Meet Baby Artie!
My uncle has raised two Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) dogs so far. The first was a black lab male by the name of Burney. Unfortunatly, Burney did not pass his training, but was still able to be a part of our family by becoming a son to my aunt. Now, he's a spoiled big boy who's in the process of becoming a certified therapy dog to visit people in hospitals. The next pup my uncle raised was a while female lab named Gandy. This fiery girl is currently going through her graduation training, so we're still waiting to hear back from the CCI program.
My uncle asked me a while back if I wanted to co-raise and I immediatly said, "YES!" I was around Burney a lot, but I helped out a lot more with Gandy. I even took Candy-Gandy around with me in San Francisco with my mom (at first it was terrifying because my uncle wasn't there to guide me!) but I realized that I could do this. I wanted to co-raise. So, a few weeks ago at my mom's and aunt's birthday celebration (they were born on the same day exactly one year apart!), my uncle said that the CCI program had a little boy that needed a good trainer. Two weeks later we were collaborating on where my uncle and I would meet to go pick up this mystery pup. On August 7th, I drove to Fairfield, met with my uncle and grandparents, and the four of us drove to Santa Rose to see Baby Boy.
He was partially a surprise since we didn't know what color he was! We arrived and toured the grounds with my uncle playing the part of the tour guide. We eventually found our way into a small room with three other families who were picking up their puppies to train. My uncle was filling out all of the paperwork and I was listening to the orientation. We saw that he was a white pup! I honestly couldn't wait to see his face. We walked over to the CCI vet clinic and I asked my uncle to hold the puppy's bad of new goodies (i.e. new CCI cape, medicine for fleas, instructions, ect.). My uncle looked at me and said, "You know, Serena, I need to see the dog sometime!" to which I answered, "Sure, but only on the weekends!" haha! The first two pups were brought out. Where's my new baby?? The last two people (me and this other family) walked into the next building where they were holding the last two puppies. "Here's Arthur!" a man said holding what I hold to be the most precious puppy face I have ever seen. I took him into my arms and immediatly he started licking my neck all over with his puppy kisses. He even smelled of puppy!
How can you not love puppy kisses?!
So, there I was. Bonding with my little son :). After just spending a few hours with him, I already knew his personality. He's so smart with a need to explore. He's a snuggler with the biggest heart. He's curious with the ability to change lives. I will give monthly updates on how his and mine's adventures are going. Until then, here are photos of Baby Arthur (Artie for short). Try not to melt at the sight of this face!
Much Love! XOXO