WHO DO I LOOK LIKE???

FRISCO

Does baby Frisco look like...

Daddy O'Connor OR Mommy Trina

Frisky Frisco

Ok...so maybe Frisco isn't very "frisky" afterall! ;)

AWWWW...Frisco is sleepy!

The eyes are open...

Boogers...

BOOGER!!! Brogan was my 5th puppy. I got him as a transfer when he was 10 months old, the day Garvey had to go back to GDB for medical evals. Brogan's parents were Wallace and Pride. Brogan was a PILL for the first 2 weeks I had him. Brogan and I had a hard time in the beginning...but one day 2 weeks after I got him, we fell in love. I adored him, and he thought I was the greatest thing ever! Brogan was one of those dogs who I would have loved to have been able to keep. Unfortunately, Brogan was career changed for medical reasons about 3 weeks after returning to campus. He now lives with a friend of mine, and is STILL affectionately known as "booger". Brogan loved children and despite his size (75 pounds) he was extremely gentle with them. He was beautiful as well!
Brogan taught me:

• Once again, dogs can change
• It's ok to be goofy and still be serious at the same time
• The wonderful game of keep-away CAN be fixed
• No matter how big you are, cuddling is always good!
• You must be gentle with small children
• BLACK is BEAUTIFUL!

#4...Garvey

Puppy #4 was Garvey. I picked Garvey up from GDB Fun Day in CA on July 24, 2004. He was a sweet sweet puppy! His parents were Jessel and Brenda. Garvey was career changed for health issues in Nov. 2004...so as you can see, I didn't have him real long :(
Garvey taught me:

• All you need is Love


• Things really aren't what they seem to be


• It's no fun to be sick all the time


• A wonderful personality, combined with a sick puppy, just can't make a guide dog

A little story about Lindsey

The day after Thanksgiving 2004, I was sitting home with my parents at their house. My first Thanksgiving, where I didn't actually live with them ;) I had gotten Brogan (you'll see a post about him soon!) Lets just say Brogan was "excitable" in this instance...

Well, Brogan wanted to play with Riley inside the house (which is a no-no at my house)...Lindsey thought she was smart and Brogan was wearing a dragline...Lindsey stepped on the dragline with her bare foot, just as Brogan lunged for Riley. Next thing she knew...she was on her butt on the ground and her foot hurt really bad! Lindsey half-laughing, half-trying not to cry, yelled to her mom "I just broke my foot" (being a drama queen, but not really knowing what a broken bone feels like, or really thinking the foot was broken)... Lindsey's mom (bless her heart), said "let's go to Wal-Mart and walk it off"...Lindsey says "ok...sounds good to me". Lindsey and mom get home from Wal-Mart and Lindsey can barely take off her shoe. Lindsey's foot is swelling up and is all sorts of "pretty colors".

Lindsey works at a vet clinic...Lindsey has the vets and other techs look at her foot...5 days later, Lindsey goes to the human dr. and gets an x-ray...Brogan has aided in breaking Lindsey's foot in 2 places and her toe! How fitting for Lindsey, that her first broken bone would be an "early Christmas present" from Brogan! :)

That is the story, of why Lindsey's foot always aches when the weather turns really cold ;)

*and the moral of the story, would be: DON'T STEP ON A DRAGLINE WITH BARE FEET!

Apology

I'm sorry for two things:

A. I did not do a little write up on all my previous dogs...I'll get to that when I go back to school and have an internet connection that works and downloads pictures ;) (plus, I got tired...)

B. My blog has gotten very boring! :) I'll try to spice things up a bit and find more exciting things to write about...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Here are some things I am thankful for (this list is definately not prioritized) :

1. Family (Mom, Dad, Eric, Ryan, Annalisa and Josh)
2. In-laws and nieces and nephews (Lisa, Jessica, Joel, Erin, Ashley, Marissa, Maddie, Gracie, Rachael, Leah, Alec and Grant)
3. Freedom
4. Education
5. Puppies (Ontario and Frisco)
6. Dogs (Magician, Anya, Spence, Garvey, Brogan, Sonny, O'Connor and Carlisle)
7. Pet dog (Riley)
8. Way cute house in SLC
9. car (doesn't have a name, but it's a fantastic Honda Accord!)
10. Church
11. Religion
12. Military
13. Grandparents
14. Aunts and Uncles
15. Beautiful Mountains
16. Snow
17. Work
18. Electricity
19. Toilets
20. Food
21. Ice Cream
22. Water
23. Movies
24. Plays
25. Dancing With The Stars
26. Desperate Housewives
27. Brothers and Sisters (the tv show)
28. The Sun
29. Cool weather
30. the Beach
31. Vegetables
32. Books to read
33. kids
34. hope
35. guardian angels
36. my religion
37. Tulips
38. days off work
39. nice people on the freeway who let me in when my blinker is on
40. funny people I meet who make me laugh

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! Eat too much and enjoy! :)

Spence

Spence was the first transfer pup I raised. He was born Feb. 26, 2003 and I got him at the beginning of Sept. His parents were Wallace and Lanai. Spence came from a very successful litter! I think 6/8 pups in his litter became guides. Anyway, I got Spence at the Utah State Fair. He was HUGE when I got him and continued to grow. Spence became known as "Moose" at our house because he was so huge!

Spence as a baby in his first puppy club

Spence grew into a beautiful big boy! He was more challenging than Magician and Anya, but I was up for the challenge with Spence. He was a lot of FUN! The hardest thing about Spence was that nobody else in my club could handle him, so that was hard as I could never get a break from him.

Spence at about 7 months?

Spence taught me:

*patience

*it's okay to have FUN!

*dogs can change

*things aren't always as they appear

*it doesn't matter what other people think

Spence was thriving in my house and doing amazingly well! He was happy and very well behaved after a few months of work with him. Around Christmas time, Spence was attacked by another dog while we were on a walk :( This shattered Spence's confidence around other dogs and at the end of Feb. 2004 he went back to GDB for an evaluation and they decided that he was just too scared of loose dogs to be a guide. Spence was placed by GDB in a loving home with a couple in CA. He is a therapy dog now and is extremely happy and loved by his people!

Anya

Anya was the 2nd puppy I raised. She was an amazing little girl and exactly what we wished for when we got Magician. We wanted a female black lab when we started raising pups, but got Magician because he was ready to go and we didn't want to wait! I got Anya on April 22, 2002 off the puppy truck. She was born Jan. 30, 2002 to the Famous Julianne and her dad was Les. She had 4 black brothers and 1 yellow brother-NO SISTERS (poor girl!). Anyway, her brothers were Alex (cc), Alamo (guide), Alto (guide), Amador (cc) and Armstrong (cc-but the spokesdog for Dogs for Diabetics).

The things Anya taught me were:

* you can be "almost perfect", but not "absolutely perfect"

*black is beautiful!

* act so that people call you "princess"

*each dog has it's own personality

*she was born to be a guide-some dogs just have it!

*dogs don't all chase balls-in fact, some dogs care less about balls!

Anya was an amazing dog! I knew from day 1 that she was going to be a guide dog, but she was one of the dogs that I would have kept in a heartbeat! Anya never actually made it to phase 10, she got put into class from phase 8. She graduated with her partner in November of 2003. She is still working in CA and has the most perfect person as her handler! Anya and her partner are two peas in a pod and it shows!

Magician

This whole puppy raising thing started after a year and a half of attending puppy raising meetings. I was very persistant with raising and I was not going to give up until I had a puppy! So on Nov. 30, 2000 I got my little yellow bundle of puppy fur...and his name was Magician! Magician was born Sept. 28, 2000. His mom is Henrietta and his dad is Rashad...both of them have passed on. His littermates were all yellow, they were: Maynard (retired guide), Mazie (retired guide), Marlin (retired guide), Melita (guide), Mercedes (career change), and Madonna (career change).

Magician with Lindsey and Santa a week after picking him up!

Magician was a wonderful "first puppy". He was not perfect by any means, especially at first. Magician taught me many lessons which were:

* Yellow dog fur all over the house is not the end of the world.

* If your puppy respects you, the love will come with that.

*You can be the laziest creature alive, but still feel the need to get in trouble once in a while!

* Dogs need a pack leader, if you are not willing to be the leader, the dog will step up.

* Old habits die hard

*Guide dogs are dogs...not robots, they don't have to be perfect

Magician on Graduation day in OR

Magician graduated on July 27, 2002. His trainer absolutely loved him, and told me at Sonny's graduation, that she still has pictures of him on her fridge at home. She took Magician home with her a lot while she was training him and she just loved him. In class he was nicknamed "superslug", because he was pretty slow and just took his time! He is still working in CA with his perfect partner! He is doing great and has been through a lot with his partner, but they are the perfect team and hopefully still have many years of working ahead of them!

His name is...

Frisco with my Niece

Yesterday I picked up Mr. Frisco :) He is one of O'Connor's babies and he is pretty adorable!

Ontario likes him and is trying to be a good big brother (but sometimes that's hard when the baby does things he's not supposed to be doing...)

My Puppy Raising Mom

In August 2005, I was raising Sonny a MBL. He was about 6 months old and we had decided to go to both the CA and OR Guide Dog Fun Days that year. We spent several days in CA with Stacey, and then we flew to OR where Sonny was puppysat by some raisers up there and where I knew I would get to meet Sonny's brother, Sprite.

The night before Fun Day I was staying at my sister's house in OR. Well, during the night I started barfing my guts out...and it wasn't over in the morning when it was time for me to go to Fun Day. However, being the guide dog freak that I am, I bought me some pepto and off to Fun Day I went.

When it was time, I went to the designated meeting spot to meet Sonny's brother Sprite and his raisers. At that spot on the grass in OR, I met Bob and Tricia Blair. This started a fabulous friendship between Tricia and I.

Tricia became my "guide dog mom" and we talked on the phone almost daily for quite some time. When I was going through so-called rough times in my young adult life, Tricia was the person who would hear me cry over the phone...she was also the person who would send me care packages in the mail, and when I really needed her? Tricia was at my door, giving up her weekend to come visit me! She became my second mom.

Tricia was diagnosed with Brain cancer about 7 months ago...and about a week ago, Tricia was freed from her sick body and is now an angel for many! I know that Tricia is happy wherever she is now, and is no longer in pain. She was a wonderful woman who meant the world to many people including me.

So from Lindsey and the "nasty GSD Ontario" (as Tricia would say)...I love you Tricia!

I was just noticing how my puppy still cocks his head the exact same way...look at this puppy picture and compare it to the picture I took yesterday in the leaves!

Fall

Things that make fall wonderful...and NOT so wonderful:

* I get to wear my winter clothes (sweaters and such)

* I could make myself a sweater out of Ontario's shedding fur!

* Leaves are pretty!

*Leaves are not so fun to rake.

*Jumping in leaves is fun!

*It kind of sucks when you miss doggie poo (because you can't see it under the leaves) and you step in it!

*The sound of leaves crunching is neat and rewarding!

*You're too cold in the morning and you dress warm for the day...only to strip down because you get too hot in the afternoon.

*Perfect weather for hikes!

AND the best thing about Fall...

* WINTER IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!

O'Connor Puppies

Here are some pictures of O'Connor's first-and only litter! Aren't they cute??? He had 5 yellow puppies!!!!

The moment you've all been waiting for...

OK, so this computer or Blogger or something is being stupid today, otherwise I would have more pictures of camp posted...anyway, here are some pictures that were taken this summer :)

On the way home from Fun Day, the car was really full, and Ontario felt he needed to take a nap on my lap-the floor just wouldn't do any longer for him...so he snuggled right in on my lap as well as Cinderella's lap! He's not normally very snuggly, so it was very cute!

When we went to Fun Day, we parked at the mall across the street from GDB, and while we were walking to GDB, I heard the lady behind me say "Carlisle" and low and behold...it was Carlisle who I raised! I got to say hi to him several times throughout the day and he is wonderful! I can't wait until he graduates from D4D. She had only great things to say about him...and the picture above is one we took on Fun Day!

So here is a picture of O'Connor. His breeder keepers were amazing and let me spend lots of time with him that day! He is definately the best dog ever! Unfortunately, the breeding department has decided to retire him from breeding and he will be going back to Oregon for training to become a guide dog! He will be amazing and I can't wait to see him progress through guide dog training. He has one litter that is due Sept. 21st...I'll be sure to keep you updated on them!

And here is Ontario being pet and loved on at Camp Bloomfield! He is becoming quite a handsome guy and is getting so big! He is a great boy and I love him. He's 7 months old now.

Camp and Life

So...I know, I know! It's been way too long since I updated this thing and I promised pictures and didn't post any...but today's the day you've all been waiting for! :) Camp was AWSOME! If anybody ever gets a chance to go, and likes that kind of thing, I would highly recommend it! Come on...Summer in Malibu??? DOES IT GET ANY BETTER???




Anyway, so there were 7 different sessions of camp. We started and ended the summer with Family camp...which meant that about 20 different families who had a blind or visually impaired member (parent or child) would come to camp for 5-6 days. (there were 2 sessions of family camp) I think Family camps were my favorite. Each family camp had a talent show, beach day, parent night out, overnighter at the teepees, and campfire. Family camps were quite relaxed and all about having a great time doing whatever you wanted. Arts and Crafts for family camp entailed tie-dye (just about anything you wanted to tie-dye...shirts, socks, undershirts, shorts, towels) we also made lanyards, friendship bracelets, the ever popular bead bracelets, painting with shaving cream, and the favorite...painted rocks! :) Who knew painting rocks could be so much fun! I met some wonderful families who I hope come back next year! :)





The first camp after Family camp was Elementary Camp. This meant it was mostly kids ages 5-10, although there were several CIT's (Counselors in training) who are between 14-18. During Elementary Camp we went to Universal Studios, Some of them went to a pro-golf workshop thing, Beach day, and had the Summer festival-which is where a bunch of people came to camp for the day to learn about camp and blindness and there were tons of activities and stuff (Summer Festival was exhausting!). Elementary camp was a lot of fun. Arts and Crafts entailed painting rocks, making collages out of nature (leaves, sticks, grass, flowers etc.), and making lanyards and friendship bracelets.

Then we had Junior Camp, which consisted of campers age 11-13ish, but once again their were CIT"s so it was more like 11-18. Outings included Hurricaine Harbor (a water park), and Beach Day. Many of the campers who were at Elementary Camp also attended Junior Camp. In Arts and Crafts we made chia pet things, and lanyards and friendship bracelets (lanyards and friendship bracelets were very popular all summer!)

The camp after Junior, was Alumni. This meant adults! WAHOO!!! Anyway, this was also a very fun session, although quite short. Many of the people at alumni camp had been to Camp Bloomfield for years and years and years. They were a fun group to be around, and even had "the Camp Bloomfield Choir" :) We went to Santa Monica Promenade with this camp, but other than that, we stayed at good old Camp Bloomfield! :) Arts and Crafts consisted of Lanyards, friendship bracelets and bead bracelets.

Then we had Multi-disabled Camp, which was also a very short session. It was basically 2 days. This time, in Arts and Crafts we painted with shaving cream/glue mixture, and made bead bracelets and necklaces and I think we painted rocks too :)

Teen camp was next...and I think this was my most favorite of the whole summer! We went Deep Sea Fishing, beach day, an LA Sparks game (WNBA), and to a place called Golf 'n Stuff (a miniture golf place). I was definately exhausted by the end of this session, but it was completely worth it! In Arts and Crafts we made lanyards and friendship bracelets.

So that's basically what camp was like! A typical days schedule went something like:
7am: wake up
7:45: line up
8am: breakfast
9:15: Period 1
10:30 Period 2
11:45: line up
12pm: lunch
1pm: rest hour
2:15: Period 3
3:30: snack
4pm: Period 4
5:10: lineup
5:30: Dinner
6:15-7:30: Twilight
7:30: evening program (campfire, talent show, etc.)
9pm: get ready for bed
9:30: camper lights out
11:30: staff lights out.

Update...

So...I know that I haven't updated in a while, but you will all have to wait until tomorrow for a proper update. Things are going great though! I'm on break right now, and will write a good update with pictures tomorrow! :)

My Place at Camp Bloomfield

I haven't taken any pictures of Camp yet...(I know, I'm horrible about taking pictures!), but I'll take some pictures this break of what the camp looks like. However, tonight I did take a picture...a picture of my camp bed and all my stuff...and Ontario's area too...


Doesn't it look comfy and cozy??? NOT!!! It's not too bad really...and I'll have to move to a different bunk on Wed...but this is where I have been since the day I got here and they pretty much all look just like this! :)

Snoopy???

Ontario decided to be "Snoopy" and sit on Riley's doghouse!