More Updates

Time again for another Honeydew update.  

She is doing very well - recovered from being spayed fairly quickly, which was helped by all of the snow and ice which made it impossible for us to go anywhere or do anything.  She thoroughly enjoyed the snow, to say the least -- although, going outside in the freezing cold to break up ice to create a place for her to "do her business" on a leash was annoying.  

We continue to work on training and good behavior.  She is riding the bus and Streetcar like a pro, which is something we do nearly every day at work.  She is continuing to become more mature and calm.  She is still very dog distracted, but at least now she keeps walking in a straight line, even if her head is swiveled 180-degrees in the opposite direction so she can watch the dog across the park.

Photo 1) Honeydew enjoying our big "Arctic Blast 08" (where do the news people come up with these names) right after Christmas.  The are predicting more snow tomorrow.  What a strange winter indeed.

Photo 2)  Puppy class -- where we had to run a "recall relay"...two teams, dogs across the gym on a "sit/stay", first person calls their dog but the other dogs have to stay put.  It was complete chaos, to say the least, because once one dog ran - they all ran!  We did it about 5 times, and finally the dogs understood.  So, they mixed it up and we all had to recall a dog that wasn't our own...of course, when another lady called for Honeydew - she came...but she came to me instead of her - and then proceeded to run from the other lady when she came to get her.  Geesh!

Photo 3 & 4) We have some new baby puppies!  I can't believe Honeydew was ever this little!  Look at those big paws and that puppy belly!  The blonde one's name is "Futura" -- not sure I like that name, but she is cute enough it doesn't matter what her name is.  :)  Not sure what the cute black puppy's name is.

Photo 5) Last night we had to go to a gathering/party with another puppy club.  They had a variety of games...this one was a "wag off" -- the dogs that had the best/most tail wags won.

Photo 6)  Honeydew tied with another dog in the "wag off" -- so here we are going head-to-head for the grand prize.  The other dog won - but she is being raised by a professional dog trainer, so Honeydew thinks the competition was rigged.  But, our little girl got second place for wiggling her butt!

Funny Dew

Some co-workers in my office were taking pictures for a new staff directory, so of course Honeydew got her staff picture taken too.  They did serious pictures, and funny ones.  This is her funny one - what a trooper!  

Introducing Honeydew

To introduce Honeydew to our new co-workers (as my office was merged with another larger city office), we posted her bio on the employee blog (with this AMAZING photo of her, taken by a colleague - Betsy Ames).  This is what Honeydew had to say about herself....

I’m "Honeydew" and I am a Guide Dog for the Blind puppy in training www.guidedogs.com. I often come to work with my mom, Michele Crim. She currently works out of the Ecotrust building, but she is often at the 1900 Building too. I like to go to staff meetings and events with my mom because it helps me in my training – but I understand that sometimes folks might prefer I stay behind, so just let Michele or your manager know if you have any concerns whatsoever.

 

I am a yellow lab – almost 10 months old! I was born at the training campus in San Rafael, California – where all Guide Dog puppies are bred and born. I get to go a lot of places, including riding on transit, and visiting stores, banks, restaurants, and coffee shops – my mom loves those places! This helps me learn to be calm, focused and well mannered, which will be important when I am an older working dog.

 

Every week I go to training class with about 20 other Guide Dog puppies. There I have to pass tests and demonstrate that I am learning all of the things I am supposed to know when I grow up. I am a pretty good student, but sometimes I get really excited when other dogs come around. At home I live the life of a normal pet, including sharing my den with two other dogs and three cats (which I sometimes chase, but don’t tell my mom!).

 

I am not allowed to eat treats, play with balls, learn to fetch or jump on people (I am working on that one!) because all of those things can cause behavior problems for me when I am a working dog. But I get to go lots of fun places (like work!), so it is a fair trade. I love to play tug with people (my mom will gladly teach you how to play that with me), and to get my belly rubbed. My favorite pastimes include attacking plastic bottles (like empty orange juice jugs), chewing on my bones and running circles in my yard at home.

 

You are welcome to pet me when we bump into each other, but if I get too excited it helps if you step away so I learn that I get more attention when I am calm. My mom also encourages folks to wait until after the meeting, etc., so that getting attention is a reward for good behavior. Sometimes my mom has to correct me when I am not behaving properly – but, every moment is a teachable moment, right!

 

I will go back to Guide Dogs for the Blind when they call for me – which could be anytime between 6-months to a year from now. I will then go through about 6 more months of intensive training to learn to do Guide Dog work in a harness. My mom, and all of my friends and family, will be sad when I go back. But I am destined for great things….to help give the gifts of companionship and independence to my blind partner!

 

I am very excited to be a part of the new Bureau of Planning and Sustainability! Growing up in a work environment full of love and support will help me become a well-mannered and confident Guide Dog. I look forward to making friends with you all!

Christmas Dew

Honeydew, and the rest of the Crim Critters (even us two legged ones), wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

"Arctic Blast 08"

Well, the weather here in Portland is pretty crazy (by our standards).  Below (attached) are some pictures from our Monday morning commute!  Much of it was by foot, through lots of snow and ice.  I actually wore my "Nanook of the North" snow boots - I haven't worn those since I left North Dakota! 

Glenn worked from the coffee/book store downtown (imagine that), and I worked from my office until the Mayor shut the city down and sent everyone home.  Most of the trains weren't running, and over 70 buses were stuck in the snow - including the one that goes to our house.  Ugh.  I waited about 45-minutes to catch a shuttle that was packed to the gills with the 100 other people that were stranded in town.  Glenn got tired of waiting and opted to walk home...5+ miles, in the deep snow.  

That is where he is as I type this.  He is following a couple on cross-country skis (towing a kid trailer that is also on skis).  He is pretty miserable and is likely wishing he would have waited for the shuttle with me.  Poor guy.  Luckily, he is heavily caffeinated...and this trek should cure him of the terrible case of "ants in his pants" he had from being stuck in the house yesterday.  :)  The odds of us going into work tomorrow are looking pretty slim, as this isn't going to melt and they are expecting more snow tonight.  I guess this is the worst storm to hit Portland since the 1960's.  Hopefully, it doesn't all melt at once and cause massive flooding like it did about 10 years ago ("500 year floods").

The photos are of the pups playing in the snowy yard.  A good "action shot" of Honeydew.

More Snow Adventures

Hello!  It has been a while since a Honeydew update, so I thought I would send along a few pictures.  She is doing great.  She is getting bigger and smarter by the day!  She gets spayed this Friday, so that will take her out for a few days, but I am sure she will bounce back quickly.  At last week's puppy class she graduated into a "large" sized jacket - so that officially means she is getting to be a big girl.  One of the instructors said that she will probably continue to fill out, but that her height and length likely won't change much more.  We are still working on the new "go to bed" command.  We had to demonstrate it at class (see Photo 1) - and Honeydew had to go first.  She did a great job, much better than some of the other pups (which is always our goal! haha).  Our social outing this week was cancelled due to the weather, which Glenn loves because it is his birthday and now he can do whatever he wants that night (which will likely involve eating a Hostess berry pie and watching The Simpsons).

Other exciting news - Honeydew experienced her first snow storm this week.  She thought it was a blast, at first. She just ran around the yard smelling all of the snow. She didn't eat it, just wanted to smell it - over and over and over again.  It was hard to get a good picture of her because she had her nose to the ground the whole time.  Now she just thinks the snow is cold and over-rated and you have to drag her outside to "do her business". 

Sunday night I decided to take one of the light rail trains out to the airport to greet Glenn (he was coming back from California and really didn't have any winter clothes with him - it was approximately 24-degrees out).  So, I checked the train schedules and they seemed to be running with no problems from the snow and ice. So, Honeydew and I geared up and headed out into the white tundra.  Well, all the transit was running great until we got about 25% of the way there....then the track switches froze and trains were getting stuck on the tracks.  It took over two hours, two train rides, lots of standing in the blowing snow, and a VERY crowded shuttle ride before we arrived to meet Glenn at the airport - about an hour after we were supposed to be there.  It was one of those times I regret holding out and not getting a cell phone - as we had to keep going because I couldn't call Glenn an tell him to abort the mission and grab a cab!  Honeydew was a trooper, but was definitely ready to get home.

Photo 1:  Honeydew and the other class mates on their magic carpets doing the "go to bed" command. 

Photo 2) The Dew and a new bone.  I didn't realize until the other day that she was allowed (per Guide Dogs) to have the sterilized cow bones - she was in heaven.

Photo 3) Catching snow on her tongue.  :)

Photo 4) What a snow bunny!

Photo 5) Honeydew resting on my feet during our epic airport journey on mass transit!  I think this is the view that most people have of her when we are on transit - these little eyes peaking out from under the seat. 

First Snow!

We woke up this morning to snow flakes (which is very rare here in Portland - in town)!  TV folks have been worked up about the proposition of snow for a week now, but usually nothing ever comes of it, so I half believed that it really wasn't going to snow.

This is Honeydew's first snow, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it - spin circles in it, eat it, etc.  Mainly she just sniff, sniff, sniffed it.  This was one of the only pictures I got of her where her head wasn't stuck to the ground like a Hoover (is it time to throw that tomato plan away?).  Tully was being a little more subdued about the whole thing, she's been there and done that - I thought the picture of her turned out great, a definite keeper.