Finally home!

Arthur poses proudly with the campus rock before leaving for his year with Peggy and Larry.  It's going to be a great ride, little fella!

(And, yes -- Peggy and Larry do get extra credit for wearing their own green shirts before receiving their green raiser shirts!  Duly noted.)

Thanksgiving traditions

Carly enjoys the National Dog Show between football games!

New environs, new excitement

Millie recently spent a few days with Larry and Peggy, giving her a chance for a Kodak moment with a giant lion topiary outside the entrance to Busch Gardens.  While our dogs cannot attend theme parks, Millie had a connection that allowed her to experience some exposures outside the gates.

She also rode a shuttle bus,

met some unusual "stilt people,"

and got a special blessing at church.

Switching our dogs around offers invaluable opportunities to "shake up" their normal daily routines.  It is also an excellent way for raiser applicants to learn the ropes while waiting to be assigned a pup.

Adventures with heavy equipment

Rocky is looking chipper as he supervises a wood chipper grinding up fallen branches.

Great American Teach-In

The Tampa raisers were very busy with presentations to public schoolchildren for this year's Teach-In, a day on which teachers invite outside speakers to talk about their careers and interests.

Cindy, Mary-Jo, and Zelda at Pepin Academy.

Jan and Carly with their host teacher at Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary.

An annual event

November is our month for miniature golf!  This particular night, each year, we remind ourselves why we don't permit guide dog puppies to play with balls...  Most of them do a pretty good job restraining themselves. 

Amanda and C-C.

Bill and Rocky.

Kay and Carly.

Julie and Beth.

Maya and Riley scope out the hole as Beth waits patiently.

Julie and Zelda.

Peggy and Millie.

Eagle-Eye Rocky and Linda.

Guest Shannon and Carly.

Yvonne and Theo.

Mary-Jo and Zelda.

Chuck and the girls check out the arcade in the main building.

Ice? In Florida?

Carly investigates the seasonal ice rink in downtown Tampa. 

Is it food?

Who's excited?

Larry meets his new charge while puppy hugging on campus!  Just a few more weeks...

Puppy raiser conference

As always, the school put on a great event.

The highlight of Friday evening was the session on puppy massage.

Fortunately, no one was tasked with determining whether the raisers or the pups enjoyed the experience more!

When it was time for the campus tour on Saturday, the puppies had a chance to try out the accommodations in the training vans...

...so their raisers could get in some puppy hugging!

After lunch, a session on first aid offered helpful techniques.

By the end of the conference, everybody was tired, but gleeful!  ;-)

A trip to the mall

With Jan and Amanda away at the Raiser Conference, the rest of the group held its meeting at Westshore Mall.

Linda dusts off her teacher hat (visor) to direct the day.

Millie waits patiently through announcements.

Mary-Jo leads obedience.

Then the group heads of to experience the sights and sounds of the mall.

Matt gives some handling tips to Larry.

Sherry coaches Lee... 

... and Connie instructs Loretta on door protocol.

Larry and Beth exit the glass elevator.

Mary-Jo gives tips to Peggy as Zelda moves through the mall effortlessly.

Wondering about those Christmas wreaths already...

Lee and Millie explore.

Loretta and Rocky learn each other's paces as they wind in and out of the stores.

Brian gets into position for the perfect PR shot!

Matriarch Beth shines in her harness.  ;-)

Loretta and Rocky seem to have enjoyed their adventure as they head back to the cars!

Thank you, everybody, for handling the meeting and our photography needs so that others of us could attend the Conference.