Bringing Corky Home

Yesterday we picked up puppy Corky.  He is named in honor of Corky Taylor, Vice President at BB&T Insurance Services by the BB&T Insurances Services Walkathon team in appreciation for his long standing support for Southeastern Guide Dogs.  Already Corky, the puppy, has shown himself to be a self confident, friendly, and sweet natured puppy.  I'm sure Corky, the human, shares many of those same qualities!

Tara at Southeastern was very kind to let us do our pickup on Friday afternoon, which we so appreciated!  We wanted to have the long weekend to get over some of the sleepless nights associated with a new puppy, but thankfully, that puppy program is amazing and Corky slept through the night (almost).  He slept from 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.!

Cheryl and Corky say hello with a kiss.

Tara said his report card said Corky was a confident pup and sweet natured.  We are finding that to be true.  He also seems to possess much more common sense than our career changed dog Jam does!  Already today I think Corky has rolled his eyes at Jam more than once as if to say, "Really?"

Corky settles into Fred's arms in contentment.

Corky and Fred got along great from the get go.  Could that be because Corky's dog dad is named Fred as well?  Who's to say?!

Corky gives Fred a big smooch.

Fred is in love! (Fred smiling at Corky)

Cheryl leans in to kiss Corky who is in Fred's arms.

Corky was very calm through all the meet and greet.  We even had a couple of dear friends with us to photograph the moment: Michele, my teacher friend, and her son Kelland.  They have been there for all of our puppy pickups either in coordinating them, sponsoring them or being there when we got them.  So, even though they moved to another school this year, it was only fitting that they met us to get a glimpse of Corky!

Corky and Kelland.

Michele and Kelland and Corky

Michele and Kelland and Corky

Corky did get a little frisky with the camera and I got a nose shot.  It was kinda cute.

As I mentioned, the puppy program is fabulous.  Corky already knows sit, is working on stand and has a basic understanding of down.  He sat for the car.

Corky walks up to the car.

Fred asking Corky to sit.

Corky sits.

Corky only tried to jump up twice.  Then he settled right down and played with the toys we brought for him.  He loves the set of keys. He must be a car guy! We'll have to ask his sponsor about that! haha!

He got along great with Duke.

We stopped off at Melisa's to pick up Jam and he met Duke and got Duke and Melisa approval.

Corky's first portrait.  He has a lovely smile.

He's a go getter. He's tail never stops wagging.  He's curious and friendly.  We just love him and can't wait to tell you more about him!

Jam's first Corky photo bomb.

Puppy Raiser Day for Coach

Thursday I went to the dentist.  I arrived an hour early because I had the time wrong.  Silly me.  So, I went out and did some browsing, lost track of time and and was almost late for my appointment.  Now, generally, I don't think of myself as a person who fears the dentist, but the dental hygienist took my blood pressure and said:

"Oh. Your blood pressure is 159 over 95. Is it usually that high?"

"No."

"Let's take it again." The machine shows 147/97. Not better. Tonya starts to tell me how this is heart attack range and did my prescriptions list have blood pressure medication on it?

"No, that was Crestor for cholesterol," I say.  "Couldn't it be that I'm just stressed about being at the dentist?"

"Or that you need to buy a blood pressure machine and have this checked out." She points at the machine.  "This brand is really good.  You can get it at Walgreens."

Great.  I start trying to do deep breaths.  In two days I will be going to puppy raiser day and the last thing I need is to have a heart attack and miss it.  Tonya starts to clean my teeth.

Are my arms going numb? I shake them surreptitiously.  Is that tingling? She is spraying water into my mouth and dragging a sharp pick over my teeth.  Deep breaths, deep breaths.  I try think about how long someone stays in the hospital if they have a heart attack.  Would I get out by Saturday? Would they just give me some blood thinners and send me home or could I check myself out by Saturday morning to go to puppy raiser day?

I'm pretty sure it's just stress. Deep breaths. I went to the doctor's last week and it wasn't that high. I am NOT missing puppy raiser day.

I made it through the appointment without a medical incident and made it to Saturday morning. We
got up early to get ready to make sure we were on the road to make it to Melisa's on time.

We picked up Melisa, dropped Jam at Larry and Gabrielle's (who were nice enough to baby sit for us!), Dewey was safe with Rita and Al, and we headed on down to Southeastern.

Yes. We arrived early.

Then we waited.  But it was a good thing because we had an opportunity to meet Steve Dunn and his wife Laurie.  They were the volunteers who took Coach home when he developed severe kennel stress.

Fred, Steve, Laurie and Cheryl at Southeastern Guide Dogs.

Coach was able to relax and rejuvenate at their house, which allowed him to remain in the program. We are so grateful for their kindness to Coach and willingness to take him back and forth.

Then it was outside to wait to see the graduates practice their route with their guide dogs.  It was just amazing.  I don't think I have ever seen anything so awe-inspiring or something that makes me happier.  Those dogs were so happy.  Every tail was sky high.

Kristen coming down the sidewalk with Coach.

You can tell Coach is intent on working because his tail is up and curly. Kristen was the smallest of the graduates and Coach was the largest dog.  Yet they made an amazing team.

Close up of Kristen and Coach photo by Durga Garcia.

She needed a dog who got along with horses and who had a fast pace and trust me, this team can move!

 Marisa was the head trainer for the group and she did an amazing job with Coach and we can't thank her enough for giving him all the skills he needed to get to the point he where he could do this amazing job for Kristen.

After the route, they brought Kristen and Coach out to see us.  It was so sweet.  Coach was sniffing around and knew something was up, but not quite what.  Then he saw us.  He did several tiny butt tucks, circles as fast as he could.  He was so sweet.  Then I bent down to kiss him and Coach jumped up and to kiss me.

Fred and Cheryl meeting Kristen.  Trainer Caitlyn brought her to us. Photo by Durga Garcia.

We met in the middle.  Hard.  I heard my tooth make contact with his tooth.

We went into brunch and had a great time talking and learning more about Kristen and Coach and how they are working together. And then it came time to leave.  We gathered together for one more photo.

Marisa, Coach's trainer, Fred, Cheryl and Kristen and Coach

It had been a completely happy and lovely morning.  When I was using the restroom to leave, I checked my tooth out.  There was a small chip off my front tooth.  A permanent reminder that we had had a hand in make a guide dog, for it takes a village: puppy raising services, the kennel staff, trainers, the Dunns, puppy raisers and the people they interact with all combined to create a confident, well mannered dog who will be someone's partner for life. It's not one thing, it is many things.  It's not one person, it is many people working together for the benefit of that one dog and they all get to say: Coach is my guide dog. Coach is our fourth puppy to raise and our first puppy to make it as a guide dog, so for all of you puppy raisers out there who haven't had one make it yet: don't give up.  

As for me, I won't be going back to the dentist. I'll just live with the chip.  It gives me good memories.

Dewey Death Stare

We have two days at school under our belts. Two days to see how a year ahead is going to pan out.  How a little puppy is going shape my year. I have one word for you:

Library work is hard. Dewey is asleep on the carpet upstairs during weeding.

NAPS.

Dewey is curled up by my file cabinet sleeping by a Kong Wubba.

Dewey is a power napper, which is great.  But during our first lunch out, we discovered a darker side to our sweet boy:  Darth Dewey.

I hadn't encountered Darth Dewey before.  Who knew our sweet boy was so stubborn? Had such a commanding presence?  Little did I know that he wasn't afraid to put it out there for public consumption. Yes, DD is not afraid of acting out in public. 

It was our first day back and we were going to Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  Dewey had busied and we marched into reception and were seated at a booth.  A long dark booth, that to Dewey appeared house dragons or bears.

He balked.  

Across the aisle, two ladies were having lunch, "Oh! Look at the cute Southeastern Guide Dog puppy!" They were both staring at me expectantly.  Jan and Christina had already moved into the booth.  Dewey was sitting very upright and was giving me an intense direct stare.  It was the Dewey Death Stare.  An attempt at mind control "These are not the drones you want."

"Dewey, come." I tried to get him out of the aisle and under the table so that we could do a down stay. I wasn't going to attempt the turn command. 

Dewey: "This is not the dog you seek."

"Dewey. No."

Slight laughter emanates from table across the aisle.  

Dewey: "This is not the dog you seek."

Deep sigh. I turn him around, and slide him under the table. "Dewey, down." He slides into a down, surprised. Then, once down: naps. Mission accomplished.  I'll take it. He slept all through lunch.  Fabulous! Good dog.

However, I thought, lunch was long, I don't want a pee-saster.  So, I told Jan and Christina that I was walking straight out and would meet them outside.  Dewey woke up and we power walked past lots of admiring people and Ooohs and Aaahs to the front door.  Where we had to stop.  And sit.

So, we stopped.  And Dewey sat.  

There were two young ladies on the bench in reception and they were watching us.  They both said very admiring things like, "Oh wow! He's so cute! Look at him."

Dewey sat very upright. He was staring very intently at me. I started to have misgivings. I glanced over at the two ladies and they smiled big sunny smiles.  

I opened the door. 

"Let's go, Dewey!" I said in my most happy voice.

Dewey: "This is not the dog you seek."

Oh no. Air conditioning was blowing past me, whipping my hair and Dewey was growing roots into the cement.

I tried again. 

NO. 

Again. 

NO. 

I picked him up.  At a certain point, you have to move out of the way. We will work on doors. He does not like them.

Darth Dewey.  You have met your match. This battle is far from over!

Nearly Headless Jam

Puppies are funny creatures.  In some ways they are like horses in that they shy at very odd things at unexpected moments.

Take this morning for example. Baby Dewey (BD) and I were having a nice breakfast and checking out Facebook when all of a sudden it was as if a horrific creature had appeared in front of BD.  He leaped up, tucked his tail and backed up a few feet.  Then he looked up at me for confirmation.

"Are you seeing this?" His eyes were locked on to the TV room, so I turned and looked over there.  All I saw was a sleeping Jam in MY leather chair.

Wait, from Baby Dewey's perspective, it was merely a head!

Jam, with just his head hanging over the arm of the chair.

 From a puppy perspective, and after having seen one too many True Blood episodes, I could clearly see the decapitated head of Jam sitting on the chair, taunting poor Baby Dewey.  Something needed to be done.

"Dewey, let's go see Jam." I could see Jam barely open his eyes.

BD was not sure about getting closer to the head, but he did like Jam, so he started to walk very, very slowly, closer to the chair.  We took our time.

Jam raised his head and looked at us.  Annoyed.  His nap was disturbed.

BD sitting in front of a complete Jam, head and all.

BD walked around the chair and looked at Jam.  "See?  Jammy is fine!  Good Dewey!"

BD did a little happy wiggle (he's big on wiggles and he's a mighty tail wagger as well).  All was right in his world once again.

Ah, puppies.

Smaug at the Smokehouse

We've said many times that we love the Dunedin Smokehouse.  We usually go there once a week for some wings or a sandwich and we take Jam and Coach with us because we can sit on the patio with the both of them.  Our usual waitress, Lisa (pictured below), adores Coach and dogs in general.  Coach happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to her first dog, a lab, and he brings back very happy memories for her.

Lisa and Coach.

Usually, when we come in and sit down, there may be another dog or two, but they are all well behaved and there isn't a problem.  Last night was a bit different.  We walked in and tried to take our seat by the big fan so the boys could catch a nice breeze.  As we were sitting down, the table that was a table away from us and had a HUGE white German shepherd at it sort of vibrated with people moving and flailing and looking about.  Mr. Shepherd had sensed our presence and like Smaug in The Hobbit he was waking up and about to express his annoyance.

Then we heard it: a deep threatening, growling bark.  And since we had not seen the sleeping white dragon and had, like peaceful hobbits just come for the food, had sat down without scoping out the area like a Ranger, we were surprised.  Jam and Coach both sat up at attention and then looked at us.  In our best Gandalf voice we told them to sit down.  They did and then they went into a down stay. Comforted that no harm would come to them.

Smaug was still not happy.  He could spy them through the forest of legs and hobbits were in his territory. He let loose another yell.

"Oh, criminy! Let's get out of his line of sight." I told Fred.  I pointed to a table at the other end of the patio. Fred nodded and we packed up and moved.

Smaug drifted off to sleep and our peaceful hobbit dogs, silent and happy, never made a peep the whole night.  If I had had Gandalf's pipe of smugness to smoke, I would have.  Hobbit dogs are so much more well mannered.

Suddenly Bad

This morning, I got up, after shooing Jam off the bed in what has become a morning ritual of

"Please let me get up on the bed."

"No."

"Here?"

"No."

"Here?"

"No."

You get the picture.  It's tiring.  But this morning, we had things to do.  I needed to get up.  I had no time for playful morning rituals.

Jam had other ideas.

I brushed my teeth and walked with them downstairs where I fixed my usual large glass of New Orleans coffee with chicory to jumpstart my morning.  Then I started to think about my day and what I needed to do.  Just then, my coffee call arrived, so to speak and I headed off to the downstairs restroom.

Imagine my surprise when both Jam and Coach burst through the partially opened door.  Coach left as the bathroom is very small, but Jam was in a mood and looked around for something to tempt me. I could tell that there was trouble a foot and with my hand held out trying to forestall whatever evil he was planning, I said, "Jaaaaaaaam!"

It did no good.  Jam looked down at the decorative Talavera pot beside the toilet where I store extra rolls of toilet paper and he grabbed the last roll of paper and skedaddled.

Jam, happy with his roll of paper.

 Now you might be wondering, was Cheryl left high and dry?  Did Jam take the very last roll of toilet paper?

View of the mangled paper after I got it back.

Was I forced to yell for Fred who was upstairs working hard in his office?

Another view of Jam's torn up roll.

Thankfully, no.  There was actually some toilet paper on the toilet paper roll!  Thank the Heavens above!  Crisis averted.  But I'm not sure why he was tempted by the TP in the first place.  Jam has never been a toilet paper stealer, so this was unusual action for him.

Protective action has been taken so that future bathroom visits will be safe and secure.  Now, if only I was sure that Jam understood what that NO meant and why the TP was taken away.  We will definitely have to wait and see if this is a new delight of his.

Do I Need to Follow that Rule?

Technically, now that Jammy is back and no longer in the guide dog program, he can sit on the furniture.  Fred would prefer, that he doesn't.

Jam is sitting in my leather chair and looking at me. 

Jam has other ideas.  Jam especially loves the bed.  He really thinks that he should be allowed up on the bed.  After all it is just a big, squishy dog pillow.

Jam is hopping out of my leather chair.

He thinks he will wear us down.  He is awfully cute and I don't mind, really.  But Fred is very, very strong minded.

This will be a long battle.

Bamboo Politeness

Today we visited the wonderful bamboo nursery: Bamboo Gardens in Palm Harbor.  If you haven't been there, and you want some bamboo, you should make an appointment.  Yes, I did say make an appointment.  You can't just drive up and go in.  

Close up of some big bamboo.

Bamboo Gardens is on 4.5 acres on Jerry and Mary Ann Smith's backyard.  And what a backyard it is! It is filled with the most amazing varieties of bamboo that you will find.  And they know their business too.  Your name and the bamboo you buy will go into their database, so that when you call later and wonder what it is you bought and can you have some more, they can tell you.

Why do I tell you all of this?  Because in addition to being an amazing nursery with great bamboo, Mary Ann was also the most accommodating and friendly person I have met when it comes to welcoming a guide dog in training into her business.

When we walked in with Coach in his blue coat, she took one look at him and started to tell us about the neighbor's bulldog she had just met.  Then as we walked to the barn, she turned to me and asked, "Do you think he would like to meet some chickens?"

"Why, yes he would!"  She told me where the chicken coop was and I took Coach over there for a chicken exposure.

A photo of the back of Coach's head as he stares intently at the chickens.

 Coach was thinking maybe we were having chicken for dinner, but I was prepared for a lunge.  I had a firm grip on the leash and as we got close to the coop, I had Coach sit down.  A chicken appeared.  Coach jumped up.  The chicken flew off with a squawk.  Coach looked at me.  "It's a chicken, buddy.  They do that."

We went around to the side and sat down to see if they would come closer.

You can barely see a chicken down at the end of the row by the fence.

You can see the back of Coach's head and some of the chicken as he stares down the fence row.

 The chickens never got any closer, so we ended up leaving.  I didn't want him lunging and scaring them.

We walked all around the bamboo gardens and looked at cool bamboo while Fred and Mary Ann decided on what to buy for the yard.  Then, as the three of us were talking, Coach started to twirl in  front of us.

"He's starting to poo!" Fred said in an elevated whisper, which is as close to a shout as Fred ever gets.  And this is where I really take umbrage with the poodle man last night, because in mid twirl I grabbed the leash and made tracks away from Fred and Mary Ann and went behind a bush so they wouldn't have to see or smell Coach.  And they WEREN'T eating and I was able to do this.

And then I bagged it all up and tossed it in a trash can.  After all, it's polite to take care of your poo!

Fred bought three bamboos, and he is out planting them now. If you need bamboo, go to Bamboo Gardens, and take your guide dog puppy in training with you.  The chickens won't mind.

Where are you pooping?

LUNCH

Summer vacation for us means that we are going out to eat.  Fred recently celebrated his 60th birthday and he received a lovely present of a Visa gift card of $60 dollars, which we decided to use at the Sand Pearl Resort to have a nice lunch out.

Fred and Coach relax by the player piano at the Sand Peal Resort in Clearwater.

The Sand Pearl is pretty hoity-toity and even though it is a dressy place, we decided that we would take Coach with us.  After all, he is 15 months old.  Old enough to go poo beforehand and know how to behave himself in a restaurant.  Right?

We decided that we would park a bit of a distance away from the Pearl and walk in just to make sure that he had a chance to poo.  We walked out to lone bit of grass that bordered the entrance to the beach and Coach did his little circle dance.  It was a three twirler.  Oh my!

We walked up to the Sand Pearl with confidence.  Our boy had pooped.  We were poop free and ready to eat and experience the high life.  (And people wonder why we don't go out much! 8-)

After walking through the lobby, we encountered the player piano.  It was doing an admirable job of toodling through some barely recognizable tunes, so I had Fred and Coach stand beside it for a photo.  Coach didn't see too impressed with it.

Lunch was delicious.  The hostess was very impressed with Coach.  Coach was on his best behavior and entered and exited with calm assurance.  Nicely done, Coach!

DINNER

Dinner was different.  We decided to take Jammers with us and go coatless and more informal: to the Dunedin Smokehouse!

Now, we love the Smokehouse for several reasons

1. They have amazing wings.
2. They have a great beer selection (Magic Hat)
3. Our favorite waitress is there (Lisa) and she loves Coach and Jam
4. They have a big patio that allows dogs 
5. All the staff brings water bowls
6. Coach in coat is treated like a king
7. The rest of their food rocks too!

So, it's a natural for us to go there with the boys.  We usually pick a table by the railing and under the awning and since they had the fan on, by the fan.  We were lucky.  We got all three tonight:

• Table by the railing
• Table in the shade
• Table right in front of the fan!

The boys were out of everyone's way.  It was cool, the wings were hot, the beer was cold.  Awesome.

And then, the poodle man showed up.

Really.  

It was a family.  A mom, two middle school kids and a dad.  They had a poodly-doodly thing.  But essentially, Dad was a poodle man.  I saw them coming down the sidewalk and I knew trouble was coming in caramel curls.

Poodle man peeled off from the pack and pulled the doodle into the empty field that sits next to the Smokehouse.  The empty field that borders the railing along which we were sitting. Jam had spotted them.  He sat up.  

"Hmmmmmm." I said.  Grrrrrr was what I was thinking.  Poodle man was walking up the empty field following the railing like a trail. His doodle was sniffing around.  Jam was standing now.  Mind you, we are eating.  "Fred," I said.  "Grab Coach. This man is bringing his dog!"

And poodle man stops.  Doodle stops.  And the world stops. 

Jam thrusts his whole head through the bars of the railing in an attempt to get to the doodle.  He makes it to his shoulders.  He is straining.  The doodle is straining too, but it is of a different sort.  

"Oh my God!" I am actually hissing. "Fred! Is that dog pooping?"

"Yes."

I turn back around and poodle man has a baggy out to scoop up the offending poo.  I cannot catch his eye to scald him with my irritated look.

"Really?" I turn to Fred. "Really?!"

Fred with Jam and Coach sitting at his feet as Fred frowns thinking
about the rude customer at the Dunedin Smokehouse.

 Of all the places to walk your dog to poo, you walk him in front of the people with dogs, who are eating in a restaurant.  You had an entire empty field.  And you chose to have him poop 2 feet from our table.

Really? I. Don't. Have. The. Words.

If only I was Amy Poehler.

First Time in Harness

Today, we had our Southeastern Guide Dogs Puppy Raiser meeting at Largo Park.  It was our Area Coordinator Stephanie's first official meeting and she just happened to bring along two harnesses because there were several of our puppies who would be going in for training (IFT) in July and August and they hadn't ever worn a harness. (Our AC is super organized!)

Here is Stephanie, our new AC, holding two leather guide dog harnesses.

Coach was one of the first to be able to try on the harness and he put it on with nary a problem. 

Coach with the leather guide dog harness on over his blue cape.

 In fact, all the puppies who tried the harness, did so with great success! Go Central Puppies!!

Fred and Coach walking with the harness on.

Coach was able to walk for 5-10 minutes with the harness on and didn't find it uncomfortable at all.  All good signs!

Yay!

Only 36 days to go.

Can I Touch That?

 Yesterday was a big day for Coach.  We took him out for lunch and on an errand.  That usually never happens at school.  On school days, the exposures are all school related: playgrounds, convocations, band, etc.  But it's finals, and the cafeteria service is winding down, so we go out for lunch.

Yesterday, we had a couple of errands to run, so we decided to eat at the buffet at Whole Foods Market, which was right down the street from Barnes and Noble.  We are very efficient.

Whole Foods is a great place to take a Southeastern Guide Dog in training because evidently people can't keep food on their plate.  They slop it all around.  There was food all over the produce the section.  There were bits of crackers near the cracker bins.  There was macaroni and cheese on the floor of the buffet.  Coach was delighted.  I was not.

"No."  This was as bad as the Berkeley cafeteria.  I thought I was going to have a relaxing lunch!  Don't Whole Food shoppers know how to put food into cartons?  Sheesh! Coach was really good though.  I made him down stay by a piece of macaroni and cheese and he didn't eat it.  I was able to successfully scoop up some Cuban chicken and rice while receiving interesting looks from other diners.  I did make one mistake.  I didn't have a tight hold on Coach and he managed to touch his cold nose touch to the back of a guy's calf.

I did pull him away quickly and apologize, but I'm sure you can imagine, a cold nose to the back of your calf can be a little disconcerting.  Especially if you are gathering up your food.  I think that the man mentally went to a bad place, like rats, or vermin or something bad, because he had a really sour expression on his face and he didn't seem happy at all.  Or, it could be like the other day when we were in Publix and Fred whispered to me, "Hey, when we get past the flowers, look at the lady in the purple shirt."

"Yeah?"

Fred glanced back at her.  "She was giving us the stink eye."

"No, I think that's just her face."

It could have been just that guy's face, or it could have been that he was some sort of Howard Hughes freak about neatness and the idea that every step Coach took a hair was falling out was freaking him out to the point where his face muscles all seized up.  I don't know.  But, whatever. Lunch was delicious.  Then we went to the bakery and that is when things really got interesting.

Coach sitting before a full bakery case.

I've often said that having a puppy in training is a lot like having a perpetual two-year and this was especially true on this exposure.  Being at Whole Foods with Coach was like that trip to the bakery you take with your toddler where you have not fed them and they are hungry and they look at the bakery case and they really want something and for some reason you didn't think to put them in the grocery cart, so they are toddling around on their fat little legs and their little hands are covered in spit and dirt and God knows what and they are getting closer and closer to the window as they yell out, "I want that!" and smack their hand down on the glass leaving a big hand print and the entire bakery staff turns and stares at you because now, you are THAT mom: the mom that makes them clean the glass.

Coach lying in a down stay and looking toward the camera.

So we walked up to the grocery case and I put Coach into a sit, which is a little too close for comfort because we were near a crack in the glass.  Good fumes were wafting up to Coach.  His little brain was thinking, "Cake.  I want some cake."

He looked down at the cake and just kept moving down until his nose hit.  Nose juice all over the glass.

EEEK.  "Coach! Down!" Coach looks at me.  He turns back to the case, because he knows that we have enough time for me to say one good dog, two good dog in my head before I say NO! and in that space of time he licks the glass.

Coach lying in a down stay by the bakery case and gazing at the cakes.

Time stands still.

It's very quiet where we are. Almost unnaturally so.  I stare at Coach.  It's was a quick lick.  Barely a lick.  And then he is down.  Down and calm.  Zen.  Like he didn't lick anything at all.  A satisfied lick. I stare at the glass.  Can you see the lick?  I look at Jan.  I can't see the lick.  

The baker pops up with our cupcakes.  

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?  If a bakery glass case is licked but no one can see the lick, was it really licked?

We took our cupcakes and walked away. 

Jammy Comes Home

 Today, we are going to Southeastern Guide Dogs to pick up Jam.  We will be adopting him and bringing him home to live with us.  We got the call a week ago that he had been dropped from the guide dog program because of a medical problem: he has a soft trachea.  On Wed. he had a fluoroscopic test and we will be getting the results of that test and a medical plan for him when we pick him up.

I think we, as most puppy raisers do, put all of our eggs in Jam's basket, hoping that he would be our first dog to make it as a guide dog puppy.  From all his reports and comments, he was an excellent dog, smart, good with his commands and very sweet to work with.  Unfortunately, he was also plagued with a bit of separation anxiety and a persistent cough that made him honk like a goose (which was the trachea problem). Southeastern gave him their very best shot and their best effort and for that we thank them.

We are thankful that we have not filled up our house already with dogs (Bingo was aggressive, HRH Berkeley was not best friends with Willow) so that we can take Jam back with us as he has a special place in our hearts.

I am also very, very nervous at seeing him.  It is a puppy raiser's dream to be remembered.  I remember the first Guide Dog U when we took HRH Berkeley back and one of the graduates stood up to talk about her experience with her guide dog.  As she walked up to the podium, her guide dog caught sight of her puppy raiser, who just happened to be in the audience returning another dog.  The guide dog completely lost control and bolted to the puppy raiser in a paroxysm of joy.  The crowd of puppy raisers, in unison, sucked in their breath with a collective "AH!" Each was thinking, "I hope that is me one day."

Jam may not have made it, but he is an amazing boy.  All we care about is having our sweet boy back at home and giving him a happy healthy life.

And if he bolts towards us in a paroxysm of joy, my day will be complete.

Rainy Day Weenie

The other day last week we had a big rainy day.  Now, Coach is a big boy.  He can be pretty macho.  Well, actually no.  He isn't.  He's sweet.  He's gentle.  He is not macho.  

Coach got very wet.  Here he is in the car with his muzzle covered in raindrops.

So he wasn't pleased to be walking to the car in the rain, but one of the things that we are supposed to do is give our Southeastern Guide Dog puppies different experiences.  So, walking in the rain is a good thing to do.  Walking through puddles is also a good thing to do.

When we arrived home, it was still raining and I opened the door for Coach to get out.  One of the things that Coach does really well is stay in the car until you tell him car out.  However, you can tell by the look on his face that he is giving that puddle the stink eye.

Photo of a puddle with raindrops hitting it.

But he did jump out into the puddle on command.  I suppose that is tiny bit macho. 8-)

Team Coach

Saturday is the walkathon and we will be walking with some of our student library proctors who helped us raise the $3640 that will allow us to name our puppy next year.  We will be there at the beginning at 9:30.  The kickoff is at 9:45 and the walkathon starts at 10.

If you want to pick us out from the crowd, we will be in light blue t-shirts with Coach's face on the front.  Team Coach: Walkathon 2013! Woot! 

Street Fair Exposure

Saturday we went to downtown Dunedin for lunch and then the plan was to go over to the concert in the park and see if we could find Coastie.  But we got distracted by the street fair that was going on in Dunedin and ended up spending our afternoon in Dunedin.

Coach and Fred getting reading to start walking down the Pinellas Trail to Dunedin.

The nice thing about Dunedin is that it is so dog friendly.  The bad thing about Dunedin is that it is so dog friendly.  This visit was going to be an exposure heavily laden with dog distractions.  However, since we were on the trail, our first distraction proved to be bicycles:

You can see two cyclists off in the distance on the the trail.

As we were standing there putting on Coach's coat, the cyclists came up from behind, called out that they were coming up from behind and on the left and then passed us.  Coach calmly looked around at them.  No problem.

A lady in a wheelchair is being wheeled down the cobblestone walk.

Not only were there bikes, but there were canes, walkers and wheelchairs, too.  Coach was indifferent to them all.

Photo of a chocolate standard poodle walking toward us.  The poodle is being held closely to the owner.

He was moderately indifferent to all the dogs.  What has happened with other puppies (Bingo and Jam) is that we would get lunging and jumping.  We got none of that with Coach.

Here is a chocolate lab being held closely to the owner and walking toward us.  

 Coach doesn't lunge or jump.  He does a mean stare though.

Coach staring at a small Westie.  Fred has him on a high collar. 

Unfortunately, at street fairs, it isn't just Coach's behavior that you have to be aware of.  You also have to be aware of all the dogs around you.  Not only in front of you, but coming up behind you.

A backend view of the doberman who sniffed Coach's butt.

The owner of the doberman in the photo above was not paying attention to him and just let him wander all over the place. Of course this big, scary dog was going up to every dog he could and sniffing them.  He managed to get up to Coach's butt and goose him.  I had been watching out in front, but moved over to the other side of Fred to be on Coach's left and keep the doberman away after the initial goose.

Honestly.  If people would just pay attention to what they are doing!!

Coach walking in a nice loose leash on the cobblestones.

There is a yellow dog project (see the photo of their poster above for more details) that seeks to highlight dogs who really do need more space by placing a yellow ribbon on their leash.  If you see that ribbon, you should give them space, NO MATTER WHAT.  In our case, our dogs are working.  They shouldn't be distracted by your dogs sniffing them or wanting to introduce themselves or by saying hello.  They have a job to do and learning to ignore you and other dogs is part of it.  

Coach did really well.  I am also going to be on the lookout for a yellow ribbon too.  It looks so pretty with blue!