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I never thought my best friend would turn out to be a short, chubby ball of fur. Monty, a black Labrador retriever, is about as lovable as they come. I remember the first day we picked him up from NEADS. The people there told me he made strange noises. And he still does...he grunts when he's happy or excited, he snorts when he's trying to attempt to destroy his squeaky toys, and he makes a high pitched noise when he yawns in the morning. One of the best parts of puppy-raising is being able to bring Monty everywhere I go. Of course, that means that instead of having a quick 5 minute run inside a store, it usually turns into a 20 minute walk. People stop me to ask what NEADS is, or what Monty is being trained for. Little kids especially like to stop and say hello. Monty is usually very polite and offers his paw as a greeting. When Monty isn't out socializing or getting trained, he enjoys going for nice long walks around a lake, or chasing tennis balls. In the summer, he enjoyed sitting out in the backyard with me while we watched the birds at the bird feeder. He never tried to chase them...he just enjoyed lying around in the warm grass, while chewing on some leaves. Thank you NEADS for letting me raise Monty into a future service dog. I love being a puppy raiser; it has taught me many lessons, mostly about responsibility and how much time and commitment goes into training a service dog for someone. |
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One of his most noticeable things though, is the way he wiggles. All a person has to do is talk to him in 'baby-talk' and he gets wiggly all over. He loves people...even more so if they happen to be carrying a piece of cheese on them. :)
