DENVER -- November 2, 2007

Marianne is in such a tizzy this week that it was hard for me to get a bark in edgewise.  I finally got her to sit down and tell me what was so exciting.

It seems that Hudson has been selected to participate in next week's Team Training (TT)!  This means that CCI has determined that he's ready to be matched with a partner.  WOW!  I get it now -- pretty heady news!

"Will we know who his person is on Monday?" I asked, wagging my tail excitedly.

"Oh, if only it were that soon," Marianne sighed.  "Look, here's some information that tells us what to expect."

Oh.  It's more complicated than I thought.  So, here's a summary of  what will happen:

• Team Training participants (people who have applied for a CCI dog and been approved, and who have been invited to participate in this TT class) arrive at the Oceanside campus on Sunday.  TT starts Monday.
• Participants work with the trainers and pretend dogs on Monday.  They need to learn the commands and how to handle a dog before they get to work with real dogs.
• On Tuesday and Wednesday the trainers bring in the dogs who have been selected to participate.  There are always more dogs that people, because the trainers want to ensure that every participant receives their perfect match.  Dogs that don't make a match are usually held over for the next semester.
• The trainers carefully observe the participants and how they are working with each dog.  On Wednesday evening the trainers will meet to decide which dogs to match.
• On Thursday the participants start working exclusively with their matches under the careful guidance of the trainers.
• Meanwhile, the puppy program manager is calling the hopeful puppy raisers who are sitting as close to their phones as possible.  Some will be told that their dogs were not matched, and will be evaluated the following week to determine what the future holds for them.  Others will be told that a preliminary match has been made.  Marianne tells me this is puppy raiser code for "Buy a plane ticket - it looks like your dog may graduate!"
• The participants work with their dogs through the weekend, which includes a sleepover and one-on-one handling without the trainers.
• If all goes well, the puppy raisers will get another call telling them the match looks good.  This is puppy raiser code for "Your dog is going to graduate!"
• Of course, after all is said and done, these are dogs. I am the first to admit that we can be goofy, fickle and sometimes contrary.  A dog can be released from the program AT ANY TIME, up to and including graduation (or even afterward, but that's another DogBlog.)  Marianne says she will only believe Hudson is graduating when she sees him on stage with his partner.  She has a point: two of her pups have gone through Team Training, not matched and then been released.
• The graduates describe TT as incredibly stressful and difficult.  They also say it's the best and most rewarding two weeks of their lives.  In addition to learning canine behavior theory and how to work with a canine partner, they also learn upwards of 40 CCI commands, canine grooming, the Americans with Disabilities Act and service dogs, and how to be a safe and effective team. WHEW!
• The puppy raisers are invited to a breakfast with the graduates on Saturday morning before graduation.  It's a small gathering and a great way to get acquainted and trade stories about the pup's upbringing and TT experiences.  The dogs, meanwhile, are with CCI volunteers and staff who are giving them baths so they will be beautiful for the ceremony.
• After breakfast the dogs are reunited with their puppy raisers, who are allowed to keep them until the ceremony.  Lots of hugs, happy tears and photo ops!
• The graduation ceremony starts around noon.  It's held near CCI in the beautiful Mission San Luis Rey.  The first part of the ceremony is when the pups getting turned in for Advanced Training march across the stage (Hudson did this part in May.)  The second half is when the graduates go on stage and formally receive their new canine partners as the puppy raisers hand over the leash.  Big Kleenex moment.  Big. HUGE.
• After the ceremony the graduate teams mingle with the crowd, take tons of pictures and then head home to begin their new lives.

So, watch this space next week for an update!  Marianne says she already has our plane tickets and hotel reservations, so we're going to graduation no matter what Hudson does.  But OH, how wonderful if he makes his perfect match!

Chow for now!

Parker

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