Haddie's First Report

It finally came. With no substantial information about Haddie since February 15th, when we said our goodbye, we finally received her first training report late this afternoon. It was a bit worrisome at first, because our friends had received their report, and I had not. I was wondering if it was a sign that a phone call would be placed to us tomorrow about a release, or if we were caught up in an email malfunction that we had been warned about.

It was about twenty minutes after Happy Dancing for our friend's pups that had received their great report did it dawn on me that perhaps our report was in my hubby's email box. Sure enough, it was.

Whew.

Quickly sending the attachment to my computer from our iPad, my son and I rushed to my computer to get the attachment. We couldn't wait to read the report, and we read it out loud to my daughter who didn't move from the couch; she was rightfully feeling a bittersweet emotion about getting the report. While she wants Haddie to graduate, she is also wanting to have Haddie live in our city with our dear friends. I totally get my girl's emotions and feeling the tug for both outcomes.

Haddie is doing fantastic!! She had nothing checked in the negative boxes on the form ~ and that list is really long!! For that, I am super excited. If there were items marked, that does not mean the pup is headed for a Release. They can have negative marks and still be in the program. But to have nothing marked just makes me feel good.

That is not to say that Haddie won't choose to act negatively in the future. She still may be riding the College Freshmen High and hasn't settled into boredom. Or, she may never exhibit those signs. Just wanting to keep it real and taking the good for the moment, while not being fooled that things might change.

Haddie went on one Field Trip with her trainer to Barnes and Noble. My insert to this reading was a Huge Smile as my dear friend and I took her to B&N when she was tiny and we chatted for two hours in the comfy chairs while Haddie had to chill out with us. Thank you JENNIFER for helping her be so outstanding at B&N. The report states: "We went on one field trip this month to Barnes and Noble. She encountered grates, an elevator, and stairs. She did very well and had no trouble with anything that we encountered."

One of the working-on sections the Trainer typed was that she is working with Haddie to accept nail trimming. This made me sad, because I know the story. Haddie was Perfect with nail trimming since about four months old. She struggled when she first came home, but we quickly got her used to the idea and she would lay calmly in a craddle to get her nails trimmed without any struggle. She was easy and it was a dream to trim her nails weekly.

And then, during class last November, I agreed for a volunteer (who was trimming many dogs that night) to do Haddie's for me. But unfortunately she clipped too short and Haddie was not happy. Since that day Haddie struggled with nail trimming. Ohhh, we were so close too. I know she can't be perfect, but I was so proud of her ability to hold so still during allllll the months prior, and to have her freak out just months before Turn In was sad. Sigh. I am praying she gets this under control and realizes that she can handle it like she once did.

The Biggest surprise is that she is listed as a Potential Breeder. Wow. I really thought they would have taken her out of the running very quickly. I say this because she has had skin issues on her tummy and under her arm pits. I thought her allergy/chemical makeup would take her out of the running to Breed. Glad that it has not so far. Perhaps it was entirely environmental and the warm California sun has cleared it up and she's no longer showing signs of whatever it was (never did figure out the cause). It never bothered her, it just didn't look "very pretty" (but how many times are they showing off their belly in public? Ha!).

The final statement: "She is progressing nicely with her skills."

YES!! Nicely done, Haddie Rosa!!!