Hey y’all, this is Mambo again…
I’ve been in Cincinnati too long, I’m starting to say things like y’all…
So, today marks my 6 month Anniversary with my new Mommy (Deanna). We’ve had some great adventures so far, and are a great team. I absolutely love my job and do it very well.
I must say that my favorite thing about my new home is my big brother, Pascal. We are the best of friends.
On Friday morning we left the first hotel and headed Downtown to the Doubletree where the Reunion was being held. We rode the MAX, which is a light rail. We don’t have light rails in Cincinnati, so Mom was a bit nervous about being in a new city and not knowing exactly how to purchase tickets and find the tracks. Luckily, a lady helped us buy a ticket and told us which track to wait at. It really wasn’t confusing at all! Silly Mama.
Riding on the train was very fun, it was pretty crowded, but there was a group of very nice people and they helped us out. Mom never did figure out where you put your ticket once you get on the train??? LOL
When we got off at our stop, we were right in front of a park. Mommy took me to relieve and we happened to come across a lady who was relieving her dog too. She had a female yellow lab, and it turned out that we knew this lady from Facebook too! We talked to her and her friend for a while and then we separated after checking into the hotel. Mommy and I went to our room and I had some water and some ice cubes (my favorite). We were just heading downstairs to register when we ran into the same two ladies in the elevator. They invited us to lunch with them and we had a great time.
After lunch, we went to a new relieving area, inside the parking garage. They filled a large box with pine shavings. I wasn’t really sure what to think of this… I know I’ve never seen anything like this since I’ve been home, but maybe I had seen something similar as a puppy… So, it smelled like pee, so I gave it a shot. I used the boxes almost all weekend without problems, but I still prefer the grass. I’m not too picky though, when a man has to go, he’s got to go!
After a nice lunch with our new friends, the six of us (3 humans and 3 dogs) attended the workshop for GDB Alumni Chapter Presidents. I don’t recall much of the meeting though, as I took a much needed nap. I did end up twisting out of my harness a few times during the Reunion. So, Mom tightened the strap so that it now fits more snuggly.
The rest of Friday was spent meeting new people and hanging out. Saturday morning, we had some activities in the morning and afternoon, then a nice awards banquet that evening.
Sunday morning we had another brief meeting and then loaded onto a bus and travelled to the Boring, Oregon campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind. It was about a 30-40 minute bus ride, so I took a nice nap.
When we arrived at the campus, we took a tour with a very nice volunteer, who had raised two puppies for GDB. We then ate lunch on campus, and did a little bit of shopping in the gift shop. Mom also found out that one of the handlers there had a dog named Moose, who happens to be my brother! So, I got to see Moose and sniff him a bit. We were both in harness, so acted very professional. I’m not sure I recognized him, as we haven’t seen each other since we were young pups. He is a bit darker yellow than I am.
We then rode the bus back to the hotel and hung out there for a bit longer. I also got fed a light dinner (like 2 hours early), and I didn’t complain at all! Mom didn’t want to feed me too much since she knew we had to fly that evening. Then, we hopped back on the Max light rail and headed towards the airport. We met a very nice lady from Canada at the train stop. Mom really likes the light rail and wishes we had something like that here.
At the airport, we found the relieving area and then headed inside. We got to our gate and waited there for a bit. Our first flight to Los Angeles was delayed by about half an hour. We were a bit worried that we may miss our connecting flight back home, since we had a very short layover. But, that flight had been delayed too, and was a very short walk from the gate we arrived at. One of the flight attendants, for the flight we were going to be on, was nice enough to take me outside quickly. I was very grateful for that! I was kind of restless for that last 4 ½ hour flight… I kept shifting around as this was the most cramped seat we had so far. Mom couldn’t get comfortable either, so we really didn’t sleep.
We arrived back in Cincinnati at 6:45 AM our time and were both feeling kind of yucky. Mom was tired and felt nauseated, and I was starving and really had to pee! Mommy took me to the relief area and then fed me my breakfast. The same flight attendant who took me out in L.A. gave Mom a bottle of water and cup for me before we landed, so I was very thankful for that too!
Of course, Grandma had to take Grandpa to work, so she was really late picking us up. We headed straight home and crashed… I was soooooo happy to see my bed! I pretty much slept all day, I even slept past my 5:00 PM dinner time, which I’ve NEVER done! I did wake up around 6:00 and ate dinner. We went to bed early that night and headed back to work on Tuesday. Of course, I’ve been able to catch up on my beauty rest here at work too.
I’m still a bit jet-labbed! Get it? J
That’s all for now, I’ve got to go back to sleep!
Mambo
Good Morning,
Not sure if we still have subscribers to this blog, but I wanted to send in an update. First, Mr. Mambo wants to talk a bit about his experience at the GDB Reunion which was Sept. 11th-13th in Portland, OR.
Here is his story (in his own words)…
Howdy all! Mom and I went on our first big trip together last weekend. So, I had seen my Mom pack a bag the other day, but really didn’t seem interested. She even got me little bags of food and put it in the bag, but I still was acting cool and like I didn’t care. Just kept sleeping, which is something I am very good at. We had a very short work week; Monday was Labor Day, so we only worked on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday morning, the 10th, I got my normal breakfast (which was awesome)!!!
Grandma Diane and Grandpa Larry (or as I call them for fun, Meemaw and Peepaw) picked us up at around 6:00 AM. We took Peepaw to his work and then went to Waffle House for Breakfast. This is the same Waffle House that we ate at when I first came home to Cincinnati. Technically, the Waffle House is in Kentucky though…
We arrived at the airport and checked in, Grandma walked us to our gate. She also got us lost… as usual 🙂 Security went very well, the person patted me down and ran a cloth over my harness to check for explosives (they didn’t find anything), usually they just swab Mommy’s hands, not my harness… I was very obedient and waited patiently for Mommy to call me through. I slept very well on the flight, but the lady sitting next to us wasn’t very friendly.
We had a long layover in Atlanta, Georgia. So, Mom asked if someone could help us get to a relieving area. Our next flight was going to be a 5 hour one, so I definitely had to pee before that, and we had plenty of time. We walked with this lady, walked down a flight of metal stairs and then hopped into a mini van. We drove for a bit on the concourse, which was neat because I could see lots of planes! Although, when we reached an area with grass, I was a bit distracted by all of those noisy planes. But, I did pee. We hopped back in the car and the lady took us back to our gate. The flight to Portland was long, but I slept really well. Mom, was aggravated though, as we were sitting next to two screaming kids. We were in the back row of the plane, which I’ve never sat that far back, but we had a nice amount of leg room 🙂
When we arrived in Portland, I really, really, really had to pee! The guy showed us to the relief area, before we got our bags. He was telling my Mom about how earlier that day someone’s dog was walking through the airport and took a dump. She told him that he better not jinx us… But, I made it safely to the relief area 🙂
The hotel where the reunion was held, had no vacancies on Thursday night, so we stayed at a place near the airport (it was a lot cheaper too). We met my friend from Facebook and her husband at the airport. They have raised a few pups for GDB, so it was great to meet them in person. I was so thrilled when I was finally fed dinner at around 11:00 our time (8:00 Pacific), no fair Mom! But, I did get to eat before she did, LOL. We went to a burger place nearby and then they took us to our hotel. It was a nice and quiet evening as both Mom and I were exhausted!
The next day the adventure really began
TO BE CONTINUED…
Hello all,
My name is Mambo, and I am attached to the new leash in my Mommy’s life. I’ve decided to officially introduce myself to you all! I am a male yellow lab and I will be 2 years old on July 17th. I am 22 inches tall and weigh 65 pounds. I am a Guide Dog who was raised in California, but have now moved across the country to my new home in Cincinnati, OH. I go to work Monday through Friday with my Mommy. She works as a Receptionist at a blindness agency. When I go to work, I curl up on my nice fluffy doggy bed and sleep the day away. It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it!
I’ve only lived out here for a bit over a week, but I like it pretty well so far. At home, there are two cats for me to chase (oh wait, maybe I have that wrong)! The oldest cat is 10 years old, her name is Audrey. She is gray with orange and tan markings. Then, there is Khaki, he is almost 2 and he is white with tan/orange striped markings. Audrey is sweet and we like to cuddle, Khaki is more rambunctious, so I always want to play with him (although he doesn’t always want to play with me, yet).
When I go to visit my Grandma and Grandpa’s house, they have Mommy’s retired Guide Dog, Pascal. He is so cool and he is my new best friend! I love when I get the chance to play with him! For an older dog, he can still keep up with me pretty well.
I did go to the Vet last week, and I do have a UTI, so I am taking antibiotics for that. I like them, because Mommy gives them to me with some cheese! I am feeling better now 🙂
I better get off of this computer now, since my Mom will be back any second!
I just set up a Facebook page, so if you want to talk more, send me a friend request. Talk to you all later!
Mambo
Well, I had to take my boy to the vet today for the first time. We’ve only been home a few days, and I wanted to set up a meet and greet at the vet sometime soon, just not this soon… Mambo has been peeing large amounts, and had two accidents today in harness. He peed before I could get him outside. I was worried about a UTI or something else, so we headed to the vet. They did a urinalysis and nothing looked obviously wrong with his pee. I will get more results tomorrow morning, but it didn’t look like a UTI so far. She did note that his P is very dilute, which the trainers mentioned during training as well.
Right now, he is on a water schedule, getting 2 cups four times per day. With Pascal, I always kept water down for him all the time, and he would just take some when he was thirsty. With Mambo, he loves his water, and will drink the whole bowl at once usually.
Tomorrow, I think I will change our schedule just a bit, so that I can take him out two times before heading to work. Will update you all later with any news from his results.
It was a very bittersweet day on Sunday. On one hand it was sad to leave Guide Dogs for the Blind and all of the wonderful people that I’ve really gotten to know over the last two weeks. Although, it would be nice to go back home and get Mambo settled into his new surroundings. I still really miss my trainers and classmates. Plus, it’s hard having to cook my own meals now! LOL
We left GDB on Easter Sunday to head to the San Francisco airport at 6:00 AM. Mambo did not get fed breakfast that morning, since we would be flying 2,000 miles across the country back to Ohio. You want the dog to be as empty as possible so that they will not need to relieve as much. He did have a bit of water that morning. We left my wonderful City by the Bay around 8:00 AM and were headed to Chicago for a layover.
The flight to Chicago went very smooth. I sat in a row with two other passengers. I was in the middle seat, which I really do not like, but I suffered through it, LOL. The guy next to me, who was very cute, was from the Bay area. And the woman on my other side was an older lady who lived in New York. They were both very nice and did not mind having a dog at their feet. On my flight home with Pascal in 2009 I sat next to a guy and the first thing he said was, “I HATE DOGS!” So, you can imagine I was a bit nervous about flying home with Mambo… Luckily, everyone fell in love with him, which is completely easy to do!
We had about 1 ½ layover in Chicago, and since I had only eaten a bag of Cheetos (very healthy, I know) for breakfast, I decided to eat there. I went to a Starbucks and had a cinnamon scone and water. It was alright, but I missed the wonderful food at GDB!!! I also asked the lady at the gate if there was a place that I could take Mambo to relieve that was in the secure area. She offered to take him out for me, this worked great because I really didn’t want to have to go back through security again. She was so excited to take him out; she even offered to take him out again before we boarded the plane. But, he really didn’t have to go again since the flight from Chicago to Cincinnati would only be an hour. We arrived back in Cincinnati at around 5:20 PM. The second flight also went well, and we got to sit with another cute guy! 🙂
My Mom met me at baggage claim and then we headed outside to feed and relieve Mambo. My Stepdad, Larry was sitting outside with Pascal, so the boys got to meet in a neutral area. I fed and relieved both boys separately and then they got to meet and greet each other. My Mom, Mambo and I went into a restaurant to grab dinner, Pascal stayed in the car with Larry. Pascal did not seem jealous that Mambo got to go in and he did not. When we got to my house, Mambo and Pascal really wanted to play, but I wasn’t ready for them to play yet. Well, Mambo pulled very hard on his leash, and I almost lost my balance and fell. So, I said very sternly, “Mambo, no, sit.” And Pascal came running over to me and sat down, it took Mambo a few seconds longer. LOL, poor Pascal thought he was in trouble. Guess he still knows when his Mommy means business!
We started back to work on Monday morning, and man am I tired. I wish I would have been able to take a day or two off to unpack and settle in. But, things have been going well so far. Mambo is a big hit at work, and he’s adjusting well.
Pascal and Mambo did get a chance on Monday afternoon to play, and they get along very well. I think that they will both enjoy play dates.
So far, Mambo has been to a few restaurants and the grocery store. He is champ at every place we go. I’m going to rest for a few days, but next week, we will plan on getting out a lot more.
Will write more soon. Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed my blogging experience.
I have been home for a little bit over 24 hours now, and let me just say, I really miss my city by the bay! I miss my instructors, classmates, and all of the staff at GDB! It just feels so weird to be home… Even though my class was only two weeks, it felt like I had been there for a while and it was very comfortable.
So, we graduated on Saturday. That morning we had a final class lecture on traveling with your guide dog. We also practiced the technique for going through security at the airport. They no longer went to the airport to practice this. We just practiced walking through a doorway and pretending it was a metal detector, I know kind of cheesy! Then, we quickly rehearsed the graduation ceremony and how things would work out. We then had about an hour and a half till lunch. It was an early lunch, and then we would be meeting our puppy raisers around 11:45 AM.
Larissa knocked on my door and we went down to the lobby to wait for my puppy raisers to come in. The lobby is the main room where we had most of our class lectures, and I have a specific seat that I taught Mambo to find. It is a round ottoman, that sits in front of the fireplace. So, every morning during training I would direct him towards that ottoman and give a piece of kibble when we got there. He learned to find that chair after about a day or two. Well, on Saturday we went to the couch instead of that ottoman, and he seemed very confused! LOL
A few minutes later, his puppy raiser and a few of her family members and friends in the puppy club came in. Mambo did not go crazy like a lot of puppies do when they see their raiser, he was pretty mellow, like usual. I feel kind of bad for her, I know it must be disappointing when the puppy you raised doesn’t get very excited to see you… I feel that way, when I would leave Pascal for a little bit and he wasn’t excited when I came back 🙂
Mambo’s puppy raiser, Karen is currently raising her second dog for GDB. Mambo was her first, and Pascal was also the first puppy raised by his raisers too! Karen’s current puppy is a five month old yellow lab, and he seemed very big to me! She definitely said that he is more of a handful than Mambo was 🙂
we all hung out for a while, then Karen, Mambo, and I had our pictures taken. Then we were able to chat a little bit more, before the ceremony started. I put Mambo’s harness back on him, and he went to sit with Karen. My trainer helped me get to the other side of the room, where the graduates were seated.
Luckily, they do the graduation by alphabetical order, so I didn’t have to go first, LOL. Actually, I was second to last. I was so afraid that I would get all choked up and start crying and not be able to say anything. And I was really worried as I watched my other classmates graduate, and heard their puppy raisers speak, and I was crying a little bit then. Thankfully though, I was able to keep my cool, and not cry during my speech! I knew that if I cried, so would Karen.
After the graduation, we went outside to get more pictures. We took several pictures of Mambo and some of the other puppies in training. Then, a small group of us, went to BJ’s for dinner at the nearby mall. It’s funny, because that mall is called Northgate, and there is a mall very close to me with the same name 🙂 Karen then dropped us back off at campus, and after that goodbye, I finally did cry!
In a way, I feel guilty that I live so far from my puppy raisers, knowing that it will be more difficult for them to see the dog in the future. I don’t know if that’s silly or not, or if I should feel guilty about that…
I will write more tomorrow about our flight home, and our first day back at work!
Well, today was the last day of training. Actually, I’m not really sure you can call it a day of training, since we didn’t work on fixed routes. we headed to Muir Woods and walked along the trails there, probably a little bit over a mile and a half. It was very nice and cool underneath all of those redwood trees! I am so happy that my class got the chance to go there, it’s so breathtaking! Mambo did an excellent job at guiding me along the path, he wasn’t even distracted when a kid pet him without asking. He was also very good about avoiding roots and uneven areas along the path.
This afternoon, we got our binders with all of our dogs information. It also has a class photo, our ID cards, and cards with different state and federal guide dog laws. After that, I headed back to the gift shop to buy some more things. I bought a Nylabone for Pascal, and also a Goughnut tug toy, and hopefully Pascal and Mambo can play with it together.
Tomorrow is graduation day! It’s so hard to believe that I’ve already been here for almost 2 weeks, the time has just flown by. I am really going to miss my instructors and classmates. This has just been a wonderful training experience! I really think that the two-week training works great for retrains, but I still feel that first-timers need a little bit more time than that. But, they seem to be doing really well with the program. This class just has been exceptional, I have been so pleased with everything. I really think that my classmates and I will keep in touch throughout the years.
I am not sure I really want to come home, I know that Mambo and I are ready to take on the world though! I really wish that I could move out here to California, but I can’t afford to live out here 🙂 maybe someday!
I am getting ready to call my puppy raiser, wish me luck tomorrow!
Well, today has been much better than yesterday, I made it through the day without crying 🙂
We started our day out with heading back to El Cerrito to work on platforms and riding the train. The other student that I am paired with, wasn’t able to make the morning route, so we had plenty of time since it was just me and my two instructors (and of course Mambo). We rode the escalators to the platform, and he does an awesome job at keeping us safe and dodging all the people. I typically do not ride trains much, since there aren’t any nearby. But, I thought this would be a good experience, since I use them when I travel. I also did not learn the skills when I trained with my last dog, Pascal. I had to skip that route, since my legs were hurting. Luckily, I haven’t had to skip any routes during this training. Yes, I’ve had aches and pains, but I’m doing alright. My ankle was a little bit sore this morning, so I am wearing a brace on it and it feels fine now. And I did not fall off of any curbs today, LOL!
Even though the route in El Cerrito was one that I was not familiar with, we did very well. Mambo and I feel like we’ve been working together for several months, not just 10 days!
This afternoon, we went into San Francisco, to work on Chestnut St. We also got to cross the six lane Hwy. twice, which went very well. Both those intersections were controlled with lights, thank goodness. I really struggle when I cross four-way stops, it’s hard for me to judge when to go.
I did speak to my puppy raiser briefly this afternoon, and she is going to call me back this evening. Mambo is the first puppy that she has raised, and Pascal was a first puppy too, for his raiser. It’s so awesome that a first puppy is able to become a guide!
I have been bugging my instructors all week saying that I really wanted to go to Muir Woods, and it worked! They typically do not take the class to Muir Woods anymore, with the two-week program. But, all of the students are well prepared, and have achieved all of our goals. So, we are able to go tomorrow morning! I am just so happy 🙂
Talk to you all soon!
Look at this view, aren’t you jealous? 🙂
anewleashinmylife 