Update

I wanted to take sometime to give an update on how Spencer’s doing in training, but to be honest, there’s not much to say. So I guess the best news I can give you is that CCI says he’s doing well and we don’t have him back yet. He’s already doing much better than I expected.

My dad and I still check in on the puppies at class and help out some days, and they all seem to be doing well. I’m proud of all the puppy raisers, thanks for sticking with us.

I also wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read this blog. I’m sorry I didn’t update it more, but I appreciate all your support and praise. To anyone whose interested in still reading some of my work, I’m starting up a new blog soon based on music soon. I haven’t worked out all the details yet, but I’ll report back soon (with more info on Spencer if I have any by then). Thank again everyone.

The End

“It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.” –Green Day, Time of Your Life

Well, this is it, my little brothers all grown up and going to college. I knew it was coming, and to be honest, I’m not nearly as devastated as I thought I’d be. After talking to the people I’ve talked to, that couldn’t live like you and I if they didn’t have this dog, I know why I’m doing it. In the beginning I was a little selfish and just wanted a dog, but now I realize this is for a greater good. Sure, I’m sad to see him go, but not nearly as bad as I thought I’d be.

After I give my service dog spiel to everyone, usually the first question is, “how can you give your dog up? It must be so hard!”. Well first off he’s not really mine, he’s still owned by CCI until he leaves to help someone. Second, if you ever see someone with a service dog, ask them what that dog means to them. It will all make sense right then and there. Knowing this dog will make someone twice as happy as he made me is all that really matters. I think really the most inspirational quote I’ve heard about these dogs comes from the mother of an autistic child who received a service dog. That quote was “This is the first friend my son has ever had”. That really meant a lot to me, and I know that’s the reason I do this. Think about it. Can you imagine what it would be like? Knowing that this dog can make a world of difference to someone is really all that matters. Most people like you and I can get up in the morning, make ourselves a bowl of cereal, shower, get dressed, and get to work or school all by ourselves in the morning. A lot of these people we’re helping can’t. That’s really amazing to know that because of my family simply raising a dog, someone might be able to live independently with little help from others.
There’s just a few messages I want to leave you all with before I end this blog based upon what this has taught me. First, no matter the disability, no matter the issue, people with any sort of disability or handicap are people too. In fact, many of them are very nice people. It’s human nature to judge, and I totally understand. When we see someone with any sort of disability we automatically judge, but I really want that to change. They’re just like us. They’re not some sort of alien or anything. We share the same interests, dreams, goals, and ideas. Second, this was really an inspirational journey for me, and it was an AMAZING experience. If you really want to do something to make a difference in our strange, bizarre world, raising a service dog is a GREAT idea. Or even making a small donation to CCI, or even just raising awareness about CCI.

I really want to thank you all for taking the time to read this. This dog really does mean the world to me and I’m glad I could share it with you! I’ve attached a slide show for Spencer, highlighting pictures and videos of him.
Thanks again everyone. I hope you stay healthy, and stay happy!

This is a link to Spencer's Video that I made.

Spencer Slide Show

Spencer’s Puppy Class

This week, I thought I’d share a video of Spencer’s recent puppy class. He always has fun there, so I thought it’d be a good idea to show you what he gets to do. Hope you enjoy it!

Spencer’s Busy Life

This issue of Spencer’s World is dedicated to everyone in the armed forces. I would like to personally thank everyone whose ever served in the military, God bless.

Spencer has done a lot the past few months. He sure is a social and popular dog. While he does his typical things (go to work, go to restaurants, stores etc. with us), he has also go to do some exciting things!

Probably the most exciting Spencer got to to do recently was go visited wounded warriors  and their families in Bethesda. He went with another puppy trainer that goes to the same class as us. Spencer got to stay the night with her for three days and went to the hospital. He got very excited to see all the people and they were happy to see him. We’re told he did a great job and was an excellent dog, but I find it hard to belief he didn’t get into any mischief.

I also feel I should give some more exciting news. My dad received an email from one of the people that work for CCI and gave us some great news. Spencer gets to stay until May! We’re not exactly sure for what reason he’s getting to stay, but we’re excited nonetheless! Spencer is a big part of the family and the more time we get to spend with him the better.

Hope you all have a great week and a good Veteran’s Day!

Spencer’s First Theater Movie

This week, Spencer got to go to his first movie in theaters! He got to see the Expendables (yes, we took our one year old to a rated R movie), and did a great job! There were some loud parts in that movie which made him a little nervous, food on the floor, and he got a little restless but other than that he did fantastic! He layed down and (sort of) watched the movie with us. Spencer was a great dog and I’m very proud of him.

 

It’s been about a year since we first got Spencer, and what a great year it’s been. We are slowly preparing for his departure in February. He’s been a fantastic dog and he’s going to be a huge help to someone one day, and although many people (including myself) don’t want him to leave, I know it is necessary  and he’s going to do great in Advanced training. People say to me all the time, “It must be so hard to give him up!”, but I know I’m not giving him up, I’m giving him back. Knowing he’s going to help someone in need makes giving him back so much easier and I’m excited for him. Spencer is my best friend and I know he’s going to be someone else’s too.

 

Thanks for reading!

The Awesome Times of a Dog Named Spencer

In the times since my last post, Spencer has done some really exciting and fun stuff, like his trip to Maine, the farm, and Pennsylvania. So this entry should be quick.... I'm just kidding we might be here a while so we should get started.

I'd have to say Spencer had the best time in Maine and Boston. He got to do so much, it was almost too much for a little puppy to take! There was the trip in the R.V., which he really wasn't sure about in the begininng. He didn't know if he should sit, lay down, stand or what in the world to do. He eventually became used to it and was very calm and a good dog.

We finally made it to Boston and Spencer was excited to get up and actually do something! We decided it'd be fun to take a tour of Boston and see what there was to see, and we decided to do this on the hottest day of the year. Although, a good experience came for Spencer when he rode the bus for the first time. Again, this took him a while to get comfortable, but he overall did a great job. Another great experience came for Spencer at the aquarium, and that experience, was a seal. We eventually had to leave the seal alone because he didn't really know what the seal was and wanted to bark at it. Spencer seemed to like it there though and had a good time. 

The next day in Boston was college day for us! Spencer came along again and we first went to the MIT mueseum. Spencer saw all the robots and technology and was really curious on why everything was moving. He also saw a group of kids and wanted to meet them all. My dad tried to convince everyone he was a robotic dog, I rolled my eyes at him and said he wasn't. We later went back downstairs and finished looking at all the interesting things and Spencer, again, was a great dog. The next stop was my favorite, Berklee College of Music! Spencer was already kinda worn out by this point so after a while my dad took him to a place to rest and they were done for the day.

We later went to Maine and Spencer got to do alot more fun things! On our third day there we took Spencer on a four mile hike which he loved! About half up the mountain we were climbing, my dad found something new to Spencer, a snake. As you can imagine, this scared my dad and I a bit, but no, not Spencer. Spencer really wanted to play with this snake. We're really glad he didn't though, turns out this snake was a brown rattlesnake or something of those sorts. Spencer did a great job getting up the big rocks and we eventually made it to the top! The rest of the Maine trip for Spencer was a lot of rest and walking around to see what there was.

About a week after the Maine trip, Spencer had one of the best times of his life. While my parents and I voyaged to the Outer Banks, Spencer stayed at another CCI volunteer's farm, which was five days of nonstop running and playing with his friends Kianna and Carson. We were told Spencer was a very good dog, but I can't help but think he was a bit mischievous.

Spencer also went up to Pennsylvania this week and learned about ATV's (All Terrain Vehicles) and got to watch my mom and I take an ATV safety class, where he helped out by picking up cones with my dad. Spencer didn't do anything particularly exciting otherwise, but the ATV's where a great experience for him which I felt the need to highlight.

Thank you so much for reading, have a great week!

The docks at the aquarium

Our MIT Speech

Taking a dip in the fish tank

Making it up the Mountain!

The Lake!

Spencer’s Hunting Day!

Here are some videos of Spencer with the North American Versatile Hunting Dogs!
There’s more to come!

Hello reddit.

GuitarWarrior96

Spencer, The Good, The Bad, and The Windmill

For the past few weeks, I've been writing about all the good things Spencer does. It may seem like he's nothing but good, and an angel. But I'm here to tell you, he's not. This week, he's been trying our patience as much as possible. While it may be annoying, it's normal.

One of the first things he's been doing is darting off. Down the street, through the back to the people's houses behind ours, and on and on and on. An example of this incident was when he was in the side yard playing ball with my dad. He bolted off to the houses' behind ours and came back with their little windmill. My dad took it back and play time was over for Spencer.
Chewing is another example. Like this morning, when I caught him chewing a coaster. Why in the world he would want to chew a coaster, I can't tell you. He will chew anything he can get his teeth on, and I mean ANYTHING, twigs, softballs, coasters, leaves, etc.

But he's not a terrible dog, in fact, he's one of the most well behaved dogs I've ever known. Spencer's a great dog and companion and will hopefully go to someone he can really help one day.

This week, Spencer went back to puppy class! He was very excited to go back and see all his friends.

After Spencer played with his friends for a while, they started working on stay and here. Spencer did very well, and did some heel and side along with the other tricks. They would line the dogs up on one side of the room, and there owner would go to the other side and call them, Spencer would always go to my dad or do heel or side the first or second time he was told.

Out was another trick they worked on, and Spencer did great with it. Out is where the dog goes through the door and turns around. We walked through the building doing this, and Spencer was always good at it.

Thanks for reading!

     Spencer got to go on an exciting trip with his puppy class friends this week, they went to an outdoor shopping center!

     When Spencer first got out, we walked over to the center to wait for everyone. Spencer decided to see what the fountain was, and proceeded to get hit in the face with water. Spencer also practice up and jump on some benches. His friends starting getting there and we talked to people and socialized a little bit before we got started.

     As we walked around, we practiced more ups and jumps, and also worked on walking on odd and different surfaces, like the grates. We were disappointed that the pet store was closed, and continued on our journey. Spencer practiced out a few times through a door, and is seeming to get it down. Our journey progressed on, and the dogs got tired, and we sat down to take a rest. As I sat down to pet Thatcher, Howie (the newest dog in the group), proceeded to wrestle with Thatcher and I, and the smart little guy managed to get his gentle leader off. We took a group photo afterwards, and our adventure was over.

     Seeing these dogs progress make me feel more and more that they are great dogs and are one day really going to help someone. Spencer is doing great with his training, and just keeps getting bigger and bigger!

    Thanks for reading!

Spencer, Fishing, Jumping, and Lonesome

Spencer has done a lot with us recently, we had the oppurtunity to go to Pennsylvania again, and he had a lot of fun!

Some of the most fun we have in Pennslyvania is fishing. Spencer went with us twice this trip, and did he have fun! While we were fishing, he swam in the lake, rolled in the mud, and played with sticks! What more could a dog ask for?

We've recently had some problems with Spencer being a bit lazy. He decided that he didn't have to jump in the car, and we had to put him in. My dad would have none of that. We went to puppy class and asked on what to do. We used Spencer's regular food as treats, but we found out you should have another "special" treat. I highly advise doing this if you are having trouble with a dog. The regular food was described to us as nickels, but the special treats are five dollar bills.

Recently, Spencer has been extremely lonesome. He has been laying on anyones feet, puting his head on my shoulder in the car, and being as close to anyone as possible. I included this because I thought it was kind of funny. Spencer is still getting bigger and bigger and he's doing great.

At our last to puppy classes, a partial deaf woman came in with her CCI dog who had been helping her for a while, and I have to say, it completely changed my perspective of having to give Spencer up. After seeing how much this dog helped her and how much she loved this dog, I know want him to go and help someone because I know he's a great dog that someone would love to have.

Thanks for reading!

Spencer goes to the lake!

Seeing as my mom and I were sick this week, and my dad was gone, Spencer didn’t get to do much. But come Saturday, my dad was back and I was feeling better, and Spencer got to take a trip to the lake!

When we first got there, it was a long walk to the actual lake, and Spencer was happy to get to do some exploring. When we finally got there, Spencer was flabbergasted that there was so much water in one place. After a while he didn’t really mind being in the water and he somehow managed a ball. We threw the ball for him for a while, but he lost interest. But soon after we found a stick for him and he had a lot of fun. Towards the end of the trip, he had a little pile of sticks, and I managed to find a tree for him. His eyes went wide as he saw it and I threw it in the water for him. He tried to pick it up but had no luck. After a while though it was time to go home. He had a lot of fun but was very tired when we got home.

 

Thanks for reading!

Spencer’s growing up!

These past few weeks, Spencer has had many accomplishments. Along with learning visit, car, and out, he also got to go to work with my dad, went to restaurants with my family and I, and he even went to a concert!

Spencer really enjoys being with my dad, so he was very excited when he went to work with my dad and got to spend all day with him. He slept in my dads office while my dad worked, met lots of new people, and got to run around and play too! Spencer has his own name tag too, which I thought was awesome.

He has also gone to a few restaurants with us, which he has done very good in all of them. We put him in a down stay, and he usually will stay the whole time, especially the times he falls asleep. Spencer is calm during these trips, and overall a very good puppy!

Yesterday, the School of Rock put on a Van Halen tribute concert. We decided to go and check it out, and we brought Spencer along. It was very loud in there, because is it really a concert if you don’t crank it up? Spencer was a little stressed because of the noise, but was excited in meeting a few new people, and overall did very good!

It’s amazing how fast time has flown by! My little puppy who just wanted to explore, now watches T.V. with me, knows many tricks, goes lots of places with us, and he got huge! Because of how well he’s doing, I have reason to believe that he’s going to make as a CCI service dog, if he gets a little less stubborn.

 

Thanks for reading!

Spencer Speaks!

Sorry for not updating this for a while. We’ve been BOMBARDED with snow. We’ve actually had so much, that Spencer’s been wondering, where’s a guy to pee?

In recent weeks, a very exciting event has happened for Spencer, he learned to speak! I will post a video of him speaking, and if you don’t know why my dad and I are laughing so hard, it’s because Spencer  has a tendency to shoot his food out when he speaks.

 

It’s hard to believe how big Spencer’s gotten! I caught believe I only have a year left with him! We also have a few puppies leaving to graduate in our class! I’d like to wish Russ, Edwin, Iden, and Crystal the best of luck! (Sorry if I added anyone in, misspelled their name, or forgot anyone!) I know you guys will do great!

Spencer goes to PA again!

This week, Spencer went to Pennsylvania with my parents, friend and I. We had a lot of fun!

On our first day, we mainly just drove there and relaxed that night. Not very eventful but Spencer seemed to have fun.

The Second day we stayed home mainly. But we also went to the lodge and walked around. Spencer was very good and was not getting very distracted.

On our third day, we went home and he got to meet my friends dog, Molly, although they did not get along very well. Spencer has also learned to play soccer and he got to go to a museum with us today!

 

Thanks for reading!

Update

Sorry about the last two weeks, I’ve been in Pennsylvania and forgot to post one. But to update you he had a lot of fun in Pennsylvania with my family, my friend and I. He didn’t seem to like the slush too much though. We also went to puppy class and he learned sit, lay down and stand from a distance. We also worked on stay and a few other things.

 

As I said earlier, Spencer’s big event this week was going to Pennsylvania. We have also been working on heel, stand, and car with him. He does not do well with car at the moment but is getting there.

 

Hope you have a great week!

Spencer’s shopping experience

Spencer recently walked to the marketplace near us. He got to go through many stores and seemed to have a good time.

Spencer went to Safe Way, which is now one of the biggest stores he’s been in. He did very good in there and was calm. He also went to Starbucks, which must have been fun smelling all the new smells of coffee and such. Another store he went was the local pet store! He got to see all the little puppies the keep up front. He seemed excited at first, but then got annoyed when the puppies wouldn’t be quiet. The last store he went to was Blockbuster, which he was also very calm in.

 

Hope you had a great week, thanks for reading!

Spencer meets more of the family

This week, my brother and his girlfriend came up to visit. Spencer liked them a lot and was sad to see them go.

 

When they first came up, Spencer was excited to meet some new people. He really liked playing with Bret and really wanted to meet Samantha (which got him in a lot of trouble for jumping and licking).

On the first morning of their trip, we went to Pennsylvania to go skiing. Spencer sat in the car the whole time and was calm most of the trip. When we got their, we unpacked and Spencer played ball with my brother and dad a lot. We played with Spencer a lot on our trip and had a very good time. I sat with Spencer the whole way back and he was very good….until he tried to help me play games on the computer.

 

Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a happy new year!

Spencer and the Car

The snow that Spencer loved oh so much slowly melted over the week. Spencer enjoyed what was left of the snow and did a few other fun things.

Spencer rode in the car a lot this week, we have a harness so he can sit next to me in the car. He seems to enjoy sitting with me and doesn’t mind putting the harness on. He also got to see my grandma a lot this week who he seems to really likes.

Spencer tried helping us in a fun activity this year, putting up the Christmas tree! Although he ended up trying to eat all the branches and ornaments.

 

Spencer had a fun week this week and next week will probably be one too. Thanks  for reading!

Spencer’s snow day!

Spencer had a exciting week. We had a huge snowstorm and Spencer LOVED IT!

We had about 12 or so inches of snow and Spencer played in it as much as he could. He jumped like a rabbit in and out of the snow. He also got stuck once when he jumped out and his head went in a little hole in the snow, you could only see his tail and leash. Playing in the snow has been a blast for him, especially when other dogs came out and played with him.

Spencer also got to ride in the seat of the car with his harness on while we drove to my Grandma’s house. He had a good time there, and enjoyed riding in the seat next to me in the car.

 

Thanks for reading!