Monday, December 13, 2010

Dog tired



Has it really been almost 3 weeks since we've updated the blog? Yikes!

It's been pretty busy here in the Dempsey household, and time has been flying by. We're packing up for our second annual Christmas road trip to Phoenix and LA, and for the last few weeks, Dempsey has been in "evaluation."

Evaluation is the very first step in placing Dempsey, either in a career as a service dog, or perhaps an alternate career if his skills and temperament aren't a good match for service work. Three days a week for three weeks, Dempsey goes to the training center, where professional dog trainers test his skills and get to know his personality. In addition to the evaluation at the training center, there are field trips, where Dempsey's skills are tested in the "real world."

The evaluation process is really well run, and it's been fun for us. Every morning, we pack a little lunch for Dempsey and get him dressed. A pet taxi service comes to pick him up, and in the afternoon, they bring Dempsey home. It's like our little boy is going off to school, for a big midterm exam.

Dempsey just adores his "school bus" driver. Every morning, he greets her with wagging tail and wet kisses. When he comes home, he's happy to see us. As soon as he gets undressed from his pack, he'll go in the backyard, run crazy snow zoomies for a few minutes, and then -- crash! -- he naps the rest of the afternoon. We know he's been concentrating hard for his midterm exam, so we've eased up quite a bit on his training.

We only have one other adventure to report -- a trip to Macy's downtown to visit Santa Claus. I'll put some pics up as soon as I finish the Christmas cards. Right now I'm wishing that licking envelopes were a service dog skill. Blech!