Tag Archives: Guide Dogs for the Blind

Pupdate – Scavenger Hunt

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Dune

For puppy class this week we met at the Valley Fair Mall. I thought it would be the usual socializing but our leader divided us into two team for a scavenger hunt. The two little puppies, Dune & Eagle, stayed in the center of the mall while the rest of the pups went off to find the things on the list and take photos of our puppies with the items we found. It was lots of fun. The mall was rather quiet and so the clerks were always happy to help us and the pups went lots of places all over the mall. Here are some of the photos.

Dune in Akyra’s lap

King & Zodiac in the arcade

plastic fork in the food court with King & Zodiac

a bouquet of flowers with Zodiac and King

Zodiac, King and a stuffed bear

King and Zodiac by luggage with wheels

Our Scavenger Hunt Team – Bill, McKale, Raelyn, King & Zodiac

Yakira Book – Yakka

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When Yakira was about three months old we went into the mountains for our annual Christmas tree cutting. I was concerned about how she would handle the snow and if it would be too deep for her. But she was a trooper. She only got cold once and after I warmed her up on my lap she was good to go.

Yakira also loved the biggest toys when she was little. The jolly ball was a life saver because she could attack it and get out some of her extra energy. She never let the size or weight of anything stop her from picking it up and carrying it around.

Yakira Book – Yabber

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Yakira’s dad, Pike, is from an Australian guide dog school so it seems fitting to use a couple of Aussie words in her book.

From a very young age Yakira was a talker. Especially when she was playing she would vocalize with all kinds of noises. Some were happy sounds and some didn’t sound so happy, but I think they really were happy most of the time. She was just pretending.

Once in a while those not so happy sounds would shift just a little and you could hear her frustration. Yakira was patient with Zodiac but sometime she just had enough of his little puppy ways and she let him know politely.

 

Yakira Book – Cover & Title Page

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Yakira – Cover
(photo by associate of Lisa Thompson)

In honor of Yakira’s recent graduation and since I finally have her puppyhood book finished I decided it was a good time to do a series of post on her book. This is the fifth book I’ve done for the puppies we have raised. You can see Apex’s, Banta’s, Casey’s and Waffle’s books by following the links on their names. (Oops, I’ve never posted Apex’s Book. I’ll have to put that on my to do list.) I designed Apex’s from scratch and then made a template based on it for all of our black dogs. Then a tweaked the coloring for all of our yellow dogs. I customize for each one by changing the font for their name etc and the accent colors for that font. Using the template really helps in speeding up the time it takes to put each book together. I also like the continuity that it brings to the series. Beside using the template for the layout, all the books text is based on the concept of taking their initial and finding words that start with the same letter to describe their personality, trait or memory of that puppy. Yakira was a challenge because of that. If we succeed in getting an “X” puppy someday, I think I’ll have to adjust that guideline and find words containing the letter x.

Yakira Book – title page (photo by Lisa Thompson)

Pupdate

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Zodiac

Zodiac Eval:

On Monday Zodiac had an official evaluation by our CFR (Community Field Representative) at Trolley Square. Last Saturday we had an optional outing at Trolley Square to give our pups a chance to experience the environment ahead of time. Zodiac had trouble on Saturday with layovers and animal distractions at the Best Friends Animal Society. I was feeling a bit stressed about his eval. We worked on his lay-over and he got some better. He was so good at church on Sunday. I was sitting next to a mother with a crawling baby. This little girl dropped food and chucked toys and Zodiac handled it all perfectly. That helped me be more relaxed about Monday.

He wasn’t perfect on Monday. Her refused to do the layover. Now we have a new food protocol for helping him with that. We had the last eval slot of the night so Best Friends was closed, so he did perfectly there. She commented on his strong neck when she took him for a while and some kids decided to create a big distraction at the wrong moment. For that she suggested more time on the flat collar and less on the head collar. Overall I think he did ok. His next eval will probably be just before he returns to Guide Dogs for harness training.

Dune in her new puppy in training jacket

Dune’s Jacket & Three Months Old:

At the end of the eval for Zodiac, Dune got her jacket. It was a fitting day to earn her jacket since she turned three months old on Monday too. She has been getting bored at home and wanting to have new adventures. With her jacket she is legal to go out and start socializing. On Tuesday Dune got to go to the Library and a short trip into our local grocery store. She was so excited and wanted to meet every person she saw. On Wednesday we had a women’s meeting at church and so I took her. She settled down pretty good. The food protocol is great for this. She gets a kibble every few minutes for sitting and then laying quietly on the floor. She got lots of oohs and awes because she is so cute. On Thursday Zodiac went to work with Bill so the two of us had a quiet day at home. She wanted to go with them so bad. Dune laid on the landing by the door for about an hour after they left. This morning Dune got her first chance to go to work with Bill. I picked her up before noon. She is too young to handle a whole day at work. She did pretty good, once she accepted that the tie down wasn’t coming off.

Both pups are doing good and they both have things to work on. But they bring lots of smiles and laughter to our lives.

Pupdate – Yakira

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Diane & Yakira – getting their official portrait on graduation day

We got an email from Diane and Yakira this week. Their flights home went pretty good. Yakira needed a little reassurance during take off. But that’s not bad for her first time flying. Here is some of what she said.

Both Yakira and my other animals are getting along well.  (Actually she and the cats have a mutual agreement to ignore each other but it’s not necessarily a bad plan.)

We have been taking two trips into the community daily to expose her to all the new sights and guide work issues.  She is a remarkably quick learner and we will shortly be enjoying ourselves more than adapting.

Besides the two cats (Sleepy and Aurora), Diane has her retired guide, Bettyjo (also a black lab but much larger than Yakira). It is so much fun to get a quick update from Yakira!

Graduation Day – Yakira

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Yakira at Diane’s feet

We left Friday morning for Yakira’s graduation, after dropping Dune off at my friend’s for puppy sitting. The roads were great but the trip was long. I’m always ready to be there after about an hour or two of driving. It really is a pretty drive but 12 hours is a long time in the car. Zodiac is an excellent traveler and was very patient and willing to get back in the car even when we could tell he was tired of it. We finally got to Gresham and settled into our hotel for the night.

Mount Hood

On Saturday, we woke up to blue skies. I was so excited. I’ve been to Oregon for 3 other graduations and never had a glimpse of Mount Hood. But this time it was perfectly clear. We drove around the area a bit before graduations trying to get a photo. We got to Guide Dogs for the Blind’s Boring, Oregon campus a little early so we could take Zodiac on the “Oregon Trail” that goes through the natural vegetation on the back edge of campus, before he had to go in a kennel in the kennel kitchen. You can’t have a puppy in training with you while you are presenting the dog you raised during graduation. He loved the walk but wasn’t so happy about going into the kennel.

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video of seeing Yakira for the first time since October

Finally the time came for us to see Yakira and meet her new partner. It was kind of funny because Yakira was a little slow in figuring out who we were. But once she realized she was a happy girl. Bill was holding her leash and she started doing some crazy labby loops and got away from him and looped off to say hi to one of the other pups in class. Yakira looked great and very happy. Her handler, Diane, is a great match and we enjoyed getting to know her. She still has her retired guide, Betty Jo so Yakira has a buddy to hang out with at home. It was so nice to just hang out with Yakira and her partner and get lots of puppy loves. I was hoping that Yakira would move somewhere warm and her new home is in southern California so that is perfect for her.

Yakira giving Bill a kiss

We got a chance to meet Yakira’s sister Yumi’s raisers at graduation. She said that Yakira is just like Yumi except she is black instead of yellow. I also got to meet another of the graduates who I know from a guide dog user/puppy raiser email group I’m on. Her partner, Tyra is Yakira’s half-sister.

Yakira looking up at Diane

After graduation I got Zodiac from the kennel kitchen and we took him and Yakira out to the paddock behind the dorms and let them romp for a few minutes to get reacquainted and then went out to eat afterwards with Diane and Yakira. GDB has made another great match for our girl. She is going to love her new home in southern California and her new life as a guide dog. Yakira was not Diane’s original match on dog day. But it soon became clear that this first dog just wasn’t going to be a good match for Diane’s career. She recently got her masters and will be working with disable college students to make sure they have the accommodation they need for their disability. This first dog will make someone a wonderful partner but she just didn’t settle quickly enough after interruptions for Diane’s job situation. The trainers brought Diane two new dogs to try and she choose Yakira.

Yakira & Zodiac under the table at dinner

The hardest part was decided it was time to take Yakira and Diane back to the dorms. There is this moment after you drop them off when the puppy you raised realizes that you aren’t staying. You can see them processing it in their minds. It isn’t that they don’t want to go with their handler. They are happy to do that. I think they would like it if we could be around too. Even more than the formal graduation ceremony, that is the moment, for me, when they truly move on to their new life. It was a great day but very exhausting.

On Sunday morning we went back to campus to pick up a career change dog named Pauletta. Pauletta has arthritis in her lower back and so her puppy raisers are adopting her. She was recalled a few weeks ago for breeder evals but the arthritis changes everything. They were trying to figure out how to get her to Denver. She wasn’t cleared for air travel after her spay but it was fine for her to travel by car. So we brought her home with us and they got up super early Monday morning to pick her up and then headed right back home. It was fun to watch that reunion. Pauletta will be certified as a Therapy Dog and do great things with her life even though she won’t be a guide dog. GDB is so full of wonderful people. It was nice to be able to do something to help Pauletta get home to her family faster. Below is the video I shot of Pauletta seeing one of her puppy raisers for the first time since she went back to Guide Dogs for the Blind. You can hear Zodiac barking in the background, unhappy not to be part of the reunion.

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Pauletta watching out our front door

Road Trip

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Yakira and Zodiac – photo by Lisa Thomposn

We are off to see Yakira and her partner this weekend. Graduations are so much fun and this one promises to be a great one. Zodiac is going with us and Dune is gets to go to my friend Lisa’s to be puppy sat. I hope she doesn’t get too noisy in her kennel. We will be bringing a career changed dog named Pauletta back with us. She is going back to her raisers who live in Colorado. The will be driving to Utah on Monday to pick her up. She has arthritis in her lower back so she can’t become a guide dog. I’ll catch up on my posts when we get back. I hope everyone has a good weekend.

 

Charm Necklace – Yakira

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my Yakira charm necklace

In Gift Idea #35 I mentioned the charm necklaces I’ve made for each of my puppies in training. With Yakira’s graduation this weekend I thought it would be a good time for a post focusing on her charm necklace. Each charm is symbolic of something about Yakira.

The main charm on her necklace is a tiny treasure box. This was inspired by her name has Hebrew origins and means precious, dear or costly. We keep precious things in treasure boxes so I thought it was a good representation of her name.

I also have a letter “Y” charm to go along with her name and because I’m hoping to have just one puppy in training for each letter of the alphabet. Each of my puppy’s charm necklaces has something for their first initial.

Each necklace also has a heart because of course we love each puppy dearly.

Another common feature of all the puppy charm necklaces is a spot to put an additional charm while they are in training. Yakira’s now has a star representing that she is in class with her new partner. During the training stage, I have a charm with a number on it to represent the phase of training they are in.

I also put a charm on each necklace to represent their birthstone. Yakira was born in August so I have a green bead for Peridot.

Yakira has two more charms. One is a hand mirror to represent her beauty and the other is a horse. When she was still quite young we took her with us to the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree. Compared to her size the snow was rather deep. But Yakira was determined to make her own way. She got cold once and after warmer her on my lap she was ready to go again. From that early experience I knew that she was a hard worker. The horse charm reminds me of what a little work horse she is.

I have found that these necklaces really help me when it is time to send each puppy back to Guide Dogs for the Blind for their formal training. I think the same would be true for family members who are far away for school or work etc. or they have passed on from this life. I enjoy the process of finding the charms and assembling the necklace and then wearing it until their graduation. Saturday after graduation I will take off this necklace. Then the cluster of charms will be added to a larger necklace with the charm clusters from all the previous puppies. This necklace I where when we go to pick-up a new puppy from the puppy truck or the airport. I hang this necklace by my desk so I can see it any time I want to during the day.

all my other puppy charm clusters

Do you have someone you want to make a charm necklace for? Or do you have a similar tradition that helps you when loved ones are no longer near?

Pupdate – Yakira in Class

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Yakira – photo by Lisa Thompson

We got the call this week that as puppy raisers we work for. Late Wednesday morning we got the news that Yakira is in class and scheduled to graduate on February 2nd. Since Yakira was still in phase 7 last week on the phase report I didn’t think about her being matched up this week. I was just focused on the next phase report that comes out on Thursdays. So when our club leader called on Wednesday before lunch I thought it would be something about Dune. But she asked if we could be in Oregon for a graduation next Saturday! Dog day is on Monday but one of the students dog didn’t work out for some reason and Yakira was matched with that student. We are waiting for the official letter to get a name and address for Yakira’s handler. Maybe it will come tomorrow. It took me about a day to get over my shock at the news. I’m so excited to see Yakira again and meet her partner!

On a side note, Dune is doing great. She is an amazing little girl. More about her and Zodiac in a future pupdate.