Plans Change Again - and an advanced training report!

*Note: PPM = Puppy Program Manager

Getting the news that Novel was released was devastating. I had such high hopes for this dude! I know many of you have never actually met him, but he really is just an amazing, amazing dog. It's apparent to anyone who meets him - he's just special. I know every CCI dog is but ya know, Novel was mine... ;)

Me, Novel, and my mom at Turn-In

Here's the honest truth: I really thought that Novel would graduate. He was so solid with his commands. He loved to work. He had the best personality! I constantly told myself and others that he probably wouldn't graduate, just to be safe, but deep down I really thought he would. Sure, I loved him to the moon and back, but I knew first hand what an impact he could make on a life, and I didn't want that to be "wasted."

I don't know how well it came out in this blog, but we had such a special connection. Out in public we would have random strangers come up to us and say things out of the blue, like:
"That dog sure loves you!"
"You can tell that he just ADORES you"
"I've been watching you all work from over there - you two are an amazing team"
As one coworker always put it "you two are a match made in heaven!" She was always very vocal about the fact that she believed that Novel would be released (or at least hoped that he would be) so that he could come back and live with me.

The problem with being released, was that I wouldn't be able to take him back, and I knew it. If I hoped to raise a second puppy - which I definitely did - I wouldn't have the time or money to responsibly take Novel back. Telling the PPM that over the phone on Friday was very possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to say. 

When I got home from work that evening, I sat on my bed to check my email. I had been emailing back and forth with several people in my college about working out a way to get permission to bring a puppy in training to classes with me. When I called the PPM on Monday after I had the weekend to work things out, we were supposed to start going over some details concerning the puppy I hoped to start raising in December. So, I hoped to have some sort of definite permission from my college concerning puppy raising by Monday. So far things seemed to be going fairly well, and I was very hopeful that it would work out. 

When I opened my email, I saw I had a message from the college about puppy raising. Excited that I might finally have my answer, I opened it. It started out sounding great: "We are always excited...to learn about...students involved in service..." it began. There was a bunch of fluffy stuff about how great he thought "the CCI" was, and then he politely stated that "we are not able to accommodate this request." It was pretty blunt. This was the end of negotiations.

"Dude." I thought. "Could this day get any worse?"

Thankfully it didn't.

I don't really know how to describe the rest of all that happened in a nice storyish format, except to say that I finally put 2 and 2 together. I initially contacted my brother and sister-in-law to see if they wanted Novel so he could at least stay in the family. Novel pretty much grew up with my Nephew who is only a few months older than him, and they get along famously. A placement with my brother's family would make me very happy. They said they would love him, but their apartment didn't allow pets and their lease isn't up for another 10 months. They suggested the possibility of me fostering him for them until then....

Finally, I realized that with puppy raising out the window for me right now, there was absolutely no reason on earth why I couldn't adopt Novel myself. 

On October 9, 2013, with the very first rays of fall break dawning, I was speeding down the interstate toward Orlando Florida, and Novel. 

On October 10, 2013, exactly one month before my 20th birthday, my very best friend came charging into my arms forever.

On October 11, 2013, I woke up in my own bed, with my own, wonderful dog snuggled tightly against me.

For the very first time. 

Now, about the title of this post. I suppose that could have been a little cruelly misleading. The fact is, however, that I DID get an Advanced Training report on Novel even though he was released. I gotta admit, it was a little hard hearing about other puppies' reports knowing that I wouldn't get to experience the same excitement. After all, I've been nearly dying for the past month and a half waiting for it. When I picked Novel up from the SER in Orlando, I asked how he had done overall, apart from the potty issue of course. I was thrilled when the PPM handed me his AT report! Apparently his trainer had submitted it just before they decided that Novel would have to be dropped. In my opinion, his report seemed pretty great and I was proud. But without further ado:

The report had 8 "good behavior" boxes checked, including "attentive to Handler" "Walks nicely on leash" (yay!) "interacts appropriately w/people" and "Allows/accepts physical handling/grooming," leaving out only "interacts appropriately w/ dogs." That didn't surprise me when I looked down to the "bad behavior" boxes and saw that "rough play w/ other dogs" was checked along with "mounting" and of course "inappropriate toileting." I knew that Novel would have rough play checked off. He's always been a nut when he plays. The mounting really surprised me though because I never - once - remember seeing him mount another dog. "Licking" "whining" and "excitable greetings" were not checked off in the bad behaviors - that surprised me a bit. Of the 28 "bad behavior" options, Novel only had 3 checked off. That made me proud. Novel was marked as Moderate on all the "overall performance" sections (fear, distractibility, energy and training) which I will choose to take as a good thing :) I think I would have expected a low rating in fear, but with everything so new, I'm not surprised by the moderate rating.

Novel's trainer commented: 

"Novel has completed the physical and behavioral evaluations at the beginning of the semester. He is doing well with his basic behaviors as well as learning the hold portion of the retrieve behavior. Novel has had several instances of inappropriate toileting while in training sessions, as well as out on field trips. Novel is becoming more focused on his trainer and is becoming consistent with his behaviors as he gets into the training routine. He plays rough with other dogs in community run and often excessively mounts other dogs."

The toileting issues for which he was released....intrigue me. Novel was a very difficult dog to house train, but he eventually got it down solidly. He never was one to really let you know he needed to go out, but I eventually learned to interpret a certain look he would get on his face and take him out then. He never had accidents inside after that. He did have a weird issue where he always wanted to poo at one spot in our walk, but that was outside. Admittedly, there were a few instances where Novel suddenly decided he needed to poo in a public place (Example) But they were so rare, they didn't really bother me that much. It is the apparent frequency and diversity of Novel's pottying behavior at AT the has me curious. Talking it over with the PPM, the general decision was that it likely has something to do with Novel's frequent vomiting just before turn in. The vomiting disappeared at turn in, but this showed up. So who knows. Maybe it's a medical issue. 

Regardless, it isn't an issue that will interfere with him being a superb pet :) 

My superb pet.