Saxon Checks In

Close up of Saxon on the beach, happy smile on his face.

One of Saxon's favorite things about being a career change dog is the local Southern California dog beach. He has the best time there and it is so fun to watch him be a total goofball.

Saxon running full speed on the beach - with a giant smile still on his face!

Today as soon as I let him off the leash he took off, running about a quarter mile down the beach at top speed before slamming on the brakes and sprinting back.

A wide shot of Saxon standing with a 'found' tennis ball in his mouth like he actually fetched it (he didn't!)

At one point he even picked up a tennis ball and pretended he knew what to do with it! He was a happy dogs today, and happy dogs make happy owners.

The happiest Saxon in the world

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season, we certainly did!

Etsy Black (Dog) Friday Sale!

I decided to offer free first class domestic shipping on all orders placed this weekend at my etsy store - which has new, way nicer pictures of my leashes! Now is a great time to buy if you've been wanting one of my leashes, just saying... :)

Just enter the code blackdogfriday with your order and your first class domestic shipping is free!

One Month with Niecy

Saturday marked one month since Niecy's been in my care, seems like it flew right by! After so many months nursing Norton through his illness, it is almost a little weird to just get up and go someplace with a guide dog puppy again without another thought, but Niecy is a perfect puppy for it. She is so easy to have around and loves to get up and go wherever and whenever. When we are out in public, she walks like she knows she was born for this life and so she makes me look good. Here are some pictures from our first month together. Still not sure how much longer I will have Niecy, so we are just taking things one day at a time.

Close up of Niecy's pretty face!

Niecy and Saxon sunbathing... their lives are obviously very difficult.

A half asleep Niecy in the car. My puppies always rest their heads on the car seat - why is that?

Niecy in front of some pumpkins at Trader Joe's

Niecy asleep on top of four of her toys.

Not Norton

Norton in his puppy coat for his "final" portraits - at almost 10 months

Well, a little more dust has settled onto this blog, and again I apologize. It has been a tough few months, but I wanted to update anyone who is still out there reading this blog on my last few months as a puppy raiser. In September, Norton got very sick, again. My sweet boy went from being a happy-go-lucky dude one night to a puppy who didn't want to move - not even to sit down - because he was so sick and in pain the next morning. There were some very scary days for Norton and everyone who loves him, and the experience was enough that once Norton was on the mend, Guide Dogs for the Blind called him back to their Northern California campus for a medical evaluation to try to find out why he keeps getting so sick. Late in the month, I sent a recovering Norton back to GDB's campus for his medical evaluation and I will tell you right now that in my 15 years of puppy raising, that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do - I was an absolute, blubbering wreck of a human being.

Norton sitting by the front door on the morning he left for Guide Dogs - lunch packed in a bag that says his name on it!

Fortunately, perhaps, for Norton, none of the wonderful, knowledgable, experienced Veterinarians he's seen can find a single thing wrong with him to explain why he keeps getting sick and so he was declared clinically normal and I am very hopeful that he will never ever get horribly sick ever again. Unfortunately for Norton, his medical history was enough to convince Guide Dogs that he probably shouldn't be a guide dog, and he was released from their training program due to an unknown medical prognosis.

A close up of Norton's adorable face.

While I know this is the right decision for Norton, I am still very, very sad. He would have been an amazing, gorgeous guide dog or stud dog, and really, selfishly I just wasn't ready to be done with raising him. He is - as of this writing, not even 11 months old, and when he isn't sick, he is a fantastic, wonderful, model guide dog puppy.

Norton at LAX leading a "welcome home" committee with endless enthusiasm... :)

Guide Dogs for the Blind has an entire department dedicated to finding homes for their career change dogs, and while I know that they will find an awesome home for Norton, a really big part of me wanted it to be with me, but with my grad school schedule and budget combined... it just wouldn't be fair to Norton, or to me. Knowing that Guide Dogs will do right by him is comforting and I am very thankful to be involved with an organization that takes such wonderful care of their dogs - even the ones that don't become guides.

A blurry but adorable picture of my black boys - Norton and Saxon, now both career changes!

In October, just after I received news of Norton's career change, I got a message from a friend asking if I could help with someone very special - Norton's sister, puppy in training Niecy. As it turns out, Niecy's raiser is dealing with some health problems of her own and Niecy needed a place to stay. I don't think I could say "yes" fast enough - a little piece of Norton was just what I needed, and to be able to help out a fellow puppy raiser on top of it? What an honor.

Niecy getting a bath and looking especially like her brother

Niecy is wonderful, adorable, hilarious - just like her brother, only she's never been sick a day in her life. I am not sure how long she will be staying with me at this point, but I am really enjoying her company and how much she reminds me of her brother. I find myself petting her and telling her about him, and how some things just happen for a reason. It is nice to have a puppy by my side again, with a sigh and a hopeful eye towards the future.

The "black dogs" now - Niecy and Saxon

Hello Again

This blog has collected a little dust recently, and I apologize for the lack of updates. On top of some not so fun things going on, Norton has been feeling a bit under the weather and so we have been taking it easy and I haven't felt much like writing about things that are not fun to write about. Or read about. The good news is that Norton is feeling much better now and things are looking up.

Melissa and her new guide dog meet for the first time.

I also wanted to share that my dear friend Melissa, whose first guide dog Anya passed away in June is back at Guide Dogs for the Blind training with her second guide dog. She updates her blog every night with her adventures from the day. I anxiously await each entry and love hearing about her training and seeing pictures of her new guy - he is so cute and I can't wait to meet him! Please check out her blog and follow along on her journey.

Remembering Anya

I've attempted to write this post a number of times over the last few weeks and I never seem to get farther than this:

Anya in harness - taken in Boston a few years ago.

Last month, I lost a friend. Her name was Anya and she was a guide dog. 

Anya the co-pilot, never one to be left out of anything, ever. :)

After writing this far, I start thinking about what Anya meant to me and have a difficult time putting that into words. Anya was Melissa's guide dog. Because of Anya, I met many extraordinary people and traveled around the world. 

Anya at a Dodger game.

Anya was always there, through all of it, not just a guide dog but a family member, friend, teacher, protector, troublemaker, co-conspirator, confidant. 

Melissa, Anya, Cancun and I. Melissa and I sort of match by accident!

She taught me everything I know about real guide dogs and the impact they have not only on their handler's life, but on the entire community. She was amazing like that. 

David, Melissa and Anya gear up for the rain during a trip to Seattle.

In May, ten year old Anya was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer called hemangiosarcoma. The vets told Anya's family to go home and love her for the few weeks before it was time to say goodbye. There was barely any grey hair peppered through her black coat. My heart sank for them, for her, and selfishly for me too. 

Anya in my car during one of many road trips.

But oh boy were those weeks filled to the brim with love. I stopped by as often as I could just to sit and watch Anya be Anya. She played with Saxon and Norton like she always did. One night, she shared a few of my french fries. :) Some days it was easy to forget she was sick, but then she would tire easily, the cancer having its way. 

The group at a wine store in Napa last summer.

I am so thankful for those last weeks to celebrate her,  even though she wasn't even my dog. I will really, really miss Anya.

Anya doing what she does best - allowing everyone to love her. Here it is a young boy with a visual impairment petting her side.

The Newest Puppy Raiser

As of last night, I have a new teammate on my puppy raising team. He's a natural with guide dog puppies, very sweet, and a pretty good cuddler too. He probably doesn't need an introduction, but I'll introduce him anyway. His name is Saxon.

Saxon the career change

Last week, Saxon was career changed from Guide Dogs for the Blind for confidence issues around unfamiliar dogs. When Saxon was 9 months old he had an encounter with an off-leash husky while walking through a quiet neighborhood. The husky jumped out of the back of a car, and from what I understand, charged Saxon, knocking him to the ground. The husky's owner came over yelling and pulled his dog off of Saxon and was very apologetic as he took his dog away. While there was no blood drawn that day, the encounter planted the idea in sensitive Saxon's brain that dogs with pointy ears are scary, and dogs he doesn't know are not to be trusted.

Saxon and Norton supervising my kibble spill in the kitchen last night

We worked with him throughout his time as a puppy to build his confidence and he improved quite a bit. GDB continued that work when he went back for training and he improved even more, but they found that when he was guiding his trainers, he still needed a lot of encouragement to walk past other dogs on the street. This means he can't be a guide dog for someone who can't see why he is slowing or stopping in the middle of a sidewalk, and it wouldn't be fair to ask him to work in conditions that make him uncomfortable anyway. So Saxon was released from training at Guide Dogs and I got to say I wanted him back.

Saxon lounging on the bed, reunited with his stuffed animal toy cat

It is hard not to be disappointed and frustrated that Saxon's guide dog puppy journey ended this way, especially considering my hyperawareness of issues with off-leash dogs. I've been through all the what ifs a million times in my head, shed some tears, cursed every husky I see, but I always come back to the same conclusion: each of my puppies ends up exactly where they're supposed to be, and Saxon just belongs here with me.

Saxon showing off his new collar that has mustaches on it!

And when I think about it that way, I couldn't be any happier.

Saxon and Norton have become fast friends. Here they are cuddling together this morning.