Rita's Reunion
Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:28 am
Hey everyone. It's been a long day, and I'm wiped out. That's
good since I have to be out of here at 4:00 AM though. It's going
to be one long day, and after today, I'm just hoping Rita can
maintain all right until I can let her go a bit wild.
This morning, I did some last minute stuff. I wanted to groom
Rita so that she'd look pretty for her people. The guys seemed
amazed at no hair coming off, so that 10 minutes apparently really
does pay off. I bought a plastic collapsible water bowl from the
gift shop that had a nice hole in the bottom, so I needed to return
that. Leah and I walked over there, and we should've given up when
we walked out the door. People, tables, dogs that wanted to drag us
everywhere. I think they sensed that something was going on.
Packing last night. New people today. It was too much for them.
Well, we got to the gift shop but had one hell of a time getting
back. "Left, find the stairs". Oh crap, no, we need up stairs, I
don't know where going down these would lead me. There's nothing
like seeing Leah and I break into different directions only to
realize that neither of us can figure it out. So I stopped
someone. She had a French accent and was just so nice. Then, I
realized that I'd been asking directions from a puppy raiser. I
told Leah that I hoped Rita's people didn't see me because they'd be
horrified if they thought that was the way we worked together.
We eventually made it inside, had lunch, got dressed. Mk came
to get Leah, and her puppy raisers were just crying and happy to see
her dog. Rita started whining because she knew something was up.
Then, Mg came to get me, and we walked (Or I was dragged) down
to where her raisers were. We got near the doorway, and when I
heard "Rita Pita!" I just handed her over. She was jumping and
bouncing. They said she looked the same, maybe better. Pretty,
clean, happy. They gave me a gift bag. First, they made me 2 photo
albums (much like the ones I wanted to find for them and never did)
with a lot of the pictures from their online page. I have an
envelope with extras, and they wrote on the back to tell me what
they are. There's one of part of the kitchen floor that she chewed
up. Uh oh! So they're kind of just pulling things out, and they
got me a digital camera! That's crazy! I think it's very cool that
they went for it. I told one of the girls here that so many people
wouldn't think about pictures, plus so many of the students here
would have hated receiving pictures or a camera. They took a
chance, and if I don't want to feel bad that they got me something
so amazing, I just have to be sure to use it a lot for them. I
promised them updates and pictures and will either add them to this
list or send them my entries. Mk came by, and when I handed him
the albums, you could tell he was really happy. He told them
the "high initiative" thing, so even though he later told me not to
take that so seriously, he really did mean it.
I wanted to go back to my room to drop things off and give them
their presents. (I think they really liked the mugs). They saw her
harness and wanted to see her work. I was worried. The theme of
the day was "I don't think she can work today. I promise that she's
amazing at this, but she's just out of her mind today." I felt so
stupid! She was trying to drag me down stairs, ran me into things,
walked me off edges and into the grass...she was just full out
running! I tried everything and just couldn't get her to slow
down. The weirdest part was that sometimes, when she didn't listen,
they were stepping in to correct her. I wondered if they didn't
think I was doing it well enough, but Mk guesses that it's just
natural for them even after all these months, and it was their last
time to kind of help her to be who she's meant to be.
She was a nut. She couldn't sit, couldn't work, couldn't do
anything that involved stillness. I've been in this building for a
month, but between the crowds of dogs, students and all the people
who came today along with breeder and new puppy raiser dogs, I
couldn't get anywhere. I had to ask them to direct me out of rooms
that I've been in on a daily basis for a month. We got pictures
taken, and then it was time for the ceremony.
We went in alphabetical order, so of 12 new students, I was the
7th. I didn't cry. A few people did while speaking, but it just
didn't happen. It was surreal to stand up there. In true me
fashion, I half planned, half let random things come out of my
mouth. The main instructor introduces you. Just before your name
is called, someone else comes to walk you up. Mg came and
whispered "I'm going to heel you up to the front". She realizes it,
and I realize it, and we both start cracking up at the weird dog
reference. Then the girl to my left said this funny thing that I
once told her (For those of you who remember, think Des, Danny, "Wet
dapper awf!") So then I'm having an even harder time, trying not to
flat out burst into laughter. This caught on and Mg almost lost
it, too. It's that contagious laughter during serious things. So
you go up there, and your puppy raisers come out and hand you your
dog. It's so funny! There's always this pause between the dog
handing over and your speech while you hear whispers of "Sit! Good
girl!" My Rita, of course, popped up in the middle of me talking,
so I had to say "Hold on, sorry" move the mic away and sit her
bouncy little butt down. Greeeat! Dvd memories! Then, one of the
raisers gave a speech. I went back to my seat, and they all stood
behind me. That was good. That way, every time we clapped, they
could have a perfect view of Rita standing up, wagging, wandering as
far as she could on her leash. Flopping down. Worming to the left
in front of another girl's dog. Eating a flower, or at least trying
to steal it from the golden who was 2 seats down. Eating a
leaf. "She ate a flower...oh, never mind". "She ate a leaf. Oh
well, it's just fiber". God, she's groaning or snoring
occasionally, and it's so loud that I'm jumping. Maybe I'll get a
seat to myself on the plane if she keeps that up. Ha!
The ceremony was good. Kind of long, a presentation that kind of
took over and was more over the top than any of us as a class would
have preferred, but good. Then we went back in, and after trying to
be a crazy girl for a while longer, Rita fell over. One of the
raiser couples has a 10 month old little girl. She and her
grandmother came in, and Rita was so happy! They all love her so
much, and I just feel really privileged to have gotten her. They
really do seem to like me, and that matters so much. Rita also
spent time with a puppy sitter who lived on a farm with a cow and
other animals, and she had kids. Rita's going to be just fine with
me! They told me that during the ceremony, Rita was way out in
front of other chairs. I said that I knew and tried so hard to keep
her sitting under my chair. "Well, it was funny. All the other
dogs were lined up nicely, and then there was Rita. But it's ok.
That's how our puppy raiser meetings were. Everyone had these calm
dogs, and then there was Rita." She used to sleep with her head
bent around the edges of doorways and cubicles. Always a nosey
puppy, I guess.
Since Leah lives nearby, Mk drove her home, and I went along for
the ride. Rita needed some downtime. After the raisers left, she
whined, and I wanted to just get her out of here for a little
while. We got back too late for dinner, so I fed her and looked in
the fridge filled with scary unidentifiable leftovers for sandwich
stuff. A sticky bread bag and nothing but plastic spoons later, I
had a very weird peanut butter sandwich. I hung out with one of the
girls from Canada and threw the last of my stuff together. I'm
going to send this, and the next post from me will be from MD. So,
I'm officially home by 5:30 latest if I'm lucky. Chris, thank you
in advance for being so great. I'll see and talk to all of you very
soon. If you're interested in learning to play with a new toy, I
have a brand new camera and a gentle "hint hint" about keeping
everyone updated with Rita stories and pictures. I think I can do
that! :) I'm going to take Rita out to "relieve" or "do her
business" for one last time, sleep, and start the next chapter.
Rita, no food all day, on a plane. That should be interesting.
Enjoy your Sunday,
~Jess
Hey everyone. It's been a long day, and I'm wiped out. That's
good since I have to be out of here at 4:00 AM though. It's going
to be one long day, and after today, I'm just hoping Rita can
maintain all right until I can let her go a bit wild.
This morning, I did some last minute stuff. I wanted to groom
Rita so that she'd look pretty for her people. The guys seemed
amazed at no hair coming off, so that 10 minutes apparently really
does pay off. I bought a plastic collapsible water bowl from the
gift shop that had a nice hole in the bottom, so I needed to return
that. Leah and I walked over there, and we should've given up when
we walked out the door. People, tables, dogs that wanted to drag us
everywhere. I think they sensed that something was going on.
Packing last night. New people today. It was too much for them.
Well, we got to the gift shop but had one hell of a time getting
back. "Left, find the stairs". Oh crap, no, we need up stairs, I
don't know where going down these would lead me. There's nothing
like seeing Leah and I break into different directions only to
realize that neither of us can figure it out. So I stopped
someone. She had a French accent and was just so nice. Then, I
realized that I'd been asking directions from a puppy raiser. I
told Leah that I hoped Rita's people didn't see me because they'd be
horrified if they thought that was the way we worked together.
We eventually made it inside, had lunch, got dressed. Mk came
to get Leah, and her puppy raisers were just crying and happy to see
her dog. Rita started whining because she knew something was up.
Then, Mg came to get me, and we walked (Or I was dragged) down
to where her raisers were. We got near the doorway, and when I
heard "Rita Pita!" I just handed her over. She was jumping and
bouncing. They said she looked the same, maybe better. Pretty,
clean, happy. They gave me a gift bag. First, they made me 2 photo
albums (much like the ones I wanted to find for them and never did)
with a lot of the pictures from their online page. I have an
envelope with extras, and they wrote on the back to tell me what
they are. There's one of part of the kitchen floor that she chewed
up. Uh oh! So they're kind of just pulling things out, and they
got me a digital camera! That's crazy! I think it's very cool that
they went for it. I told one of the girls here that so many people
wouldn't think about pictures, plus so many of the students here
would have hated receiving pictures or a camera. They took a
chance, and if I don't want to feel bad that they got me something
so amazing, I just have to be sure to use it a lot for them. I
promised them updates and pictures and will either add them to this
list or send them my entries. Mk came by, and when I handed him
the albums, you could tell he was really happy. He told them
the "high initiative" thing, so even though he later told me not to
take that so seriously, he really did mean it.
I wanted to go back to my room to drop things off and give them
their presents. (I think they really liked the mugs). They saw her
harness and wanted to see her work. I was worried. The theme of
the day was "I don't think she can work today. I promise that she's
amazing at this, but she's just out of her mind today." I felt so
stupid! She was trying to drag me down stairs, ran me into things,
walked me off edges and into the grass...she was just full out
running! I tried everything and just couldn't get her to slow
down. The weirdest part was that sometimes, when she didn't listen,
they were stepping in to correct her. I wondered if they didn't
think I was doing it well enough, but Mk guesses that it's just
natural for them even after all these months, and it was their last
time to kind of help her to be who she's meant to be.
She was a nut. She couldn't sit, couldn't work, couldn't do
anything that involved stillness. I've been in this building for a
month, but between the crowds of dogs, students and all the people
who came today along with breeder and new puppy raiser dogs, I
couldn't get anywhere. I had to ask them to direct me out of rooms
that I've been in on a daily basis for a month. We got pictures
taken, and then it was time for the ceremony.
We went in alphabetical order, so of 12 new students, I was the
7th. I didn't cry. A few people did while speaking, but it just
didn't happen. It was surreal to stand up there. In true me
fashion, I half planned, half let random things come out of my
mouth. The main instructor introduces you. Just before your name
is called, someone else comes to walk you up. Mg came and
whispered "I'm going to heel you up to the front". She realizes it,
and I realize it, and we both start cracking up at the weird dog
reference. Then the girl to my left said this funny thing that I
once told her (For those of you who remember, think Des, Danny, "Wet
dapper awf!") So then I'm having an even harder time, trying not to
flat out burst into laughter. This caught on and Mg almost lost
it, too. It's that contagious laughter during serious things. So
you go up there, and your puppy raisers come out and hand you your
dog. It's so funny! There's always this pause between the dog
handing over and your speech while you hear whispers of "Sit! Good
girl!" My Rita, of course, popped up in the middle of me talking,
so I had to say "Hold on, sorry" move the mic away and sit her
bouncy little butt down. Greeeat! Dvd memories! Then, one of the
raisers gave a speech. I went back to my seat, and they all stood
behind me. That was good. That way, every time we clapped, they
could have a perfect view of Rita standing up, wagging, wandering as
far as she could on her leash. Flopping down. Worming to the left
in front of another girl's dog. Eating a flower, or at least trying
to steal it from the golden who was 2 seats down. Eating a
leaf. "She ate a flower...oh, never mind". "She ate a leaf. Oh
well, it's just fiber". God, she's groaning or snoring
occasionally, and it's so loud that I'm jumping. Maybe I'll get a
seat to myself on the plane if she keeps that up. Ha!
The ceremony was good. Kind of long, a presentation that kind of
took over and was more over the top than any of us as a class would
have preferred, but good. Then we went back in, and after trying to
be a crazy girl for a while longer, Rita fell over. One of the
raiser couples has a 10 month old little girl. She and her
grandmother came in, and Rita was so happy! They all love her so
much, and I just feel really privileged to have gotten her. They
really do seem to like me, and that matters so much. Rita also
spent time with a puppy sitter who lived on a farm with a cow and
other animals, and she had kids. Rita's going to be just fine with
me! They told me that during the ceremony, Rita was way out in
front of other chairs. I said that I knew and tried so hard to keep
her sitting under my chair. "Well, it was funny. All the other
dogs were lined up nicely, and then there was Rita. But it's ok.
That's how our puppy raiser meetings were. Everyone had these calm
dogs, and then there was Rita." She used to sleep with her head
bent around the edges of doorways and cubicles. Always a nosey
puppy, I guess.
Since Leah lives nearby, Mk drove her home, and I went along for
the ride. Rita needed some downtime. After the raisers left, she
whined, and I wanted to just get her out of here for a little
while. We got back too late for dinner, so I fed her and looked in
the fridge filled with scary unidentifiable leftovers for sandwich
stuff. A sticky bread bag and nothing but plastic spoons later, I
had a very weird peanut butter sandwich. I hung out with one of the
girls from Canada and threw the last of my stuff together. I'm
going to send this, and the next post from me will be from MD. So,
I'm officially home by 5:30 latest if I'm lucky. Chris, thank you
in advance for being so great. I'll see and talk to all of you very
soon. If you're interested in learning to play with a new toy, I
have a brand new camera and a gentle "hint hint" about keeping
everyone updated with Rita stories and pictures. I think I can do
that! :) I'm going to take Rita out to "relieve" or "do her
business" for one last time, sleep, and start the next chapter.
Rita, no food all day, on a plane. That should be interesting.
Enjoy your Sunday,
~Jess