PEPSI’S PUPPY RAISING JOURNEY
On March 3, 2014, Nancy and I picked up, Pepsi, a cute little 9 pound black fluffy puppy. What a fun day! Tamara and Foster and Otto came along. Pepsi’s sister Pepper and Pepper's puppy raiser were there, too. We did a photo shoot with a 12 pack of Pepsi and Dr. Pepper!
Nancy had raised 7 dogs for CCI and preferred the black labs and/or golden retrievers. Pepsi is 82% golden and black--a black golden, lol! Needless to say, Pepsi was special and Nancy adored him.
As a seasoned puppy raiser, Nancy started right in on Pepsi's early socialization and puppy training. Three months into their puppy raising journey, Nancy suffered a stroke. Pepsi needed to be a part of her recovery so we became co-raisers. Pepsi visited her often at the nursing facility. Nancy lit up when Pepsi was there and he was very intuitive to her condition. The residents and staff loved when we came. I finished raising Otto and started raising Nike while co-raising Pepsi and I would bring them as well. In addition to being therapy for all, it was great training and socialization for the puppies in the program (PIP’s).
It has been a long road to recovery. Nancy was able to come home in October of 2014, but fell and ended up back in the hospital and the nursing facility as she recuperated. Finally in June of 2015, she was able to come back home with 24/7 home health care. Today, she is pretty much self-sufficient. Her pet dogs are back with her and she will soon begin therapy to hone her driving skills.
In the meantime, Pepsi matriculated to advanced training. We looked forward to Pepsi's monthly reports. We were so excited when we got the call that he would be rotating through team training. When he made a match as a successor skilled companion dog, we were ecstatic! We could not wait to hand over the leash and present him to his partner.
It just so happens that a skilled companion graduates with 2 leads. I was so proud and thankful, not only that Pepsi graduated, but that Nancy was there by my side to hand over one of the leads! As Nancy stated, “Couldn’t have made a better match if I’d done it myself!” How profound.
Throughout Pepsi’s puppy raising journey, my husband Craig and many puppy raisers contributed to his success by caring for him, socializing him and handling him at training sessions and different awareness events. It takes a village to raise an assistance dog and it’s so very rewarding.
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