A Short UK Update

As most of you know from my last post, I'm back in Scotland. This first week back has been...interesting to say the least. I won't go into details, but Aberdeen gave me an odd sort of welcome home. Mostly, I've been setting up my new room in my new flat (I'm so grown up) which has included having to buy a lamp and some new curtains and will probably eventually mean moving around my furniture to make it easier to work at my computer at my desk. But, I've also been getting prepared for this Saturday.

This Saturday is when I'm going down to the Guide Dogs for the Blind training center in Forfar. I'll get to take a tour and see the differences between training in America and training here. It should be really interesting and I'm really, really looking forward to it. I'm really hoping they'll let me see some of the dogs in training and show me the harness and, of course, the puppy kennels. See, I still haven't decided if I'll be getting a puppy here or not, but I am willing to bet you all the coins in my pocket right now that I soon as I see a litter of eight week old Golden Retrievers or German Shepherds then I'll decide right then and there about getting a puppy. I do have a big request here; no labs. Haha! It's not that I don't like labs, but GDB doesn't use German Shepherds or Flat Coated Retrievers back home so those are the breeds I'd like to do. Of course, I'm not just going to sign up when I see the puppies (or will I?). I do have a lot of questions to ask about raising a puppy here and what my suppose system would be. I have questions like, "What happens if I get a really soft puppy who can't go to University with me right away?" and "Would I be able to transfer the puppy to a new raiser?" and "Is it possible for me to get a transfer?" While I really, really want a baby puppy as it's been over a year since I've had one and almost three years since I've had one at eight weeks old, I am aware that a transfer puppy would be so much easier for me in my situation right now. And if I can get a transfer I can wait until the beginning of summer break to get one, if I need to get a baby puppy then I would need to get one during spring break to ensure that it was at least six months old before I take it to classes with me. But, I do know that GDB here does things a little differently and, unlike back home, they aren't having a sudden crop of soft puppies being born (but those things come in waves so I bet when I'm back home and want nothing but a soft tempered puppy they'll only be able to find me Freyas and Roccos and Hillys).

For interested raisers who are just now discovering my blog, you can see how much thought goes into getting a new puppy. This is a full time job even though you're not getting paid to do it. I absolutely love doing it, but the pros and cons of my situation do need to get weighed. Another thing that some other people may not have to worry about is my flatmate. I need to ask whether or not they'd need her on the volunteer sheets as well even if she doesn't do much with the puppy except play with it. If she does, that might take a little convincing. But, don't let the hard decisions turn you off of raising. It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun too.

Now, on to this short long update, but I'm almost done I promise. This week *hopefully* I'll get to see two of the puppies that I got to know last year; Bailey and Vale. I met Bailey for the first time when she was about six months old. But I really got to know her later on at ten months old and Vale is just about six months now I think. I met him when my friend first got him, so I'm excited to see how big he's gotten.

And lastly, I Skyped with Hilly the other day. She's doing well, but my dad says that it's obvious that she misses me. It's quite comforting to know that she knows who her person is. Hopefully that will stay for the whole three years so she's ready to come back and live with me when I get home. She was being really naughty and jumping on the furniture and jumping up on my dad, but you can tell that he really likes her. I really can't wait to see her again. Though, I might have to plan my summer break around something else this summer, but I plan on seeing my girl soon.

That's all for now. Pictures will come of the training center and of Bailey and Vale.