Days 1 and 2

It’s on! I’m officially here, like, learning and stuff.

We arrived bright and early Monday morning and had orientation. Everyone’s dogs were there, and there was a particularly terrifying moment when a Cairn terrier ended up with its neck in the jaws of a dog 10 times its size, but everyone made it out with no more than some lost fur. I had the perhaps unfortunate reaction of running away and covering my ears…honestly, my thought process was “if I see a dog killed on my day 1, I will not survive the next 55.” Cowardly, yes. But I wasn’t in a position to help anyway, so I’m trying to let it go.

We got dismissed around noon to go get settled and unpacked, and it was HEAVEN to put my stuff in drawers and organize my things and make my bed and look around at a place where I’d be for more than 24 hours. HEAVEN. I met my roommates: A, M, and V. I am the only one without a dog, and so far I’m finding it really nice actually. There’s a lot of stress about having to leave the dogs crated when we’re gone and not having them out in common areas, and it’s nice not to be dealing with that.

A, M, and I (I is my code name for me, naturally) had lunch and then went grocery shopping together and got trapped in the pouring rain, so we arrived home soaked but well-stocked. It’s so weird to shop for a totally empty fridge. I forgot a few things, but got the remainder today during lunch.

Today was a long day of lectures. We had kennel stuff and learning theory in the morning, then bite prevention and how to safely approach a strange dog in the afternoon. I can honestly say I learned a ton, and got the first sense of “yes, this is what I came here for,” which was so incredibly gratifying. There was also a rather impressive Schutzhund demonstration, which simultaneously thrilled and terrified me. More on that at another time.

We don’t meet our rescue dogs until tomorrow. Word on the street is that I might get two, since everyone else is caring for a personal dog and a rescue. So it would only make sense for me to have two as well. I’m so excited and nervous to meet my dog(s). I’m also looking forward to some days that involve less than 8 hours of sitting in a hard wooden chair, and more than zero hours touching an actual dog.

I’m typing this sitting outdoors in the dark using the wireless connection outside the clubhouse, so I need to call it quits for now. Hopefully more tomorrow when I meet my canine friend(s) tomorrow!!