Now let me introduce you to another niece....Becky. A gardner, knitter, baker, cook, former school teacher, day care provider, sewer, wife, and a mother...where does she find the time. And if you want movie reviews, check out Becky's husband's blog.
To answer Katie's question about the Guiding Eyes dogs, the ones that are currently in this area for raising/training are Labs. I'm told occasionally a Golden is sent. And German Shepherds are rarely used any longer. The public see Shepherds as police or protection dogs and are afraid of them.
Puppies are named at birth and keep the name for life. And they are not neutered/spayed until they complete their training at the Center. This is so dogs with good temperment, etc. can be selected for broods or sires.
If the dog is not cut out for Guiding, another career may be in their future. A service dog for autistic, deaf or other needs, search & rescue, or bomb/drug finding. If they just are not able to make it, the original raiser is offered the chance to adopt. There is a dog in our group, she's 7 now, that would become so depressed when she couldn't complete a task that she was deemed not usable. She lives with her raiser now and comes out to classes to visit the puppies.
Here's a link to the May 09 graduates.
And please let me add, that I am not an expert about Guiding Eyes. I've asked lots of questions and read quite a bit. I'll share what I learn as I continue in this process.
A random picture because I haven't taken any in a while and what's a blog without pictures!
The Snow of Winter '09
