Donald's Graduation - 12.16.06

Donald graduated on Dec. 16, 2006 from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, CA.

He will be the best friend and partner to Jim from Santa Rosa. Jim is a wonderful gentleman with a great sense of humor, I know Donald will get lots and lots of attention.

Donald is the 7th puppy I have raised. He has the cutest face and the softest coat. He went with me everywhere - you can see him in some of my earlier blogs.

Here are some pictures from graduation day. (click on the picture to see a larger view)

I AM SO PROUD!!

Downtown Disney - 10/1/06

October 1, 2006 was the annual Guide Dog Puppies in Training event at Downtown Disney.

Puppy raisers from all around come together to go through exercises to show evaluators how our puppies are doing. For example, we walk the puppies around Horseshoe Falls to see their reaction to the sound of the waterfall. We also are observed for how well we walk the puppy. Other stations include a Health Check, a walk through ESPN Zone to deal with stairs, elevators, and the activity of an arcade.

We took Mark and his guide dog Nubert with us. Elbert and Nubert got along great - They rode together in the back of the car.

While there, Elbert met 4 of his siblings. How fun was that. I do regret that we did not get a family picture. I will make sure to do that if we get another opportunity.

The party is over

I knew it was too good to be true. I am here to announce that Elbert is normal. He was quietly hanging out at the top of the stairs. Well, there is now a hole in the carpet - wonder how that happened.

Gotta still love him - he is just too cute.

Elbert and DeSoto side by side

We have been having fun with both puppies. I give equal time to going out - Elbert went to the morning meeting and DeSoto went shopping. When I took DeSoto to a meeting where the week before I took Elbert, people looked at him with a puzzled expression. How could Elbert have grown so big so fast.

Elbert and Desoto playing

Click on the picture to see the puppies playing. 

Health Fair - 08/06

Mark, Cindy, and I helped out at the Health Fair. Mark (in the middle) is a graduate with his Guide Dog Nubert. Cindy is a raiser with her puppy, Ferguson, and of course Elbert was there too. This is an event for the people in a senior living center in San Dimas.

Elbert and Fantine - puppysitting

We puppysat Fantine for a week - she and Elbert had so much fun. We went to fun places like the beach (Elbert had to be carried) and a trade show (what a hook for my booth).

Elbert

This is Elbert, we picked him up at Guide Dogs for the Blind on July 19, 2006. He was 9 weeks old. Of course, everyone wants to hold him so these are pictures of Elbert with his "brother" Michael, and his "sister" Sara.

Donald went back to school - 7/19/06

I know I haven't kept up with this information, so now I want to bring it up to date.

Donald went back to Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael for his formal training (like going off to college).

Last I heard, he was in Phase 3 which is very exciting. I will continue to post his progress here.

Traveling to Colorado

This week I took Donald on my yearly working trip to Colorado. He met lots of people and stayed in hotels.
The flight was great - United Airlines treats Guide Dog Puppy Raisers and their puppies royally. We got to sit in the bulkhead row which allows room to laydown. The homebound flight was a little roomier since there was no one in the middle seat - Donald was able to stretch out a bit.

This weekend we puppysat Desoto, a 3 month old black lab.

He was so cute and so much fun.

This is my current puppy - his name is Donald and he is 11 months old in this photo. He will be a year old January 30, 2006. I got Donald from Guide Dogs for the Blind. He is my 7th puppy.