Oh what fun it is to ride

...in an eleven-story glass elevator!  Hope's last official act of Puppy Camp, and she executed it like the pro that she is.  

Zikes!  What just flew by?  ;-)

Rock-solid pups

Hope is unconcerned about the Water Department's activity at her puppy-camp home.

Last month, sister Bonnie was equally nonplussed by the teardown of the house across the street.  Note to workmen:  Please go bother someone else's neighborhood for awhile!

He's coming!!

Phi insists:  "No, it's not a dress.  It's a suit."

Dress rehearsal

You know Dasher and Dancer and Hopester and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen...

In the spirit

Our holiday meeting is always a treat.  Lots of presents.  Visits from old friends.  Over-the-top festivities.  Nighttime photography?  Not so much.

Our newest newbie, Dakota, makes a brief appearance.

With Dad.

Meeting our next-littlest, Parker.

Dutifully listening to Jennifer reading the monthly training reports of our dogs on campus.

The early winter sunset gave us an opportunity to try out a nighttime exposure.  Nobody cared.  ;-)

Phi

 
Parker

Wishing everyone in our wonderful puppy group and in the greater Southeastern family Happy Holidays and a healthy, prosperous 2014.

Dakota comes home

Smiles all around!

Welcome home, little one.  You're joining a great puppy group!

Up the down staircase?

Our bocce ball friends

Once again, we were invited to show off our pooches at the annual bocce tournament of the Ybor City Lions Club, longtime supporters and puppy sponsors of Southeastern.  We are always welcomed generously, and we look forward to the yearly tradition.  Thanks, Lions.

Fun, but serious.  The guys haul out the tape measure!

Phi cools his heels, waiting for the next "petter." 

Parker questions the "no-furniture rule" as a chair sits empty...

Southeastern's Community Outreach Coordinator, Helen, with guide dog Troy, poses with Jan and Hope.

Thanks for the photo, Fran!

On the road again

Because guide dog users do not drive, exposing program puppies to various modes of public transportation is a critical element of their conditioning.  The focus of this morning's puppy meeting was a ride on a city bus, with all of the sensory stimuli that the experience entails.

You know the expression, "You look like you're waiting for a bus?"  Yeah.  Well.  We were.  Patiently, I might add.  ;-)

Boarding is a breeze.  Our littlest pup. Parker, gets a lift.

Older dogs Phi and Bruelle do an amazing job of calmly sharing a small space, but when Parker comes to say Hi, they oblige.

                                  

Disembarking at the shopping center.

Riding home, exhausted after their big adventure.  Behavior was exemplary!

Happy Thanksgiving

From Bruelle:

And Bonnie:  (In case you've seen the new animated movie Free Birds, she offers this guilt-free alternative.  Under glass or otherwise.)

And from Jan, who is grateful every day for the dedicated, generous puppy raisers with whom she is blessed to work.

Ring around the kitchen!

This blogger makes no apologies for her cat bias...  

Early yesterday morning, as Arthur was preparing to leave the house to go down to campus for his professional training, he had one last adorable play bout with his brother, Linus.  ;-)

More matriculations

Last year, at about this time, new puppies came into our group at the rate of about one per month.  "Doing the math" means that they have been leaving us lately at a similar rate.

Arthur and Tapir left for college today.  Looking back, it's been a fun year for both of them.

Tapir:

 

 

Arthur:

 

The Big Day came, as The Big Day always does -- Guide Dog U!

That adoring look we've come to know...

 

After the requisite "IFT portraits," the waiting begins.  Each dog is given his moment in the sun, but in no particular order.  So raisers must wait as anticipation builds.

Arthur's "happy tail" confirms that the dogs are cool as cukes!

The trainers come to spirit the dogs away, one by one.  Mercifully, this happen quickly; excitement and newness are the hallmarks of the day, rather than prolonged goodbyes.  

Trotting off happily -- that's what we want.  "Roommates?  I get roommates?"

"Are you gonna be my trainer?  I like you.  What time's dinner around here?"

Puppy hugging, tours, speeches, and awards round out the program.  But if the truth be told, most puppy raisers are in a bit of a fog after the handovers.  We know why we do this job, and we relinquish our pups with pride.  But we mourn the routine that we knew for a year.  Tough breed, puppy raisers!

Arthur and Tapir, Larry and Peggy, Michael and Loretta -- your puppy group is with you at this bittersweet time.  Thank you for your dedication to preparing your puppies for their potential careers.  Godspeed.