Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Take 2

We're still waiting for his "big boy" vest to come.  It should be here this week.
 I took Dante to Target again tonight.  Am I worried about his being afraid of it? Heck no!  He did fantastic!  I am sorry that all I have is this blurry picture.  But he was great checking in and kept looking at me like, "This is great, isn't it?  I can't believe I got to come back!"  This dude loves his adoring public! ;-)

Having a puppy with you brings out a lot of people.  Before we left, I had Dante in a "down" just to the side of Target's door to practice staying with distractions as people walked in and out, and this guy squats down 3 feet in front of him, and call to him to come.  It isn't the first time it had happened (and it drives me CRAZY!), and usually Dante tries to get up.  But this time, Dante stayed and looked at me.  Win!  The guy looked at me like he was insulted, and I said that he is in training, and that he is not supposed to get up.  He said "Oh." and kept walking.  He so did not get the significance of this, but I was really proud of Dante.  A few minutes later, I overheard him tell the people he was with "Do you see him? He is in training to be a service dog."  I love when people I talk to keep educating more people!


A few minutes later, this lady comes up behind me and says, "Excuse me.  Where did you get his vest?  I am training my service dog and am looking for one."  I know that the simplest Google search can bring up hundreds of different vests and service dog gear, so I doubted her validity, and was not going to say this, so I replied, "He came with it."  She than asked "Where did you buy him?  How much did he cost?"  I explained that I was a volunteer, and was issued Dante and the vest from CCI.  Some people I just can't help but say "What!?!?!" 

4 comments:

  1. Hahaha....amazing that it does not take long before we run into the "ridiculous". I got the SAME question/statement regarding the vest. And I said the SAME thing back. Dejavu! Welcome to Socialization 101. Haha. You did awesome and Dante is a Rock Star!! Woohoo, what a great boy!

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    1. That is sooo funny!! Hahaha! Thanks, we're trying our best!

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  2. i've seen some service dogs at our local target :)

    just found your blog from PBU - i'm so inspired! i've had a sticker on my fridge for 3 years that is an ad calling for volunteers to become service dog puppy raisers. I've wanted to for a long time but I really don't think I am solid enough in my training ability to do it. I'm loving your blog though, thanks for documenting your progress!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I am so glad that you are enjoying my blog.

      I really encourage you to look into raising a puppy. Believe me, I knew absolutely nothing about training a dog (and still have a lot to learn), but they have great support systems that teach you everything you need to know!

      I would love to hear if you decide to do it, and how you make out!
      Hannah

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