Saint Francis Service Dogs 2025 Annual Report

A PUP’S progress

meet Minnie!

Hi, Everyone! Ivy here! As you know, I am in the Breeding Program. I still don’t know what that means, but I love it! I am hanging out with my friends, going on walks and jogs, and generally having a great time. Eventually, when I come into heat again, things will happen. I will go on a trip and meet a new dog. I love trips! I love new dogs! After the trip, I will have puppies. I love puppies! I do not know the logistics, but I am not the sort of dog that gets bogged down in details, and Cabell says all my friends at Saint Francis will be there every step of the way. I will tell you all about it when I know more. In the meantime, there is not much to report, so I wanted to introduce you to my half-sister, Minnie, who will take over the column until my life spices up again. Here’s Minnie!

Ivy

ivy

Hi, I’m Minnie! At first, I thought my puppy raiser had a fascination with a certain cartoon mouse, but it turns out my name is short for “Minnesota,” where she’s from.

I was born in October and spent 8 weeks in a whelping home with my mom, Beatrice, and my brothers and sisters. We had it made! But, then it was time to go somewhere else to live. And guess what? My mom lives there too! Small world. I think my siblings would be jealous if they knew that I got to be with our mom, so I haven’t told them. She doesn’t have as many rules as I do. She gets to be up on the couch and the bed, so I think I should be able to do that too. My mom keeps saying something about having “paid her dues.” If someone would loan me the money, I would like to pay my dues and get on that couch! So far, I’ve been to the park, to a Saint Francis fundraiser where some people drew pictures of me, and I get to go to work with my puppy raiser at Saint Francis. They call this “socialization,” but I can’t pronounce that, so I just call it fun! I get to see some of my siblings once a week too! A lot of the time, we just yell at each other across the room and try to play with each other, but I guess we’re supposed to be learning stuff. I am learning a few things, like how to do a good sit, how to come when I’m called, and - this one is really important to my puppy raiser - how to go to the bathroom outside. My puppy raiser keeps mumbling about something called “mopping,” but I just ignore that. She’s funny when she mumbles. All in all, I’m a happy puppy! I don’t know what’s ahead of me, but I know that I’ll keep learning and growing and playing and trying really hard to remember to go to the bathroom outside. That one always gets me.

Minnie

minnie

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To read prior editions of A Pup’s Progress, visit saintfrancisdogs.org/publications

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