Goodbye Boo

I don't know how many of you know, but Boo had to go back to 4Paws for Ability for additional training. It wasn't easy when my co-handlers and I were told the news. She was an amazing dog to have around and we weren't expecting it. We learned it on April 19, which meant we had five days to say our goodbyes to her. She finished her last classes with me on Thursday and completely finished with my co-handlers on Friday.

 On Saturday, we took her to the Columbus Zoo to give her one last day of fun with us. She seemed to have an amazing time while we were there. We started off by seeing the baby polar bears. She was very excited when Aurora came up to her and was looking at her through the glass. Boo took having a polar bear in her face like a champ. When we were wandering around, the North American part, the animals were very curious of Boo and Boo didn't care one bit. She only really cared about seeing on animal and it was the wolverine. She was too short to look into the exhibit so I ended up picking her up so she could see.

We headed to Asia and she still didn't care too much about any of the animals. Though the leopard was very curious of her and tried to follow us. We then moved on to go see everything in the Africa portion of the zoo. The cheetahs there kept trying follow her when we started to walk away. When we got to some of the monkeys, they were very curious of her. They all just stared at her, and she just stared back. She did really well with the lions also.

We then moved on to Congo. She had the most fun there. The monkeys are either very curious of dogs or they don't like them at all. I know we had a bunch staring us down and we also had some come up to the glass and pound on it. She always had fun staring at them and that's when we finished our day. She really had a fun time and was so tired at the end of it that she slept the entire way back to campus.

On Sunday, she had her big day. We had to drive to Xenia to give her back for good. Before going to 4Paws, we stopped at Wright Sate University to play at their service dog park. She had a lot of fun and I was able to get a lot of nice pictures of her. My co-handlers and I were able to take photos with her to try and show her growth over the past seven months. She's gotten pretty big. When we got to 4Paws, we said our goodbyes and watched her head out. It was heart-breaking but, she's off to go do amazing things. I wish her the best of luck and I hope she finds her forever home soon.

Boo's Easter Break

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter break! I know Boo and I did! As you might have guessed, Boo went home with me over Easter break. Though she didn't for the first two nights. She was with my co-handler during that time. Boo really had a lot of fun while being at her house. She had a little change in scenery, but still had a great time. They were able to go to the Columbus Zoo and while she was there, she got to see a bunch of the animals. Boo also got to go Easter egg hunting while at home with her handler. As you can see in the pictures, Boo was very happy to be surrounded by so many colorful round objects. She wasn't allowed to play with them though. For Easter, Boo got an entire box of Milk Bones and she also got a brand-new blanket to lay on at home. She really loved it. I got her on Sunday afternoon and she was so much fun. We got to go play at a family friend's house and she got to eat a bunch of treats. Monday, before we went back to campus, we got to play and run around outside. She really seemed to enjoy herself. I hope everyone had a great Easter break because I know Boo and I did!

           

 

Boo's Evaluation

I don't know how many of you actually know that 4Paws does evaluations for the puppies when they start to get older. They range in evaluation times from around six months to even a year old. Boo is going to be one of the puppies that get an evaluation when she is about a year old. Boo will be going for an evaluation on May 30th to see if she is ready for advanced training. She will hopefully pass that text with flying colors. Boo is extremely intelligent and has many amazing qualities. My co-handlers and I believe that she would be an amazing dog to consider being a mobility dog without the stability of being one or even being a multi-purpose puppy. We all believe this because she picks things up all the time and she always is around. She uses her nose when looking for items and she also has been starting to use her eyes instead of relying on just her nose. She would be really good as the mobility without stability because the way she picks things up, but she is too short to be able to have a child hang on to her. We think she would be good for multi-purpose because of the way she has been acting with picking items up, but also finding things and having a good nose.




When getting an evaluation, the fosters are not allowed to be with the puppy. The trainers go out on a socialization and they are evaluated through the process. They look for things such as the puppy heeling, paying attention, if they are nervous or scared of anything, and many more things. They have to be able to behave and react well in public and the evaluations check to see if the dog can handle it well. You don't want to have a service dog that can't go out in public.




Like I mentioned before, Boo goes for her evaluation on May 30th. My co-handlers and I are very excited and nervous to see how well she does. She has come a very far way and I hope 4Paws can see that. She is extremely intelligent and carefree. She would make a family very happy. I wish her the best of luck when the time comes for her evaluations.

My First Foster: Babs

As you all may know, I have fostered one more dog before getting Boo. Her name was Babs. I am posting about her instead of Boo this week because I really miss her and it's been a little over six months since she went back to 4Paws. Giving back a dog is one of the hardest things in the world but, what they will be doing in life makes it all okay. Babs was my first ever foster. She came to me the day before she turned four months old. She is from the Back to the Future litter and her parents are Jarka and Nome. Those names might sound familiar to you since they are also Boo's parents. Boo and Babs are full siblings. Babs is a golden lab and she was born on October 16th. She was being fostered by me and Alie Campbell.



Babs was allowed to live with me in my room as a freshmen since I lived out in 5UP. I was rooming by myself at the time and had plenty of room for a puppy to be with me. The first day of getting her was insane since I never had a dog before. It was an interesting day to say the least.

Babs was my best friend all throughout the school year and I got to keep her over the summer also. She loved my family and she loved to be around people. I always called her the sweetheart of campus since almost everyone knew who she was and they always fell in love with her after meeting her. Over the summer, Babs used to play with us outside all the time and she would take naps while inside. She was never far away from where I was at. The one time we had to leave for a week-long trip, she pouted in the clothes I was packing. She was always by my side.

It's hard to give your foster dogs up and people always ask me how I can do it. The answer is simply complicated. You know they are going to be doing amazing things for a family in need but, you've also had a bond with them that you'll never forget. I miss her everyday but, I'm sure she loves her family just as much as she loved mine. She was an amazing dog to have and I'm very thankful that I had the honors of helping raise such a wonderful and loving dog.