Tag Archives: dog

Career Change

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Waffle – photo by Lisa Thompson

We got news today that Waffle will not be a guide dog. Our CFR (Community Field Rep) from Guide Dogs for the Blind was in town this weekend to evaluate puppies. We knew that she would decide whether Waffle would return to GDB for training or head down another path. We also knew that the odds were that most of those involved seemed to think Waffle wasn’t guide dog material. We didn’t see that when we had her for a few days in May but it is possible that we didn’t have her in the kind of situations that she didn’t handle well.

Her high school puppy raiser isn’t able to keep her so we get the next option to adopt her or place her with someone else. Soon after we started raising puppies we decided not to adopt any of our puppies if they were career changed. I’ve seen many puppy raisers who have to stop raising puppies because they adopt their cc’d puppies and end up with too many dogs to effectively  raise puppies any more. So that level placing her with someone we know. As we have thought about this option over the last several years we have decided that we would only consider placing one of our puppies if it was a situation where they would be more than just a pet. For most people who want to adopt a career change dog we think it is the best for them to apply to Guide Dogs for the Blind. That way GDB can match the right dog with the right family. Then the chance for a successful match is much greater. My sister’s neighbor is looking for a dog that she can train as a therapy dog. But we don’t know her and we don’t completely know if being a therapy dog is the right career for Waffle. So it is looking like Waffle will return to Guide Dogs for the Blind next week and they will look at everyone they have wanting a career change dog and find the best place for her.

I wish that we could see her one more time before she leaves but I’m heading off to girls camp really early on Monday morning and won’t get home until after Waffle will leave. I’m so glad that we got to have that time with her a couple of months ago. Maybe Bill can make arrangements to see her before she leaves. When we were raising her they had an extra connection between them. Waffle is a sweet girl and I think she will be happy as a pet dog.

The Revolving Puppy Door

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Yakira and Zodiac

There have been lots of coming and going of puppies in the last few weeks and more to come in the next few weeks. Zodiac has been on puppy sits two weekends in May because we went to Wood Badge. He also had two weekends in June. The first because he was too young to go with us to Casey’s graduation.

Parker at Rockaway Beach

Next my friend Lisa had a family reunion to go to. Her dog Parker needed to come to our house to be puppy sat because he had some anxiety issues and was most familiar with us and our house. Parker and Lisa went with us to Casey’s graduation. So Zodiac went to Karen’s and Parker came here. Instead of Parker going to Karen’s. Osaka, Karen’s dog was in season and her house isn’t approved for an in season female. Another puppy sitter could take Osaka for about a week but then had committed to puppy sit someone else dog. Yakira was still on house arrest from being in season herself and they don’t like us to have three puppies in training in the same household. So that meant that Zodiac had to go off again. That meant that we had Yakira and Parker for a few days.

Osaka

A few days later Parker went home and Yakira was cleared to socialize again, so Osaka came here and Yakira went to Karen’s and Zodiac came back home. Osaka was a good girl but she is a lab golden cross (mostly golden retriever) and she has that soft golden coat. Soon after we got her I noticed that she had mats behind her ears. She had been at another puppy sitters before we had her and they have a swimming pool. Osaka must have gotten the mats while there, maybe from getting wet in the swimming pool. Well I didn’t have a clue how to get the mats out. I tried but with no success. So Karen came back to our house toward the end of that week and brought some golden retriever type grooming tools. Plus she worked for quiet some time getting the mats out from behind Osaka’s ears. Goldens certainly need more grooming than labs. Well Karen was nice and let us keep Yakira for the weekend. We stretched the three puppy rule but it was fun to have her home. All three dogs got along very well together.

Finally we got Yakira back home early this week. We have had Zodiac for about two months and he had only gotten to go out and socialize with Yakira a couple of times. By the time he earned his jacket, Yakira was in season. Then she swapped with Osaka. I’ve really had to think hard to keep track of which dog I’m talking too. A couple of times I just couldn’t come up with the right name in a timely manner.

This next week we are headed off to Martin’s Cove for a short pioneer trek. We had originally planned to take the dogs with us but it is so hot that we decided it would be better not to have them there.  We will be home less than 48 hours before I head off for Girls Camp all the following week. Bill is helping out the first day so two more puppy sits are in the works. My friend Lisa’s dog Parker went back to Oregon for formal harness training yesterday so she will thankfully be available to puppy sit both dogs. Summer is crazy with puppy raisers going every which direction. She will take Yakira and Zodiac while we are in Martin’s Cove and then while Bill is helping us get up to Girls Camp. Then she will take Zodiac while I’m gone the rest of the week. That way Bill won’t have to come home from work in the middle of the day and a puppy won’t have to spend the whole day in the kennel.

That should take care of our puppy swapping around for a while. We want to take a trip to Colorado toward the end of the summer to visit Banta. But I think we should be able to take both puppies with us on that trip.

Puppy Photo Shoot

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Yakira and Zodiac by Lisa Thompson

A few weeks ago Lisa Thompson, did a photo shoot for the puppies in our club and this week I got a cd with the photos. She was our club leader until a couple of years ago and she has access to a photo studio through her job. So once or sometimes twice a year she invites the club to come and she and a friend of hers take wonderful pictures of our pups. I have a wall about our stairs where I hang the “official” portrait of each of our GDB puppies. All but Apex’s are from Lisa’s photo shoots. I have them printed on 10″ x 10″ canvas at Pixels, where she works with their name and the year they were born. I’m so excited to get Yakira’s and Zodiac’s images up on our wall.

Now I just need to pick which pictures to use. I’ve narrowed it down to these. I thought it would be fun to see if any of you have opinions of which image you like for their official portrait. Just comment and let me know what you think.

Yakira #1

Yakira #2

Yakira #3

Yakira #4

Zodiac #1

Zodiac #2

Zodiac #3

Casey’s Book

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For each of the puppies we raise for Guide Dogs for the Blind, I make a book about them and their puppyhood. I finish it up once the puppy has graduated or moved on to his or her chosen career. Casey’s is now finished and I have a hard copy, printed on Blurb.com for Carrie, her handler.

To make getting each book completed more doable, I have a basic template for all the books with two main color schemes depending on if the pup is black or yellow. I change the accent colors and font to reflect the personality of the puppy. Using the first letter of their name, I pick words that help to describe the traits of each puppy. I find it a fun way to tell about a puppies growing up years in a non-chronological way.

Casey’s Book

Casey comes from breeding stock of the highest caliber. Her dad, Jay, was donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind from Korea and the Asian Guide Dog Breeding Network (AGBN). Exchanges between Guide Dog schools is part of an on going effort to improve the quality of dogs world wide.

The first word that comes to mind in describing Casey is calm. She is by far the calmest puppy we have raised for GDB and I think the calmest we have seen grow-up in our puppy club. She is content to hang out and wait but she is always happy to be out and about too. Casey is amazing in her ability to deal with lots of excitement around her and still keep her calm attitude. I doubt we will ever see another puppy quite like Casey.

Our house is built so the main floor cantilevers out over the basement.  This create a narrow ledge by the stairs that go upstairs from the split level entrance. I’ve tried to keep this ledge blocked off so that our puppies in training don’t get out on the ledge and then fall off and hurt themselves.
Well it didn’t take Casey long to figure out a way to get past the barrier but she didn’t fall off so eventually I just removed the barrier.  She only fell off once that I can remember and that was when she was laying down. In getting off the ledge she really has developed her skills at backing up.
I think she really liked to go out here because it put her at eye level with whoever was walking up the stairs. She also used it to keep Waffle (another puppy in training), from steeling her toys, which Waffle took great joy in doing.

Casey has a captivating personality. While being calm by nature she also loves to have fun and interact with the world. When she wags her tail her whole body gets involved. Her sweet nature is so charming that everyone loves her.

Casey has been blessing with a very loving and caring spirit. She seems to sense when someone is in need to some puppy love. One in the grocery store I notice that someone down the aisle had Casey’s attention. This was unusually because she was so far way and  Casey was so focused on her. When the lady got closer we allowed Casey to interact with her and they enjoyed a few moments together.
We never learned why Casey gave her special attention but she has shown over and over again an uncanny ability to recognize those that she can help with her loving and caring.

Like most labs, Casey is a happy soul. She enjoys life to the fullest and is pleasant to be around. Casey loves it when the door bell rings and the opportunity to meet someone new or to see and old friend appears. She thinks that everyone is her friend.

Casey has been cherished all of her life. Guide Dogs for the Blind has volunteers who go into the whelping kennels to lovingly handle this precious puppies.
That didn’t change when she was placed in my arms as she came off the puppy truck. There was a moment of shock when it was a little black lab instead of the yellow lab that we had been expecting but we didn’t care what color she was. It only took a second to fall in love with this sweet little girl.
She was amazingly easy to raise and stole the hearts of everyone who met her. Casey will touch many more lives in her future and she will be cherished by everyone of them.

Casey loves to chew. Her favorite nylabone shapes are the wish bone and the ring. She chewed through three wishbones while she was a puppy plus a ring and she even chewed the end off a Goughnuts stick so that it had to be replaced.  She also destroyed a couple of Kongs.
When she really gets into a chewing mode, her lips get all slobbery and her paws get wet too.

If Casey has a flaw it is her drive to keep things clean. We often refer to her has our Hoover Girl because she is always looking for an opportunity to get that last little crumb or lick-up that tiny spot on the floor. If she thinks she can get away with it she will go after whatever it is especially if it is edible. She is also know to clean the cupboard doors etc.

Sometimes Casey is so silly and comical. Casey lacked confidence when she was little and so we let her win at tug. This really seemed to help. She now plays what I call virtual tug because she takes turns at who wins. She actually looses on purpose so that I get to win too. Casey’s not a very good at pretending to lose. She just opens her mouth and lets go of the toy.
I really play it up after one of us wins and Casey gets all excited and wiggly. She will play this game with any toy that she can fit in her mouth, size doesn’t matter.

On May 21, 2012 just two days before her second birthday, Casey met Carrie. They trained together for two weeks at Guide Dogs for the Blind’s Oregon campus. It is interesting to note that Carrie celebrated her birthday the second week of their training. Now Casey is Carrie’s companion and partner. Carrie’s job is to love and care for Casey. Casey’s job is to love Carrie and keep her safe in their travels.

Casey has some unusual sides to her personality. She seems to have an obsession with ears. We got Casey when Banta (another puppy in training) was a year old. Casey and Banta were together for about three months. When Casey started teething she really got into chewing on Banta ears and Banta’s ears where often slobbery. One day Casey was loosing a tooth and she covered Banta’s ears with blood.
When Casey was about a year old we got Waffle. To our surprise, Casey decided that she should suck on Waffle’s ears too. We worried that Waffle’s ears would get sore with all the slobber so we used bitter apple to discourage Casey. It would work for a while but was only so effective. Neither Banta or Waffle seemed to mind.

In most ways Casey has a very compliant nature. She wants to please and she pays attention so she knows what it is you would like her to do. She was so nice to work with because of her willingness to obey. I’m sure that her compliance will serve her will in her future.

Casey is unusual in that she overlapped with three other puppies during her puppyhood. Banta was her mentor and taught her confidence. For Waffle, Casey was there through the five months we had her. They were true sisters having both affection and conflict. Casey and Yakira only had a couple of days together.

With a broad range of vocalizations, Casey is very good at expressing herself. She doesn’t really bark much but she as a full range of groans and grumbles and other little noises. She isn’t shy about sharing her feelings. Casey is so funny in they ways that she uses those subtle tones to communicate. We have never had such a verbal puppy.

Casey has ended up in costume several times over the 14 months that we had her. She looks so cute and the bright colors looks so good with her shiny black coat. I’ve ended up with costumes for Christmas, Halloween, the 4th of July and birthdays. I even made a bandana for her to wear on the day we put her on the puppy truck for GDB.

Even though Casey has a very calm way about her she knows how to have fun and just being a crazy puppy.  She of course loves to chew and she also loves to use my body parts as a prop for her toy. As Casey got older she learned to use her paws to hold her toys.  One of her favorite things to do is squirm around on her back will chewing on a favorite nylabone or dental dyno.
Sometimes Casey would race wildly through the house just for the sheer joy of running. It is so fun to see her tuck her back legs up under her body and bolt off down the hall. Then moments later she would come flying back into the room only to do it all over again.
You gotta love those crazy lab antics. They brings such youth and joy to a household.

I love cuddly puppies and Casey is one of the best cuddlers out there. Bill has a tradition of sitting down on the floor after he gets home from work each day to spend some one on one time with Casey. She would come and curl up between his legs and just revel in the attention from Bill. I have a dog bed under my desk and Casey spent lots of time curled up by my feet under my desk. We also took lots of naps together.

Besides being a calm, sweet and caring pooch, Casey completes the perfect puppy package by being cute not only in looks but also in personality. She has grown up to be an amazing dog and we so much enjoyed the time that she was part of our family.

We were so excited to finally hear the news that Casey would be a guide dog. It was a long time coming because she was in foster care with Pano for several months after she completed the final phase of training.
It was worth the wait. Casey and Carrie are a wonderful match. Casey now lives with Carrie, her husband and Sammy, their cat, in Victoria, British Columbia.
Casey was an easy puppy to raise and we hope that she will be a good guide for Carrie for many years to come, bringing joy to her life just as Casey did to ours. We look forward to hearing about their adventures together.

Tribute to Shadow

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This week marks five years since the passing of our pet dog Shadow. He was an important part of our family and it was so hard when we learned he had cancer. It was fast growing and the day we sent him over the Rainbow Bridge was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. As part of my grieving process I put together a little book. I want to honor his memory this week. Shadow was our first dog. One of the reasons I looked into puppy raising after he died was because I wanted to have a dog but wasn’t ready to face the end of life process again. So in some ways it is Shadow’s fault that we are puppy raisers. I wear a silver bracelet everyday in memory of this wonderful dog. Thanks Shadow for all you taught us and all the memories!

For more information on this little book, “Shadow’s Laws” I have several posts on how I put it together here. What have you done to help you move through the grieving process? With Memorial Day coming up in a few weeks is there someone who you want to pay tribute to?

Shadow’s Laws Part 6

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Challenge: Text over busy backgrounds like photos can be difficult to read. Of course when possible put the text on the least busy part of the photo. The next thing to do when placing text over photos is to experiment with light and dark colored text to see which one shows up best. Notice in Law #9 that the text on the left side is in white and the text and the right side is in black. Adding a small drop shadow to white text can sometimes make a big difference in readability. The last tactic I’ve use here is to alter the photo. In Law #10 I darkened the photo under the text to help it stand out better while on Law #6 I made the photo lighter. Sometime the rubber stamp tool in Photoshop can help even out a busy background. This is what I did for Law #4. Sometimes you have to be creative to find what works best.
Shadow’s Law #10: When life is hard, take time to do something you love!
This law served me especially well during the last weeks of my life. When I could be out in nature (the mountains are my favorites) doing what I love most, I could forget about the challenges and discomforts of life. Being in the mountains has a rejuvenating power for me. My spirit was still strong and alive but my body was going downhill fast. Being in an environment that I love and smelling and experiencing the beauty of nature was so exhilarating. I bet you have places or activities that are like that for you too.
Doing something you love can recharge your batteries and you are strengthened to deal with life’s challenges.
Now we have come to the end of this project. It has been fun sharing it with you and I hope that it has been helpful. Small project like this are so much easier to tackle than big “life history” type projects but they can be just as meaningful and much more approachable. Also I think that small books are easy for anyone to pick-up and read. One of my goals with the “Beyond Words Project” is to help you to share what is important to you with more people. It is much easier to do that when the project is appealing and pulls the reader into the book. A 700 page book in black and white is a great way to gather and preserve information but there is a very limited number of people who are willing to wade through a book like that.
As Shadow would say, don’t forget to enjoy the journey!

Shadow’s Law’s Part 5

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Concept – Using Drop Caps: Because the text on each page is in a different location I decided to use drop caps to make draw your eye to the beginning of the paragraph. I use Adobe InDesign for all my layouts and adding drop caps is very simple. When you have the text tool in the paragraph you want to add a drop cap to you can then use the paragraph pallet to control how the drop cap is applied. One icon (with an uppercase A and several rows of little lines to the right) controls how many lines down the drop cap goes. In Shadow’s Laws I used three lines. To the right of this icon is another similar icon with both “Aa” and the rows of little lines. This is where you tell is if you want it to apply to more than one letter at the beginning of a paragraph. 
I know very little about Word but the link below takes you through how to apply drop caps in that program. I’m sure a Google search would give you instructions for any other program you might be using.
www.microsoft.com/education/dropcap.aspx

Also notice that I changed the font of the drop cap from, Kristen ITC to Dream of Me, to match the font I used in the thought bubbles for the laws. This brings even more emphasis to the beginning of the paragraph and helps to visually connect the text on the page. I also use this same font at the end of each paragraph for the concluding statement of each law.

Shadow’s Law #8: If you have to choose between food and fun, choose fun!
Playing is my favorite thing to do. I remember one day just as I had decided I was hungry and wanted to eat, Bill asked me if I wanted to run an errand with him. I was torn between going with Bill and eating. I was so hungry. So I grabbed a quick bit of food and headed off to have some fun.
Take time to enjoy life!
Shadow’s Law #9: Gentle strength can change the world!
When I meet someone new I just figure that they want to be my friend. Sometimes they are afraid of me. I remember one man whose walk home from work took him past our house. At first he would make sure he was on the other side of the street. Then he got a chance to get to know me better and realized that just because I’m a big dog doesn’t mean there is anything to be scared of. 
You never know how much we influence another’s view of the world. Your quiet confidence can help them to see the word in a better way.

Shadow’s Law’s Part 4

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Concept: In this book all of the text is put on top of the photos. This can create a challenge sometimes as to where to put the text. It would be unusual if you could put the text in the same place on every photo because the focal point of each photo could be in a different place. So the first thing is to determine what you don’t want to cover up with text. Faces are usually the focal point in most photos with people or animals. 
Next you have to decided where to put the thought bubbles. I wanted to be able to put them somewhere that they wouldn’t cover up anything important but I also needed to be able to connect the bubble to somewhere near Shadow’s head with the little trail of bubbles. As you can see in Laws #4 & #6 that above his head didn’t always work. You have to be flexible in working with the photo to figure out what works.
Then there was the text to tell about how Shadow applied this law in his life. Law #3 was easy because there wasn’t too much text and it all fit very nicely over the cream colored shirt in rectangular text box. In Law #6 I had to shape the text around Buddy’s head by creating a shape and having the text wrap around it so it wouldn’t cover up his face. Law #7 was easier because I could either do it the same way as I did Law #6 or I could manually shorten the first few lines of text on the right side until I got past Shadow’s head.
Shadow’s Law #6: Sometimes go slow! Sometimes go fast!
Oh how I love to run! And boy can I run fast. But If I run all the time I miss too many of the smells. So I do some of both when I’m on walks. If I’m running fast and catch a new smell as I a go by, I skid to a stop and go back to see what I’ve missed. I think this is the best way to experience the world. If you go fast all the time you miss stuff. But if you go slow all the time you just can’t see enough of the world. 
So enjoy life at a variety of speeds. Sometimes take it slow but make sure that when you are able, go all out!
Shadow’s Law #7: Keep on moving, even if you have to use only three legs!
Sometimes I get stickers stuck in my paws. I think they are called puncture weeds. I’ll be running along having a great time and then all of a sudden I get a really sharp pain in one of my paws. I’ve gotten really good at quickly pulling this foot up and moving along on three legs instead of four. I hate to stop and get help to get the sticker out as long as I can keep moving. If I keep moving sometimes the sticker will just fall out. Once in a while I get multiple stickers in multiple feet. Then I can’t figure out which feet to put down and which feet to hold up. Then I have to wait for help before I can move on. 
When obstacles come don’t let the little ones slow you down. Sometimes though you have to stop and get help from a friend.

Shadow’s Law’s Part 3

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Concept: With the laws written and the idea of using thought bubbles decided it was time to find photos to illustrate each of the 10 laws. This can be challenging depending on how many photos you have. Too few or too many can make the selection process difficult. I usually start by finding my favorite photos and seeing where they fit best. With this simple design I just needed one photo per law. Then I picked a law and looked for photos that would work and selected between them. For those laws there wasn’t a great match I picked one that I thought was compatible with the law even if it did illustrate it in a strong way. It can also be helpful to pick a back-up option in case the chosen photo doesn’t work out for some reason when putting all the elements together.

Shadow’s Law #5: Find something interesting in each and everyplace, old or new!

This world is such an amazing place. I love to discover something new around every corner. Even in the little block were I live I can find interesting things each night as we walk around before going to bed. And new places, wow there is so much that I can’t see it all fast enough. There is so much of interest is life I am always ready for the next adventure, where ever it may be.

By looking for the good things in life we will find more of what is good!

Shadow’s Law’s Part 2

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Concept: One of the next decisions I made was how to highlight the 10 Laws. I decided to use “thought” bubbles to set them apart and to emphasis the idea that Shadow was the author of these laws. I created a simple bubble in Photoshop and then rotated and stretched to fit each page. I also adjusted the transparency so that the background photo shows through a little. Finally I added a drop shadow to give some depth and add impression that the thought bubbles are floating in the air.

Shadow’s Law #2: Let them know that you missed them!

Because I love being with people I notice when I’m not with them and I’ve learned that people like to know how you feel about them. I’m so excited when I see my family or friends. I remember a time when we lived in Boston, I looked forward to our afternoon excursions at the dog play area. All the dogs would come and play. Bill surprised us one day by coming home early while we were playing. I was so happy to see him that I couldn’t help but let him know. I thought every dog was like that but some of the other owners were I little jealous that their pouches had never been that happy to see them.

Don’t hide your joy at seeing someone, nothing makes them feel more loved than to know that they were missed. It doesn’t matter how long it has been!

Shadow’s Law #3: It’s fun to go & it is just as fun to get back home again!

Because I love adventure and exploring I’m always excited when I get to go somewhere, anywhere, with my family. I never know what fun they have in store for me. I can’t help but get excited when I recognize that we are coming home again. I feel safe at home.

It’s good to be happy where ever you are & enjoy the ride of life.

Shadow’s Law #4: Life is a great adventure! Don’t get stuck in one place too long.

Walks are my favorite things. There is so much to see, smell and do. I always stay close to my family so when they stop to rest (humans aren’t as strong as dogs) I wait patiently for them. Sometimes they rest too long, forgetting the great adventures that are around the next bend. Then I remind them that it is time to move on. You can miss so much of life if you stay in the same place too long.

Remember to get out of your comfort zone and go seek a new adventure, learn something new or improve yourself in some way.