Happy 8th Birthday Kedra!!

Where has the time gone?? My very first puppy is turning 8 today!! Kedra was born 9-29-01 (Neffa x Washaki). She was a fun and challenging puppy and I definitely learned a lot from her. Kedra went to high school with me for my Junior and Senior year and now she's living with a family just outside of Sacramento.

Chandra update

It's been awhile since I updated. Chandra is doing great and enojoying her retirement! She's been swimming and having fun with our family.

Today I went to visit Omeeka and her 10 puppies. They are such a nice litter and all very cute! :) The puppy raisers getting O's next month are going to be very lucky.

The M's are 7 months!

Here's a video of Milano doing some of her commands. At the end Chandra joins in on the fun!!

Chandra's vacation to the Penicheiro spa

Chandra has been enjoying her week at the Penicheiro spa :) She gets to play with Magic, go to the park, get her teeth cleaned, go for walks and hang out with people all day. I've been in an ASL immersion class for 2 weeks and thought it would be best if Chandra was with friends instead of being home. I'm getting her home tomorrow, I know she's going to be sad to leave the spa ;)

Chandra's a grandma again!

Omeeka had her 2nd litter today! There are 10 golden puppies, 5F/5M. The dad of this litter is Zorba.

Update on puppies and grandpuppies

I recieved a picture of Mica from his PR. Mica definitley has Chandra's eyes.

In other news OMSI's "C" litter with Zoelle (golden retriever-1st litter) born on 6/5/09, recieved their names:
Corinne III- F
Cowan- M
Chiara- F
Cavan- F
Citron- F
Camry-F
Cedric-M
Chauncie- M
Christina- F

CCI youtube video

Check out this great youtube video on CCI facility dogs Jeter and Ellie!

Update

Chandra is now happily retired! Her stitches are out from being spayed and she's enjoying being a dog again. Yesterday she went to a friends house and had a great time swimming in the pool, her favorite activity by far! All I have to say is "Shawn, do you want to go swimming?" and her ears perk up and she's ready to go!!

On Saturday we went to CCI's graduation. It was really nice and always fun getting to see everyone. Makia from Chandra's last litter was down to visit. You could tell they remembered each other, it was very cute! We also say her puppy Akeelah presented as a breeder, Akeelah is a great dog. Hopefully some day I'll raise one of her puppies.

Other than that Chandra has been taking it easy, she's such a good dog :)

Happy 1st Birthday M's!!

Chandra would like to wish her litter with Randy IV a very happy 1st birthday!!! Hope you all are enjoying your special day and we hope you're being good for your puppy raisers! :)

Malika, McKenzie IV, Maverick, Monarch II (at the rainbow bridge), Michael II, Mari and Meeka

Daddy Randy on his ranch

Puppy play date

Luna, Milano, Chandra, Hailey, Gelsey & Akeelah

The dogs had a play date on the tennis court today. They all had a lot of fun running off some energy!!

Chandra, Luna & Akeelah are breeders and Akeelah is Chandra's puppy.

CCI & Build-A- Bear

For the second year in a row, Build-A-Bear Workshop has partnered with Canine Companions for Independence for a special promotion at all stores nationwide and online.

For each stuffed dog (Bearamy Kennel Pals) sold at Build-A-Bear stores or online from May 1 through May 31, the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation will donate $1 to Canine Companions for Independence. They have golden retrievers, black and yellow Labradors ready to be your new stuffed friend.

Last year, the promotion brought in over $60,000 for CCI. CCI has announced this promotion in their April e-newsletter but you can also help spread the word in your area about this special opportunity to support CCI ! (facebook events)

Chandra's puppies

I have recieved some pictures of Chandra's puppies! Look how cute they are :) They also all seem to be doing well, it's always nice to get updates on the puppies.



Mari in Phoenix


Makia II in Seattle, she was taking pictures for bookmarks at the library where kids read to her.

CCI on the News!!

Tonight was CCI puppy class at the Sacramento International airport. What a great class it was! There were two news station filming clips about the dogs. News 10 & 13. The segments were GREAT! Wallis and SD Caspin were stars, as usual. There were a lot of very good puppies there, classes that were held were Big Dogs and Riffraff. People at the airport seemed to like all the cute puppies in the baggage claim area and it was awesome that the airport was so helpful in letting us use their facility.

Swimming and Caspin's boots

Chandra got to go swimming today, she loves it! It's a little scary as you can see in the video, she jump almost onto the wall on the other side, but she pushes herself off. She just thinks it's the best thing! Caspin wasn't so sure about the pool, but Milano thought it was awesome! She's going to be a swimmer as well. Hopefully she won't need swimming lessons like her mom ;)

Playing in the yard

Chandra and Milano had a GREAT time playing in the yard! They love the sun and their puppy pool. The yard is completely fenced and they have a great time running around the grass, jumping into the pool, playing in the bushes, jumping on the trampoline then having some tennis court time.

Enjoy the video!

A week of Demos

This week is going to be filled with demo's!

Here's where we'll be:
Tomorrow- Sac City College Disability Awarness Day
Saturday- UC Davis Picnic Day
Monday- Sac State class demo

I'll be sure to take pictures and update the blog!

Update:
Well, so much for the pictures. We got one from the demo today, but I promise I will take more at Picnic Day!

Chandra was great today, too bad we could only stay for a few hours. I had a class that I have to go to, I need to get all the points I can for it!!

CCI had a great showing of puppies, grads and Chandra the breeder! There was a speech on stage that went well and Chandra got to show off some of her commands. She showed off "get", "under", "visit", "lap", "shake", "leash" and "back". SD Caspin also showed off some of his commands. The crowd loved it!
A lot of people learned about CCI today, hopefully a few will get service dogs, there might even be a few new puppy raisers.

OMSI III update

"B" Litter

Here's an update on OMSI III's litters-

OMSI's 5th litter-"B" with Ona (Hardin II x Pala)
Ona is a Golden Retriever and this is her 1st litter. Ona whelped 9 puppies on February 20th, 2009, two boys and seven girls.
Boys: Brady III and Brock.
Girls: Bodega II, Bonita II, Bijou II, Benicia II, Brianna II, Babs II, and Blanche II.

OMSI's 6th litter- "L" with Halor (Kittredge x Martine)
Halor is a Golden Retriever and this is her 4th litter. Halor whelped 9 puppies on March 30, 2009 (Chandra's birthday!)There are 6 females and 3 males.

Litters due soon:

Dara (Sequoia x Halor)- Due April 28th- 1st litter
Zoelle (Hardin II x Brynna)- Due begining of June - 1st litter

* Interesting fact, Hardin and Halor are siblings and their puppies were bred to OMSI.

OMSI will have 8 litters in total after this with 5 of them being Goldens and 3 LGX.

Another Chandra puppy breeder!!

CCI has made breeder selections from the February turn in class and AKEELAH from Chandra and Kittredge's litter born on 10-06-07 was chosen as a breeder!

This makes 4 breeders for Chandra and at least one breeder from every litter that has turned in!
So far there is:
OMSI III (x Blaze III)- Golden Retriever
Omeeka (x Blaze III)- Golden Retriever
Rhianna (x Terrell)- 3/4 Golden (fluffy coat)
Akeelah (x Kittredge)- Golden Retriever

Akeelah acts and looks so much like Chandra! It will be fun to see her with her puppies, I'm sure she'll be a great mom just like Chandra!

Chandra and Milano had a photo shoot in Davis, hopefully you'll be able to see some of these pictures in the CCI Calendar next year! I've also added more pictures of Milano to her blog.

Party pictures

Here are some pictures from Chandra's birthday party! It was just a little pool party, Gelsey and Hailey came over to play. Milano grew in a week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANDRA!!!!

I would like to wish Chandra a very Happy 5th Birthday!!!! Since I will be out of the country for her real birthday I am posting this for her now.

OMSI and GDB Natalie II had 9 puppies 5 years ago on March 30th.

Happy Birthday to all!!!

Pascal: Guide Dog
Perry: Guide Dog
Paprika: Guide Dog
Parnell: Guide Dog
Parma (aka Chandra): CCI Breeder
Painter: COC
Pandora: COC
Picadilly: COC
Placido: COC

Road Trip to Tahoe

Chandra & Milano playing before we leave for Tahoe

Chandra, Milano and SD Caspin enjoyed Lake Tahoe this weekend. The weather was beautiful and the dogs had a lot of fun! It was a quick trip and we're looking forward to going back and having more time to hang out.

Everyone was pretty exhausted from the trip..as you can see Chandra was no different. This picture was taken in the dark, she had curled up on the couch. Oh, the life of a breeder! Yes, she is allowed on the couch :)

Chandra is RETIRED!!

After 36 puppies for CCI, Chandra has been retired!! When the weather gets nicer I'll have a retirement party here for her with her dog friends and some puppy pools, she'll love it!! I hope to use her great training and get her and I certified as a therapy dog team. She will love visiting with people, she is such a smart, gentle dog. I couldn't ask for a better forever dog.

GOOD LUCK M's!!!

We left Sacramento at 11 am for CCI in Santa Rosa. Before I played with the puppies for about 2 hours on the tennis court. They loved it!! I also loved the car ride down ;) They did not make a sound, I think the crate training helped, but getting them tired made the most difference. We arrived at CCI at 1 pm. The kennel staff came out to help load the puppies from their crates to the car. Then it was off to the puppy park for some more fun! Everyone was commenting on how calm this litter was, I agree with them, they were a very calm litter. The puppies played on the Clifford slide and the pool (without water), they had a lot of fun, we played with them for about an hour. Once they were even more tired I helped load them into their carrier that would take them back to their kennels. I gave them each a big hug and told them how much I love them and for them to be good for their puppy raisers. I was given a sheet with regions that the puppies are going to..

Milano (NW)- Sacramento
Makia II (NW)- Seattle
Malin (SW)- Denver
Macy III (SW)- Salt Lake
Maura (NC) -?
Mica (NC) - Minnesota

I'm just looking for Malin and Maura now, hopefully someone can pass a long my information.

I had a midterm tonight when I got home and I have one tomorrow along with 2 papers due this week. I sure do miss having the puppies home and I can't wait until tomorrow night when I get Milano back!!!

The car is packed..

The car is packed with the kennels and and supplies CCI gives breeder caretakers. The puppies have been playing on the tennis court for 2 hours, so hopefully when we get in the car they will sleep :) I've been lucky with the litter that I have taken to Santa Rosa, only a few of the puppies barked. I'll report back later!

Tonight is our last night with Chandra's M litter, her 5th and final litter for CCI. I love these puppies and it is going to be hard to say bye, but I know that they are ready for their puppy raisers. It's been a fun 7 weeks (Peggy had them for their first week while I was out of town), they have grown so much. We just played for over an hour on the the tennis court, they love it!! I will for sure be playing with them out there before our trip to Santa Rosa. Their turn in time is 1:30 pm tomorrow. I'll update again tomorrow with pictures from the puppy park!

The puppies are sleeping next to me in a x-pen, I think they got the snoring trait from their daddy ;)

P.S- Chandra went with me to my sisters Sorority Superbowl tournament this weekend at Sac State, she is was by far the best behaved dog. People could not believe how calm she was and that she would just sleep during all the screaming and people. She could care less, she was just happy to be hanging out with me in the sun. Their were so many little dogs there and a few big dogs. Chandra was the star and Sigma Kappa's mascot :)

Tennis court fun

This is the last weekend with the M's..it will be sad to see them go, but they're ready for the next adventure that waits them and I know their puppy raisers must be so excited to get their new little puppy!! Today we played on the tennis court and in the yard, the puppies had a great time! You can see in the video how big they are. All of the puppies are over 10 lbs (that's how high our scale goes), I'm guessing they're about 12 lbs.

Enjoy the video!!



We have found where 4 of the puppies are going!!!!
Milano (Sacramento with me)
Makia II (Seattle)
Macy III (Utah)
Mica (Minnesota)

The M litter picture

Today was the day that the M's had their official litter picture! We had to get them tired and that took awhile! Then we had to get 6 puppies to sit for their picture, that's always a lot of fun ;) Thanks to Wallis for the great pictures!! You can see all the litter pictures Chandra's shutterfly account. Also thanks to Peggy, Mary and Kasie for helping the puppies get their energy out and being "puppy catchers". There is a ledge in some of the pictures. The puppies were controlled at all times, you can't see people in the pictures, but we were right behind them.

Enjoy!!

One more new toy

6 days left with the puppies..I can't believe I just remembered I have a big slide that Chandra and the other litters have loved playing with! I found it in the garage and brought it out, as soon as Chandra saw it her ears perked up and I could tell she was really excited! You'll see from the video she is happy just relaxing on the slide, digging at the sides and standing on the top. The puppies also had fun playing on the slide, this one doesn't have the tape so the puppies are not able to climb all the way to the top, but they still like trying.
The puppies all had play time with Chandra. I have been putting them out with her w at a time because if I put any more out she will get overwhelmed, she loves playing with them!


* The captions are a little off because of the Youtube upload.

Photo shoot at the Capital

Today Chandra and SD Caspin had a photo shoot at the Capital, just for fun! They were both great models :)

Here's a picture of Chandra from last week at puppy class.

7 Weeks

Where has the time gone?? The puppies are 7 weeks old and turning in a week from Monday!!! I really can't believe it. I'm really going to miss them, they are such a nice litter! I took a video of them today playing outside. They love the sunshine and I also let them have a little part of the grass to play on, they thought that was a lot of fun!!

SNOW DAY!!!

Today was Snow Day!! It was a great day in Truckee at the home of a CCI PR/BC/. The weather was perfect and the dogs had a lot of fun! Pictures from the day are being loaded to the GRC website. Chandra had a great time and I was very impressed with her recall, I knew it was pretty good, but if I was able to get her attention (there were about 50 people and 40 dogs at snow day) and she could see me I could get her to come back very fast. It was great seeing everyone, Chandra had a great time with her puppy Omeeka who is also a breeder for CCI. Omeeka is such a cute girl and so tiny!

Handsome Caspin



Chandra taking a break on the deck




Last night before snow day Wallis and SD Caspin came over and we went to puppy class. The class was held in Old Sac and the puppies did very well. After class Caspin did the best "pull" ever :) Then we were all tired and went home and baked cupcakes for snow day, they turned out really well. There were a few CCI cupcakes, a lot of Snoopy's, dogs, 1 white dog and some dog bones and toys..I can't believe we didn't get a picture of the cupcakes! Next time for sure.



It was a great day! Chandra is already asleep and I'm going to bed!

12 days left..

Milano sleeping with Chandra
Milano hanging out with Chandra
Malin relaxing
Macy III practing "up"
Mica
Maura
Makia II & Milano