Off To The Mall

It has been a couple of days since I have written. I have been sooo busy playing with my mom and dad's nieces and nephew this week (ages 5, 2 1/2, and 6 1/2months). They wear me out, but they are fun. I had to rest for the remainder of the evening so I will be ready for the next day.

But... on the other hand,

Today was an exciting adventure for me. I got to go to the mall for the first time. We went to Carolina mall in Concord, North Carolina. It was full of people, strollers, noises, and smells...oh yeah lets not forget my four new puppy friends. Their names are Duchess (Hugh's sister), Riley-Jack (sister to Legion), Legion (brother to Riley-Jack), and Dexter (Hugh's brother). I got to meet a blind girl today, too. She is part of my puppy group. She is so nice.

First at the meeting we practiced some obedience training and sidewalk practice. There were cars going by in the parking lot and lots of people came to look at us. They really enjoyed watching us work and getting to give us puppy hugs. That was fun but it was a little hot outside so we decided to go into the air conditioning for more exposures.

Inside, we walked around in Belk to some of the clothes racks where our puppy raisers moved clothes around on the racks to let us hear the noise that they sometimes make. We all did great. We then went into the portion of the mall just outside of the Belk doors where there were benches and we practiced the down-under command. We walked down the mall to a kiddie ride and watched it spin round and round. I liked that. It was a neat thing to watch (if you have never seen one before). We practiced sitting at stairs indside the mall, and while the big kids got to go to a childrens' area, we little ones needed to step outdoors for just a minute (you know what we had to do).

We all met up with each other in the food court and some people ate lunch, but we mostly just rested and talked for a while. Riley-Jack, Hugh, and I played for just a minute under the table. I like Riley-Jack. She is just my size but a few weeks older than I am. I got to play with Legion a little, too and I liked him as well. Riley-Jacks' puppy raiser dad, my puppy raiser mom, her daughter, and my mom's mother-in-law all sat at the table talking for a little bit while Riley-Jack, Hugh, and I all slept under the table.

We get lots of attention when we go out. A lot of people come look at us, pet us, and ask questions about the program. Our puppy raisers will try to educate the public on the programs and proper guide dog greeting etiquette. We puppies are just so darn cute that we attract so many people. Who could resist a cute puppy face?

What a fun day it was! Whew! Now I am tired and ready to go home to rest. I hope we do that again, I really enjoyed all the attention.

I fell asleep under the table. I was a tired puppy.













Hugh wearing a harness instead of the puppy coat. When we dogs get to a certain age (approximately 12 months), we get to wear the guide dog harness just to get used to the way it feels on our back.









This is Duchess laying under the table while her puppy raiser gets a bite to eat. Duchess looks just like Hugh, but is a little smaller.











This is Riley-Jack. She and Legion are 14 weeks old. Legion is bigger than her and is a yellow puppy.












That is all for today. I think it is time to go to bed.

Puppy hugs and licks,
Cameron