Missing Guide Dog Puppy

Search is on for lost guide-dog-in-training
Sun-News report
Posted: 12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

Argos, who was training to become a guide dog, was lost in the area.

LAS CRUCES — A 10-month-old puppy being trained to guide individuals who are visually impaired has been missing since Friday, Guide Dogs for the Blind reported Monday.
Guide Dogs for the Blind is a nonprofit organization that breeds, raises, and trains canines that are later placed with visually impaired individuals who need assistance.
A Denver-area volunteer family was training Argos, a yellow Labrador, to become a guide dog as part of the program. While visiting Las Cruces for the holidays, Argos either escaped or was stolen from the family in the Mesilla Park area, said Barb Deevers, a canine communications field representative with Guide Dogs for the Blind of Colorado.
Deevers described Argos as being "reddish yellow" in color, with tattoos in both ears of an identification number. She said the dog was wearing a black collar with tags.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Guide Dogs for the Blind at (800) 295-4050.
For more information, go to www.guidedogs.com.

How sad for the raisers! I hope he is found quickly.

Speeding towards the Finish

Shaw is in phase 8 this week!  I love this accelerated program.  

Melrose and Motown are both in phase 2.

And we are getting lots and lots of snow.

Done!

I am done!  Now I finally have time to use my early Christmas present (from...me, lol).  I got a Canon Rebel Xsi digital camera.  I have been kinda slow on using it, due to those annoying finals...but here are some early attempts. (blogger is being slow and won't let me upload alot of pictures)

The table at Thanksgiving.
Mr. Milo, our resident orange tabby.
My foster pup, Walker.  3 month old German Shepherd...amazing what comes into the shelter.
And my beautiful boy Sterling.  Enjoying our first big snowfall.

Cruising along!

Shaw is in phase 6! At this rate he will graduate before Sterling even makes it back. Sammy, another sibling, has also joined the fun and is in phase 1.

Sterling is doing great: I forgot I even had a dog with me at the mall the other day.

Marley and Dante are happy, and both are on diets as my mom has been giving them too many treats. No spoiled dogs at my house ; )

My story of the week....

I got on the campus shuttle the other day, hands full or coffe cup, leash, and giant art portfolio. i didn't have time to get my sunglasses off. When I sat down, a young kid next to me asks her dad if she can pet the doggie. And her dad says...

"Yeah, thats ok, because that lady is blind and can't see anyway."

?! What !?

Needless to say, I was very short with them when I explained that I was not blind, and that you should never touch a working dog without asking the owner.

In other news...
My last final is on Monday!

Things I have done...54

Things I've Done.
To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog- yes
2. Slept under the stars- I love camping
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower- yes
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain- all of them in PC
9. Held a praying mantis- as a kid
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris- YES!
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea- so pretty
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch- my life this semester
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning- more times than I can count
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables- we tried Tomatoes with the 'walls of water'. Yeah, they froze.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France- Yes
20. Slept on an overnight train- From Czech Republic to Poland. Passport stops at 3am are SCARY!
21. Had a pillow fight- oh yeah
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill- shh don't tell
24. Built a snow fort- yes!
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice- such a pretty way to see the city
29. Seen an eclipse- yes
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset- of course
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise- 4
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors- yes Germay
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language- yes, French in High School, which I promptly forgot
37. Had enough money to be satisfied- if the bills are paid, life is good!
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person- yes
39. Gone rock climbing- yup
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David- yes
41. Sung karaoke- does Rock Band count?
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight- mmm, peace
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business- pet sitting, oh yeah
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma- I tired! They couldn't find my vein.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp- so sad. Auschwitz-Birkenau.
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar- ick
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle- scary!!!
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican- Europe trip
82. Bought a brand new car- my first was, (04 Subaru Impreza) it had to go, dog kennels would not fit! I now have my current car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous- yay Sundance! (Wow, the only time I have ever said THAT.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake- unfortunatly
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Updates

Sterling is still with me, yay! For how long, no one knows, so each day is special! Motown and Melrose are both in CA for formal training. Sparky, Sterling's other brother here in Utah, has also left for formal training. Shaw is still in phase three, as of last week.

Finals are here and it is crunch time! Good thing I have a puppy to pet for stress relief before test taking.

And my little foster puppy was adopted by some close family friends on Thanksgiving! Now I will get to watch him grow (not that he has very far to go, lol)!

Bathtub Woes

At my house we have it set up so that at any given time, dogs can be put up. We have a large main area that is all tile, and the dogs are always allowed there. Sometimes Marley gets the run of this area while I am at school, sometimes he is in my room.

Well today I left him out. And when I got home, I expected to hear his excited cries (he sounds like Chewy from Star Wars). But nothing. So I go inside and listen, and i hear him whining downstairs. No biggie, I figure, my dad just stuck him in my room when he left. So I go down to let him out of my room....and, no Marley. I still hear him whining, and I look into my bathroom...

and...

Marley is stuck in the bathtub. Now, he is not physically stuck, more mentally. There is a see-through shower curtain (that he must have pushed aside to get IN the tub) but now that he is in there, he can't figure out how to get back out.

So I pulled back the shower curtain and let him out, and man was he happy to see me!

Silly, silly pups.

Take me home for the holidays....

And then forever, of course!  Hi, my name is Brutus, and I am a 13 week old Chihuahua.  I was turned into the shelter after the person who bred my mom found out breeding is expensive, and good breeders don't make any money!  (My mom's c-section was $600.)

Now I am staying with a nice family and all their dogs.  I really like the other Chihuahua here, but I get along with the lab and Great Pyrenees mix too!  I am learning not to chase the cats and to go outside to do my business.  

I will be about 6lbs when full grown.  Do you know anyone who needs a small dog to warm their heart and lap?  Contact my foster mom!

Utah v BYU

What an awesome game! Utah is now 12-0 for the season.  Sterling became our section's official mascot.  He is the only dog I know who can sleep through part of a football game.  

Post 101!

Wow, this is my 101st post!

Updates...

Shaw is moving along like the star he is....phase 3 this week.

Sterling will be with me for a least another month.  Melrose and Motown are heading back Dec 1st.

Parsons will be joining Sterling, Dante, and I next weekend.  Marley will have a mini vacation with Tom.

And I am fostering a 12 week old Chihuahua.  Talk about cute!  He is black and about 2 1/2 lbs.

Thats all for now.

Dog Distracted Guide Dog

I ran into a tricky situation today. I was walking with Sterling, and as we came to an intersection, there was already a guide team waiting there. As soon as the guide saw Sterling, he started jumping up and down and became VERY distracted. The handler gave him corrections, but the dog continued to focus on Sterling. I called out that I had a dog and backed up several feet (I was already 10 ft away!) to give them space to work it out. When it came time for them to cross, the handler told the dog forward, and the dog almost ran him into a car that was blocking the cross walk (stopped car).

The dog also ran his head into a pedestrian that was passing by the team. I followed behind them...unfortunalty this is the way I had to go...and the dog kept spinning around to look at Sterling. When we got to the crub, the team stopped, and I called out my position as I passed behind them.

I am wondering if I should call the school so that the handler can get some help reworking with his dog? I would say maybe they were having a bad day...but one other time we ran into this team, the guide ran the handler into a railing looking back a Sterling.

What would you do....any suggestions? Also, was what I did in the situation correct, anything that would have been more helpful? I did make sure Sterling did not stare at the other dog, nor did bark or anything like that....

Phase 1

Shaw, Sterling's brother, is officially on the phase report! Phase 1, but he should have some fast progress!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has comment on my last couple of posts! Blogging really does extend your friend network!

After talking to my leader, I do not think Sterling will be one of the top picks for this go-around. Since he has had some issues, it seems better to leave him to mature a little longer! This means I will probably be looking at getting a new pup in the middle of winter, oh joy!

Thanks again, and I hope everyone is having an awesome week.

Uh Oh.

My CFR is coming Mon.  Two dogs may be going.  There are three to choose from.  Sterling is one of them.

Time to do all the final pictures, paw prints, and lots and lots of loving.

What do you do when you know your dog is going back?

Club Website

I have created a blog site for my club, Summit Guide Dogs.  It is just a basic thing, but it does have dog info on there!  So check it out.

summitguidedogs.wordpress.com

Imposter

There is a women in my town who has a large golden retriever.  She brings this dog everywhere.  He has a service dog vest on, but is usually not on a leash.  When asked what kind of service dog he is, she says that he visits chemotherapy patients.  Now I love therapy dogs:  they are amazing dogs who bring joy to people in hospitals, nursing homes, ect.  However, they are not service dogs, and DO NOT have public access rights.

This has gone beyond people impersonating service dogs; this dog is a liability risk!  Yesterday I pull up to the grocery store, park, and go to get Sterling out.  This women is across the aisle form me, and just lets her dog out of her car, not on a leash, in the parking lot.  The dog runs over and growls at my dogs, and growls again at Sterling.  The women chased him 3 times around the car before she was able to get him back.  I start to walk into the store, Tom with me so we can block any further attempts of the dog to get to Sterling.  The women follows behind us into the store with her dog unvested, and....OFF LEAD!  She stands in line at the coffee shop while the dog wanders freely around, sniffing people and objects, dropping its tennis ball and then diving for it.  

I waited by where she was while an employee went to get the manager.  I tried to educate this women about the illegality of what she was doing; it is a class B misdemeanor here, and punishable by up to 6 months in jail or a $1000 fine.  She did not want to listen to anything I had to say, and kept saying, "No thanks, we are fine."  (what?)  And then she tells me the dog is going through chemotherapy!  Even a qualified person with disabilities should think long and hard about whether to continue working a very sick service dog; it is not fair to the dog!

The manager finally came over and told her she would have to have the dog on a leash or leave, but by that time she was done with her coffee and so left.  I talked with the manager, and he said she is in there all the time, with her sometimes being at the check-out stand and the dog being back in produce.  She brings him in wet from the dog pond, and he is almost never groomed. They ask her to leave, but she keeps coming back.

I am writing to my local paper, and will hand out ADA briefs at the local stores, any other suggestions? 

Winter is here!

More snow today...about 6 inches total in the yard!  Both the bog dogs were loving it, they will take a big snort of snow and then go running around like crazy.  Marley, being the mountain dog he is, loves to lay in the snow.  

On campus, Sterling kept sniffing the snow and then trying to do labby laps!  I felt so mean correcting him, but working time is working time.  After class I got out the long line and let him have his fun.  I cannot wait to start going on winter hikes with the dogs, hopefully I can get some good pictures of Sterling in the snow.

In other news.... Maggie, Madden and Sage will all graduate on Sat.  Fairmont's partner was unable to finish training, and so Fairmont is back in class.  Hopefully they have sunny skies in California.

Election Day

Today we woke to swirling snow.  Despite the crappy weather, at 9:30am I was the last one in my family to vote.  Sterling came with me to my very first election, and was a great boy during the 15 min we spent there (10 min was spent talking about Guide Dogs and how amazing they are with the poll workers).  Getting in and out, he was not as impressed.  Snow is not Sterling's favorite, and he was so not going to sit.

BARK

I get BARK, the magazine.  They have a cover contest to have reader's dogs on the front.  If you win, your dog gets a professional photography session!  I have thought about who to send in, and decided to send in Marley's picture.  I just don't think there are many dogs out there that look like him.  However, there are over 6,000 entries, and just 6 covers for next year, so Marley's chances, while not 'one in a million', are not awesome either.  He is beautiful either way.

One in a million

Nov 3, 2008

Either way, History will be made tomorrow.  So here are some completely non-political pictures!   

I love these chairs...they are old and funky!  This is Sterling hanging out in my photography class.

The puppy truck was fun, but really short.  They were early, so when I got there, pups had already been handed out, and one of my group members had already left!  Thursten and his raiser were still there, and so I attempted (!) to get some pictures of this wrinkly little guy!
Meeting Sterling...oh yeah, time to play.
I love Sterling so much, he is my puppy sitter!  He is so gentle and sweet with babies!
Oh, only a nose as Thursten tries to examine the whole world.
Finally he sits down...
And time for puppy sleep...
Angel hanging out, waiting to go home!
And retired guide Ellis going home with Angel.  Their mom is going to be busy!
Winter is coming, and we have had some spectacular skies recently.
Sterling is NOT a happy cowboy....
The group doing the dog parade on Main St.  Left to right...Angel Stella, Riley and Koda as dogs, Deso as Sarah Palin, cowboy Sterling, and robot Hugo.
Me with my cowboys...and Hugo robot hazard...
Driving out of a cloud this morning.  Snow is on the way!

Update and Pictures

Tomorrow our club welcomes two new puppies, a male black lab, and a female black lab. I will post more on them tomorrow. On Saturday, Sterling's brother Shaw leaves for formal training.

Our club meeting was out on a trail so that we could walk past scarecrows. It was very fun, and the granddaughter of our leader walked Dante. It was soooo cute, she was so happy and proud to be walking a dog just the right size for her!

I had Bracken from Thurs to Monday, and he was an awesome pup for 5 1/2 months old. Loose leash walking like you would not believe! But, he hates to sit still for the camera, so I did not get very many pictures of him!

Friday is Halloween, and my boys will be going as cowboys. For fun, we put the hats on the Bernese Mountain Dog puppies that my leader has, and they are cute!

My sister is bottle feeding some baby kittens that are about 10 days old. They were found in an abandoned boat (not sure if it was on the water or not...). They are so cute, and the black one already has the softest and longish hair! They are both boys...any name suggestions?

And the best news....Marley's surgery is now ALL paid off! 13 months later....yay!!!! And he is as happy and healthy as he could ever be.

IN CLASS!!!!!!

Our club has two sections. There is the adult raising group, and then the high school raising group. Our club sent back 6 dogs in June to San Rafel. Now 4 of those dogs are in class and will graduate Nov 8.

Unprecedented! Amazing! Maggie, Madden, Sage, and Fairmont, all raised by high school students, will graduate in class together!!!

London and Moses were cc'd.

Yay! Of the 6 dogs we sent back in June, four are graduating!

More Pictures....and Puppies!

Yay!  A solid Internet connection...and more pictures.  The first ones are continued from the last post, when we went on our hike.  Marley checking out the sights.

Dante, King?  He thinks so.
Marley charging through the brush.  Really can't say enough about how those packs hold up!
Sterling going gray?  Nope, it is Licorice, Tom's parents' dog, who is out here for the month.
Give me a JOB!  Hugo looks to Tom for something to do while we take a break.

And now......

PUPPIES!

These cuties are 6 1/2 week old Bernese Mountain Dogs.  They are my leaders pups.
And they love carrots!
And looking cute....

And chewing on each other....
Really, my brother tastes really good....
Looking Cute!
Those are some BIG feet...
Can I have some of your dinner?  Please??
Yay Toys!
Oh, time to sleep.

One last cutie.

Not much else going on!