INTRODUCING.....

So I picked up my new puppy today after putting Malcolm in his kennel (thats a post for another day I can't bring myself to talk about it yet). My new puppy is a MALE and his name is PINNACLE. His name will take getting used to. He is a pretty dark red color but has a white spot on his head, a white stripe on his tummy, and his back right paw is white too. He is a sweet boy who loves to be held. He was not at all thrilled about the car ride home at first and did manage to throw up on me and my moms car luckily there was a target so we stopped there to get wipes and paper towels to clean the mess up. After he threw up he settled in and slept the rest of the way home. The drive was 4 hrs long because of traffic. We stopped a couple times to let him out to potty but he didnt go until we got all the way to my apartment. He got to stretch his legs some and eat his diner before he continued on with my mom to Bakersfield. I'll see him again in a week and a half. Hope he doesn't grow to much cause hes already a bit to heavy to carry and he still has 6 weeks to go till he has all his shots.

Me meeting Pinnacle for the first time

Pinnacle asleep in my arms on our way to Fresno

Trying to get Pinnacle to go potty

Pinnacle in his baby jacket

you can kind of see the white on his back paw

He has quiet the big yawn

Puppy Assignment part 2/ Guess the name!

So I got a little more information on my new puppy today!! The pups name will start with the letter P! I do not know the gender so for fun and more of a challenge i'll be playing the name guessing game a little different. You can guess the gender and then the top 3 names you think the pup will be named. Unfortunately, I dont have a prize but hope you still have fun guessing.

Puppy assignment part 1

Well I got an email from my leader in bakersfield about my new puppy that ill be getting saturday( my mom is starting the pup for me while i finish this semester so the pup is going to start in the bakersfield guide dog group and then once it gets its shots get transferred to me in fresno). She received a little bit of info on the pup. The pup is a cross and the parents are amici who is a male golden and march who is a female cross. The best part of this is March is Medford's(puppy # 7) sister. So Agent and this new puppy are cousins! It will be fun having cousins under one roof. The pup will be 10 weeks old when i get it on saturday. Look for part 2 when i know the gender and litter letter.

Malcolms goodbye video

 I made this video and it takes a look at all the fun things I did with Malcolm in the short time I have had him. I will miss him a lot. Enjoy. (Warning may need tissues).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8D4p7mCTjE

Recall leter

Today the letter that no raiser looks forward to came today via email. The letter said that malcolm is being recalled the weekend of April 27. I know he will do great. This letter makes it real that in a week and a half ill be handing him over and saying goodbye. All his paper work is in and all i have left is to fill out his fun facts sheet that will go to whomever his forever person is.

catching up

So this post is kinda late. Unfortunately I had some medical things up so I wasn't allowed on my computer to post. March 23- April 1 was my Spring Break. I managed to do a couple fun things with Malcolm even though I had tons of homework.


The break started with Malcolm, Agent, and I all loading up into my car to drive home to Bakersfield on March 22. Once we got there I let to boys out to potty and then unloaded my car so that I could change and get ready to go out to dinner. We went to the country club we belong to and sat outside with one of my mom's friends. We were there for 3 hours and he just laid there next to my chair. He received many compliments on how calm he was. On Saturday March 23 my family spent the day relaxing by the pool. We let Malcolm run some and then he went inside so that Agent could come out and swim in our pool. Agent loved it. I'd throw his tennis ball into the pool and he'd jump off the side to get it. He swam for a long time. Sunday I loaded Malcolm up and we headed back to Fresno. We were in Fresno from Sunday till Tuesday morning. While in Fresno Monday night my Guide Dog group had a meeting at one of our malls. I let someone else work him that meeting and he did good. He was a bit excited at first but then settled down and listened.


On Wednesday March 27 one of my friends, her guide dog puppy Warren, Malcolm, and I all got up early to drive to Monterey for the day. Malcolm was not use to riding in the front when there is someone in the seat so it took him a bit to settle in. Once we got there we got the boys out and gave them water and gave them a chance to go potty. Once the boys were empty we made the walk from where we parked to the Monterey Aquarium. Malcolm was a bit distracted by the new smells so he needed a few corrections to get focussed again. Once inside the Aquarium we were given a map and instructions on what we could and couldn't do since we had the dogs. The people working there were great and very nice to us. Unfortunately it was quite crowded and people kept running into us, pushing us, and petting the dogs without asking so after about an hour in there we left. During the time we were in there Malcolm got to see some interesting things. He was particularly fascinated by the sharks and would sit there watching them. He also loved seeing the Penguins and Sea Otters. The Aquarium has a deck area where you can go out to see the ocean and get fresh air. While Malcolm had been pretty good in the aquarium he was a bit distracted by the ocean. outside. After the Aquarium we went to Bubba Gumps for lunch/dinner. The boys went under the very small table and fell asleep. After eating we made the walk back to my car where the boys were given the chance to go potty again. We then walked down to the beach that I had parked at so the boys could check out the Ocean. However, since we were about to drive home they weren't allowed in the water just to look at it. It was a fun day.

Malcolm on the beach with a smile

Malcolm checking out the beach

Malcolm checking out penguins

Malcolm out on the deck

Malcolm watching the fish and sharks

watching the ocean he really wanted in

Malcolm in front of one of the aquarium tan

We didn't do much else the rest of the week except go to dinner and he got groomed. Easter he had a busy day. We woke up and he got to go outside for short bit to play. I then got ready for Easter brunch at the country club. We decided to take Malcolm with us. He went under the table like I asked him and he went to sleep even though there were kids running around and people getting up and sitting down all around us since it was a buffet. Since it was really crowded my dad held his leash at the table while I went to get my food (heels, plate of food, a dog, and a crowded small area didn't seem like a good combo so thats why he stayed at the table). My aunt, her boyfriend, and some family friends who had joined us for brunch complimented his great behavior. They actually forgot he was there. After brunch we headed home where I had to do some homework. After homework my mom, sister, Malcolm and I all went to the movies where we saw the movie Temptation (really good movie). Again he did great.

picture of all 4 of my boys during Spring Break (no Lobo the lab on the end is not sad he just doesn't smile for cameras most of the time.

my four boys ( back row: Agent, Malcolm, Wilbur  Front Row: Lobo)

The Monday after Easter I was able to go see my old Guide Dog group from Bakersfield and see how their pups are all doing. We did some obedience and then went to work on stairs and elevators. The area we were at has a bridge that people can walk across since there are train tracks under it so we also did that. We went up the stairs, across the bridge, and down some more stairs. As we were getting ready to turn back around to head back a train came so we decided to stand back and let the dogs watch incase the train blew its whistle. The train decided to stop halfway under the bridge, so the dogs got to walk on a bridge with a train under it. Malcolm did great and wasn't bothered at all.


Tuesday afternoon it was back to Fresno where we had to go to class. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Malcolm was at a puppy sitter since our CFR wanted to see how well Malcolm does at settling into a new place. Im told he did good. Only issue was a little alert barking but when hed do it it was only one bark and would stop when corrected. I am down to 13 more days with Malcolm I am going to miss him a ton.

It is official

So I have known since last month that Malcolm would be on the April recall for formal training since he is almost 18 months (in 3 days) and they take dogs back at 15-18 months old. However, today I got the official call to say Malcolm is on the recall list for April 27. My mom and I will be driving him up that day. I will miss him a lot. He has come a long way in the short time I have had him. I have very high hopes that he will make it as a guide dog.