November 11, 2009

Tuesday was my last day at 7News. On Thursday I am flying to Oceanside, Calif. with Marianne and John for advanced training, or "turn in," as they call the ceremony on Saturday. Billy Joel was warbling away on the car radio as we drove home Tuesday night. "It's always been a matter of trust," he sang. Marianne parked the car in the driveway and sat for a minute looking thoughtful.

"What?" I asked. "Don't you like that song?"

"I do," she replied, "But I've been thinking of turn in this weekend, and that song made me think about the concept of trust. A lot of what happens at CCI is about trust, when you think about it."

We got out of the car and headed into the house, where we were mobbed by Meryl and Mina and the cats in the usual greeting frenzy. Later, after dinner and play time, I followed Marianne into the bedroom. "What did you mean when you said CCI was about trust?" I asked.

She sat down in the rocking chair and pulled me into her lap for some cradling time. "Well," she said, "Every part of CCI relates to and depends on every other part, and all of it asks for a certain amount of trust."

I squirmed into a more comfortable position. "Explain, please," I said.

Marianne rubbed my ears. "Well, for example, people who donate money trust that CCI will be good stewards of their donations and use the money to further the goals of the program." She began massaging my front paws. "Another example is the volunteer breeder caretakers. CCI requires them to live near the NW campus in Santa Rosa and to care for the breeder dogs," she said. "For the males that means keeping them in excellent physical health and being available to take them to campus on short notice. For the females it means keeping the dogs in excellent physical health, caring for them during their pregnancies and then caring for the puppies until they are 8-weeks old, which involves a lot of cleaning, record-keeping, and other tasks to begin socializing the puppies."

I thought about it. "And then the puppies go to their volunteer puppy raisers, right?"

Marianne nodded. "Yup, and CCI trusts us to keep you safe, in good health, teach you about 30 basic commands and love the stuffing out of you. But more than that, CCI trusts us to remember that you're not pets, and to follow their rules. Plus, we're entrusted with taking puppies out appropriately in public and being good ambassadors for CCI wherever we go."

"And when we hand the pups back to CCI at turn in," she continued, "We're trusting that the trainers and staff will love you as much as we do. When I handed over my first puppy, Trevin, I was sure that no one could love him as much as I did, but when I saw him six months later with his trainer Simi, I knew I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong," she laughed. "It was very clear when I saw them together that he adored her and she loved him like crazy."

"Were you a little sad or jealous?" I wondered.

"No, I was delighted, and that's part of the CCI magic. We learn to open our hearts in so many ways," Marianne said, rubbing my tummy. I groaned happily.

"What else?" I asked.

"The people who have applied for dogs trust that the CCI trainers will match them with a canine partner who will become their key to greater independence," Marianne said. "That's a huge leap of faith, especially for someone who has never had a pet dog before, much less a service dog, and isn't really sure how the CCI dog will help or how things will work out."

"It's kind of like an arranged marriage, huh? You hope you fall in love but what if it's awful?" I mused.

Marianne stopped rubbing my tummy. "Have you been reading romance novels again?" she asked. I blushed. "Maybe one or two," I admitted. "But how do the trainers know the match will work out?"

"Part of it is their experience with the dogs; after six or nine months of training they know the particular skills of each dog really well," Marianne explained. "And the staff who interview the applicants work closely with the trainers so they know what kind of assistance each person will need from a CCI dog."

I wagged my tail. "And the trainers and staff at CCI trust that the graduates will love the dogs and treat them well and call CCI if they need anything, right?"

"Right," Marianne agreed. "It's a circle."

I pondered for a moment. "So the circle starts all over again when I go to turn in on Saturday and you get Mars next week, doesn't it?"

Marianne hugged me and her voice sounded a little shaky. "Yes, it does. It's one of the things that makes this such a bittersweet experience." She pushed me off her lap and wiped her eyes. "Now, let's go get your bedtime cookie. We have a very early flight tomorrow."

Wish me luck on the next phase of my training and watch for Mars' DogBlog to start when he gets here!

Chow for now and love,

Ross

Questions or comments for Ross? Send him an e-mail!

Would you like more information about Canine Companions for Independence or perhaps be a puppy raiser? Call 1-800-572-BARK or go to CCI for details.