Happy 17 months!

I would like to wish a very happy 17 month birthday to the G litter. Well actually they will be 17 months tomorrow, but tomorrow is a very busy day. As of today all the littermates are in formal training!

So let's recap on these beautiful babies:

Gabrina:

Gabrina was recently dropped from her breeder evaluation. She had a cough with collar pressure. It sounds like it wasn't too serious and shouldn't effect her training. So good luck in formal training Bina I know you can do it!


Gardner:

Gardner has been in training for 3 months now. He had a slow start and was in phase 1 for over a month. But now he is in phase 8. I know your family really wants you back home, but you would also make an awesome guide! Good luck in whatever you choose to do!


Garth:

I only got to meet you once, but you are beautiful! You look and act so much like Gardner. It's amazing. Garth is hanging out in phase 7. Almost there!

Gilligan:


You are so much like Gabrina it's amazing! Not only do you look exactly like her, you act like her too. And man do you shed like her! You are in phase 8 last week and I'm sure you are doing awesome!

Gilly:

You had a rough start to life. You were supposed to be raised in Utah but were a bit of a handful so you got transfered to Colorado. I know your raiser worked very hard with you! You went back for formal training today, so I wish you luck!

Good News or Bad News?

I guess it depends on how you look at it.

I got news last night that Gabrina isn't going to be a breeder. Her report said: " CUT: Cough with collar pressure." So she doesn't get to have babies, but she is going to be spayed and enter training at the next recall. I know there is a recall coming in the end of next week, but I'm not sure if she will go into training then. I don't know how soon she will enter training because she does have to recover from her spay surgery. This news is pretty exciting for me because I really think she would be a much better guide than she would be a mommy. But it's also a little disappointing, I was looking forward to raising one of her puppies, even if it meant overlapping. I just hope that having a cough with collar presure won't keep her from become a guide.

But I have to be competety honest. When I saw "CUT" my first thought was that she was career changed. I was super excited because I thought she was coming home. I know that she is going to become whatever God meant for her to be, wheither it's a guide, a K9 buddy, or a pet. Maybe she'll catch up to Gardner in training and we can go watch both of them graduate!

Good luck in training my Bina!

Maddie and Betsy

two more pictures..

Here are two pictures that make me want to cry...

[Night before recall]

[Day of recall]

Gabrina goes to school

I was looking over my blog and realized that I never posted the pictures of Gabrina at school.

One day during study hall my friend and I walked around the school and took pictures of Gabrina.
I promise no puppies were harmed in the taking of these pictures:








There you have it. Everyone at school loved her!

NEWS!

That's right, I finally got news on Gabrina!

Here is the email I got from my leader today. I don't feel like rewriting it...

During the meeting Wed we heard from Barb (our CFR) that
Gabrina and Leola are in the final stage of breeder evaluation.
It is not yet a "done deal". The testing will take a week or two.
We'll hear for sure if they become breeders.

Congratulations to Gabrina and Leola's raisers.  Job well done.
To be chosen as a breeder is considered a higher
prestige than simply being a guide.

We will not know if they are going to be a one-time
breeder then become a guide or not (yet)
That is often determined after the 1st liter.
-fred

That's all I know for now, but I'm happy to hear something!

Still not training

I just got the phase report (they sent it out early because CA Funday is Saturday) and there is still no Gabrina. At least two other dogs that went back with her for breeder evaluation and training were on the phase report this week. Now I'm really thinking that she is going to be a breeder. I have some mixed feelings about this. I know that being a breeder is a big honor. It means that more or less they think she is the "perfect" dog. She is going to make a huge impact in many peoples' lives with her babies. They will grow up to be potential Guide Dogs. Her puppies will improve the lives of their puppy raisers, their trainers, and their eventual care takers. Gabrina will make a bigger impact on peoples' lives than most Guide Dogs will. But I can't bring myself to be excited for her. I honestly don't think she will be happy as a pet dog. She likes to work too much. It's going to be disappointing for her to have to stay home all the time. Her keepers are going to have to take her to a lot of "dog accepting" places. And maybe even get her certified as a therapy dog. Now don't get me wrong, I think she'll make a great pet and mom, but I just always pictured her as a guide not a breeder. The best part about her being a breeder would be raising her puppies! I am determined, even if it means overlapping puppies, to raise one of her babies. I know that Gabrina puppies would be adorable and very well behaved just like their momma! And I would get to submit names..something I have always wanted to do!

But she hasn't officially been chosen..at least I haven't been notified. So there is still hope that she will be a guide!

On a different note...two dogs from my club are graduating soon! The disappointing part is that neither will be at a graduation ceremony. Ezra is doing home training and Dusty's partner is leaving a week before graduation. I am still very excited for them! They are both excellent dogs that will make great guides!
Also, Gabrina's brothers, Gardner, Garth, and Gilligan, are still in phase one. They have been there for a month and the other dogs that went with them are in phases 5 or 6. Any ideas as to why they are still there?

Gabrina as a baby! I think she is the one in the middle...the white one. This is what her adorable babies would look like!

Gabrina's last picture at home. This is what they would look like when they are all grown up!

Thank you!

Thank you so much Erin for commenting to tell me that Gabrina is safe and sound. I'm so happy to hear anything at all about her. Erin said she saw Gabrina during her internship and said that she has spunk. Hope that's a good thing. I love and miss my little girl!


It's going to feel weird going to school without her. And I'm really dreading having to tell everyone that I don't have her anymore. I'm going to miss her when I want to go get some fresh air. She was a good excuse for taking a little walk outside because she "needed to go potty".