Beacon is in the house!

Yesterday must have been a tough day for Beacon - leaving the Southeastern Guide Dogs kennel, leaving his litter mates, traveling 9 hours by car from Florida to Georgia and then another 5 hours from Georgia to Tennessee, to his new temporary home - our home!

We arrived home late last night (really quite early this morning) and Beacon decided he rested enough on his long car trip and wanted to play. Who could say no to this cute little face!

After much time we put Beacon in his crate and headed to bed. Ready to go at 5:30 this morning, Beacon was the first one up and we introduced him to his new morning routine (more on that in a later post). I let Billy sleep in since we arrived home so late last night, which meant Beacon was back in the car this morning to bring Billy to school. Beacon also visited our local Publix to finally end all the 'where is your new puppy?' questions. I also was able to speak with Beacon's sponsor (more on that in another post as well) and we are so excited to be able to communicate with a sponsor this time.

But enough time reading my words and on to what you all want - photos! Some of Beacon's first at home pictures...

Beacon posing for the camera

Beacon looking at his new toy

Beacon standing on his new toy

Beacon looking away wondering
what is down that long hall

Beacon sprawled out in the kitchen.
While he may look big in the picture,
 he really is quite little.

Beacon checking out what we are doing

Beacon finally showing some interest in his new toy

Beacon hanging out in the bathroom after his first bath

Beacon all cleaned up and ready
 for his photo op

Beacon sitting, looking into the shower

Beacon sitting with Billy at school

Beacon in his jacket!

Beacon getting the lay of the land

Beacon running through the fall leaves

A (blurry) close up of Beacon's so cute face

November - NAIFA monthly report on Beacon

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 5^th 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.

Beacon is on his way

Today we will finally meet Beacon. Connie from the Atlanta group headed down to Southeastern Guide Dogs yesterday to pick up her pup, Zocko, Jackson (a Hope/Bentley pup to be raised in Atlanta), and graciously agreed to transport Beacon (Ellen/Gunnar litter) to Atlanta for us. It is crazy enough to drive 9 hours one way to pick up your own pup, but come on, 9 hours with 3 puppies? Hopefully Connie's notion that the 3 pups will keep each other company (and hopefully quiet) works for out her. I cannot thank Connie enough for her willingness to bring Beacon up and for sending the following pictures...

Beacon in the foreground, Jackson in the background

Beacon peering out of his crate on his way to Nashville via Atlanta

No News is Good News?

Anxious to find out some information on Honey is progressing, I broke down and called my Area Coordinator, Becky. In my mind our conversation was going to go something like this...

ME: Hi Becky! Have you heard anything about Honey and Moose yet?

BECKY: I did but I am in shock and until this moment have been unable to speak.

ME: What? Is Honey ok?

BECKY: I just got her first report and she passed all her medical exams. As a matter of fact, she is doing so well she has been fast tracked and has already been matched with her future partner! They will graduate next month.

ME: Really?

BECKY: Yes, Honey has done so well that she set a Southeastern Guide Dogs record for the earliest placed, quickest trained and best behaved dog ever!

ME: No wonder you are in shock, but I am not surprised. Honey is one smart girl!

Instead, I got the 'no news is good news' report. Although I know Honey will not be the earliest placed, the best behaved or the quickest trained dog at Southeastern, she is still on track to be a future guide dog. And I am ok with that.

Changes

Honey has been gone for 48 hours now and is hopefully settling in at Southeastern. Having her in our lives for the past year has lead us to new routines and now that she is IFT some of our routines have been thrown out of whack.

• Awww, it is weird not having Honey jump up on me when I come home from school (Michael)
• I miss Honey sooooo much (Billy)
• It is too quiet without Honey (Michael)
• Do you want me to feed Honey? (Billy)
• Is Honey coming with us to the football game? (ME!)

I am sure we are all noticing how different our lives are without Honey. Yesterday, without Honey by my side, I suddenly (and frequently) was sick to my stomach with that 'I lost my wallet' (or purse) feeling. Other people noticed Honey was missing too. I was proud of myself that I was able to explain, without crying, IFT to those who asked "Where's your dog?'. At home, things were not going much better. I left the camera bag on the bedroom floor and when I came back into the bedroom I told the camera bag it was a 'good girl' (yes the bag is black and was sitting in Honey's usual spot). Scotty noticed that socks are now delegated to the floor instead of my night stand. Our UPS delivery man was upset he arrived too late to say good bye to Honey. The mailman too. I did not realize the impact Honey's time in Tennessee had on others. Last night I prayed for continued strength and, as a new day begins, I look forward to answering the 'Where's your dog?" questions confidently and heading out dogless (my made up word of the day!), knowing we gave Honey our best.

Honey Heads IFT

Overnight the weather took a drastic turn and became cold, overcast and rainy - and it fit my depressed mood just fine!

Throughout our raising of Honey, we were careful to remind ourselves (and each other) that Honey was not our puppy. Honey was ours to raise for a short time and then she was (hopefully) going to be matched with her life partner. We kept repeating 'We may WANT Honey but someone NEEDS Honey'. As many times as we have said that, our hearts were not feeling it. Especially yesterday.

The day for Honey to head IFT sadly (for us) arrived. Due to scheduling conflicts with the kids activities, the start of cancer treatments for Scotty's Dad and the distance to campus (almost 12 hours without stops) we would not be able to bring Honey IFT on October 29th. We will not be there to see Honey and her litter mates and all the other 'dogs' reunite and head off to the receiving kennel. We will not be able to meet with other raisers or participate in the new Guide Dog U: Freshman Orientation. We were looking forward to finally seeing and touring the Southeastern Guide Dog campus, putting faces to names of the behind the scenes people with whom we have spoken and also getting the opportunity to know better some of the people we have 'met' through the Southeastern Guide Dogs and Southeastern Guide Dogs Puppy Raisers facebook pages. We were, however, thankful that our AC, Becky Dan, was able to arrange to have Honey and Moose transported back to Southeastern for us.

Michael saying good bye to Honey

Billy saying good bye to Honey

Pat with Moose and Scotty with Honey in the parking lot for the send off

Scotty, Honey and I right before Honey headed into the van for her ride back to Southeastern. Note the fake smiles and robotic poses. It is hard to be stoic when your heart is aching.

Honey looking out from the crate wondering why we are not getting in the van with her

Honey in the crate taking it all in - and, of course, smiling

I could barely see through my tears to take pictures but I am glad I continued to try as I got this last picture of Honey before she left...

I want to believe she is thinking 'Thank you for raising me. Don't be sad for I am headed back to where I belong to do what I was born to do. I will see you again at Puppy Raiser day!'

Yes, Honey, we will see you then!

IFT Forms - Major Sadness

We were filling out Honey's In For Training paper work and were happy to see most of the of the Final Evaluations form questions were easy to answer.

• Housebroken - YES
• Chewing in a controlled state - Yes
• Familiar with find the door - Yes
• Any feeding problems - No

Then came time to complete the Puppy Raiser Bio Form and the questions required much more thought and reflection to answer.

• Fun and positive adventures with your pup
• Positive traits
• What puppy raising taught us
• Wishes for whomever is matched with the puppy

Well, we could have written page after page but were provided only 3/4 of a page to respond. How small can I write and still think someone could read it? How could we possibly squeeze all we would want someone to know about Honey in 3/4 of a page?! How could we possibly narrow down all the positive adventures with Honey into that little space?! I think I am going to attach this picture of the always smiling Honey as my response. After all, isn't a picture worth a thousand words?

Second Puppy Photos

It feels wrong to post on what I consider to be 'Honey's Blog' photos of the new pup we are going to raise especially since we know our time with Honey is coming to an end. Our AC, Becky, took these pictures while she was at Southeastern Guide Dogs for the AC meeting. Soon, it will be time to fall in love all over again.

Scotty's Birthday

Ok, the camera was out to capture Scotty's birthday, but guess who had to get in the pictures?

Honeys last visit to the Farm

Seems like everything we do with Honey lately brings some sadness. Knowing she will be going in for training this month made this visit to the farm especially sad.

Honey hanging out near the barn lot

Saying goodbye to farm playmate, Lad

Waiting for Papa to share some of that tasty apple

Running in the open fields

Playing 'bring the bone'

Exhausting herself

Honey posing in the field

Honey posing at the barn lot

Honey resting in the field

Honey taking in one last view of the farm

Second Puppy

We found out today that we will be raising again. This time we will raise a male yellow lab. We do not know his name yet, (we are calling him 'Second Puppy' for now) but we do know he is from the Ellen/Gunnar litter born 9/4/11. He will be released from the Southeastern Guide Dogs kennel on November 7th. We are working on trying to get him to Nashville as soon after his release date as possible. Hopefully a new puppy in the house will distract us from missing Honey when she heads back to campus.

What is going on here?

Honey was very interested in watching t.v. Maybe she has been spending too much time with the boys. Today she 'watched' Cats verses Dogs.

Honey and the Band

Fall brings football, band season and long days at band competitions. Some of these events can last 10 hours or more! Of course, if we are attending a competition, so is Honey. And this suits her just fine. Honey loves to be out and about, being kept busy and checking out new sites, sounds and scents. I think she particularly likes to see if she can nab popcorn off the ground before we notice.

Honey and the band line up for their callback evening performance

The stands are very crowded but Honey manages to find a little comfy spot

There is a lot of loud music

and twirling flags

And, of course, a hug for such a good puppy from the birthday girl, Amy

Honey and her Apple

Honey loves apples. Not just loves them - but LOVES them! As she is maturing she is doing so much better with waiting for her favorite treat. I am not so sure why we torture the poor girl in this way, but the wait is worth it!

Honey anxiously watching Scotty as he cuts an apple

Honey is quizically wondering why Scotty is holding out that piece of apple but not giving it to her.

Honey's mouth is watering waiting for that piece of apple

As usual, Honey ran to the carpet to enjoy her apple treat

And as any well trained puppy should do, Honey cleans the floor when she is done just to make certain there is not any apple remaining.

Never let your dog play frisbee

One of the pitfalls of raising children and a Southeastern Guide Dog puppy is that inevitably a toy is left out in the yard and it becomes property of the puppy. Today was the day Honey discovered the frisbee Billy left outside.

Billy trying to convince Honey to 'leave it'

Obviously, Honey did not 'leave it' but instead grabbed the frisbee in her mouth and somehow flipped it over her head.

After freeing the frisbee from Honey's head, Billy decided soccer was a much better game to play in the yard. Honey happily does not chase balls!

Honey is getting older...

We are noticing that Honey no longer jumps up every time we move. Her urge to follow us the second we take a step from her is lessening. Today, Honey was sleeping at my desk as I worked and did not budge when I went to get the camera.

Honey sleeping at my desk. Notice that although there is carpet all around her, Honey chooses to sleep on the plastic carpet protector!

As soon as the shutter clicked, Honey woke up!

Puppy Playtime?

Having Clifford for a few days made for some of the funniest pictures! While it may look vicious, neither dog was injured - they were playing - and it looks worse than it was! Next time we have a visiting pup we will remember to take their collars off before playing.

One of my favorite Honey pictures - she looks as if she is thinking "Why, Clifford, why? You scare me!"

But Honey soon gets the upper hand

After some rough and tumble play it was time for both dogs to relax. I can tell by Honey's cocked head she was eager for this picture to be over and play some more!

Clifford Comes for a Visit

Clifford came to stay with us for a few days so we thought this would be a good time to get some pictures of Honey and her new playmate. We were wrong. Trying to photograph one black dog is difficult, two is nearly impossible.

Scotty getting Honey and Clifford ready for a picture

Telling the pups to stay

Now if they will both look at me we might get a photo of both pups

Honey is paying attention but Clifford still wants to watch Scotty

Maybe some editing of the 'laser eyes' and this picture may be the best we get