Welcome Partner!!

This morning I drove down to San Rafael to welcome my 5th Guide Dog puppy, Partner!!

He was born March 9th, which makes him 11 weeks old. He weighs 18lbs and is a little fluff-ball! He has a white spot on his head and white splotches on one of his back feet and the chubbiest tummy!!

Turns out, he is actually from both Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) and Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (GDF)! His father is GEB's Onslo and his mother is GDF's Sue.

Cuteness overload!!

Partner

Because everybody loves a puppy butt ;)

"What's that?"

So far (A few hours lol) He has been super good! He slept the whole way home and has pottied every time I have asked him to! 

I can't wait to spend a year with this little guy!!

Wordless Wednesday

 Trying to figure out my new camera...

uhhh...? Haha

Frankie!

Final Evaluation

Last night, Carrie had an evaluation with our CFR, Celeste.  Since Carrie is over 14 months old, this was considered her final evaluation.  This is the time when our CFR evaluates her maturity level and overall behavior and decides when or if she will be on the recall.

Carrie did SO well!! 

I got there a little early and another puppy's eval. was still going on.  Celeste was able to see that Carrie can walk calmly into a room with other dogs and immediately settle under a table while we waited for the other dog to be done.  

After that, Celeste took Carrie outside and walked her around a little bit. She took her up to the road to see how she would do around the traffic.  Carrie wasn't phased by it and she walked well on her leash! 

When we got back inside, Celeste told me that she had been watching Carrie during the leader's meeting on Saturday and had really liked her temperament. She mentioned that she loved how Carrie is able to just kind of relax and go with the flow when she is somewhere where she needs to be calm but then has the get-up-and-go and the drive needed when it is time to go do something. 

She said that Carrie is ready and told me to be prepared for her to get called back soon after she turns 15 months. She also said that she would be recommending her for breeder! Unfortunately, I had to break the news to her that Carrie is already spayed due to her cross-bite :(. 

I am so incredibly proud of Carrie! She did so well and, even though I am sad that she will be leaving me soon, I do know that she's ready! It will break my heart to say goodbye but I know that no matter what she decides to do, she will always be my silly, happy-go-lucky girl!

I love her sooo much! 

Another Change of Plans...

Okay, so I knew it silly to post a 1 thing at 1 month for the "A" puppy!  I recently found out that I will actually  be receiving (again: could change!) a MALE Golden Retriever puppy on Saturday, May 26th!
He is flying in from Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York.

I will be picking him up a week from today on May 27th! 

I have very little info on him other than that he is a golden who's name starts with the letter "P". My CFR told me it is a very good name and it took some major willpower not to just blurt it out! 

She said that she thinks he will be about 11 weeks old at the time of his arrival so definitely an older puppy. Hopefully this will make potty training easier!

If you want to start a name game feel free to post a comment!

A size comparison between Carrie's vest and "P's" vest. You forget how tiny they are!

Leader's Meeting

Today Carrie spent the day with my mom at a leader's meeting!

A random Carrie picture :)

For those that don't know, GDB puppy raising clubs have a head leader and co-leaders and my mom is one of the co-leaders.  Once a year, leader's meetings are offered so that leaders get the opportunity to go and learn the new happenings of Guide Dogs.  Each leader brings a dog and they learn more about fixing problems etc.

My mom took Carrie which had me both excited and nervous! I was happy that she was getting to experience a new environment with so many other dogs but I was a little bit nervous because the CFRs all attend the meetings as well. (It is the CFR's job to evaluate each individual dog and decide whether or not they will go on to their formal training).  

It turns out, I had no reason to worry.  My mom said that Carrie was a really good girl, our CFR handled her a little and didn't bring up any issues.  My mom did bring up Carrie's tendency to rub a little bit with her head collar when it first gets put on.  She didn't seem too concerned about it but did give us some helpful tips that I will be using from now on.

I guess she was also used as a demo dog for "go to bed". Which I hear she did well at once she understood what was happening! I think my mom forgot that there was a lot going on and Carrie decided to take a  few seconds to sniff around haha.  After that though she brought her A-game and did exactly what she was supposed to.

I'm really glad Carrie got to go and experience this! I think it was really good for her and it was nice to hear that she did so well.  

While she was there, my mom also learned that they are really trying not to call dogs back before 15 months which means I will probably get a little more time with my girl! Yay!

P.S> Stay tuned for some interesting news tomorrow!

Phase Report

Harlene graduated and is now a working guide for a wonderful woman here in CA!

Bev is in phase 2

Brayden is in phase 2

Ruby is still in Breeder Evaluations
Ventana went in for her formal training today! Good luck girly!

If you have any puppies you would like me to post on here as well, you are welcome to comment with the name(s)!

14 Months Old!!

Today is a big day! Carrie turns 14 months old today which means that she is technically old enough to be called back to Guide Dogs for her formal training at any time! (Yikes!).

For her 14 month post, I just wanted to share 14 of my favorite pictures of her. (You have probably already seen them all since they are my favorite haha).
So, in no particular order, my favorite pictures:

Itty Bitty Baby Carrie

In her Guide Dog Puppy attire

Dressed up like a princess for the Nutcracker Ballet

Working hard in English class

Her trip to Disneyland

Her first birthday

All smiles!

Silly Sitter

First Christmas

What a good girl!

The first picture we took of her!

Carrie and I at the beach

Senior portraits

Disneyland hats!



Phase Report!

Harlene is in class! Congratulations to her raisers, they did a great job with her!

Bev is in phase 1

Brayden is in phase 1

Ruby is in Breeder Evaluations!

If you have any puppies you would like me to post on here as well, you are welcome to comment with the name(s)!

1 Thing at 1 Month!

So... I probably shouldn't be doing monthly posts yet for this puppy because goodness knows things change all the time... 

But I thought I would anyways!

One thing I know about you...

... At 4 weeks old you are starting to display your personality and beginning to move around more!
(Kinda 2 but oh well haha)

Happy 1 month "A" pups!

Senior Portraits

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted anything! (Technical difficulties involving a certain laptop plug).

I finally bit the bullet and went out and bought a new one though so my blog is back up and running!

Now for a little catch-up over the next few days...

A little background info: I don't think I have mentioned my best friend before in this blog but her name is Cari (Pronounced just like Carrie). I thought it was pretty funny when they handed me a puppy with the same name as my friend.

Things can get a little confusing though when I say "Carrie let's go/sit/stay/etc..." haha.

Anyways... We took our senior pictures together (Thank you Cari's cousin for taking such good pictures) and I thought I would share a few of them with you!

Me and Carrie and Cari

My pretty girly

Carrie and Cari

Wow! She's gorgeous! <3

Just Kidding! She's still my goofball!
(Her lip is stuck between her teeth lol)