7 years ago this month I started this crazy, roller coaster ride, fun, emotional, intense, amazing, and hilarious journey called PUPPY RAISING. I remember the day I asked my mom if I could raise and she said no. I remember though she said no I still read as much as possible about Puppy Raising. I went to classes with some friends and then stopped for a little while. Fast forward to 2007 and I asked my Mom again. I think I remember her just casually saying "Yeah you can do it" when I asked if I could fill out an application (although I already had an application all filled out and ready to go in the mail!). I applied, didn't hear anything, and then reached out to the person who was then currently the RC. She said that my application had ended up going to a different region by mistake, but now they had it and I was invited to start attending puppy classes. It was a 45 min ride to class every other week, but my Mom was willing to make the trek for me in our big old GMC Safari van. After classes, Pre-Placement Classes, a home visit, and puppy sitting, I was matched with a puppy. A tiny, yellow lab, named Beau was delivered into my arms one cold, snowy, evening in March 2008. Actually it was a major snow storm that was happening but I begged my mom to still drive me to the puppy raiser's house who was transporting him, and my Mom did it. Without any hesitation she drove me through the snow 30 mins away just so I could get my little bundle of fur that I had been dying to get. This was the beggining to something that I had no idea how it would change or effect my life. I didn't realize at the time how much I needed to have something like this in my life. You see, Beau came to me on a day that I dreaded every year, the day that my Dad had passed away 3 years prior to this day. But that year, I could be happy and excited about this day instead of being sad.
Puppy raising changed my life. Plain and simple. Well no, not plain and simple. It changed my life in so many ways. I use to be a very shy and introvert type of girl, but having a dog with you all the time kind of forces you to get comfortable with talking to people. Although I am still shy at first when I meet people, I am much more out going and willing to step out of my comfort zone and do things then I would of ever been willing to do before I got Beau. I had the opportunity to meet so many people and through meeting all of these new people I have made countless new friends and countless memories that I will keep with me for ever and ever.
I had said the at the beginning that puppy raising was a crazy, roller coaster ride, fun, emotional, intense, amazing, and hilarious journey. I'm going to take all of those words and think of a memory I have through this raising experience.
CRAZY: Raising is crazy because you're busy all the time, but it's such a happy busy. Trying to juggle high school and then college while having a job and still having time for friends and family means you have to learn to get through life being crazy busy, but also making sure to provide what you can for the pup, but also making sure to stop and smell the roses. Edlyn taught me that the best way to make the most out of an outing is to take your time. Don't rush around the store to get in and out in 15 mins, make sure to stop, take things slow, make time to sit and chill and take the time to have a conversation with someone when they stop you to ask you questions.
ROLLER COASTER RIDE: My 7th puppy, Paula, caused me to be on the biggest roller coaster ride I had ever experienced. First of all, although she is a wonderful dog she was all the most energetic pup I had ever raised. That was one hill to get over, to figure out how much exercise she needed and what would wipe her out at the end of the day. The next hill was that in July 2013 Paula had some kind of a seizure. Initially it wasn't a big deal and she didn't have anymore for a month or so, but then later on in the summer she had several in one week (hill #2 on the roller coaster). After that, I was leaving the CDC after spending a summer interning and I had to leave Paula there and not drive back home with her. When I said goodbye I thought it was goodbye for good. I knew I couldn't ever keep her because I didn't think I would have enough time to give her the exercise she needed and it was pretty certain they would release her for medical reasons (hill #3). After Guiding Eyes did some tests they couldn't figure out what was causing these seizures so they decided to give her another chance and she was spayed and stayed on program until it was time for her IFT in January 2014 (hill #4 going way up). After 2 weeks at the TS the vet and training department decided it was better to not risk Paula having one of these seizures later on after she went through training and was matched with a visually impaired person and they released her (hill #5 going way deep into the ground). This was HEART breaking to me, more so then any of the other pups that I had raised who were released. I had such high hopes that Paula was fine and would be able to change someones life by being their guide dog. I understood completely why they released her, but that didn't make it easier. What did make it easier was that she is with the most wonderful, caring, and great family. They stay in touch with me, I get to sit Paula for them when they go away, and she has the best life ever! She has a huge back yard of woods to run and play in! She is very, very happy with them, and Guiding Eyes was right to worry about her having a seizure again because guess what, she's had a couple with her family.
FUN: This is such a FUN experience. I remember the time that my friend Emmaline (who I met because of raising) took a mini road trip to Ithaca for Pinot and Puppies. We drove to Ithaca with our girls Eden and Filene and met up with fellow raiser's in the Finger Lakes Region. We laughed, shared stories about our pups and the weird things they do, and then went to Cornell to walk around and have dinner from a local place in Cornell. The car ride was probably the most fun, driving with the windows down (I had no AC and it was rather hot that day...) and singing along to some great hits like "The Best Day of my Life".
EMOTIONAL: No one likes to say goodbye to their pup when it's time to take their IFT, it's an emotional time, full of happiness and sadness. Although I have said that for me it has gotten easier as time as gone by, other say it's just as hard. When I dropped off my first puppy Beau I remember bending down to say goodbye and as I did that I opened my mouth and nothing came out, my voice wasn't working, all I wanted to do was to freeze that moment and cry into his soft, thick, yellow coat. But time didn't freeze and the pride I felt in my heart at his IFT and then when I saw him graduate made all those tears worthwhile.
INTENSE: Puppy raising is intense. Let's face it, you get an 8 week old puppy that likes to eat stuff, pees on the floor, and gets into mischief, but if you take those intense times to train they end up being well rounded, well behaved, fun dogs. It's those intense moments of when you're standing outside in the freezing cold waiting for your pup to "get busy" that remind you of why you signed up for this in the first place. The pleasure I get when I see what the dog I'm raising can accomplish after we've worked so hard together is what makes me coming back for more! One of the hardest things I've had to work on was crate manners. Crate manners can be tough, specifically if you have a pup who also has separation anxiety. Eden was that pup. She wanted to be with you and she would make it known if you weren't with her you better get to her or be prepared for some loud things to come out of her voice. haha But through hard work and repeat crating times, Eden overcame it and became such a nice dog in a kennel. :)
AMAZING: It's amazing because of all the stories I've had both personal through talking to Beau and Whitley's graduates, but also hearing all the stories from other graduates from Guiding Eyes. How much more amazing can life be then being able to be a small part of helping better someones life and give them the "wings to fly" and be more independent? Seeing Whitley in the pictures that her graduate post makes my day. He loves Whitley so much and she obviously loves him as well. Plus, how amazing is it that it worked out that Whitley got to walk me across my high school graduation stage and then I got to see her graduate?
HILARIOUS: You HAVE to have a since of humor when you are raising. OK really you have to have a since of humor to get through life! But with raising especially. Sometimes bad stuff happens, bad embarrassing stuff happens, out in public, and people are staring at you, and you're like "OH SHOOT NOW WHAT DO I DO?!" Trust me I've been in a mall and my dogs' started pooping and I've scooped them up and ran out of the mall just so I wouldn't be embarrassed because my dog just pooped in the mall, and I mean I'm in the mall with a dog to begin with and so you already get looks like you're a unicorn roller skating around the mall, but NOW you're dog is POOPING! So what do I do?! I scoop up the my 50# dog and run through the mall which is probably just as embarrassing and even more ridiculous looking. haha I'm pretty sure that the mall pooping story and phobia of my dog pooping in the mall happened because of Beau, because he was my first dog and I didn't know what I was doing. Now, though, that is my biggest fears of malls, I love taking my dogs to malls, but hate it at the same time. Oh! Another reason you have to have a sense of humor while raising is because of the silly comments you get from people. My favorite is when you say you're raising the dog to be a guide dog and the person says "Aw the poor dog. He's blind??". No my dogs not blind, he's going to help a blind person! haha
I'm going to do a brief description of one of the photos in each collage about a memory.
The photo of Beau and I in the top row 4th photo in, is of Beau and I at the annual Walk-A-Thon. My mom, sister, cousin, best friend, and I drove to Yorktown Heights for a weekend to do the walk-a-thon with Beau. I met many raiser's, had many laughs with everyone, and happened to get to meet Beau's sister's (Babe) raiser, Laura! We had been talking a lot over email and I finally got to meet her in person!
This is Dahlia's collage, the photo in the 2nd row, 3rd from the left, was just a few days before I had to take Dahlia back to Guiding Eyes for her IFT. We were at the state fair and competed in the Service Dog Class at the 4-H Dog Show. I was blown away at how awesome Dahlia was that day! She walked perfectly, listened to all the commands I had her do, and in the end we scored a 99 out of 100! I also have to talk about the photo right next to it, that photo is when I went to the TS to pick up Dahlia. She had been in training for 10 months, and ended up getting released and the happiness and joy I felt came out through the smile on face that Dahlia was forever mine. She's my girl, my best dog, and the one I'm so glad I got to keep! I love her!! It's hard to believe that she is going to be 6 this year!
This is Halsa, she was the first pup I started, and even though I only had her for a little while, I fell in love with her so much! The first photo in the 2nd row is of Halsa at one of my horse shows. If you look at the full size version of that photo you can actually see the horses in the reflection of her eyes. And the last three photos on the bottom row are of all three of Halsa's litters. :)
The 1st photo in the 1st row is of Whitley and I the day after I got her and it was the 1st day of my senior year of high school. Whitley followed me through that senior year and kept me company reading all my text books!
Toby was another started puppy. Once he was 6 months I didn't get to see him again until he was 17 months old. Although that visit was short (pictures 3 and 4 in the 2nd row and pictures 1 and 2 in the 3rd row) I was so thankful I got to spend time with him and that he remembered me so well! Oh, also the 3rd picture in the 1st row is of him sleeping by our wood stove, that was his FAVORITE place to sleep!!
This is Ben, I wasn't his official raiser because my Mom was raising him, but I still loved him since he was living in the house with me! :) The 2nd and 3rd pictures in the 1st row are from our trip to Niagara Falls! Ben and Whitley did so great!
This Teddy. He was my gentle giant. He came right before Christmas (3rd pic in 1st row) so I took so many photos of him dressed up in cute outfits for Christmas!!
This is Paula, she's the one who always kept me laughing (2nd picture in 2nd row) and also the one who made me cry and have such an emotional roller coaster!!
This is Eden, the 4th picture in the 2nd row is from when Eden and I went to a local high school on a Saturday and walked the halls for a while and then sat in on a soccer game with another puppy raiser and her pup Sol.
Edlyn girl was the pup I was suppose to just start, but ended up keeping for the whole time and I'm so glad I did! The 4th picture in the 1st row was from a day that I had Edlyn, Leif (a visiting German Shepherd), Dahlia, and Ben and we went for a long walk, then we played in one fenced in play ground area and then we went and found another one. It was a great day just me and my dogs.
And this is Lucky. I'm going to have to talk about three pictures because they are three of some great memories. The first is for the 4th picture in the 1st row. That is Lucky and I with his sister Luna and her raiser Emmaline (my best friend) at their first puppy class ever! The 3rd picture in the 3rd row was from a day that my Mom and I took Emmaline and Luna with us to the apple tasting tour in the area. We had such a fun time driving around to the different farm markets. And the 4th picture in the 3rd row is from my last day where I grew up, Emmaline and I took Lucky and Luna out for an outing and to spend time together before I moved away.
I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful lessons (even the hard ones), the friends I've made, all of the memories I have, and the 11 dogs that have come into my life and changed my life forever. I also wouldn't be where I am today, working at Guiding Eyes for the Blind, doing a job that I love, if I hadn't started raising in 2008. So, here's to you mom, for more reasons then just this, if you hadn't said yes I wouldn't be here today!!! I guess I've rambled long enough now, but I had to write a special post for my 7 year anniversary! :)
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