Welcome to Hope's Blog!

The other day somebody asked me why I didn't have a blog for Hope. Heck, I don't know, why not? So, here you go Hope, this one's for you!

Hope is the 3rd puppy I received from Canine Companions for Independence to raise. She was born on March 19, 2005. She just turned 3 years old in March, wow time flies. After five months in Advanced Training, she was released from the program for surface issues (ie, not wanting to walk on different surfaces, shiny floors, etc.) not a very useful trait for a Service Dog.

For a long time, I was so disappointed that she didn't graduate as she has a very strong work ethic and her skills were so good, especially since I never saw any things she was released for several months. Well, a few months ago, she showed some issues walking into an elevator at a hospital where we do pet therapy. It made me realize that her release was for a reason...

I also believe she came home for a bigger reason...to be my "forever" dog since it was only a matter of time before I had to say goodbye to my best buddy Molly, my golden retriever who was dying from cancer. It made me feel good that Hope and Molly got to be buddies after she was released and that she kept Molly company during her last days while I was at work. We said goodbye to Molly in December, 2007 and I was so worried about how Hope would adjust to life without Molly, but she seems to have adjusted just fine.

Hope has become a great pal to my 4th pup, Zuleika (aka Zucchini). In some ways, I think she will be a little lonely without her playmate when Zuleika turns in next month. But, we will be getting another puppy, so she will have another pup to play with. Hope will never take the place of Molly who was the true alpha dog and a great puppy raiser who put all my pups in their place, but I hope she will be a good influence on puppy #5, who we found out this week is named Nick.

That's it for now...more later...