From the moment she got off the puppy truck Emma has always been eager to learn and do new things. She was very willing to do what ever we asked of her. And was quick to learn the rules of living in our household. She was super fun to raise and teach because she always had a great attitude about life.
Emma has many endearing qualities but one of our favorites is how she loves to snuggle. She just kind of melts into you. Bill spends time with each pup in the morning and again when he gets home from work, snuggling and giving them focused attention. Emma has a very trusting heart and is ever so easy to love.
One of the things we notice right away about Emma was how exemplary she was with not mouthing. Most puppies do at least a little playful mouthing, but Emma was amazing. I wondered if they had some new technique in the puppy kennel for teaching this.
But I think it was just an Emma thing, because our next puppy in training, Fable, was the worst at mouthing and nipping of all our puppies. We never had to worry about Emma with kids. She was always very gentle and calm as she interacted with them.
Like all of GDB’s puppies in training, Emma has a long line of elite dogs in her pedigree. It is interesting to note that her maternal grandmother is from the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society based in British Columbia, Canada. The rest of her lines go back several generations into GDB stock. Within just the five generation show here, Emma is related to all our previous pups. In fact Zodiac and Emma are first cousins through their grandpa Dylan. Other common ancestors to our other pups are Tiburon, Baker, Thompson, Tex, Kraft, and Sprig. It is certainly a family tree that Emma can be proud of.
We noticed right away that Emma’s right eye was droopy. I worried about it wondering if she needed to get treatment for it. When our club leader checked on it we found out that when she was tiny her eye lid curled inward irritating her eye. So they did what is called entropion surgery which pulls down the eyelid so it no longer rubs. Seems they might have over done it a little. We thought she might grow out of it but that didn’t happen. Some times it looked better than others but that eye drooped more than the other.
What to say about our 5th black lab puppy? (We have only had three yellow labs.) Her arrival on that beautiful September day was much anticipated. It was Bill’s turn to be the one to greet her as she got off the puppy truck. The only trepidation as we waited was about her name. GDB’s tradition is to keep the name a secret until the moment before the new pups is placed in the raiser’s arms. So it was with great relief that we learned Emma’s name and finally met our new puppy, a sweet cuddly little ebony black girl. There is nothing quiet like a young puppy snuggling in your arms.
Emma Book: front cover
I finally finished Emma’s puppyhood book. It has only been six months since she left. We are going to the San Francisco area the end of the month and have made arrangements to see Emma and meet Dennis, the man who adopted her. The trip motivated me to get focused and get it done. I’m so excited for this trip. (We also get to see Waffle and her owner Carole.) So over the next few weeks I’ll post a spread from Emma’s book here. I’ve ordered a copy of the book from Blurb.com to give to Dennis. After the trip I’ll add a page about Emma and Dennis. Hope you enjoy the little snippets of Emma’s growing up year.
I based it on the same template as all the other books I’ve done for the puppies we have raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind. This really helps the book come together quickly because so many of the design decisions have already been made. I pick a new font for the large letters and use the same one for the words. The font along with two accent colors that show the dog’s personality give the books a uniform look but with individuality too.
Emma Book: title page
Emma is the eighth puppy we have raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Here is a little of the history behind her. Our first two pups, Apex and Banta got me wanting to continue the alphabet so we requested a “C” for our next pup. Puppy #4 jumped us to the end of the alphabet with Waffle, followed by Yakira and Zodiac. We got back on track with Dune, so I was very excited when the trend continued with our “E” puppy, Emma.
Carrie and Casey
I was so pleased to see this post about the third puppy we raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind on their blog today:
Friday, March 6, 2015
Meet GDB Graduate Carrie Moffatt
Carrie Moffatt lives with her guide dog Casey in North Vancouver, British Columbia. At the age of 16, Carrie began losing her vision and was eventually diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, a dual sensory impairment that affects her hearing and sight. She didn’t let this stop her and went on to pursue an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies, as well as a communications diploma. She later completed her law degree at the University of Victoria, where she ranked near the top of her class and won several awards, including a research fellowship.
Carrie also graduated from Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) with her first guide dog Casey in the summer of 2012. “My experience at the Oregon campus was fun, intense, and so rewarding,” said Carrie. “The instructors were professional, respectful, thorough, empowering, and all around awesome people. I left feeling fully prepared and confident that Casey and I could face whatever obstacles are thrown at us on a daily basis. The small class size, the student-instructor ratio, the meals, well organized schedule and supportive atmosphere allowed me to focus on learning and developing my relationship with Casey. GDB makes it possible for people who are visually impaired and blind to be fully engaged citizens and participate in the workforce and society. Empowering people with vision loss by pairing them with a highly trained guide dog benefits everyone.”
Now a lawyer at Lidstone & Company in Vancouver, BC, Carrie advises local governments in the areas of municipal, environmental, constitutional, administrative and land use law. She conducts legal research and analysis, drafts legal opinions, memoranda, and written advocacy. Carrie is also an avid supporter of Cycle for Sight, which is a fundraising event in support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness (Canada’s largest charitable organization raising funds for vision research). In 2012, she was chosen by the GDB Alumni Association Board of Directors as the recipient of the annual Reach for the Stars Scholarship. “Losing your vision is a really difficult process to go through and having a guide dog has turned my blindness into a positive experience,” said Carrie. “I feel like I can walk with my head held high with Casey by my side. Most people do not realize I am visually impaired because through our teamwork, Casey gets us to our destination with grace and speed. She also provides comic relief by groaning loudly in meetings or sprawling out on her back when she’s off duty, demanding belly rubs from co-workers.”
Carrie has traveled around the world to several countries and looks forward to more adventures with Casey. “I reflect a lot on how incredible it is to have this inter-species relationship, and I am constantly in awe of our symbiosis and teamwork,” said Carrie. “It is very humbling to have wholehearted trust in a dog. I am dependent on her as a second set of eyes and ears to help me navigate and weave through crowds and traffic. She is dependent on me for food, play, warmth, and shelter. We depend equally on each other for unconditional love and companionship. What I have learned from having a guide dog is that I can be both independently strong and interdependent at the same time.”
I spent the day at Innovator Summit (part of RootsTech). If you aren’t lucky enough to be at RootsTech too you can catch some of it live. You will find the streaming schedule here. If you don’t have time to catch them live you can watch these presentations later on the RootsTech website. I love that they do this. What a great way to share with the world.
They recorded some of the sessions at Innovator Summit but I haven’t figured out where those are available for viewing yet. I’ll post it when I figure that out. Have I great week, I’ll be back on Monday.
Emma at her last puppy class on September 2nd 2014
We found out this week that our 8th puppy that we raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind has been adopted. Remember back in November they discovered that she has a bad back so she couldn’t be a guide dog. So they have been looking for just the right situation for her and her luxating lumbar. Emma’s mom’s family wanted to take her but their life style was too active for Emma. On December’s update they said that another family was considering her. I don’t think that worked out either. But when we got the latest update they said that a long-time volunteer at GDB has adopted Emma. This person is retired to Emma isn’t home alone much and they are doing well together. I think that after 30 days we will get the official paper work on Emma’s adoption. Hopefully they will want to keep in touch. I have a hard time imagining a volunteer at Guide Dogs for the Blind not being willing to keep in touch with a puppy raiser, so I’m hopeful.
Today also marks 6 years since our very first puppy, Apex, graduated as a guide dog with his handler Sue. He will be 8 years only in May. The age that the “R” word starts to creep into the picture. We hope he will enjoy working for another year or two but it is a rare dog who works past 10 years old. So far he is a happy and healthy guide dog. Since he is very well-loved and taken care of, I think he will be working for a while yet.
telling family tales 