Tails of Harriet: March 2010

Last week at this time... I was home in California with my mama, Brindy, and my siblings - Heinz, Hanneke, Hans, Hildy, Howard, Hayward, Heaven, and Halo.

Today... I'm at home in Colorado with two puppy-raiser people... and three kitties who are bigger 'n' I am.

My name is Harriet (the Third, she added, with her nose and tail in the air). When I grow up I want to be a service dog with Canine Companions for Independence. I want to help somebody who has trouble getting around - maybe somebody in a wheelchair - maybe even a kid in a wheelchair.

But I have some things to do first.

I came out on an airplane. I was in that crate ALL DAY LONG. I had food and water, but it sure wasn't like home. So I slept when I felt that I was moving, and barked when I wasn't. Try it. It's easy. Just go ROW-OOOOO! ROW-OOOOO! It got me a lot of attention, and somebody would come over and scratch my ears through the door of the crate.

Finally they took my crate into a big building and (gasp!) walked away from me for a few minutes. So I sang my song: ROW-OOOOO! ROW-OOOOO! And I heard somebody say, "I bet that's my dog." She carried my crate into another room and let me come out...

that was good. Then she fastened a cute pink necklace wound my neck, with a long pink ribbon attached to it. What a fun toy! Then she took me outside.

Then she fed me...

and put me into a different crate (it smelled better) and I felt myself moving again. That was good because I was too tired to ROW-OOOOO! I didn't wake up until I stopped moving again.

My new home has a lot of grass that I like.

It has rocks just my size to sit on.

It has Harriet-sized toys.

It has steps. Right away I started practicing. Up is pretty easy. Down is something else. But I'm working on it.

I think this guy is here for me to play with. I'd like to chase him around but I think he could beat me up. But Mama taught me to be friendly.

I like going outside, but not alone. Sometimes my new PR mom goes back inside without me for a little while. When that happens, I know what to do. ROW-OOOOO! Works beautifully. I should have this lady trained in no time.

And then something happened to the green stuff.

It started turning green again the next day, though.

The outdoor steps I do pretty well now,

and I'm getting better at the indoor ones.

I'll close with something that puzzles me right now. I know my first name is Harriet, but I think my middle name is...