30 for 30-Day 17 (The Rest of the Pack)

Well, last night I left off with puppy #6 Spanky so tonight I'll continue with number 7.

Pup #7 was Fullerton the little red dog. This puppy had me wrapped around his little paw. I absolutely adored him and even more so when he was eight months and finally let me sleep through the entire night. He was a horrendous crate barker and I thought I was going to loose my mind until one day he just stopped. I thought I had gone deaf. :) Thankfully he never barked again after that. Fuller also had a lot of tummy issues while I raised him, I think I can count on one hand the number of times he had a solid poop. (Luckily this didn't keep him from being a guide dog as he was a star reliever) Okay, that's probably more info than you wanted but that was a huge part of raising this amazing little guy. Fuller was practically perfect from the moment I picked him up and besides the barking issues was the easiest pup I ever raised. He was also drop dead gorgeous! He left for breeder evals when he was 14 months old and after a month of evals was dropped from breeding and added to a training string. To say I was disappointed that there would be no Fuller babies would be an understatement. But, I was thrilled that he would have a chance to be a guide dog as well. Fuller did amazingly well in training and was in phase 10 out of 10 in two months. He had to wait another 2 1/2 months before he found his perfect partner. He was a last minute dog switch in class and by the time graduation rolled around he had been with his new partner for two full days. The bond they had was amazing and Fullerton is now Super Guide! His partner loves him and can't say enough good things about him. I am absolutely thrilled that he is a working boy because he loves his job!
Fuller 8 weeks old.
Fuller at his graduation.

#8 was Paris. Paris was a transfer puppy that I got when she was 7 months old. She is a ridiculously stubborn and ridiculously smart puppy. A potentially lethal combination if you ask me but seeing as she is my pet now you can be assured that I love this girl more than anything! Me and Paris had a bit of a rocky start, Paris is the kind of dog who will not listen to anybody until she trusts and respects them. She completely ignored me for the first three weeks and had my entire puppy club convinced that she was deaf. After that three weeks she did start to listen to me and everything was practically perfect from then on. Okay, that's not a very glowing report about Paris but she is absolutely without a doubt my heart dog and I am thrilled to have her as my pet. Paris is about the best dog I have raised. Her commands are flawless, she has fantastic house and public manners, she was amazing around little kids, she picked up on new things incredibly fast and she was bomb-proof (Literally), she is by far the most confident puppy I have ever raised! Paris left for formal training at 14 months and I knew without a doubt she would be a guide dog. Things didn't really work out though as she was quickly career changed for eye issues that caused blind spots in her central vision. I was devastated as I didn't think I could bring her back and no other organization would accept her with her vision impairment. After a rough couple days I decided I would make it work and she would be my forever dog. That was the best decision I have ever made and she pet life and her get along famously. She has been a pet for 5 months and I have never regretted my decision. I am incredibly blessed to have this dog in my life.
Paris at 7 months.
Paris right before training at 14 months.

Picassa was my 9th puppy. Another transfer dog I got at 9 months old. She was a challenging puppy to raise because we had to work through a lot of fear issues. Luckily she seems to have overcome them and is a confident little girl who loves to go out and about. I was so proud of the progress she made in the 6 months we were together. She always tried so hard to please and always wanted to do the right thing. I really enjoyed our time together and I learned so much from her. She was always such a happy dog and I really miss her yodeling. She is currently going through breeder evals at the California campus and I am sitting on pins and needles every day waiting for news. I know she is through with all her initial health exams and now she is doing her formal breeder evals which can take up to four months but there are a lot of people here rooting for her. :)
Picassa at 10 months old.
Picassa and I the day she left.

Puppy number 10 is of course the famous chocolate puppy Snickers. Snickers is an amazing puppy! He has slept through the night from day one and never been a barker. (I was really worried as he is Fullerton nephew) He is a very confident puppy and not a single thing has phased him so far. He does amazing in public and is always on his best behavior. His house manners still need some work though. :) I am already desperately in love with him and think he has the potential to be an amazing guide dog! I am really looking forward to the next year with him to see how he grows and progresses.
Snickers 8 weeks.
Snickers at 5 1/2 months.

So there are my puppies in a nutshell. Of course I could write novels on each one but I didn't want to bore you so that's the cliff notes version. :)

30 for 30-Day 12 (Forgot to mention)

Since I don't really have anything to say for today's post I am going to add to yesterdays. :)

I forgot to add a part of the e-mail that I wanted to share with everyone. Fullerton is now bi-lingual. While in Europe she taught him all his commands in Danish and he responds perfectly to them. I thought that was so cool! She also promised to send pictures of Fuller in Europe as soon as her husband can get them off the camera cord. I can't wait to see them!

30 for 30-Day 11 (A Note From Fuller)

I just got an e-mail from Fuller and his partner. I love hearing from him so here is a short part of her e-mail. I am ecstatic that things are going so well! Enjoy!

Just a note to let you know how Fullerton is doing. We were in Europe for four weeks and have been home for a couple of weeks now. We spent three weeks with family in Denmark and drove down through Germany to Wiesbaden to visit friends and then into Switzerland to stay with students that lived with us while they studied English. We had a fabulous time with great weather, we only saw rain twice in the four weeks, and even then for a short period of the day. It was absolutely beautiful in Switzerland with temperatures up in the 70's F. Fullerton was nothing short of amazing to travel with . We had a 6 hour delay on our flight over to Frankfurt and despite this major inconvenience he did great. He slept virtually most of the 9 hour flight. He had no issues adapting to the change in water or environment. it was so nice to be able to go out for walks in the neighbourhood by myself and not have to be worrying about everything. He is a very confident little worker with great work ethic. Despite all of the new experiences he had he just took it all on extremely well.

Small World

First of all, I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to adopt Paris and she is coming home next Friday! I am so excited to get my girl back. I have made her a blog of her own (and changed the URL to those of you who followed it while it was called "just plain Paris" you'll have to un-follow and then re-follow the new URL, annoying I know and I apologize but I didn't like the blog name. It is now called Perfectly Paris and the URL is: http://soperfectlyparis.blogspot.com/) I've put a couple new posts up today, so go check it out. :D

When I was at Fullerton's graduation she mentioned puppy-sitting for a GDB guide dog named Bradshaw. I recognized the name but couldn't quite put my thumb on it. It wasn't until I was driving home that I realized that it was the name of my friends first guide dog puppy. Our puppies are now in the same province in Canada and have now met each other as their blind handlers are friends. Bradshaw is about 5 years old I think and Fullerton is 3 months shy of his second birthday. What a small world! Here is a picture of our puppies together.

[Bradshaw sitting in front of his partner and Fullerton sitting next to him with his partner on the right. Fuller is like half Bradshaws size. It's really funny!]

[A closer version of the one before.]

(The photo's are from Bradshaw's partner's facebook, so I hope he doesn't mind if I share them, I was just super excited to see pics of the little man, especially with a friends dog too.)

I also got an unexpected phone call from Fullertons partner on Monday night. It was great to hear from her and she says things are still going great and Fuller is a fantastic little worker. They have been out every day and she couldn't be happier with him! She also said that they are going to Europe in the fall. They will be there from mid-September until mid-October. Fuller will get to go to Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark! I can't wait to get the pictures she promised from the trip. I asked if I could come be her guide dog and she just laughed. Too bad, I tried. Anyway, I just had to share all my happy news. :D

Fullertons Grad. Pictures

GDB got pictures from Fullerton's graduation posted. I was so excited to see them. Here they are:

[Fuller's partner sitting on a bench with Fullerton (aka. the most handsome guide dog in the world) sitting at her feet.]
[Me and Fullerton's partner sitting on the bench with Fuller between us.]
I hear from 'E' quite often and she adores Fuller more and more everyday. She is a puppy raisers dream, I love her so much and couldn't be happier with how everything worked out! I have another post but it may take me a few days to get up. We get internet at my house on Wednesday so I will be able to post then.

Fullerton is a working dog now

What a crazy, quick, emotional weekend. It went by way too fast but was absolutely wonderful and totally worth it. There are about a trillion pictures so I will narrate as they go along I suppose. :)

We left Friday morning at about 6am. I took the BFV (the Big family van) so the the Paris could have some room. She didn't seem to mind at all. I took out one of the benches and then stacked her two beds together and she had a nice cushy ride. She was such a trooper because we spend about 32 hours in the car in a 3 day span. What a good girl!

[Paris laying on her bed in the fan.]

We arrived at my aunts house around 8pm and were super exhausted and headed to bed shortly after. I attempted to get some sleep before graduation and that didn't go well. So, I was up at about 4:30am and couldn't get back to sleep, it was a very long morning. Finally 9am came and I started getting ready. Then I headed out the door around 9:45am. It didn't take nearly as long to get to campus as I thought and we got there around 10:20am. We sat in the car and watched some girls walking the dog in training for a while. At 10:45 we headed over the the kennel kitchen to drop off the Paris. I mentioned that she had some diarrhea (I don't think the trip completely agreed with her) and they said they would probably move her over to the isolation area because of it. Poor kid, I probably should have kept my mouth shut. . . Anyway, I snapped a couple pictures of the training board.

[A whiteboard that has the names of all the dogs on campus and who is in charge of them.]

[This part made me especially happy. It's the In Class section of the board and Fullerton's name is on it.]

The we headed over the the Visitors Center where the raisers all gathered before they took us over to the dorms to meet the graduates. I met the other raisers and was able to chat with them for a while. It was neat to hear all the different stories. Then a guy came over and told us about what to expect from meeting our grad and our dog again and the graduation procedures and stuff. Then they walked us all into the dorm and separated us into different areas. I was put into the library. It felt like forever and I couldn't sit still, I kept sitting and standing and pacing and then I finally heard someone say "Your puppy raiser is in the library." My heart started racing and then they turned the corner. I shook hands with Fullertons partner and introduced myself.

[Me shaking hands with Fuller's partner, her trainer is standing next to her and Fullerton is giving me a good sniff.]

It took him a second but then he realized who I was and went crazy and jumped all over me and game me kisses all over. I was so happy to see him too!

[Fullerton jumping up on me.]

He looks so filled out, happy and mature. I got to talk to his partner for a long time and she is absolutely amazing! Fullerton is her forth guide dog, 2nd from GDB. Her first two were a golden and a shepherd from Canadian Guide Dogs and her last two have been yellow labs from GDB. She absolutely adores Fullerton and says that he has the work ethic that her shepherd had and she loves that about him. It was amazing to see their bond after being together only three days. She said he was flawless and she was just waiting for him to mess up but he just doesn't. That is so great. His partner is a puppy raisers dream and I feel so fortunate that my puppy got placed with her. She is retired but still goes out every day with friends and travels all over the world. She said all of her dogs have been all over Europe and the states and Fuller will definitely be traveling with her too. She also said that her dogs are spoiled rotten and that is just perfect! I loved how open she was and willing to tell me about everything that goes on in her life and about her past dogs. She is just an amazing women and I couldn't be happier with this match was such a success.

[Fullerton standing between me and his partner with both of us smiling and giving him pets.]

We went and got our pictures taken and visited some more and she put Fullertons harness on for the pics. He looked absolutely breath taking in his harness. Here is a picture of the lettering on top of the harness that says, "Guide Dogs for the Blind."

After pictures we exchanged gifts. I brought Fullerton a nylabone, a nylaring, and a rope toy. I handed her the bag and she asked Fuller if he wanted a toy. He got really excited and popped up to watch her get the bones out of the bag.

[Fullerton's partner taking bones out of the bag and Fullerton watching intently.]

[Fullerton chewing on his new nylabone. He loved it and put a pretty big dent in it already, he was always such a tough chewer and destroyed more than a few toys.]

Then I gave her the leash and she loved it! She had to go and show it off to her trainers too. I am so happy she liked it.

Then I opened a gift from her. She gave me a picture frame to put the picture of Me, her, and Fullerton in. It is a really cute frame I like it a lot.

Then it was time for the graduates to go into the auditorium so me and Fullerton got a few minutes alone together. It was so cute to see how concerned he got when his partner left. He loves her a lot. He was so sad when she left.

[Me and Fullerton watching his mom walk away, I was being sad for him that is why my face looks ridiculous.]

I was happy to find out that he still gives kisses. If you say, "can I have a kiss." He will lift his head and let you kiss his nose. It's so cute and I love that he still does it.

[Me kneeling next to the most handsome guide dog ever!]

He looks so good in harness.

Then the trainer came and got all of the puppy raisers and led us into a glass box room. And then led us out one at a time to present our dogs. Me and Fullerton were second.

[Me and Fullerton waiting to go on stage for the graduation.]

[Fullertons partner and trainer on one side of the stage while me and Fullerton walk towards them.]

[ Fullerton's partner talking about him.]

[Me talking about Fullerton. I honestly have no idea what I said I was way nervous, hopefully nothing too inappropriate.]

[Fullerton wearing his harness in front of the Guide Dogs for the Blind sign. I still can't believe how handsome he is.]

Fullerton's partner with her trainer and Fullerton sitting. Since she has only had Fullerton for three days she will be staying on campus until Wednesday before going home. GDB has never done this before and her trainer is excited to see how it goes.

We were able to go to her room and let Fuller roam and blow off some steam and we chatted some more. Fullerton came over and sat in my lap and gave me kisses it was really cute.

Fullerton's partner bending down to give him a nice ear rub.

After that we went and sprung Paris out of isolation. They said she did great and just slept the whole time. I was very proud of her. We were able to take Fullerton's partner out for dinner. We went to Olive Garden. We were there for a long time and visited some more, it was great.

[Me, Paris, Fullerton's partner, and Fullerton waiting to be seated. Silly Fuller has his tongue sticking out]

After we ate we were getting up and brought Paris out from under the table and the lady at the table next to us said she didn't know there was a dog under the table and asked if she could pet her and I said yes, then Fuller's partner brought him out from under the table and the lady was even more surprised. Then she asked me if I had raised a puppy before, I said yes and told her that I raised Fullerton as well. She asked if it was hard to give them us, I said yes, but then I pointed at Fuller and told her it was definitely worth it to see your dog so happy. It was neat and probably won't be in that situation ever again. Then we went outside and she let us see Fullerton work a little bit. It was amazing to see him navigate the crowded restaurant without running her into a person, table, chair or other obstacle. WOW!! On the way out the door we ran into her trainer and talked to her for a bit. It was funny. Anyway, than he worked through the parking lot and found our car. I was so impressed and one proud puppy raiser.

[Fullerton's partner working through the parking lot with a huge smile on her face.]

When we were back on campus I got a picture of puppy #7 and #8 together.

[Me sitting on a cement wall with Fullerton and Paris both sitting down.]

Then it was late and time to say goodbye. I gave Fullerton an ear rub and told him to keep it up and work hard and to keep his partner safe.

Then his partner gave me a big hug and asked if it was okay if she sent me pictures of him. Of course I said that would be amazing. I wished her luck in the rest of her training and she wished me a safe drive home and we partned ways.

It was absolutely amazing! It was definitley worth the trip and I could not be happier with her. She and Fuller are going to have a great life together.

The next day we were on our way home. Here are some random pics from the drive home.

[Paris does this in the morning a lot, when she stretches and then just stays that way, it's weird so she sits with both her legs extended back but her upper body is still in a sit possition, if that makes sense.]

We stopped at Multnomah Falls on the way home. It was a great morning hike and just what we all needed to get some energy out. While we were going up to the falls a train drove past. I was amazed because Paris didn't flinch at all. It was really loud!

[Me and Paris standing right under the bridge that the train is driving over.]

Me and Paris by the Multnomah Falls sign.]

[Me holding Paris on my shoulder so we could get a picture of the waterfall behind us. It's 530 feet high.]

[Me and Paris walking up the trail, it's amazing how green and moss covered everything is, it was so pretty.]

Paris sitting on a brick wall with the falls behind her.

At a random rest stop in Oregon they had a train so I took a picture of Paris sitting on the back of the train.

It was an amazing experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I really hope this post made sense since I am running on about 5 hours of sleep in the past five days. . .

Good Couple of Days

I have a little more info on Fuller now. . . I just talked to his new mom for the last hour and a half. Boy is she amazing!!! She has had him for about 24 hours now and she absolutely adores him. He is her fourth guide dog (third with the letter F) and she says that he is by far her best one so far. Wow, what a compliment. He will be living in Vancouver, Canada and his partner travels a lot so she said he will join her on her trips to Europe and other places like that. That is just amazing. I am so happy that this worked out, she is just thrilled with him and they have been on seven workouts together and he has not made one mistake and she hasn't had to correct him once. She says she is waiting for the catch because no dog can be that perfect but he keeps surprising her. She is absolutely thrilled, I can't wait to meet her on Saturday! I am just overwhelmed and so proud of the boy. I didn't have much time to think of a gift for her but luckily had some materials left from my last project so I made her one of my green leashes with Fullerton's name stamped into the leather. I think it turned out great and I really hope she likes it. There are just no words to describe how happy I am right now. ;) I just got the van packed and am ready to head out tomorrow.

[Close up of a green leather leash with lettering spelling Fullerton stamped in it]
Also, today I got an e-mail from GDB saying that they have chosen the picture below to be in the calendar for next year. Congrats to Miss October!! I've gotten some great news lately GDB wise and I couldn't be happier.
I better get some sleep now before I go, so hope everyone has a great weekend and I will for sure have an awesome post ready when I get back.

The Best Phone Call Ever!!

I just had the most amazing phone call ever!! Fullerton is in class to graduate!!!! He will be graduating on Saturday April 24, 2010. He was a last minute dog switch for his partner so he has only been with his person for a few hours. It wasn't a whole lot of time to get ready but everything is kind of falling into order. I will be leaving Friday to drive to Oregon to see him graduate on Saturday. He will be working in Canada. Wow, it's all still sinking in, I can't believe it! I can't wait to see him again and say our goodbyes. I will be able to call his partner tomorrow, I am super nervous but really excited too. I have had so many emotions the last couple hours, it's surreal. Anyway, I'll stop blabbling on now. . . just wanted to let ya'll know!

[Fullerton laying down in the green grass with his puppy coat on. He is smiling with his tongue out.]