Meet The Star

 A little over a month ago, on April 6, 2012, I went to the airport to pick up a dear friend...although, I suppose "friend" may not be the best word to use, considering I had never met him before. I had heard a lot about him, however, and hopes were very high as I waited in the airport to get my first glimpse of him. I was not disappointed. In the few weeks since that day, we have already had many adventures, and I know we will have many more. Thus, I am starting this blog to chronicle them. But first, let me introduce you to Novel.

"Novel" is a nearly 4 month old, Black Lab/Golden Retriever puppy from Canine Companions for Independence. This wonderful organization trains four kinds of service dogs and provides them free of charge to people with disabilities. (visit their website here: Canine Companions for Independence) I am a first-time Volunteer puppy raiser for them, and Novel is my first puppy. I will care for him for approximately 18 months, during which time I must teach him impeccable manners and basic commands. At the end of this time, I have to give him back to CCI for advanced training where he will hopefully learn how to help someone with a disability. I say hopefully because, due to CCI's very high standards, only about 30% of dogs pass the rigorous health and temperament tests, graduate from advanced training and go on to be placed with a disabled person.

...But enough about CCI...I know you really want to hear about Novel :) As a Lab puppy, Novel is incredibly smart and curious, which means he is into EVERYTHING! His favorites are socks and underwear when he can get them, which he usually can't because we have learned to keep things out of his reach for the most part. Still, his brains are extremely helpful, and Novel is the uncontested star of his puppy class. He still has some accidents, and gets the "Zoomies" fairly often, but for such a young puppy, he is surprisingly calm, easy, and well behaved. Novel is an absolute sweetie and loves to cuddle. He has the most fun, bubbly, goofy personality and definitely keeps us on our toes.

That's just a little about Novel, but you will get to know him much better as I update this blog...which I hope to do regularly (...key word: "HOPE")