DENVER -- November 14, 2007

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Lots of excitement around here this week. Hudson is graduating on Saturday!

At first I didn't know what was going on. There I was, napping under a chair by Marianne's desk Wednesdy when the phone rang. Marianne made lots of happy yelping noises, but when she hung up the phone she burst into tears.

"What is it?" I cried as I scrambled over to her. "Are you hurt? Is something wrong?"

"No, no," Marianne sniffled as she patted me. "That was wonderful news! Hudson has been matched with his forever person and is graduating. These are happy tears."

Happy tears? I’ll never understand humans.

At any rate. I went back to my nap and Marianne made about a zillion phone calls. Four additional Colorado dogs are graduating with this class of 10 people. More yelping, more tears.

"I don’t understand why you’re so excited," I said. "CCI dogs graduate all the time, right?"

"No, only about 35 percent graduate," Marianne explained. "The rest are released from the program, usually for health or temperament issues, or because the dog doesn't want to be a working dog."

Oh. Now I get it. Yes, this is a big deal.

I decided to put on my 7News Canine Correspondent hat and ask more questions. Marianne and her friends Vanessa and Kevin, who are raising my classmate and friend, Tommy, agreed to talk to me.

PARKER: Did you always know that Hudson and Phlox would graduate?

VANESSA: I did! She always enjoyed working and I remember the first few weeks we had her I kept telling her she was the perfect puppy.

MARIANNE: Well, we hoped Hudson would do well. He was an easy-going puppy, very smart, and he liked working. He had a few fear issues, but it seems that he's grown out of them.

KEVIN: Don't say "graduate" too loud. We puppy raisers are a bit superstitious about this topic. It's like talking about a no-hitter in baseball in the sixth inning. Seriously, I don't know if I will believe it until they call Phlox's name and we hand over her leash. Now saying this, I always believed she was suited for this work. Our back up plan always envisioned her working in some capacity. So there was always hope.

PARKER: What do you know about Phlox and Hudson's new partners?

VANESSA: Phlox has been matched with a gentleman who is a paraplegic. He is very active, likes to ride his bike and plays wheelchair tennis. He wanted a dog so he could have more independence and also have someone to fetch his tennis balls during practice! That is Phlox's dream job. This gentleman is also from Denver, which is really amazing considering our CCI region serves eight states.

MARIANNE: Hudson has been matched with a young woman from Texas. She is 17, attends high school, and her hobbies include photography, painting and drawing, and going to concerts. This is Hudson’s dream job too, because he LOVES women and flirts outrageously with them, especially teenagers. I can't imagine a better life for him.

PARKER: How do you think the trainers knew this was the right job for Phlox?

VANESSA: The trainers at CCI are really amazing at matching the right dog to each person. I suppose they are so good at evaluating a dog's skills and temperament they just knew (like we did!) that Phlox was cut out for this work.

KEVIN: I think it was pretty clear to Vanessa and me early on that Phlox was a serious girl. She seemed to take this whole CCI training process to heart. For example, there may have been a time or two (wink, wink) that she might have been on our bed, which is a puppy raiser no-no. The funny thing is that she didn't seem to enjoy it all that much. It was as though she was saying, "Hey, this is against the Puppy Raising rules! Hello?"

PARKER: What emotions are you feeling right now?

KEVIN: Well, it's a strange mix of emotions. It's awesome that Phlox is going to be in the Denver area. My hope is that we can stay in touch with her family. Vanessa and I are so so proud of her. The less than logical portion my brain is still coming to grips with how this special dog is never going to be 'our dog' again. On Saturday, this feeling will be confirmed. So in an odd way, I am going through a bit of a grieving period. I know it's not logical, but it's how I feel. I can tell you that when CCI called Wednesday and told us the great news, I was speechless. Then I wanted to call all of our family and friends! I felt the same way right after Vanessa accepted my marriage proposal.

VANESSA: I am so excited! While I was confident Phlox would end up in the right job with the right person I feel like her match is one made in heaven. I'm excited to meet "her guy" and see all the new skills she's learned.

MARIANNE: What she said!

PARKER: Is this your first dog to graduate?

MARIANNE: Yes. Trevin and Rolly both went all the way through Team Training before being released after deciding they didn't really want to be 24/7 working dogs. Both are part-time therapy dogs, though. Stryker was released early in Advanced Training for resistance to correction, high prey drive, and low work ethic. He was a great dog, but totally unsuited for service.

KEVIN & VANESSA: Yes, in fact Phlox is the first dog we even took to Oceanside for Advanced Training. Our first dog, Chisum, was released from the program for a medical condition. He is now our "Change of Career dog." He helps us teach the new puppies the CCI commands. He helped raise Phlox, and is helping with Tommy, our third puppy.

PARKER: What makes Hudson and Phlox special?

MARIANNE: Hudson is the handsomest dog ever. He loved to be told he's gorgeous (and it never failed to amaze me how many people did just that), and liked to admire his reflection in mirrors and windows. He was also funny, and made me laugh. For instance, he liked to put his right front foot on a bone and propel himself around the kitchen like it was a skateboard. He had a calming, Zen-like quality that people often remarked on as well.

KEVIN: That's a tough question. Every CCI dog is special. Some are easier to love right way than others. Chisum was an extremely difficult CCI puppy in that he had his own opinions about proper puppy behavior and he wasn't afraid to share them! Phlox was the complete opposite. She really wanted to please, but in a different way. She wanted approval in her work. What I miss about Phlox is that she was a Velcro dog. Wherever we sat down, she was right at our feet.

VANESSA: It's interesting you use the word "special" because that is exactly how everyone who met her described her. She has a very sweet way about her but also has a great balance of enjoying work and enjoying her play.

PARKER: What are you most looking forward to this weekend?

KEVIN & VANESSA: We are so excited to see Phlox and meet her new family. This graduation is going to be special in that four other Colorado dogs will be graduating, too. We're looking forward to traveling with our niece, Emily, who is in 6th grade. Over the years of our involvement in CCI, Emily has raised money for CCI and used CCI dogs in school projects. We are very proud of her and look forward to sharing the experience with her. We're excited to travel with our friends. Did we list only three topics above? Can you tell that we're a bit excited?

PARKER: What's the graduation itself like?

MARIANNE: We’ll meet with the trainers and graduates mid-morning for brunch at the CCI campus. It's a chance to hear all about Team Training and get to know the dogs' new partners. Because CCI wants us to focus on PEOPLE (go figure), the dogs are not at the brunch. They are in the grooming rooms getting buffed and fluffed for their big day. After brunch the grads will head over to the Mission San Luis Rey and we’ll get about 20 minutes alone with Hudson. Then we'll also go to the Mission and try to get as many photos as possible! John and I will have Hudson with us until the end of the ceremony, when we'll walk on stage and hand the leash to his new partner, completing the CCI circle.

PARKER: Aw, jeez, are you sniffling again? Where's the Kleenex?

MARIANNE: (Honk. Sniff.) Thanks. After the ceremony we'll get photos with Hudson and his partner, and then we'll say goodbye. We'll go out for a bite to eat and medicinal margaritas after that.

PARKER: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

KEVIN: I always have trouble expressing myself when it comes to CCI. It’s not uncommon for random people to come up to us and say very kind words about what we do. I often don’t feel worthy of those words. I feel that we are the lucky ones. We get to meet such beautiful, smart animals and let them live with us for a period of their life. Because of CCI, we get the opportunity to talk to people that I would probably have never met otherwise. And on Saturday, I will get to share in the true miracle that is Phlox as she works with her new partner. We are so proud of Phlox and grateful to her for giving us the opportunity to be a part of enhancing someone else's life.

MARIANNE & VANESSA: Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.

Pass the Kleenex and chow for now!

Parker

Questions or comments for Parker? Send them to Call7ForHelp@TheDenverChannel.com.

Would you like more information about Canine Companions for Independence, or perhaps be a puppy raiser? Call 1-800-572-BARK or go to www.cci.org for details.