwen, Rosie, and I tried to pretend that the dogsitters followed all the rules right down to the periods but it wasn't that easy. We get spoiled by our dogsitters. They're just so great to me sometimes.

But, that's not the exciting news! The exciting news is that I might get to go to the puppy meeting tomorrow night! Hooray! I've missed going to the puppy meetings and seeing all of my friends. I can't wait! My Auntie Mary says that she'll come pick me up and then drop me back off after the meeting is over. That means that I'll get to ride with Lance all the way to the meeting.

I'll even get to show off my recall skills. Also, we're getting two new puppies this Saturday! Maybe I'll get to meet them if my Momma comes home.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Ho Hum

Ho Hum! What a boring day!

Sorry guys! Nothing at all interesting happened today. All we did was hang out with the dog sitters for a while. It's gotten pretty cold for where we live so none of us really wanted to go for a walk this morning and freeze our paws off! I don't know what I'm going to do if it stays this cold. I don't want to...go potty in the grass in the mornings. The grass is all icy and does not feel good one bit on my poor paws.

Hmm...might ask Santa to bring me warmer weather for Christmas.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Big Black Boxed

My grandparents pulled out their big black boxes again. Whenever they come out it means people leave and the more come out the longer they're gone. My Momma packed two really big ones full before leaving and she's still not back. Thankfully whenever my grandparents bring theirs out they are littler and they each only pack one.

I tried very hard to stop them from going by laying down in their doorway and looking very sad, but they ignored me! Can you believe it!? They just stepped over me and continued to put their clothes and the sleeping machine thingies in there.

I think those big black box things should be outlawed. At least the dog sitters allow me online.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Thank You Vets!

You know what I found out today? That today is Veteran's Day. At first I thought that this meant vets like Dr. Ramona who takes care of me when I'm sick. But that's not what it means at all. These are men and women who have or are still in the military in our country. Gosh, of course I want to thank them!

Did you know that my big sister Freya works in the military? Pretty cool huh?

So thank you Veterans and all the men and women in service...and thanks to all the vets too. You help a lot.

My One and Only Brother

Guess what I found out today? That my brother Hermes is in Class up at Guide Dogs! Hooray! I'm so proud of my brother Hermes. I can't wait to see his graduation pictures. He'll look all grown up and in a harness and Guiding his perfect match around.

Way to go Hermes!

Halette is still waiting for her perfect match, but I'm sure she'll find one soon!

Love and Lab Kisses (to my brother Hermes),
Hilly

The Brat

The brat is Rosie. Rosie also happens to be my best friend and the one I play with all day and all night, but that just means I can be more brutally honest about her. She's a labradoodle, but she got her food genes from the poodle. I'm never seen someone skip breakfast as often as she does. *shakes head*

Anyway, I call Rosie a brat because she's darn cute and she knows it and uses it to get away with so many different things. And she's loud. Not as loud as she was before the "demon collar" made its appearance. She used to just sit in the middle of the backyard and bark. Now, I've recently discovered the joy of barking at the front door when someone knocks or rings the bell, but just barking to bark doesn't sound like that much fun to me. She also use to steal my toys and take them to her hiding place. I now know where this hiding place is so she can't do it anymore.

But there are a few good things to Rosie. She's energetic like me so we get to play and play and play. She also gets dirtier than me so she's the one who gets hosed down more often. And she's afraid of heights so I never have to worry about her taking my spot on the couch or the bed. These are all good things.

Like I said, she's my best friend but sometimes she really is a brat!


Rosie, the little white labradoodle of the pack, with mud up to her elbows.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

The Queen on the Castle

No, not me. I still have a few years to go before I can even be considered the Queen of our little castle. Nope. I realized that I wasn't giving enough attention to my pack and thought I might introduce you to them both. As she is the leader of our small pack it's obvious that I should start with Arwen.

Arwen, the large Golden Retriever leader of our pack

Arwen will turn 10 in January. 10! That's pretty old (don't tell her I said that). Arwen is the Queen of the house. My 'grandparents' pretend that they run the show when really it's Arwen. They all dote on her. Gosh, she's got a nice set up. She once started limping a little after a walk and the humans dropped everything to take care of her. The limp wasn't even that bad. I wonder if I'll ever be in that position of power. 



Arwen sitting out by the tree in our backyard.



Anyway, I respect and love her. Momma always says that she's her four-legged sister so I guess that makes her my Aunt Arwen. She's taught me a lot of stuff like how to respect the older generation (they'll play when they feel like it and not before. I'm telling you puppies, don't even try) and how to bark at the door and get up on the sofa when the house is empty. She's a great mentor.  Though, everyone likes to joke that if she was ever a Guide Dog Puppy she would have been dropped the day she was born. I suppose that means I've got one up on her in that reguard.

Arwen is a happy camper.

My Momma and Arwen. Can't you see the family resemblance?

Arwen showing me what's what by taking the comfy couch and leaving me on the floor.

 Anyway, now you pretty much know Arwen. She may be grouchy at times but when she decides to play she gives me a run for my money.

Love and Lab Kisses,

Hilly

A Lesson Hard Learned

My grandfather teaches at the University in town. He teaches computers and stuff like that. He helps my Momma engrave names into her leashes and even found a way to get my Career Change tag on my new collar...eventually.

Well, he was marking some papers with a few highlighters. He looked a little weary after the first batch and went off for a little while. I, being the good grandpuppy that I am, wanted to help. So, I took the highlighters and tried to mark a few of the papers for him. Unfortunately the only way for me to get the caps off was with my mouth and by the time they were off...well, let's just say I might have had a little lot of trouble getting those caps off.

So, what did I learn? Don't eat highlighters. *tummy groan* Your tummy will not thank you for eating them. This is the email my granddad had to send to his students.

"There is one thing I forgot to mention when explaining the scoring of the instruction manual assignment. Some of you have colored highlighting marks (red, orange and yellow) on your papers. After I had marked a few papers, I started marking some of the papers with the highlighters. I did a dozen or so before my daughter's 19 month-old black Labrador puppy found two of the markers on a table and chewed them into several pieces, hence putting an end to the color marking. (red for bad, orange for not as bad,  yellow for good or noted emphasis) There is nothing especially bad or good about your paper if it has colored marks. Having the colors on your paper simply means your work was being scored while the markers were intact."
Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Aww Man!

Sorry guys! I can't believe that I forgot to write a post before Midnight. Shoot! It's now 2 minutes into November 7th and I haven't written a post for the 6th.

Ah well, today was a Sunday so not much happened. The grandparents went to church this morning which I'm no longer aloud to go to, so the three of us plus the cats had a lazy Sunday morning. A lazy Sunday really! Sometimes, I guess that's what anyone needs; a lazy Sunday.

I'm off to sleep now but when I wake up I'll write another post to make up for this one I forgot. Oops!

New Toy

While I miss my Momma a looooot, I've come to realise that living with my grandparents isn't that bad. They take me for walks and let me sleep on the bed. Alright, they don't exactly allow me to sleep on the bed per say. I kind of sneak up there when they're gone for my afternoon nap, but they don't yell at me for it either.

I get to play in our backyard with Arwen and Rosie and even if we play in mud outside and bring it inside I don't get in trouble. And they don't mind that I do my business on the concrete patio out back instead of in the grass when it rains. 

The greatest thing is that they buy me new toys every once in a while. Today, I got a new rope toy. You all know how much I like to play rope now. Yep! My grandparents aren't that bad at all.  

Me with my new orange and black rope toy.

Me tuggin' on my new rope toy.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Indoor Swimming Pool

I think my grandparents are thinking about putting in an indoor swimming pool.

This morning there was water all over the floor in the hallway that lead into their room. I started playing in it to show them how much fun an indoor swimming pool would be. For some reason they didn't want me to play in the water. Something about it being dirty water from the toilet.

First of all, who puts toilet water into a swimming pool?! They should have tried it out with normal water first so that we could have fun in it to test it out properly. Second of all, that water isn't dirty. It's clean enough to drink.

Anyway, they mopped it up. I don't think we're going to get that indoor swimming pool after all.

Hermes and Halette

Today was one of those days where it's good to be a pet. I just slept for hours (on the bed when both of the grandparents were out) and then playing with Rosie a little and then slept some more.

Seeing as today was a lazy day, I thought I'd give you an update on my two siblings still in training. Both Halette and Hermes are in the final phase of their formal training! Yay! I'm really proud of my brother and sister and hope to hear that they will be graduating as Guides soon.

As for me, I'm happy being a pet.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Rope Training

Did you guys know that when I first came to live with my Momma as a puppy in training for Guide Dogs for the Blind that I wasn't a big rope player? No, it's the truth! I just didn't get the point of it and I wasn't very good at it.

When I first came here, my Uncle Greg was in town and he taught me to play rope. He taught me to play rope good. Now, I can sometimes beat Arwen and I always beat Rosie. I'm convinced that the reason Arwen wins a lot is because she's bigger than me. I'm a little lab and Arwen is a big golden retriever!

I'm working up to beating her all the time. My granddad is helping me train. Today he trained with me and then he helped me beat Arwen and showed me how to do it. It's all about muscle memory in your jaw and legs you see.

I'm off to train some more. Probably going to do a few laps around the yard and then to some puppy push-ups. Momma use to do those with me to help me train. Works out the front paws.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Happy Halloween and National Blogging Month

Guess what November is! It's national Blogging Month! There's a challenge for national blogging month to write a post a day for a whole month. I'm going to try to do it even though it's going to be hard.

This first post is about Halloween. My grandparents didn't dress any of us up (thankfully! While I know we're adorable in little outfits it's not very dignified), but we did get a lot of trick or treaters. Did you know that it's OK to bark when someone knocks on the door or rings the bell? I had been told all a long that you shouldn't do it, but you can! And it's really fun too! Sometimes, I'm the loudest of all three of us (I'm pretty proud of that).

What's still not OK is rushing up to the door and "harassing" the people coming into the house. So my grandparents have been teaching the three of us the command, "Away from the Door". We're really getting it! We get treats every time we sit and stay out of the entrance way.

But, we don't get treats for false alarms. We've tried to trick them a few times but to no avail.

A picture of me, Rosie, and Arwen sitting away from the door waiting for our treats. Sorry about the glare from my eye. It's a problem with being a black lab.

My Fantastic Family

I wanted to share some news about my wonderful family.

A family picture. From left to right: Halette, Hestia, Me!, Hanalei, and Hana. We're all with our raisers.

At Fun Day this year I got to see most of my siblings. I didn't get to see my two sisters Hibachi and Havasu (because she was Career Changed before Fun Day) and my brother Hermes had been turned in for his formal Guide training right before our litter meeting (bummer!). But I did get to see Hestia, Hanalei, Hana, and Halette. 

Hestia (a black lab)

Hanalei (a black lab)

Hana (a black lab)

Halette (a black lab)

We are all very little girls and we found out we have some similar personality traits. It was a lot of fun. As you know after Fun Day I was Career Changed for...being too friendly with other dogs (I just can't help it! They all look so much fun and I really, really want to play with them). But I thought I would give you an update on the rest of the Fam.

My Daddy Dylan was retired from Breeding at GDB. I heard they were all sad because Dylan was a good daddy and had great puppies. I would have to say that I agree with that statement. My Momma Aqua had her second litter of puppies. Halette and Hermes were the first to go back in for training. Halette was dropped from breeding and put back into formal Guide training. She's about halfway through her training! Hermes is in the last part of training which means he's class ready and could graduate anytime! Then Hanalei went into training. Unfortunately, Hanalei was dropped from breeding and guide work because of a cataract in her right eye. (She went home to her raisers just like me!) I haven't heard anything about Hana, but Momma is trying to find out what happened to her. I found out recently that Hestia was accepted as a GDB Breeder! Hooray! That's a pretty successful litter if you ask me. *Grin* I have an amazing family.

I hope that Momma gets to raise one of Hestia's babies when she comes back. I can't wait to her when my first litter of nieces and nephews are born!

Love and Lab Kisses,

Hilly



My New Job!

Hey guys! I know I haven't been updating all that often. I've been soooo busy. Life as a pet is harder than people let on.

My "grandparents" went out of town last weekend and we had a sitter the whole weekend. This was my first weekend without one of my people so I wasn't sure at first, but Shannon was really, really fun. So they are allowed to go away more often now.

Also! Guess what came finally! My Pet Ambassador Scarf! I'm soooo excited to finally have this. My grandparents surprised me by taking me to a group fundraiser so I was able to wear my scarf and see my friends again! I can't wait for Momma to get back so I can wear it all the time.

Me laying down like a good pet ambassador should.

I also heard that my second raiser Momma (I've had three raiser Mommas) might be coming to visit over the summer. I hope she does!

I'll let you you all know the next time something fun happens!

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

From the Computer

Something weird happened yesterday. I was just going about my business and playing with Rosie when all of a sudden I heard Momma's voice. I know she's been gone for forever already, but she wasn't suppose to get back yesterday. So I decided to investigate.

I went over to my "grandpa" because it sounded like her voice was coming from over near him. I jumped up on his lap to tell him that Momma was home somewhere when guess who I saw in his computer. Momma! Momma was in the computer! She even spoke to me.

Now, I don't know where this Scotland is, but I know it's not in the computer. I tried to tell "grandpa" that we had to get her out of the computer because that's not where she's suppose to be, but he just laughed. Can you believe that? I hope Momma has gotten out of the computer ok. That doesn't seem like a very comfortable place to be.

Momma's Formal Training

Hey all! I'm pretty sad at the moment. Why? Because my Momma left almost a week ago for her "formal training" (she calls it "Universe-ity". I don't know exactly what it means, but based on what she calls it I assume it has something to do with the universe...). It's ok though because my "grandparents" are taking care of me while I'm gone. They're ok, but definitely not a replacement for Momma. Mostly what I do all day is play with Rosie and curl up under my "grandpa's" feet when he's working at the computer. It's weird really. I'm not quite use to sleeping in their room yet. I've accidentally gone to Momma's room a few times and slept there.

It seems like she's been gone forever already, but she did say that she would bring me something back from Scotland! Maybe it'll be a cool looking dog bed or some Scottish treats. I wonder if Scottish dogs eat different things than we do?

Well, that's all for now. Just letting everyone know that I'm alive and well even if I do miss my Momma.

Tricks #3,#4, and #5

I'm doing some more tricks for you guys today. The first one is called "Which One?" Momma says it's an extension of "Shake" and "High Five". All I know is that if I pick the right hand I get the treat! The second one is "Roll Over". I really, really like rolling over, but not as much I like playing dead! That is the best trick ever! Momma says "Bang! Dead Dog!" and I play dead until she says, "Come back to Life!" Unfortunately, I was just so excited to film these tricks for you that I just couldn't wait until she told me to come back to life, but you all know that I'm not really dead so she didn't think it mattered. She thinks this one will be a real big hit if we end up working with children in our future Therapy Work.

Momma is still trying to figure out how to film the other of my trick that involve her body. I'm thinking about creating a page about all my tricks, but it's still a work in progress right now.

Love and Lab Kisses,

Hilly

Tricks #1 and #2

Since I've been released from Guide Dogging my Momma thought it would be cool to teach me some new tricks. I absolutely LOVE doing these because I get food when I do them! What blab doesn't love getting food for pleasing her person? Plus, Momma says these will be fun for kids to do with me once I get into therapy work (we've been talking about it and we've almost decided what we wanna go into).

Anyway! Back to my cool tricks! I thought I would post videos of me doing some of these tricks. I didn't want to do all of the tricks in one post, so today I decided to do "shake" and "high five". Unfortunately since I am a BLAB ( black lab for those of you who don't know) I sometimes don't video or photo all that well, but you still can see me doing all the stuff. The first video is of my doing "shake" and the second is of me doing "high five".

Love and Lab Kisses,

Hilly

Left Alone

You won't believe what happened yesterday! Momma left really early in the morning and didn't get home until real late at night...and she DIDN'T TAKE ME!

That's right! She left me home alone all day long! Alright, I wasn't alone. Arwen and Rosie and Momma's parents were home with me, but still! She didn't take me. Then she came home smelling like a bunch of other dogs. I was so worried that she found a new dog to love and take care of, but she's being with me all day today so I'm pretty sure that that's not what happened. But one of the smells I smelled smelled a lot like one of the dog smells on my bed!

She told me that I had to get use to being with my "grandparents" because she's going to her Advanced Training! What!? No one told me that I wouldn't be going WITH my momma. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself when she's gone. She says that she'll be back, but still! Do you think I could fit inside her suitcase?

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

Laying on the Couch

Hilly here! I'm just laying on the couch with Momma. I've gotta tell you, I really like laying on the couch but sometimes it's really hard work. You gotta know when it's ok to jump up on the couch and when it's not. Like last night.

Last night Momma had some of her friends over for a party. I really liked having everyone come over especially now that I'm a "career changed" puppy. I got so excited because everyone was petting me and telling me what a good girl I was and how great it was that I could just be a pet now. They were letting me jump and lick and sniff and run around and they all thought this was really cute. So, I decided that I would do something really, really cute. There were three people on the couch and I thought they would like a little BLAB to lay on all three of them at once. Sounds reasonable and really cute right? Well, Momma didn't think so. She told me that it wasn't polite to get up on people's laps without asking permission first. I don't quite understand this because she thought it was adorable when I climbed into her lap yesterday before the party. Needless to say the party meant that the Hilly couldn't get up on the couch last night. I had to sleep on the rug near the back door. *humph*

Momma also didn't seem to like it when I jumped up on the couch right onto her laptop. The laptop is ok, but Momma and I had a talk. She said that I had to find an empty spot on the couch before I jump up.

There are so many rules to this couch! I didn't think that being a pet would mean that there would be so many rules, but it does. But I'm learning and trying really hard to be a good pet. It's a hard job ya know. It gets easier when I can cuddle with Momma on the couch while watching TV.

Me sitting on the couch with my giant rope toy. I like taking my toys up here to chew and play with them.

Love and Lab Kisses,

Hilly

My First Dog Park Experience

Yesterday I said that I loved the dog park even though I had never been there. Well, Momma took me and Arwen and Rosie this morning! Let me tell you, I do LOVE the dog park. I was in doggie heaven. There were so many doggie pals to play with and I tried to play with every single one of them. There were doodles and goldens and other labs and an Australian Shepherd that was really silly.

We had such a great time! We're all so tired so I think I'm just going to leave you guys with some pictures while I continue my nap.   

Me with my tongue hanging out standing next to Arwen.

Rosie and I go and sniff and explore the dog park.

Rosie and me in a dog pile!

My tongue was hanging out so long because I ran and ran and ran.

Rosie and I go say to another doodle.

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly

First Post and 17 Months

Hey Guys! My Momma let me start this blog so that all of my blogger friends can keep up to date with what's going on with me. For those of you who don't know me yet, let me introduce myself.

My name is Hilly, I'm a black lab, and I'm not really your average dog. I started my life as a Guide Dog Puppy in Training for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I started off with my first Momma and then came to my current home to finish up my training. You see, I really like other dogs and my first Momma needed a little help to get me past that issue. So Guide Dogs sent me to my new Momma because she is experienced in dogs like me. Well, two weeks ago Jim, Jim's the big boss man for us puppies in training, came to take a look at me. He was really, really impressed with how far I had come along since he first saw me. He was all set to send me in for my advanced training when he asked my Momma the "million dollar question." He asked how I was around dogs I didn't know all that good. Well...I'm not perfect around them. I just wanna play so bad that sometimes I whine in hopes that Momma will let me go sniff and say hello (she never does though). It was decided right then and there that I would be dropped from the program. So, now, I'm what my Momma calls "her Career Changed."

I'm a "Career Change" because now I've got another really important job. I'm my Momma's forever girl. This means I have to do a lot of hard things. It's not easy being a pet. She also says that when she's done with her advanced training (she calls it University) that she'll certify me as a Therapy Dog! That means I'd get to go lay around with people and be loved on all the time. That sounds like a pretty good job to me!

Anyway, Momma wanted me to do a 17 Month post. She says it's "a send off from your training life and into your pet life." Whatever that means. I guess it's because she normally wouldn't have me for very long so she counts her time with her puppies in training by month. So, this is my 17 Things at 17 Months post.

17 Things I'm Loving about the Career Change Life

1. Sleeping on the Bed. I like to cuddle with Momma.

2. Playing with Balls. Seriously guys, these things are the best!

3. Flavoured Nylabones. I love my regular ones, but these are so great!

4. Filled Marrow Bones. I though that regular sterilized marrow bone were great until I tried these!

5. Peanut Butter. Might have gotten over my dog issue had they used this stuff.

6. Getting up on the Furniture. I can get away from Rosie and keep my toys all to myself this way.

7. Tricks! I love performing my new tricks. They're so much fun and I get food for them.

8. The Almighty Clicker. Every time the Clicker God clicks my Momma is trained to give me food.

9. Playing out in the yard alone. Ok, Momma still checks up on me a little, but she's doing in less and less.

10. My Hedgehog. My Momma bought me a stuffed hedgehog and I love it. I couldn't have it when I was in training because it was stuffed and it squeaks. Now I love walking around the house squeaking my hedgehog.

11. Cheese. This stuff is almost as good as peanut butter.

12. Sniffing! My Momma wouldn't let me sniff stuff when we were out on walks before. Now I get to sniff everything!

13. Jumping. I'm a hopper and Momma wouldn't let me hop around other people before.

14. Jogging. This is so much fun. I don't know why they never let me do this before.

15. Fetch. This is the most funnest game ever!

16. Not having to walk across the hot parking lot. I loved working. Don't get me wrong. But the nice cool grass in the backyard and the air conditioned house sounds pretty good to me.

17. The Dog Park. I haven't been yet, but we're going tomorrow. And it's called the DOG park. How can that not be fun!?

Love and Lab Kisses,
Hilly