Dog day!

Well, it was "dog day" here in San Rafael. This morning started out with some basic obedience drills with our instructors. The instructors pretended to be dogs and took us through things like sit, stay, heal, down, etc. After that, we worked around the campus with our instructors holding a harness so that we could get a feel for our positioning working with actual guide dogs. This was important, because it gave us an opportunity to practice giving actual guide work commands and helped us make sure that we were positioned correctly when we worked with real dogs. After lunch, we did a bit more obedience practice and learned about our feeding and watering schedule while we were in class.
Finally, around 2:30, our instructors gathered us in the retrain lounge and read out the list of dogs and individuals in our class. I was first on the list and learned that I would be getting a male yellow lab named Jim. I was then told to go back to my room while my instructor brought him into the building to meet me. I waited about ten minutes and called my Mom and a friend, to tell them the news. I was the first to meet my dog, and I walked with my instructor back down to the retrain lounge where I was introduced to Jim. My instructor told me that he is a dark yellow, that he's 23 inches tall, and that he was born on July 15, 2008. She said that he loves city work, and walks fast, this is why he was chosen to be my boy. When he first met me, he was really excited and he rolled on his back with his legs in the air! It was sooooo cute! After we spent a minute or two saying hello in the lounge I healed him back to my room and spent the next hour and a half or so petting him and getting lots of kisses. He is so soft; he's got the best floppy lab ears, and I just love him.
After I fed and relieved Jim, it was time for dinner, so I ate dinner and got on a quick video chat with my parents through Skype so that they could see Jim. My Mom said that he is a beautiful golden color and that he kept sticking his head in the camera of my macbook. LOL! I'm really glad I showed my Mom how Skype works because it means she can video chat and see my room and my dog. I hope we'll do more of that, because we all really enjoyed it.
When I was finished with that, it was time for a yoga class, I decided to go and I am really glad I did. I loved the stretching and that was a relaxing way to end the day. I spent the last hour talking to some of my classmates in the lounge, and now it's time for bed. Tomorrow, we start real guide routes in town, so I will be sure to update and let you all know how that goes!
For now, goodnight! I hope the first day of core training was amazing! I wish I could be there, and I can't wait to start working with the whole team when I get home!