Brash: impertinent; impudent; tactless

Banta has some unique ways of sitting. One of her favorites is to rotate so far back that she is sitting on her spine instead of her hips. When she does it her hips relax and she looks so slouchy.  Another favorite way is almost the opposite. She sits with her weight shifted forward and her knees tucked in with her feet out to the side.

[photo 1: view of Banta sitting from behind with her tail stick straight out the back and her back legs spread wide – in the background are several other puppies in training – the was Banta’s last puppy meeting it was taken in our living room, photo 2: close-up of Banta sitting with her back legs tucked tight into her sides, photo 3: front view of Banta sitting on her dog bed – she has rolled so far back on her tail that her back legs are sticking out in front of her and her belly is in full view]

Bow: to bend or curve downward

Banta has a cute little thing she does sometimes when she wants to lay down. It looks kind of like a bow. It all starts with a stretch of her back legs. She extends them back in such a way that she ends up with the top of her back feet on the floor. If you are familiar with yoga positions it looks a lot like “up dog.” From here she slides her back feet away from her front feet until she belly flops on the floor.  There she lays for a second or two with her legs stretch straight out in front and in back of her. Then she shifts to lay on her side. I was never able to capture this process on film because I never knew when she was going to do it.

[photo 1: a side view of Banta on our landing with her front paws out in front and her head low to the ground and her back end up in the air, photo 2: Banta laying on the landing looking down the stairs, photo 3: close-up of Banta with her head tilted to one side]

Boundless: infinite or vast; unlimited

Banta’s future has so many possibilities. She has so much to offer. She has grown-up to be an amazing puppy. We are looking forward to seeing what the future brings for her. She is an a smart dog who can do wonderful things if she decides that is what she wants. We are proud of her choosing to be a guide dog for Mark.

[taken along the Jordan River – photo 1: side view of Banta’s head looking off into the distance with snow and a river in the background, photo 2: Banta looking back with snow and river reeds in the background, photo 3: another side view of Banta with snow and rocks in the background, photo 4: Banta looking slightly back over her shoulder with snow and the river in the background]

Bonded: to connect, hold together

Banta is good at making connections with others. She is of course bonded to us as her puppy raisers. She loves to have snuggle time either taking a nap or curling up between you legs while you sit on the ground.

Banta would get very excited in the evening when she would hear the garage door open. She would run to the window to look out or run to the door to wait for Bill to come in. At her last puppy class before leaving for San Rafael one of the other raisers commented on how bonded she is to us. I know that she will make that same kind of bond with someone else in her future.

[photo 1: Bill sitting on the floor of our family room with Casey and Banta curled up together in his lap, photo 2: Banta looking out our front window to see if Bill is coming home, photo 3: Bill kneeling on the stairs with Banta on the top reaching down to give him a kiss on the cheek]

 

Bold: courageous and daring

Banta came off the truck a very confident and bold puppy. We introduced her to Apex, our first puppy in training who was going back to Guide Dogs for the Blind a couple of days later, and she jumped right up and started biting his neck. The only thing she was cautious about was heights. She is still a very adaptable dog, who handles new situations with confidence and curiosity.

[Banta is 8 weeks old in all these photos and Apex, black lab, is 16 months old – photo 1: Banta on the grass nose to nose with Apex with a very focused look on her face, photo 2: Banta at 8 weeks and Apex sitting side by side on the grass – Banta looking up at Apex and Apex with his head turned slightly away, photo 3: Banta chewing on Apex’s tail laying on the grass, photo 4: Apex laying on the grass with Banta standing in front of him trying to chew on his face]

Blonde: woman or girl with fair hair

I often called Banta my blonde girl. When she was very young she was a platinum blonde. As she grew she darkened into more of a beautiful strawberry blonde.  When she was about five to six months old she also had a curl in the fur of her tail that made her tail look like a corkscrew. Her corkscrew tail went away as she finished growing up.

[photo 1: very close-up shot of Banta curled up showing her creamy blonde fur, photo 2: close-up of Banta’s legs crisscrossed and curled together, photo 3: close-up of Banta’s tail with the curve at the end, photo 4: view of Banta from above showing the darker color of the fur down her back]

Blink: to open and close the eyes

Banta has a very penetrating gaze when she wants something but other times when she is just looking at you she will blink but with just one of her eyes, so it actually looks like she is winking at you.

[photo 1: close up of Banta with both of her eyes squeezed tightly shut, photo 2: Banta sitting facing forward with one eye closed and the other open, photo 3: Banta standing with one eye open and the other side shut]