Southeastern's Open House and How Corky Schmoozes

For our meeting this month we went to the open house for Southeastern Guide Dogs and talked with visitors to let them know more about the puppy raiser program.  

Two of Southeastern's employees at the welcome area.

The open house is always a fun event to go to because all of the areas are open to see: the kennels, the dorms, the vet center.  So the places that are really interesting and usually off limits are open to the public for tours and an explanation.

A cheerful young lady mans the volunteer opportunities table.

 Nancy with her yellow goldadore Cloe and Fred and I with Corky set up shop near where some of the visitors were and we managed to have several really nice conversations.

Fred talking with this really nice couple.  The man and woman had two dogs and lots of
experience with labs. They really liked Corky.

 Funny thing about these types of gatherings.  You wouldn't think that talking would tire you out, but it can be very demanding.

Puppy raiser Woody with his black lab sitting on a bench taking a break from the schmoozing.

 It is a challenge to be up and informative and cheerful all at the same time. But it's an important cause and the dogs do incredible work.

The boy's grandma wanted his photo with Corky and Cleo.  I also took some shots.  Here he is with Corky.

 While we were walking around we were asked to be in photos.  Well, not really.  Corky and Cleo were asked to be in photos.  No one really cared about us.  Corky did really well with his meet and greet.

Here he is with Corky on the right and Cleo on the left.  

 The dogs were a big hit with volunteers working the open house as well.

Cleo is giving a kiss to the ladies working the crosswalk.

Southeastern has been growing and has some new buildings and gardens.  It is an amazing place.  To our surprise there was someone there we didn't know was going to be there: Dewey!  Our friend Katie took a blindfold walk with him and sent us this photo! Go Dewey!!!

Exuberant Jam's November Report Card and a Photo of Sunny

We just received Jam's November report card and he is in Phase 3!  OMG!  We have never had a puppy go to Phase 3 before.  What is Phase 3 you ask? Well, Phase 3 is Polishing and blindfold walks!

That's right.  Our Jam is actually guiding people on blindfold walks.  Woot!!  Of course, there is a trainer there as well as you can see in the photo below: The person with the blindfold on has the dog at their left.  The trainer is holding the dog's leash in case something goes wrong.  But for the most part, the dog is doing some guiding here.  

Our North Pinellas puppy Sunny is the guide dog in this photo leading the blindfolded person.
You can tell by her dimples on her forehead. Photo by Kathy Hysmith.

What is cool about the above photo, while not of Jam, is that it is of one of our North Pinellas pups and one of Jam's fellow IFT kennel mates Sunny.  Sunny was raised by our AC Carolyn.

Below is a copy of Jam's November report card.  He is doing great.

His trainer had these comments about him:

"COMMENTS:  This dog always puts a smile on my face in the morning! J  Jam is still coming along in training.  He loves to work and needs a job to do.  He is still very exuberant but is maturing.  On days that he stays back from training, Jam enjoys spending his time playing in the field and participating with kennel enrichment. "

That's our boy: exuberant, happy and willing to work.  Go, Jam! Go!