busy days

Hi again.. it's me, Ginger!!! I know that Mom and I haven't "blogged" here in a while, but we have been so busy!!! Now, before too much time goes by again... let me catch you up on all the things that I have been doing!!!

I went to see my doctor!! He is the best doctor in the whole world and is taking such good care of me. I got right on the scales, and sat there like a good girl while they got my weight. I am now 24 pounds, which means officially - I am bigger than any of the cockers in the house!!!Mom says I'm going to be the "big dog"...

This is Dr. Spahn!!! my wonderful doctor. Dr Spahn has said that he will take care of me and will be my sponsor!! Isn't this just the best?? He also took care of Chester (mom's "other" golden!!) and he offered to do the same for me!! "thank you so much!!! I will never forget you"......

On the same day that I saw the doctor, we also went to pick out a Christmas tree. I had no idea what that meant, except that Camille and I got to take a really nice walk thru the trees. Sadie and baby Abbie went with us too.. this seemed quite important to the family and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Camille seemed to know what was going on.. so I just stuck close to her. She is teaching me so many things, and I like her very much.....

Mom wanted to get a good picture of the three of us.. I was in a happy mood and wanted to play. I though that grabbing Mom's glove might be fun.. she thought otherwise.....

and made me "settle down" and pose for a nice picture!!!!!

After a little bit, Mom and Dad had picked the tree.. then they cut it down and dragged it out of the field. I hear that it's going inside our house... who has ever heard of a tree inside the house?? this might be fun!!!!

A few days later, brother Leo came to visit. I love seeing him and we got to run and play in the back yard. We love to be rough together.....

Another one of our adventures was going to "Pease Greeters". This is a place where soldier that are either returning to the states or leaving the states stop for a break while their plane refuels. Mom has wanted to do a greeting for sometime and this particular greeting came at a time that fit perfectly. She took Dad, Camille and I with her.... she said it would be "good training" for me...it was very crowded and busy....






but I had a wonderful time. Espcailly when I got special attention from the soldiers!!! I gave them big kisses and welcomed them home. I hope we can do more of these greetings..

There were a lot of dogs that came to this greeting... and here we are... there is Mindy (boxer) and her Dad - Rick (who is a very good friend of Mom and Dad's).. then that's me with Mom and Dad.. Camille is in there too... next is Jamison with Diana.. and then Kassy with Charlie and Nate with Banjo.. a whole family of dogs!!!!

And in this puppy picture... we have Louie as well, he is a service puppy too!!! He is being raised by Mary and Scott (good friends of Mom's) and Louie is a CCI puppy. We really don't care "who's puppy we are".. we are service puppies all the same!!!!

On Christmas Day we went to Kas and Nate's house. It was a very busy day, with lots of things going on. I just loved being a part of it all. I thought the presents were kind of neat and would have liked to help open a few. But Mom said that I just needed to watch....










My Mom does many different things... aside from working with me, teaching dog classes, running her little boarding kennel and the like... she also works part time in the post office. Since I have been such a good girl, she has taken me to work a couple of times. I usually go in the afternoon.. that way I only have to be there a half day and Mom can watch me better because it usually isn't too busy then.

to be truthful.. I find the post office a little boring. Mom can't really "play" with me there and I have to be on my best behavior. We work a lot on "laying quietly"... I can do it.. but it isn't the most fun that I have.....

Puppy class is WAY more fun!!! I go to puppy class with Mom and Camille... Mom is the teacher, so I sometimes have to wait with Camille until she needs us to help out. But we also have playtime at class and I LOVE that. This is me, playing with my boxer friend, Lili....









And here I am with Doodly and Lili.. Mom is sad that the picture is fuzzy.. but we move so fast that she couldn't keep up with us. Either way, you can see how much fun we have!!!

And here I am with Mindy...

We have a good amount of snow now, and Mom needs to get some photos of me out playing in the snow... she needs to get it together!!!

so, as you can see, we have been quite busy and hopefully now, we can keep up on the blog a little better than we did this month.

I can't believe that I have been here for a month now.. the time goes so quickly.. but there will be lots to report on in the up coming months and I hope I have many fans reading about me...

so until next time..... Love, Ginger!!!!

training day....

Hello, it's me again... Ginger!!! Just reporting in on what's been going on around here. This is me with Camille!!! Camille is Mom's "other" dog - actually there are several "other" dogs that I live with... all cocker spaniels!!! But Camille is the one that helps Mom teach dog classes, so, she always go, and now I do too. Right now, Camille and I are the same size, but Mom says that it won't be "that way" for long. (by the way, can you see the big bump on my head... I knocked it and got this big goose egg... Mom took me to the vet, just to be sure everything is OK... and it is, silly me)

Here I am with my brother... Leo. I am so excited that we get to see each other quite often. This was at puppy class and our Mom's always give us the chance to play together.











Actually, Mom and Dad went on a little vacation for a long weekend, and I got to go and live at Leo's house. We had a grand time together and kept Mom Kathleen very busy. Leo is coming to my house in January, so my Mom will get to see what we are really like.









My Mom got back home on Tuesday, and then Thursday morning (12/9) - bright and early - we picked up brother Leo and Kathleen and headed off to NEADS for a training day in the city. Teena and Freedom joined us as well, my Mom loves these kinds of days... out with dogs and good friends.






We met up with Dave and did some work in the big training room. Mom says with some "luck" I will have future days of training in this big room with all sorts of "things" like wheelchairs, walkers, light switches and the like... I'm not sure what she means about that, but I did like have some free time with Leo after we had done our lessons.

After our training time at NEADS, we headed over to the mall. Dave wants us to get used to all sorts of sights and sounds, and the mall is a perfect place to work. We started out nice and slow... walked around just a little bit and then found a spot to sit and rest, and simply take in the sights. There was this area with all kinds of moving things on it, I was just as happy to sit and watch them.

As we felt more and more comfortable, we did some walking around. Mom took me near the escalator, we're not allowed to ride on them, but the metal floor just in front of them was an interesting thing to work on. I watched it for a few seconds, and then went over to see what it was all about. No problem with me... and I got a lot of treats for trying it out....pretty cool.

The parking garage was next. It was cold, and noisy in there, but we didn't mind. This is me with Leo and Freedom. I was even a very good girl and did my potty in the garage on the pavement. That's another thing a service dog must do.. potty where and when they can, Mom thinks that is a hard lesson to teach me.

It was a fun day, just enough for puppies. Mom tells me that we will have many more "city" days of training. Good thing because I don't get that kid of "stuff" on the farm!!! Mom has to make a point of getting me out and about so we can work in places like this... sounds good to me!!!

and until my next posting....

love Ginger

first snow....

Yesterday , Mom and I were up bright and early. She had to meet up with a family because she was going to be watching their dog. So, she decided that it would be a good time for us to make our first public outing. We went to Walmart, there is a Dunkin Donut shop there, and while Mom sat and had a coffee, I sat and watched the crowd go by. There were a lot of people out shopping (it's called black Friday), and I saw a lot of shopping carts and big bags. But none of that bothered me. Mom let people who wanted to, pet me, and I thought that all the attention was pretty grand.











I just wanted to show you this picture of the chickens. I am not allowed to chase them... and the white fluffy bird is Mom's favorite, her name is Beeker!!!










And this is my house!!! The weather is kind of grey looking...













And this is what it brought... SNOW!!! not very much to be sure, but it's my very first!!!












course, I thought it was just grand!!! I ate it, rolled in it and zoomed around.












You know, life is pretty good.... I'm having fun!!!

Love, Ginger!!!

Thanksgiving.....

Hi, it's me again - Ginger!!! Today is Thanksgiving, I don't really know what that means, except the house smells really good and there are people coming to visit today. Mom tells me that "the family" is very excited to meet me. She says that they loved Chester and she knows that they will love me just as much. I have been doing very well these past couple of days, I am sleeping thru the night, working out my house training skills and practicing some of my obedience commands. The days a full and fun.












I wanted to tell you about baby Abbie. She and I are going to be great friends!! I love to follow her all around the house, she is just learning to walk, so whenever I follow her, my Mom is always telling me "gentle". I guess they want to make sure I don't topple her over.







This is what the dining room table looked like. Sadly I didn't get any of "this" food, in fact, I wasn't even allowed near the table. I had to go into my crate while the people ate.










But, after dinner, I was let out and got to play with another little girl, she is Naomi.. my Mom's niece. She was fun to play with and we had a great time together....













we wore each other out. My Mom says that tired puppies (and children) are "good things".. whatever that means!!!!


so another fun day,


love, Ginger

day one....

Hello, my name is Ginger, I am 11 weeks old and have just arrived at a place called Sweetgrass farm. I am a golden retriever and my future plan is to become a service dog. My new Mom says she will do everything she can to help me make my goal. This blog is all about me, and will be a story about my first year. I am my Mom's second puppy that she will raise for NEADS and I can tell you, she is so happy and exited that I am here.

My first day was a time to get settled in, though my Mom believes too in jumping right in (notice in the last photo, I am wearing my gentle leader!!) There is much to do and see, I live with six cocker spaniels, two cats and a little baby who is called Abbie. The house is filled with sound and sight, and after a little bit, it made me sleepy and I found a little spot to myself under Abbie's chair.

I also live with Sadie. She gave me a brushing and trimmed my nails. I was a very good puppy and quietly sat in her lap while she fussed over me.

Then Mom said it was time to check out the barn. We took a short walk and came to another building. At first I wasn't so sure, there are some mighty strange animals in this place. Mom says it's home to "the horses, guinea hens and chickens". I didn't mind the birds so much, they pretty much kept to themselves...

but the horse-things wanted to be friends. At least I think they were friendly, as they came right towards me. I had to think about them for a minute, but they seemed nice.....

so, I got brave and walked up to "her" (this is Mocha by the way - she is a miniature horse). I even sniffed her nose, she didn't seem that interested in me. It was fun at the barn, but I have to admit, I took a good nap when we got back to the house.

Later in the day, we went and got Kathleen and my brother Leo. Did I tell you, that Leo is just in the next town and my Mom and Leo's Mom are good friends. So, we will be able to see each other often. My Mom is so happy that she and her good friend can raise us puppies together!!! But as I was saying, we met up with Kathleen and Leo, and went to "puppy school". Mom is the teacher at puppy school, so I worked with a nice lady called Wanda. Here Leo and I are working on a command that is called "down".




It didn't take us long to figure it out.. we're both very smart puppies. So, that was pretty much my first day. Mom says I am off to a good start.. and that sounds good to me!!! After puppy school we drove home, I was happy to climb into my little crate and I slept the whole night thru.

and so I will say good night, and sign off....

love, Ginger