Marie, McLean and Domino
Last night, Marie began three weeks of team training with her new service dog, McLean, with a nice group dinner in the CPL training barn. McLean looks like a great dog. He’s a labradoodle, and weighs about 62 pounds, which is about 20 pounds more than Showbo. I’m told he’s “all hair”. Many of the trainers told us that McLean is a great dog, but I’m not sure if they tell all of the recipients that about their dog.
Marie was very emotional at the dinner, and wasn’t able to hold back her tears several times during the night. Domino did an excellent job of keeping a smile on Mom’s face by cracking jokes and saying funny things to her. I heard Marie tell somebody “it’s not the same as Showbo.”
After dinner, there was a meeting where people could ask their questions and get an idea of what is in store. Marie and McLean is the only successor team; everybody else is getting their first dog. They will have a lot of “field trips” to places like Exton Mall, Chili’s, a ride on the train into Philadelphia, and even attend a Blue Rock’s baseball game. Everybody has a lot to learn.
Team training is not going to be easy for Marie. CPL teaches independence, and is no-nonsense. She has full days of training, followed by homework most nights. She is required to write a journal every day starting tonight, which will be posted here. I’m looking forward to reading it, and I hope you are, too.