My New Job in Advertising...

Well this week I am officially starting my new job as advertiser. My owner and I have been going out to pet stores, grocery stores, and any where else that allows flyers to be put up. The flyers are to help promote the TSA Puppy Raising Program so we can get more volunteers. My job is to wear a "back pack" with a sign on it that says "Keep our nation safe, ask about raising a TSA puppy." This way when people come up to pet me they get interested in the program. I take my new job very seriously. I sleep in the car on the way to the stores, but once out of the car I am all business and I love all of the attention I get too! Here are some pictures of the flyer and me with my "back pack".
-Ggoody

Hi! My Name is Ggoody.

My name is Ggoody and I am a 2 year old black labrador. My first purpose was to become an explosive detection dog for the government. I was raised by a wonderful family called puppy raisers from the time I was 10 weeks old to 1 year of age. My name is pretty special too. I was named in honor of a September 11th victim, Harry Goody III. My name has two "G's" because I was from the "G" litter meaning all of my siblings name starts with a "G".

My puppy raisers's job was to get me exposed to all sorts of sights, sounds, and smells that would be in airports, mass transit areas, and cargo systems. That meant I got to wear a red vest and go to public places such as hardware stores, parks, crowded parking areas, etc. My puppy raisers also had to build up my play drive which meant I had to really become interested in working to earn my toy. My puppy raisers would tug with me and hide the toy in simple spots to encourage me to use my nose to find the toy. I also had to become crate trained. I spent a lot of time in the crate to simulate what I would be doing if I was working. When out of the crate I played a lot or got walked then it was back in the crate for a rest.

About once a month I would return to the TSA Canine Breeding and Development Center to be evaluated and see where improvement might be needed to help give me edge to make the program. When I turned 1 year old, I was officially turned back to the TSA Canine Breeding and Development Center to be tested to see if I would be able to continue on as an explosive detection dog. Some tears were shed that day, but everyone had the better cause in mind.

Unfortunately about 2 months after I had been turned in, it was decided I would not advance to the explosive dection program because of my bad allergies. The bittersweet outcome was that I was able to return to my puppy raisers with a new purpose, pet dog.

Now after my return my puppy raisers are anxiously awaiting a new puppy to raise. At least I can help show the newcomer some of the ropes!

-Ggoody