My First Day At School

4:30 pm

In about an hour we're heading out for Puppy Kindergarten at a nearby pet store.
I am so nervous. I don't think these people know that I am fine with learning about 10 commands with the Jo (the redheaded Pack Leader) and Stan (her moustached husband), but actual SCHOOL concerns me. There are a lot of high expectations for us goldens....I hope they are somewhat lenient; I just celebrated my 14 week old birthday (a dollop of peanut butter on my nylabone chewie -- superb!).
ooooh, I hope nobody is loud or bossy -- I'm getting pretty used to a lot of hugs & kisses and gentle, patient instruction.

8:00 pm

Unbelieveably excellent -- school was soooooo coll -- three other goldens and a couple of "oodle" or "doodle" something-or-others and one really adorable terrier! And everyone was so friendly and sniffy and playful! I adore School! Can't wait to go every Thursday through March. I was pretty proud I already knew "come" and "sit" and "down" and even "stay." And then I really understood the "leave it" they threw in. The instructors are nice (and have tons of treats) and I am so exhausted from all the hoopla I can barely type another word.....just this last thing: one of the humans there took my face in her hands and said I was one of the most beautiful boys on golden pond she has ever seen and then kissed me on my nose. Makes for pretty sweet dreams.

My Schedule

It’s like being at Boot Camp, with far more smooching than the military usually allows (or at least that’s what I hear). The day generally goes like this (by the way, “Hurry” is one of those human euphemisms for toileting activities):

5 am

I whimper……She gets up and greets me with a lot of whispered hugging & kissing -- out of my kennel and onto a Red Sox leash for a “Hurry” outside. I can tell you that after 8 hours, I am on task with this physical relief.

5:15 am

She rewards me with more low-volume praise and kisses while the coffeemaker hums along. We play, She talks; I am very excited as the day begins.

While She sips her coffee and peruses e-mail nearby, I chow-down on yet another bowl of my Eukanuba cupful, with giant slurps of fresh bottled water. It’s not the Ritz, but very nice nonetheless.

5:30 am

Another “Hurry” attempt -- sometimes yes, sometimes, no. I am not a machine.

The House Dog, a wheaton terrier, joins us.... and for the life of me, I can not understand her reluctance to gallop around my tethered space. Perhaps she’s playing hard-to-get? Am still not sure what’s up with this pet of Theirs.

6 am

He enters the scene -- another “Hurry” effort before He leaves for the gym.

6:30 am

She & I review the “Come” “Sit” “Down” sequence a few times for Charley Bears. Damn, they’re tasty! I know that “Swezey, Kennnel” means the fun has come to an end for now. (I also know that She is very annoyed when I chomp on her arm, hand, slipper, or bare feet. “Ouch, don’t!" means no Charley Bears for awhile……

8 am

She comes downstairs, He returns from the gym, and They have breakfast and talk about all sorts of disinteresting things. A little while later, it’s one more “Hurry” and that’s it until almost lunchtime. I have lots of toys, but I miss chewing on the ends of Her robe when she’s pre-occupied with something else.

11:00 am

He take me out on a l-o-n-g walk -- we don’t practice much of anything since he is a quiet guy and likes to walk without much chatter. Once we’re inside, a nice bowl of fresh water follows with another cup of puppy chow. (By the way, I also eat again -- supper --around 4:30 pm which means I’ll do well in Florida with the Early Bird Specials if CCI ships me there in May, 2011.)

Aside from a couple of “Hurry” forays into the backyard, the afternoon has intermittent “training” time with Her and indecisive sniffing from the Wheaton. I actually like being tethered to “My Space” since it provides a dog’s-eye view of most everything going on with these people.

I adore riding in the car, being brushed and fussed over with a warm washcloth, and having my tummy rubbed. Those are the highlights of some afternoons.

After supper and a couple of “Hurry” sprints, He and She go upstairs and watch TV in the Loft with the Wheaton. I can hear everything that goes on but I can’t see them. They brought me up there last week but promptly returned me to “my space” when I pee’d on the ottoman and chewed the leg of it too.

I heard Her say that They ”jumped the gun” on bringing me to the Loft. Must be some military term I’m not familiar with.

At any rate, He ALWAYS takes me out to “Hurry” precisely at 9 pm and then gently coaxes me into my kennel and say’s a kind but firm “goodnight.”

If they played Taps on a trumpet it couldn’t be more like Fort Skylar.

Hey, it's me! Swezey.

Yeah, I know....you expected a lot of "woof" and "arf."

However, I'm a golden retriever -- a distinguished member of a very intelligent breed of canine.

So, surprise-surprise....I speak. English-only right now, but I may add some French before too long....like I said, I'm a smart one.

And I'm on mission as a puppy-in-training to becoming an assistance dog. I will spend 18 months in Medfield, MA (part-time in Quincy) and challenge my foster parents to a huge laundry list of things they have to learn. (And then they have to successfully teach me so I can graduate and be matched with my very own human to help and love for a decade before I am retired.

So far (I'm 10 weeks old at this writing, mind you) I know my name, respond faithfully to "Swezey, sit" and sleep through the night.

I like it here a lot -- my foster mom is huggie and kissy and my foster dad keeps the old wheaton terrier in tow so I feel protected. Nice people, cool kennel, regular meals.

So far, pretty sweet.