Hi Sue!
It was great speaking with you today regarding Beacon, the
future guide dog puppy sponsored by NAIFA – North Suncoast, Inc.
A little background on the little guy…
Beacon is a male yellow Labrador Retriever. He
was born on September 4, 2011. His parents are Ellen (a black lab)
and Gunnar (a yellow lab). His coat is a very pale yellow but his
ears are a little darker. He is very cute and (maybe) a little
on the smaller size.
About us…
We are very excited to have the opportunity to raise
Beacon in our home in Franklin, Tennessee. Beacon is the second dog
we are raising for Southeastern Guide Dogs. Our first dog, Honey (a
female black lab) went In-For-Training (advanced harness training on the
Southeastern Guide Dogs campus) on October 19, 2011. Along with my husband,
Scotty, Beacon is being co-raised in varying capacities by our 6
children. Our oldest, Emily, is a Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Investigator
for the state of South Carolina. Emily is going to puppy camp
Beacon for us (puppy camp occurs around 6 months of age where the puppy is
required to live with another raiser for 2 weeks for evaluation and to provide
the puppy with the chance to begin learning to respond to different
handlers). Jenny and Sara are both in college but will be pitching
in to raise Beacon during breaks. Jenny may bring Beacon to college with
her for a week or two. Michael, a senior in high school, will be
responsible for 15 minute training sessions on odd numbered days, Billy, a 5th grade
student, will be responsible for 15 minute training on even numbered days and
Amy, a high school freshman will be responsible for 15 minute training on
weekends. At least that is our plan!
We expect to expose Beacon to many new
experiences. Mainly Beacon will be in and around town with me or at
any of the kids numerous events (cross country events, band and chorus
concerts, flag competitions, Mock Trial competitions, DestiNation Imagination
competitions, and the like) but Beacon will also frequently come with us to
Scotty’s parents farm. As Beacon matures he will go to work with
Scotty one day a week.
We created a blog to document our experiences of raising a
guide dog puppy when we found out we were going to be raising
Honey. Our hope is to continue this blog with
Beacon. Should you want to follow our experiences while we are
raising Beacon, our blog is located atwww.guidingpuppy.blogspot.com. I will provide you with
advanced warning though – I am not a professional writer, blogger or
photographer – but I try to keep the blog updated with funny stories and
pictures of our experiences.
We decided to raise a puppy for the blind as a way to help
our children learn to give to others. Each of us has learned so many
valuable lessons from our experiences of raising our first puppy for
Southeastern we are excited to continue learning as we now raise Beacon.
We will try our best to send you an update prior to the
third Wednesday of each month so you may share Beacon’s progress with your
generous members. Southeastern Guide Dogs states “It takes a village
to raise a guide dog” and with your sponsorship, our raising and the great
trainers at Southeastern, it is our greatest wish that Beacon will graduate to
become a Guide Dog and serve as a ‘beacon of light’ for his blind partner.
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