Puppy Sitting: Barrett

On Sunday, I asked the girls in my advisory what day they wanted to have advisory tea and I got a surprise request from one of my advisees.  She wanted me to bring Dewey by the hospital to see her.  Her appendix had burst and a therapy dog had been by to visit and she would love it if I could bring Dewey by to see her.  It just about broke my heart to tell her the day before we had returned Dewey to Southeastern.  So, of course, I asked around to see if anyone would lend me their puppy so that I could bring it by the hospital to visit her.

Barrett at St. Joseph's in Tampa.

Carolyn was going to be at the Sheraton with family for July 4th and needed someone to watch Barrett, so I took over for her already scheduled sitter.  She brought Barrett by on Monday morning and by lunchtime we were at St. Joseph's.  Turns out that Barrett has a highly developed empathetic streak.  She sidled right up to my advisee and stayed next to her and let her pet her.  

We stayed for about 45 minutes and then left.  We didn't want to overtire her.  But St. Josephs was great with Barrett.  Very friendly and helpful.

Barrett and Jam became fast friends.

Jam was feeling the loss of Dewey, so having Barrett there to run around with was very helpful to him.

Barrett did have to learn to like the blue pig in the yard.  

We did discover that some of our garden art was a little scary for her.  Although, I don't think that Fred has ever really warmed up to that pig, now that I think of it...

After a long day of playing, Barrett and Jam would crash.
Barrett is asleep on the floor.  Jam is sleeping on the chair.

 Jam and Barrett would take naps together. Although Jam did not use Barrett as a pillow.

Portrait of Barrett in tall grass.

I had a lovely time with Miss Barrett.  She was very sweet and a tail wagger, which I adore.

Barrett by cactus.

She also followed me around, which was great for helping out with missing Dewey sadness.

Barrett looking serious.

Of course, now we have a Jam and Willow looking sad and our house feeling quiet with two dogs.  How is that possible?  Thanks for a great stay Barrett.  You were a lovely house guest.  You can stay anytime.

Dewey Goes In For Training

Dewey went in for training on Saturday.  Strangely, the house is even more quiet with him gone.  Why strangely? Because Dewey was one of the quietest dogs ever.  He never barked. He didn't whine.

Although, he did occasionally make a small bird peeping noise at the door when he wanted to go out.  We miss that.

A lot.

Fred standing in front of the Guide Dog U sign with Dewey.

Dewey was ready for Guide Dog U.  He is smart, able and very capable of being a guide dog.

Dewey's poster.

We had time to fill out his paperwork and time to think about our year with him during the 6 weeks before we brought him in to Guide Dog U.  We thought about whether he really know that find the elevator command and if his sit and stay commands were strong enough.

Fred and Cheryl with Dewey at his poster.

Dewey is so calm.  He's a very low energy kind of dog.  We like to call him, surfer chill.  We thought, he would be really good for a CEO who needs a dog who likes sleeping through meetings, or a teacher who wants a dog to sleep through class.

Dewey finally met his brothers Hairy-cane and Bowser.
Hairy is next to him on the right and Bowser is on the far right.

Even in finding and greeting his long lost brothers, Dewey's response was still pretty low key. (Of course, we use Jam as our comparison.  So, perhaps we have the most extreme dogs ever.  Jam on the far left and Dewey on the far right!)

We filled up his treat bone and took it in to his kennel.

 Dewey has always been a very good sharer and play partner.  He does play dates with Duke and is one of his favorite friends.

Dewey's roommate is our neighbor Barpal.

Dewey and Barpal had a playdate when they were little puppies.  Of course, Dewey and Jam play all the time and they play HARD!  Every now and then, Willow will try and join in, but the boys run past her and ignore her.  No girls in our play.

Dewey in his new home.

 After Dewey went back in to the kennel, we were taken over to do some puppy hugging. It was very much needed.

Fred got some puppy kisses.

They had some very cute puppies.

This little yellow lab has all the toys around him.

After puppy hugging though, we were so worn out.  Dewey was our fifth puppy to give back.  The new assessment kennel was so nice and the ceremony was incredibly well done.  I think it was amazing how far the puppy raising services has come in making such an incredibly heartbreaking event not so traumatic.  They really did a super job.  

We want to take this moment to thank all the people who took the time to give up their Saturday (the puppy raising staff, trainers, volunteers, kennel staff, employees, and anyone I missed).  You made that Saturday into a momentous day for us.  You gave it weight, significance and meaning.  All of your hard work and effort is deeply appreciated.