Diary of a Newbie Puppy Raiser

College

2009-01-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! It has been a while. I am getting ready for college and I am applying to enter the animal science program at OSU in hopes of becoming a advanced service dog trainer. If anyone would like to contribute to my college expenses there is a link below that tells you how. Thanks!

Mulan's New Home

2007-10-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

Guess what! Mulan went to a new home last weekend:) It is a lady who has had several release dogs before Mulan. She will be able to provide Mulan the special type of medication and dog food Mulan has been prescribed by the vet to help heal her ear infection. This makes me feel a lot better now I know she is going to a good home.

Last Update

2007-10-11T15:15:00.001-07:00

Gwen called last week and said because of a chronic ear infection Mulan will be unable to continue in the program. We were asked if we would like Mulan back and because of the amount we travel we are unable to keep her.
Gwen said she would place Mulan with a really nice family. It really upsets me because I want to keep her really bad. So this is probably the last post I will do unless anyone has any questions:(
This past year and a half has been a amazing experience with many ups and downs and I will never forget it, ever. Mulan was my best friend and I will miss her very, very much. I love her so much that I want her to have a family that will be there every day for her. So I hope and pray that she gets a wonderful and loving family. Thanks to everyone for reading and posting on my blog, as I have said before the comments are what kept me blogging.
Thanks,
Candace Hornsby

P.S. Anyone who would like to link to my blog can. You don't have to ask

4th Update

2007-09-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Mulan is still in the program and seems to be doing well. She has mastered a few of the commands and I was told she performed them "enthusiasticly." She continues to have dirty ears which is a cause of concern. She also is underconfident which they said is a area of concern. They are ending the first semester. The second semester will include a lot more field trips to evaluate their skills. Fingers crossed:)

3rd Update

2007-07-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone:) Mulans training is still going well. Unfortunately she is behind a bit in the program because she was not selected to be a breeder so she has been spayed. It is weird but I am a little sad because I know she would have been a wonderful mother.
One other thing is that she can be kind of skittish sometimes because she bolted after the field trip to the pet store. This worries me a little. Besides that everything is going well. Keep your fingers crossed.

2nd Update

2007-07-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

We just recieved Mulans second report. They said that she is doing well. Her hips and elbows have passed the test for the program. She is still in the running to be a possible breeder. Her biggest problem continues to be her lack of taking the initiative. But other then that all is going well.

1st Update

2007-06-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

We got a phone call from Mulan's trainer Wednesday. She said Mulan was adjusting well. She has been happily playing with the other dogs and eating well.
The past two weeks they have been doing temperment testing. Mulan tested on the "soft" side. This means she looks to people for guidance which is not necessarily a bad thing. They also did the rabbit test where the see if the dog is interested or aggressive to the CCI center's rabbit.
The trainer said Mulan was interested, but they could easily gain her attention again so that was a relief! They told me that it was all they could do to keep another dog from eating it! They also did a test where they brought out a large stuffed lion to see how the dog would react. Mulan was nervous but when the trainer went up to it she was less hesitant. So all and all Mulan seems to be doing well. During the next couple weeks they are going to begin working on commands with the dogs. So we will see how that goes. . . .

Graduation Picture

2007-05-24T03:50:00.000-07:00

I know I said that the Closure Post would be my last post but I just wanted to show you a picture of her and I at graduation. We were all given cookies shaped like our dogs with their names on them, a certificate, and a blue ribbon with "Canine Companions for Independence" on it.

Closure

2007-05-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

We just got back from turning-in Mulan and it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I cried and cried and I am still crying now. The ceremonies were very nice and they had certificates and congratulations for all the puppy raisers. The house seems so quiet. I will post a monthly update from what I hear from CCI. I would like to thank everyone who has read my blog this past year and a half. I hope you have enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it:)

One Week

2007-05-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, one week from today and Mulan turns in. These last few months have gone by so fast. I have decided that once she turns in I am going to wrap up this blog. I will however post a monthly update on how her advanced training is going and wether or not she is placed with anyone. I know that everyone will be eager to know how she is doing. I will try to post 1 or 2 more time this week so you will have some final posts and pictures of her:)

Few Mulan Pics

2007-04-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

20 days until Mulans turn-in that seems so short:( I had a few requests for some more recent
pictures of her. The reason I havn't posted any in a while is because she does not look much different. Maybe it is because I am with her all the time. I snapped a few shots of her in mine room while I was doing homework. I would also like to post a few pictures from her last puppy class but I have yet to get a hold of my dads camera. When I do I will post them though.

Last Puppy Class

2007-04-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight we will be attending out last puppy class with Mulan. It will be at Mingo Park.
I am hoping the weather will clear up by this evening because it has been raining a lot this morning.
Two days ago we took Mulan to the doggy park. At the very edge of the park there is a shallow doggy pond for the dogs to swim in. She had a great time! She swam and swam and swam with another lab. They had so much fun. She has been tired ever since:)

Chicago and the Beginning of the End

2007-04-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

We went and visited Chicago again this weekend. We enjoyed it a lot. This time we went to the Chicago Art Institute and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. We also got to ride the trains through the city and walk along the Magnificent Mile(a mile full of 6o retail shops).
Mulan stayed at CCI. Her ears are tons better. The antibiotics and medication we have been using have really payed off.
I am sure you are wondering what the "beginning of the end" is. Last night when we got home we found Mulans forms for turn-in, in the mail. We were all very somber. She will be turning in May 19th. I just thought everyone would like to know.
So to brighten up the mood I have a story for everyone about my hamster.
Last night when I got home my hamster's lid was ajar(it had to be my hamster not my sisters) and he was gone! Our neighbor who had been caring for them had put food and water in bowls on the floor. Naturally we all freaked out!
I searched eveywhere! Finally I a trail of bedding lead me to out new sofa bed. I pulled off the cushions and there was my hamster sitting in a huge nest of chewed up sofa cushion and hamster food! The cushions look awful! My mom is so angry. She has not talked to me since last night. It's not like I chewed them up! I know this story might seem funny to everyone else but I am still in the middle of it. So everyone hope that my mom forgives me soon. Though I really don't blame her:)

Early Turn-In

2007-04-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Today we got a call from CCI saying that because of the unusually warm weather we have been having they have decided they will do turn-in's early so that the dogs won't have to be in the kennels in extreme heat. That means we have to turn in Mulan next week! It came up so suddenly:(

P.S. April Fools:) Mulan doesn't turn-in until May 19th

First Day of Spring!

2007-03-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! Is it spring all ready? This winter went surprisingly fast.
Today we took Mulan to the Vet that CCI uses to get them to look
at her ears. She has a slight yeast infection with some bacteria(nasty)
We have begun a regimen of ear washing, pills, and a ear lotion. Hopefully this will
clear it up for her. I don't want her to have to go to the kennel with a ear infection. That would
be painful for her.
The weather here is very warm and it has been 72 degrees all afternoon. I am soaking it up:)

Beautiful Day!

2007-03-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

It reached 78 degrees today! I finally am wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It is soooooooo nice.
I was outside with Mulan enjoying the sunshine when I had a creaky old mans voice coming from a shadowy porch. He said "Nice day isn't it?" I said "Yes, it is beautiful" Then he says "You know it won't stay like this." I didn't have a reply to that and walked home in a dismal little cloud(not really but if felt like it:)
Mulan had a bath today and we aired out her bedding. My mom said my room was getting to smell like dog so we opened up all the windows to let that air out too. Funny I didn't notice it, I wonder what that implies?
Now to answer the question I have been asked numerous times. Will I raise another puppy after Mulan? The answer to this suprisingly is "no." I love Mulan and I don't mind the work she requires. My one problem is with the amount we travel. It is very difficult to go anywhere. My lifestyle right now is not ideal for raising another puppy. I will probably raise another one when I get my own place some day. Don't think I don't love Mulan any less though. She is my best friend and I don't know what I am going to do without her:(

The difference between Texas and Ohio

2007-03-05T07:33:00.000-08:00

I just realized the difference between TX and OH. In Texas once the weather gets nice it doesn't change. In OH it can be 50 degrees one day and freezing the next! Not fun:( I got another picture of Mulans brothers and sisters. This is you "awwww" for the day!

Little Mulans!

2007-02-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

Don't worry it is not Mulan that had puppies:) We just got a picture from Pearl III's breeder/caretaker of her newest litter of puppies. Pearl III is Mulans mom so it is kind of special for us. They are the "D" litter and they are soooooo cute:)

Spring is coming!

2007-02-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

It is a beautiful day today and it reached 42 degrees! It was soooooooooooo nice:)
We had a couple of friends staying at our home so we took them to a Conservatory to see a traveling exhibit of Chilale glass flowers. They had the flowers in with the Conservatory plants so it was really neat finding them around every corner.
The only dark spot was we had some trouble getting Mulan in because of a cranky security guard. Luckily a receptionist vouched for us and we were allowed access. Here are a few of the glass pieces. My favorite are the floating balls they look like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Back again!

2007-02-12T07:28:00.000-08:00

We went to Buffalo for the weekend and we ended up having to leave Mulan at the kennel because there was a lot of snow up there. She is back home now and doing well. Her ear infection is mostly gone. I am glad because I know they are kind of painful for her. She is maintaining a stable weight now which is between 61-63 lbs. I don't think she is going to grow any bigger.

Puppy Class

2007-01-31T07:23:00.000-08:00

There is a puppy class tonight. It is kind of sad in a way because I don't know how much longer we will be able to attend them. All we have left with Mulan is Feburary, March, April, and then she goes back in May. We are not sure when in May so it could be 3-4 months. Wow how time has flown!
On a different not Mulan has a very stubborn ear infection we are using Montemax twice a day as suggested by CCI. Does anyone have any suggestions for flushing it out?

Mulans Back:)

2007-01-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

Mulan is back and doing well. She seems to get sweeter every time we get her back. Maybe because I miss her so much. I have a new picture of her just so you can see her I know it has been a while. Besides that there is not so much new. I guess because it is winter and we aren't doing as much as we do in summertime:)

Ice Storm!

2007-01-17T05:59:00.000-08:00

Yes, there was a ice storm in Dallas while we were visiting. We woke up one day and it was a balmy 60 degrees, by that evening it was pouring rain and a good 30 degrees cooler.
Visiting Texas again was enjoyable but very sad. I don't know if I would do it again because it hurt so much. I guess it was too soon.
Mulan is still in heat at the kennel but we should be getting her back by next week. Then I can post some news that people will read! lol

Dallas

2007-01-10T05:57:00.000-08:00

We are going to go to Dallas for the weekend:) Some old friends of ours are getting
married. We are all really excited about seeing everyone and visiting old haunts.
Mulan is still at the kennel and she will probably come home around the 24th. I still
miss her.

Growing Up!

2007-01-04T07:45:00.001-08:00

Well it is kind of a funny subject but I guess it needs to go on record in some way. Mulan went into heat yesterday. She is growing up! We had to take her to the CCI kennel and she will stay there for the next three weeks! That is a long time. I feel really bad because we just picked her up again when we came back from Chicago. I also miss her more then I have the other times. I guess it is because I know she is going to be there for so long. I have to finish my geometry lesson now so G2G.

A New Year

2007-01-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Well it is the start of another year:) So many things have happened this year. I would have never thought last January that I would be living in Columbus, OH by the next year. It is kind of scary to think where I might be next year and what will have changed. I know that I won't have Mulan anymore:( I am lucky though that I am getting to keep her still for another five months. Well I have to go give Mulan a bath. I will post again soon hopefully!

Chicago

2006-12-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

We just go back from a long trip to Chicago to visit some friends.

The trip took seven hours. We decided it would be more comfortable

for everyone if Mulan stayed at the CCI kennel. It is good practice

for her(and us).

We spent a extra day and visited different sites around Chicago. We

went to the Field Museum and saw the Tsavo lions and Sue the biggest

T-rex in the world. We also went and saw Frank Lloyd Wrights, Robie House.

He put so much work into it! Even the windows are incredible. Here are a few pictures.

Photoshop Class

2006-12-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

I am taking a Photoshop Class for school and I had to create a layered piece for a assignment.
So all though this is fairly novice my mom said I should post it on my blog because it pertains to Mulan. . . .

Mulan Update: She is doing fine, we took her to the doggy park again yesterday. She played happily with her buddies for 45 minutes or so. She was all muddy when we got back and after I gave her a bath she promptly slept the rest of the evening.
I would also like to tell everyone that if you post a comment on a update that I did a while ago I probably will not see it. I will have a better chance of seeing it if it was posted on a new post.
-Thank You:)

More Snow

2006-12-08T07:29:00.000-08:00

So I have not posted in a while because there has been not much new about
Mulan to post. She did see her first snow yesterday though. It did not last
very long and it melted by this morning. She would not go to the bathroom in it and
waited all day until it had melted more in the evening. I don't know what she is going to do when the snow stays for days! It has also been very cold and this morning I had to take her for a
walk in 14 degrees. It is a exhilirating way to start the day:)

Virtual human development game

www.human-age.com

New Coat

2006-11-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

When we were visiting my grandparents for Thanksgiving I mentioned

to my grandma that Mulan needed a coat. This was something she had not

needed in Texas being that is rarely rained and was not nearly as cold as Ohio.

A couple of days later we headed out to the store and bought her a brand new dog

coat. It is really nice and good quality. It is like a mini horse coat. Here is a picture of her

in it. . .

P.S. Hello Rose and Tjodie and Eddie:) Thanks for reading my blog. I miss you all! Mulan says "Hi" and says that she misses playing with Taco and Chico (If you can call it that:)

Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

2006-11-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

Guess what? In Whitehall one of the nearby towns, they had Extreme Makeover Home Edition building a house for a family of nine. The reason they were redoing the house for them was that the father had been one of the firefighters at the Trade Towers on Sept 11th.

We went to visit the site on Tuesday and we got to meet two of the designers! First Tanya came up and we got to meet her and then Ed came up and we talked to him for a while. We also saw Tye (though only from a distance). It was a very unique experience:)

Do you remember when I said I was teaching Mulan how to turn? I was just telling my mom the other day that I couldn't really think of a place that we would be able to actually use the command.

But when we got our picture taking with Ed, Mulan had gotten turned around and was backwards and I had really wanted her face to be in the picture so I quicky commanded her to "turn" and she turned right around and plopped down! I was so happy that one of her commands actually paid off:) If you notice in the picture she is facing a little to the side that is a result of her turning at the last minute.

Today we went back to visit and see how the house had turned out. It was beautiful! Unluckily we were unable to stay and see the family arrive because it started sleeting! It was freezing! Welcome to Ohio. . . .

P.S. Go OSU!!!!!!!

The first picture is the day that they demoed the house and the second pic is of the house all finished. The last two pictures are of Cara, Mulan, and I with Ed and Tanya. The last pic is of Tye standing on top of one of the trucks they used for hauling the junk away. He is like a big kid! He crawled around all the wreckage when they were demoing the house and he loved it.

At Least Mulan Liked It:)

2006-11-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I stayed home by myself all day while my family went
to church because I wasn't feeling well. It is probably just working to
hard and the cold weather. Sometimes I just feel stretched thin. Like
Bilbo says on "Lord of the Rings" he says, "like butter spread over too much bread."
Luckily I have Mulan and my family around me to keep me going:)
We took Mulan over to a new doggy park. She loved it! It was a huge fenced in area with
toys, water bowls, and even a small pond for the dogs to explore. We spent over 45 minutes
there just letting her run around. I think she liked just being a dog for once.

Turn-in

2006-11-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

Mulan now has a official turn-in date. It will be in March. We were leaning toward
that but we haven't been sure until yesterday. When we were talking to Sarah at
the kennel we were saying we would like to know if it was going to be in Feburary or
March and she said that all her paperwork says March. So we will continue to
raise her for another five months or so. It seems long now but I know it will fly by.
We don't yet know how much we are going to miss her:(

New Commands

2006-11-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

CCI has sent out a e-mail saying that there are two new commands we need to teach the dogs. We are working with Mulan on "turn" right now. This will help in grocery stores. I didn't realize how big she had gotten until I tried to move her out of the grocery store aisle. So this will be a nifty little command. I put her into the bath tub and used a piece of food to guide her into a turn. I said turn as she did it. We have been working on it for almost a week and she is getting pretty good at it. I wanted to show you how much she has grown compared to her old puppy pictures. . . .

First Snow!

2006-10-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

My sister and I think that it is a minor miracle for it to be snowing
this early but it did! It flurried for over a hour. I could not concentrate
on my classes and I spent most of the time watching snow outside. It didn't
build up and finally it stopped all together but it was neat anyways.
I took Mulan out in it and she spent the whole time trying to figure
out how to catch it in her mouth. I can't wait until she sees real snow!

100th Pumpkin Festival

2006-10-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

We picked Mulan up from the puppy raisers house Monday. She had a great time
playing with the ladies two dogs. Unfortunately I think she got into something
while she was there that she was not suppose to have and she has had a upset
stomach for a day or so. Don't worry if it goes any longer then three days I will take
her to a vet:) We went to the 100th Pumpkin Festival in Circleville yesterday.
We had the most delicious hot pumpkin donuts. They were so good. The whole festival was
based mainly around food. We tried pumpkin fudge, pumpkin cornbread, pumpkin chili, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin donuts, and pumpkin pizza(which happened to be delicious). We all enjoyed it and it was a welcome break from all the traveling.

left picture: A huge stack of pumpkins at the pumpkin festival

right picture: The "world's biggest pumpkin pie."

Another Trip

2006-10-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

We are leaving again. This time we are going to Maryland to stay up in the
mountains for a week. It is suppose to be really pretty up there this time
of year. I hate leaving Mulan but she is going to stay with a puppy raiser
that is raising a young puppy at the m0ment. Mulan is not the smallest any
more:( I will update when I get back and if I have access to a computer hopefully
before that.

Apple Picking

2006-09-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

We went apple picking for the first time! It was very pleasant.
The air feels like fall here. I have not felt fall air like this before. The
trees were dripping with apples and we all filled our bags to the brim in
ten minutes. They were Liberty apples which are very tart and sweet.
Mulan loved it! She loved just holding the apple in her mouth because it
felt like she owned it and it was hers alone. We also attended a Puppy Class
at the Polaris mall Wednesday night. We practiced walking up and down stairs
and various socialization skills. Mulan did wonderful(I am such a doggy mom).
One of her only problems was staying by my side towards the end of the stairs because she would get excited and want to get off really fast. It was a good refresher course for both of us.
Here are a few pictures. . . .

LPCCI Booth

2006-09-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Mulan and I got to help work the CCI booth Thursday at the Lions
convention. Mulan loved all the attention and behaved very
well. It was a very neat experience. I answered a lot of questions
about CCI and my personal stories of life as a puppy raiser.
One lady I talked to at the booth was getting her ninth puppy
the following week! Nine puppies is a lot. Mulan is now on four
cups of food a day. This is to fill her out a little bit. And the next bag
of food we buy will be adult food(we have been feeding her puppy food).
Here is a picture of us at the CCI booth.

September 11

2006-09-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe tommorrow it will have been five years since September 11. I remember
that morning very clearly. I feel for everyone who lost someone.
Today we took Mulan to a little outdoor tomato festival. It only had three tents!
I tried my first fried green tomatos and tomato fudge (don't try either of them).
My mom and I were discussing how Mulan has changed while we were gone. There
is a definant difference. Before she was unable to just lay and relax , but now she will lay
around for up to two hours doing nothing. It is kind of enjoyable. It makes life much easier
for all of us.

Eleven Months

2006-09-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

Wow! Mulan is officially eleven months old. Where did time go?
It seems like we just got her. We were just told that her
official turn in date will probably be somewhere in May. That means
that we are about half way there:(
On a different note I heard about Steve Irwin. That is so sad and he was only
44! Well I have to go. . .

Another Puppy Class

2006-08-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

When we picked up Mulan she was so excited! That made me feel pretty good.
She is sooo big she looks like a adult. I will post pictures as soon as I can but my camera
is full from vacation right now so I have to wait until I empty it.
We took her to one of the monthly puppy classes at the CCI center last night. It was really
enjoyable we did relays with our dogs where we had to carry a spoonful of dogfood while
handling our dogs in the correct manner. Whichever team filled up the dog bowl at the other
end of the room first would win. There was also a added distraction of dog food on the ground.
So it was a good way to reconnect for both Mulan and I.

Home

2006-08-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Finally! I am really glad to be home. We have been busily collecting our pets
one by one. First was our hamsters and fish and Monday we will be picking
up Mulan. I wonder what she looks like now? I am kind of nervous it is like picking
her up for the first time all over again. Thanks to everyone who has been so patient
while I have been out wandering around:)

NYC!

2006-08-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

We are at our grandparents house for a few days so I have access to a computer.
We just returned from visiting New York it was fabulous! We had been before
but we have done the usual tourists things and visited Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.
This time we got to really know the city. We got to picnic in Central Park, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, see the play "Stomp", visit Little Italy, eat every type of food imaginable(one of my favorites:), see the "Today" show live with Anne Curry, go to Ground Zero, and the list goes on. I really enjoyed it. I think my two favorites were visiting Chinatown and running to a little diner as the rain poured down! I am blessed with parents who are willing to try anything and be adventerous.

Camp and Vacation

2006-07-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Today we are dropping off Mulan at the CCI center for four weeks
while we go to a church camp and then on vacation. So starting at the beginning
of September start checking back for the further adventures of Mulan:)

Nine Months!

2006-07-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Mulan is now well over nine months old so here is her nine month picture
and a picture of her with her new "baby."
She loves this little doggy that she picked out herself at a garage sale. The lady
was so impressed that she let Mulan have her for free.

Michigan

2006-07-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

We got to spend a few days in Battle Creek, Michigan last weekend.
Mulan stayed at the CCI kennel so you don't have to worry:)
It is a really nice little town they have a very nice zoo and even the Kellogs
Cereal Factory.
Mulan came back bathed and with her nail clipped! I was impressed.
Can you believe she is over nine months now. I don't think she is going
to be huge but she is not tiny either.
I just finished reading a article about a new kennel that specializes in "teacup" dogs.
Meaning dogs that are not over five lbs. In my opinion those dogs are more like "arm candy"
then a real pet. Why don't you just by a hamster?

Potluck Pics

2006-07-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

I finally have got around to downloading the pics. So here they are, Mulan is the one
in the brown collar. It is was very hard to get a good picture with the dogs running
around like crazy. She had a blast and was very well behaved considering she
hasn't seen any other dogs in a while. The center is only about forty minutes away
so they said they would take Mulan while we go to Michigan this weekend.

North Central Pot Luck

2006-06-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

We have been invited to attend a class and pot luck with other puppy raisers
at the North Central Center tonight. I am looking forward to meeting other
puppy raisers in our area. I hope Mulan behaves herself for me. She usually is
very good but she gets very excited around other dogs. Which is understandable.
I will try to get some good pictures and post them tommorrow.

Settling In

2006-06-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

I think we are finally all settled in. Cara and I just got some hamsters
which Mulan seems to find very interesting. Mulan is adjusting fine
the move did not seem to affect her at all. Here is a picture of us in front
of the television the other night.

Ohio!

2006-06-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long. We finally have a house and internet!
We are just about all settled in. Mulan is doing well. Let's just say
that a twenty hour car ride in the back seat with a lab is "interesting."
I think we can probably leave it at that.
I have been impressed with the climate difference up here. The first day
we moved in it was over 90 degrees. Then the temperature dropped and
it rained for three days straight!
One of the new things Mulan has learned is how to behave in a house. It just
clicked with her one day and she doesn't chew as much as she used to. I just did
a check on her weight and she weighs almost 60 lbs! Thanks for everyones support I hope
that I can start updating more regularly from now on.

Back Again

2006-05-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

We are finally back from our final trip to Roswell. I love going to Roswell because we
get to stay in a members really old, eclectic house that was owned by the sheriff that
shot Billy the Kid! We also love going because she makes the best biscuits and green
chili stew. When we picked Mulan up she looked a little bigger I can't believe how fast
they grow.
I also figured out how to allow anyone who wants to post on my blog you don't have to
be a registered member anymore. Someone will have to tell me if it worked:)

Very Busy. . . .

2006-05-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy these past few days. First of all one of our friends
died so we had to attend the funeral which is all the way down in Houston.
The day we were going to leave my sister came down with a 103 degree fever.
So while my mom stayed with her just my dad and I decided to attend the funeral.
That left the problem of what to do with Mulan. So (I felt kind of bad) we took her
back over to Barbara's where she spent a very happy weekend playing with Reefe (Barbaras dog).
She came back smelling like a lab and very tired:)

New Orleans Pictures

2006-05-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, I finally got some of the pictures of the damage to load
here they are. . . .
The first one is of us and a friend eating Beignets at Cafe Du Monde. The other three are just a few of many pictures we have of the damage down there. Can you beleive that these have been taken nine months after the Hurricane!

We're Back!

2006-05-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

It is good to be home again even if it is only until Friday!
We are going to Houston for a final farewell.
New Orleans was amazing. You are unable to comprehend
the extent of the damage until you have seen it with your own eyes.
There are families living on the street because their own homes are
so full of mold that there are unable to enter them without wearing
special suits.
Mulan is doing well. We went swimming in the neighbors pool today.
She will swim only if she is following me. She always has to see someone
go first:)
I have a few pictures I want to post but they are not loading so I will try
again tommorrow.

New Orleans

2006-05-03T05:05:00.000-07:00

We are going to spend the weekend in New Orleans. My father really enjoys
it and it will be our last time to go before we move.
We are not taking Mulan because we think that the trip would be a bit much for
her. She is staying with a puppy raiser named Barbara Naylor and her dog.
Her dog is ten months old and weighs almost twice what Mulan does. They
hit it off right away though and spent the entire time we were there slobbering
all over one another. Barbara takes her dog to school with her every day(she is a teacher)
so she is going to take Mulan with her as well. I hope she behaves for her.
I will post again next Tuesday when we get back from our trip.

The Creek

2006-04-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today we took Mulan down to the creek to play.
She loved it! The water went to her chest so it was just
the right height. We played for a good two hours.
She would run so fast in the water that it look like
she was running on top of her. As soon as she got her bath
when we got home she went right to sleep and is still sleeping.

Yeah!

2006-04-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

We finally found a new house. It is so nice I never expected to find
such a nice house. It does not have a fenced yard so that would be
a problem with Mulan. My parents said they might be able to work
something out with the landlord so that they might build a fence.
I am so pleased with it! Here is a picture. . .

Packing

2006-04-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long these next two months are going to be kind
of hectic so bear with me if I can't post as often.
Right now our parents are in Ohio searching for a house while we had a
couple from church come stay with us.
Yesterday I got "carded" for the first time in the mall. A police officer asked
if I had any proof that Mulan could be there. I showed him the card and
he waved us on. We didn't stay very long because the mall is to busy on Sundays
for Mulan. She is still growing. Hopefully she does not outgrow her kennel:)

Mulan's First Swim

2006-04-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

Isn't it amazing that dogs are born knowing how to swim?
Mulan tested her water legs for the first time yesterday. She had been interested
in our pool for a while so she must have gotten warm because she jumped
right in all by herself! We had a blast playing with her and swam for over
three hours. My sister and I are a little sunburned today.

Spring Pictures!

2006-04-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

We took Mulan with us to Tulsa last weekend. She did wonderful.
She is a very good traveler and sleeps most of the time.
In Tulsa they had some very beautiful azalias. We thought it would
be nice to get some pictures in front of them. I am only posting two
but I think you can get the idea.
The bear in the this picture is Mulans "baby" which she sleeps
with all the time.

Six Months!

2006-04-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

Mulan was six months old yesterday! Her half-birthday is
on my birthday. We took some cute pictures of her for her
six month picture in some Texas Bluebonnets.
We also introduced her to our gerbils. She loves them and is
very gentle with them. The picture of her with the grey gerbil
is my sisters gerbil and the brown gerbil is mine. Their names
are Dip and Dot:)

A New Collar

2006-04-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Since we are leaving Texas we decided to get Mulan a collar with some sort
of Texas star thing on it. We found a very nice leather one for only fifteen
dollars. It is a little loose on her but I think she will grow into it very fast.
We are training her "place" right now. We have a little mat that she goes
to when we eat or watch TV.

Mulans new collar

Cute Pictures

2006-03-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

While we were away Mulan had a chance to visit the CCI puppy class with a puppy raiser.
She was the belle of the ball. They all really enjoy her. They took these
very cute pictures of all of them together. I don't think they got much training done:)

It's Official!

2006-03-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

We are officially moving to Columbous, OH at the beginning of June.
This city would not have been my first choice to move to but
we will be only 8 hours from our family instead of over two days.
I am going to miss the Texas climate and atmosphere so much.
I was born in Ohio but since my dad is a minister we were transfered
to Pennysylvania to be closer to his congregations. I was not even one year-old
so I don't remember it much. We were then asked to move to Oklahoma and
finally down to Texas. We have been living in the south for about seven years.
I have done a lot of growing up here and I barely remember our time up north
so it is going to be very different. For all you fans of Mulan I did not forget her
she is probably going to be shipped up ahead of us and stay at a official puppy raisers
until we get there. These next two months are going to be so hectic.

Last Puppy Class!

2006-03-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

Mulan at the computer desk with me.

Next week is Mulans last puppy class! I am really glad she was able
to do these because she enjoys playing with the other "pupils" so much.
Another puppy raiser showed us how to file her nails instead of clipping them. This works a lot
better and sometimes Mulan even
falls asleep while I file them!

P.S. If my grandparents read this they should call us we have awesome news:)

Big Bend

2006-03-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

We had a relaxing time camping down in Big Bend National Park and Del Rio.
We got to see some neat cave paintings at the Seminole Canyon.
We were so surprised to come back and see how much Mulan has grown.
She is getting very leggy, which I think is a golden retriever trait?
She was not very happy to leave her new doggy friend at the puppy raisers house.
Can you beleive in about two weeks she will be six months old! Her half birthday is actually
the same day as my birthday. So we will be celebrating both of them:)

Here is a picture of the cave paintings. I will post more pictures soon but they are not uploading for some reason today:(

Just A Update

2006-03-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

I didn't mean for everyone to get so upset. It is encouraging to know that there are
people out there that care so much about these dogs. I am glad to have all sorts of advice from different people. Mulan has had her parvo shots even though they are not required by the CCI.
We are going down to camp for a week in Del Rio and Big Bend. Mulan is staying at a retired CCI puppy raisers house. She is going to enjoy playing with their CCI dog a lot.
I am really looking forward to this trip and I will post as soon as we get back:)

Our First Official Outing

2006-03-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

We took Mulan to a little Irish Festival Sunday.
She did so well I was really proud of her. Dogs were allowed.
and we saw two other assistance dogs.
Mulan usually draws almost as much attention as the singers.
Here is a cute picture of her.

Buster Cube

2006-03-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

Mulan now has new favorite toy it is called a Buster Cube and you put
the dogs food in it and they roll it around and the cube releases some food
ever so often. I guess it appeals to her doggy instinct to forage for food. I highly
reccomend it to anyone who has a dog.
We took her to her fourth puppy class last night. She is now half way through with them.
She is so smart. Sometimes I think it would be easier if she were not quite so brilliant:)

Thanks

2006-02-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone that reads my blog know that I appreciate your comments and the interest you are takeing in my blog. The comments are what keep me blogging. I always enjoy
reading them. Even if I don't respond directley to them I wanted to let you know they
are still appreciated:) Mulan says "Thanks" to all of her fans.
She just told me she is looking forward to watching the girls perform on American Idol tonight.

Coming up this Monday Mulan is officially legal to go anywhere!
This is because she is almost five monthes old and has almost completed her puppy classes
I received a little laminated card with my name on it and everything from the CCI.
I am very proud of her:)

A Welcome Break

2006-02-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

Hurrah! I was relieved of my puppy duties Sunday while Mulan
stayed at a friends house. My mom and I spent a nice day together.
We went to the mall and looked at the puppies inside the pet store.
They were so cute but I now know how much work and commitment a
puppy takes and I did not beg for one like I used to.
I think Mulan got into our friends dog food while she was there because
I have been on pooper scooper duty all morning(sigh). I think it is the lab in
her:)
I know my grandparents will appreciate this because they are Northreners
but I made my first Philly Cheesesteaks for dinner the other night.
They were very good and I am kind of proud of them.

Enjoying our first bite of our cheesesteaks(delicious)

New Pictures

2006-02-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

It is funny how many comments I receive when I post pictures but when I just type something there are rarely any:) Mulan is doing great! She is loving the wet weather we have been having.
I am glad she is enjoying it but I wish she would not dig all sorts of holes in the yard because she always comes in soaking wet and muddy(She is such a lab!)
Tommorrow we are going to visit another puppy raiser so Mulan can have a play session with another Lab.

Me and Mulan watching American Idol:) She wants Paris Bennet to win.

Four Month Old Pictures

2006-02-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am a little overdue in posting Mulan's four month pictures but we
had to retake them all because they got deleted from the digital camera:)
I am really looking forward to seeing Mulan's new classmates tonight at lessons.
There is something about someone else's puppy that make them especially appealing.
Maybe because you only see them on their best behavior.

We finally get a pool

2006-02-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Mulan is a water dog she loves the new plastic kiddie pool we got for her!
She goes wild.
I was going to wait to post until I had our Monday night puppy class
to talk about but we were switched to Thursday nights instead.
The trainer thought Mulan would enjoy a class with bigger dogs in it instead
of little froofroo dogs. I am excited to see how it will go:)

Piano Day Again

2006-02-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

I never enjoyed piano. Now we often have
to bring Mulan which turns it into one big operation
of a long car ride to Dallas and back with a loud
puppy in the backseat.
Monday we attended our first puppy class with Mulan.
She was so advance that she was bored!
The teacher was using her as a example for the other
puppies. I knew what a proud mother must feel like
when her child gets a "A" on a test.

Super Bowl Sunday

2006-02-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

Mulan was so tired out after romping with some
doggy friends last night that she has been sleeping
most of the day.
I thought at first she was sick and then I realized
she was just tired.
She has been sleeping most of the Super Bowl.
I wouldn't mind missing the Super Bowl because I am
not a big football fan, but I would mind missing all the neat
commercials. So I was able to enjoy quite a few of them.
I have to give Mulan a bath before doggy classes tommorrow.
Wish me luck!

Daddy Meets Another Celebrity!

2006-02-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this is not really dog related
but my dad is at a conference looking for a meeting
site and he happened to run into someone I think most
of you will know:)
Mulan is doing well and we had a lovely evening at some
friends last night.

Puppy Classes

2006-02-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

We attended puppy classes this Monday.
It was a orientation so we didn't bring Mulan
but we will next week.
The teacher covered a lot of information.
We found out the Kong we were using for Mulan
was too big so we bought a smaller one and now
she plays with it for over thirty minutes at a
time.
We found out she is pretty advanced above the other
puppies in the class.
The rest of the puppies are going to be clicker trained
while Mulan has to respond to voice commands.
Besides that there is not much else new:)

Rain Again!

2006-01-29T07:24:00.000-08:00

I know this might seen weird to northreners but everytime
it rains here it seems like a blessing.
It rained all morning Saturday. It was wonderful.
Mulan went to play at a friends house and by the time she came
back inside she looked like a chocolate lab not a yellow lab.
I just spent about a hour getting all the mud off her this morning.
She seems to grow by the day.

Ear Infection:(

2006-01-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Mulan's ear might be infected there is quite a bit of
dried blood in it and it looks inflamed.
Luckily she is scheduled to get her rabie shots tommorrow
so we will have the vet look at it then.
I can't beleive she is almost 4 monthes old! She is getting
so big she seems to grow everyday.

Rain!

2006-01-22T18:42:00.000-08:00

Hello!
It finally rained! It rained steadily all Saturday night
and most of today. We needed the rain so much.
I have finally gotten around to posting some more pictures.
We took Mulan over to Big Sandy,TX for church this weekend.
So the first picture is of her and my mom visiting with one
of the church members. The second picture is of her trying to get
behind the dryer this morning.
The third picture is of her in the bathtub. Mulan got all muddy in
a puddle and we had to rinse her off.
It has been a very restful Sunday which I think we all needed.

Growing Again!

2006-01-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

Mulan just continues to grow! She already needs
her new gentle leader to be loosened because it is
getting tight around her muzzle.
This Saturday we will be taking her to Big Sandy with us.
Hopefully she will travel well.
We are now doing the whole walk with her wearing the gentle leader.
We have to use a lot of treats but once she gets going she does well.
Next Monday there will be a orientation for the puppy classes. I am looking
forward to seeing the other puppies in her class:)

Bath Time!

2006-01-16T15:15:00.000-08:00

Mulan got another bath today.
We have been in Houston all weekend and she was really dirty.
She is a good little traveler. The car seems to make her
sleepy and she slept the whole four hours to Houston!
I didn't get to visit that much though because she requires
constant care. I love her a lot though.

We Meet a Celebrity!

2006-01-12T08:28:00.000-08:00

Last night we were out on what we call a daddy/daughter night where we
go out somewhere after piano with my dad.
We decide to try a new game place called Adventure Landing.
We had a great time minature golfing and playing games.
Towards the end my dad quietly came over to us and whispered "Do you girls know who
Chuck Norris is? I think he is here with his family."
So after walking around and pretending to play some games so we could look at him
we had the courage to go up and ask him.
It was Chuck Norris! He was very polite he lives around Dallas with his family and two kids. We even got a picture with him!

Pictures

2006-01-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I finally got around to posting some pictures.
The first one is a Mulan and me at a friends house. Besides
Mulan and me every single one of those dogs is theirs!
She had a blast playing with them. The next picture is of Mulan and
Mozart. Mozart is a Saint Bernhard puppy and the perfect size for Mulan.
The last picture is of Mulan in her new cape. It is a bit big but much
more official looking then her old one.
Today I have piano lessons so Mulan is going to stay home with my mom.
I will welcome the break even if it is for piano lessons:)

Puppy Classes

2006-01-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

Mulan is now officially starting puppy classes on the January the thirtieth.
I am looking forward to seeing how it goes.
We spent a lazy day here just hanging around and enjoying the warm weather.
It hit eighty degrees today!
We received Mulans new puppy cape and gentle leader. These are much more
official looking and have patches on them that say Puppy Raiser Volunteer.
I will have to post a picture of her in them soon.

Sunday

2006-01-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

Mulan played last night with her doggy friends until she dropped.
She loved it! She has been dopey all day from lack of sleep.
We went to Whole Foods and picked up picnic stuff and had a picnic
this afternoon. It was really nice. Even Mulan enjoyed herself.
Afterwards we went to the zoo and shared ice cream. It was a really
nice day.

Second Set of Shots

2006-01-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

We took a look at Mulan's shot record today and your surprised to find that
she was suppose to get her second set of shots yesterday!
So today we will take her in to the vet.
She is getting so big that I had to order a medium puppy cape and gentle leader
she had outgrown the small ones. Tommorrow we will take her to play with some
other puppies at a friends house. She loves to be with other dogs:)

The Zoo (sometimes I think we live in one)

2006-01-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

We are going to the zoo today with some friends. I can't beleive what a perfect
day it will be for it. It has been sunny and in the 60's and 70's all week.
The CCI does not allow us to take a puppy to the zoo so Mulan will be spending
a afternoon with my dad(he is not very happy about it).
We successfully clipped her nails yesterday! It took three of us. One to stuff the peanut butter in her mouth, one to hold her down, and another to clip her nails. She really dislikes having them done.

Finally Home!

2006-01-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

We are finally home from that camp. Mulan loved all the attention people gave
her. She became the official camp mascot!
She remained calm and unharried having forty people petting her every second of the day.
We are finally home to stay for a while now:) Mulan will begin puppy training classes in a week or so. She is growing like a weed. I am posting her 3 month picture compared to her picture the day after we got her. She has grown so much and has started replacing her puppy fat with lean muscle.
One last thing before I go. I looked up the meaning of Mulan and it means "magnolia blossom", I kind of like it.

two months...

three months...

Sorry I couldn't get the photo to rotate.

Hello:)

2005-12-29T06:33:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful ski trip! Mulan had a great time at the puppysitters
she didn't want to leave.
She gave us quite a scare last night. We bought her a bone especially made for
puppies. I left the room for a few minutes while she was chewing on it and she ate it!
It was non-edible.
She is doing fine though next time I will have to get her a adult bone.
We are going to be going to Athens, Texas for the weekend for a church function that is held at a camp. They said it was fine for us to bring her because she is a service dog. So it is going to be a busy weekend for me. We will be getting back Monday.
I finally got around to snapping a few pictures of her in her puppy cape. She is going to outgrow this one soon.

Skiing

2005-12-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

Yeah! We are leaving today. I will not be able to post
again until next Wednesday.
This trip will be a welcome break.

Wednesday

2005-12-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Today we are going to drop Mulan off at the puppysitters.
I am kind of sad to hand her over to someone else for a week but
also a little releived we won't have to bring her skiing.
She had now settled into a routine of three walks a day.
She is still not quite housetrained but we are getting there.
Every morning she lies under the table while I eat my breakfast.
She will only lie quietly if I tire her out beforehand.
We are all feeling a little better. My sister finally got off the couch
for the first time in two days!

Patience is a Virtue

2005-12-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

I have been losing my patience more and more with Mulan because I have
not been feeling well. My mother has helped me so much with her I am so
glad to have her helping me.
My whole family is now in various stages of the flu. My sister and mother are
in the middle of it and my father and I are recuperating.
We gave Mulan a bath today. She looks so cute when she is all wet. We bought a
video camera just so we could film her(my parents wouldn't even buy one when my
sister and I were little).
She loves to bite the water I don't think she knows what to make of it!

I got to sleep all night!

2005-12-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

Friday night Mulan slept through the entire night. Hurrah!
I haven't posted in a while because we have all been sick with some
sort of nasty virus. Not fun!
We took Mulan in for her first round of puppy booster shots.
The vet was very experienced so she did not feel a thing!
We will be going to Colorado over Christmas break for skiing.
I really enjoy skiing but we are going to have to leave Mulan with some
puppysitters:( They have raised two CCI dogs of their own so they know
what it takes to raise a puppy.
I was looking at Mulan the other day and I think she has grown in the two
weeks we have had her! She is already looking less boxy and more elegant like
her mother. I will post pictures very soon.

Hurray!

2005-12-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

I think Mulan is officialy trained to go out only once at night!
I am soooooo thankful.
I feel really bad though because I did not introduce the gentle leader slowly
enough to her and every time I take it out she starts to run and hide!
She also is not sleeping quite as much and has a knack for getting all hyper
right as we sit down for dinner.
I will post a picture of her in her gentle leader and cape some time.
She always looks adorable in them!

Bath Time!

2005-12-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

I gave Mulan her first bath today with doggy shampoo.
She loved it! When I was done she kept trying to jump
back into it. Here is a picure I received of one of her
sisters "Mocha". She looks just like Mulan except she is black.

Sunday

2005-12-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I left Mulan by herself for two hours while I went to church.
She did wonderful! I was very proud of her.
She is getting so efficient at the "down" command.
We will probably need to work on "kennel" next.
She played with some friends dogs last night and was so worn out she slept until
6 am! Hurray!!! Here are a few more pictures of her.

Still Cold...

2005-12-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

It is still cold here. It is 17 degrees out.
Mulan spends a lot of time sleeping. I think I am finally
getting used to smelling like doggy all the time.
She is so curious and chews on anything and everything except her toys!
I have really enjoyed cradling her which is one of the requirements of the
CCI. I have included a picture of me doing this.
I also enjoy watching her watch TV she is very interested in it and will sit and
watch it for a while!
Hopefully it gets warmer soon.