Dillon Beach & Turn-In

Where does the time go? Seriously! It wasn't until I started puppy raising that I realized how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I got a sweet little lab/golden pup named Marisa to raise. I didn't know what I was doing, but she matured into a sweet girl who would eventually graduate with her little boy named Jason, who is not so little anymore. Then came Rolie, who was almost a "no-brainer" to raise and who graduated as a Service Dog after 8 months in Advanced Training. After that came Hope, the huge puppy who I thought would grow into a huge dog, but turned out to be my smallest at only 50 lbs. She of course, is now my "forever" dog, my constant companion, and her new career is that of therapy dog. Then there was Zuleika, the sweet wigglebutt who put me through such heartache and pain, but also joy as she was my favorite pup to train and had the sweetest personality. She too, was released, but has a great life with her family in Grass Valley.

And, finally there's Nick, my first male, who I co-raised with good friends, another first. Like Rolie, he was relatively easy to raise and is everything I want in a dog. Sweet, cuddly, affectionate, the list goes on and on. But like all the others before him, it's the end of the line for us, and the start of something new as he enters the next phase of his life - Advanced Training at CCI's campus in Santa Rosa.

The graduation this time around was a little different, instead of being held on a Saturday, the ceremony was taking place on a Friday. A group of us decided to go camping at one of our favorite places, Dillon Beach, for the weekend. Because we were going to have our pet dogs with us, we couldn't go to the ceremony so we had a nice day at the beach instead.

A friend and I drove up on Thursday afternoon and met some other friends who were already there with their RV. Dillon Beach is the best place for the dogs, huge sand dunes that the dogs love to run on one side and a great beach on the opposite side. The night we arrived was really windy, so it was a bit challenging to get our tents up. After dinner, we played a few rounds of Mexican Train, then headed back to our tents to sleep. Well, I didn't sleep at all - I think my mind was spinning thinking about turn-in and how much I was going to miss Nick. Luckily, Hope was there to keep me company...my therapy dog...this time for me!

The next day, more friends arrived. Nick's best buddy Gerrit, Carlo and Gerrit's puppyraiser arrived. They were going to camp with us after turn-in on Friday night. Gerrit was ready to play, so we headed to the dunes to let the them run. Here's a picture of Carlo, Gerrit, and Hope posing for a picture.

And a video of them playing, what fun!

Right as we were returning from the dunes, Nick arrived with our co-raisers. So it was back to dunes with the two best friends, Nick and Gerrit. Here's a video of the boys playing...

Shortly after that, more friends arrived...Idelle, Mason, and Idelle's puppy raisers. They were going to head to Monterey after turn-in as Mason (their release dog) was competing in a dock diving competition. Here are a few pictures of the turn-in dogs...

From left to right, Nick, Gerrit, and Idelle...

Nick on the left, Idelle on the right, and Gerrit posing in the dunes...

Getting some last minute cuddle time with my black dogs. Nick may be almost 70 lbs, but he is the biggest cuddler in the world.

After a fun day of playing and enjoying each other's company, the dreaded time arrived and we couldn't postpone it any longer, it was time to go to CCI. As I was changing my clothes, Nick came into the tent with me and laid down on the bed where Hope had slept the night before...the first tears started flowing as he laid there and cuddled with me for a few minutes.

Hope and I drove with our co-raisers to CCI, this is Hope and Nick during their last car ride together. I also made a promise to Hope that I wouldn't leave her at CCI since she had already done her time there. :-)

After playing in the play yard at CCI, we borrowed a friend's matriculation cape (we didn't get one since we didn't go to the ceremony) to take a few pictures of Nick in an official matriculation cape. Such a handsome boy! After that, we headed back to the turn-in room for turn-in. We gave Nick a hug, told him to be good, to listen to his trainers, and that it was all up to him now. Like all my dogs before, after we handed his leash to a trainer, he walked off and never turned back. Bye buddy, we love you and miss you! Lots of tears flowed and hugs followed soon after, this is the hard part of puppy raising and it never gets any easier. If it were not for the great group of friends I have, I'd never get through this.

Nick's Village, the best co-raisers and I with Nick holding each other up...

Our handsome boy, he has matured into a wonderful dog...

Then it was back to the beach...at least we all had our pet dogs to love on. Spaghetti for dinner, more mexican train, then sleep, and a few more tears shed in the privacy of my own tent. Sleep came easily that night, I think I was tired from not sleeping the night before and exhausted from the emotions of the day. I'm just glad Hope was there to cuddle with that night.

On Saturday, a few of us went into town for a photo shoot of the neat buildings/scenery in the area in the morning. I still struggle with photography, so I won't waste space with any of my pictures! Some other friends drove up for the day to hang out with us and the dogs. So we took a walk to the beach in the morning, ate lunch, played mexican train in the afternoon, had dinner, then took another trip to the dunes, and called it a night after enjoying some quiet time visiting around the campfire.

Here are a few photos of Hope at the beach...I love this shot of Hope that was taken by a friend in black & white. I was actually trying to get a similar shot of Hope, but never got her with all four feet off the ground!

And of course, we had to get a group shot...

And, a video...

Back to the dunes for one more romp. Here, Hollie surveys the area for birds...

Running at the dunes...

And, a little video of course...

The next morning we took the dogs back for one last romp at the dunes before packing up camp and leaving for home...

Other than turn-in, it was a great weekend. We had beautiful weather and I had a great time hanging out with friends, who could ask for anything more? A week later, I still find myself thinking about Nick wondering how he's doing and missing having him around. I know with time, it will get easier. If he makes it through all the temperament and medical stuff, it will be October before we know how he's doing. I think Hope is missing having a dog in the house too, she looks at me like she is bored. The wait begins....