Seattle and Saying Goodbye

This is a BIG update. And by the end of it, I'll probably be crying.

Well, our trip to Seattle was so much fun!! Faulkner and I got to do so many things together and I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my last week with him. We went to the local GDB puppy raising club's meeting and got to meet Faulkner's brother Faraja. They were very cute and interested in meeting each other, but it was not the excited litter mate reunion that we were secretly hoping for. It was amazing to get to meet all the people from that club and meet even more people who are working for the same cause as I am. The connections through GDB are incredible and I think that it would really behoove us all to make some real people connections through this organization. I've discovered that I would have had a lot more information on my puppy if I had bothered to cast my net outside of my club. Luckily, I'm doing that now!

Back to Seattle, Faulkner and I spent most of the week just living in the dorm and going out to eat. We got to visit a few friends' houses and went to a lecture at UPS. At the end of our journey we went out to dinner with my friend and my father. It was a nice restaurant and all of the staff (including the manager who talked to us on various occasions) were the best about having Faulkner there. Everyone of them would look at him and smile, but no one tried to distract him from his job and no one used the dog as a focal point during dinner. It was the best restaurant experience I've ever had with a puppy in training.

When Faulkner and I got home from Seattle, we only had three and a half days left together.

The first day that I got Faulkner, I took him to my mom's office so that she could see him and the entire Department of Commerce fell in love with him. Ever since, Mom has been taking Faulkner to work with her and he has continued to melt the hearts of her co-workers. As a farewell to Faulkner, we had a little party! We made cookies and stamped Faulkner autographs. I brought my scrapbook of dogs and we collected money in exchanged for the cookies and autographs as well as love and pictures with Faulkner. All the money that we raised went the United Way fund that my mom's office often donates to.

We raised over $25 in 2 hours.

We had that celebration on Thursday and then on Friday, we had to take Faulkner to the puppy truck. I clipped his toenails one last time and cuddled with him for a good hour before I felt I was ready to go. We waited for the truck to arrive. The group around us included my leader, two other raisers and my mom. Once the truck arrived we rushed to help walk and relieve puppies. I jumped at the opportunity to meet Fullerton after hearing from Megan that he would be on the puppy truck. Not only did I get to love on Fullerton, I also got to meet his brother Forte! They are both amazingly sweet and have the darkest honey coloring I've seen in a long time. Another very interesting characteristic I discovered is that they both have the softest coats in the world. I couldn't stop running my hands across those boys!

In true "Nerd" fashion, Faulkner hopped right up into the truck and strolled into the kennel with no problems. He flopped right down, found a bone and was happily chewing on it when I came up and disrupted the whole process. I opened the kennel to stick my head in and get one last love from my puppy. While every other dog was upset, whining, panting, or just restless, Faulkner stared out at me with his lovely eyes. Then he went back to chewing on his bone.


I don't think that I will ever have another dog like Faulkner. I know that every dog has their own personality. Anyone who works with dogs can tell you that. The reason that I know I will never have another dog like Faulkner isn't because of his personality though. Faulkner and I went through A LOT together this past year. He was the constant for me in a very uncertain, confusing and scary year in my life. The bond that I have with him is different from any other that I've had with another dog.

I'm going to miss him greatly, but I know that special bond between us will help him to create an equally special bond with someone who needs it just as much as I did.

The Countdown Extends

Faulkner's recall date has been changed! He's going to be with me until right around the 22nd now. That gives me 11 more days than I thought we would have!!

The biggest issue with this new information is that I'm going to be out of town for 7 of those extra days! I'm going to be taking a trip to Seattle to visit my friend for the week. I've asked if it would be possible for me to take Faulkner with me on the trip. It would be a great experience for him and it would let me spend more of that last week with him.

Cross your fingers with me in the hopes he'll be able to go!

If he is able to go with me, I'm going to contact the puppy raising group in Seattle to see if we could show up at their meeting and make some new friends! I think that it would be an exceptionally good time and I'm hoping that it will work out!

The Countdown Contiunes...

Well, we're into the last week of Faulkner's stay with me. Only five more days until my Nerd goes on to become something more than a goofy pup. No matter how many times I send a dog back to Guide Dogs, it never really hits me that they're gone until a couple weeks after the fact. I blame it on puppy trade. As a raiser, you get used to not having your dog for a week or so each month and I just feel like I'm sending my pup out on trade right after they leave.

But then they don't come back.

Out of all the dogs that I've raised, Faulkner is the only pup that hasn't been transferred during his raising. My first, Yamaha, came to me at 11 months. He was a wild and crazy boy. He hadn't been neutered and, coupled with his size, he was tough to handle. Baskin, my second, came to me when he was 4 months old. He had been started by a family in my club, so I got to be involved, but I still had Yamaha and didn't feel up to the challenge of overlapping. Then came Donna. I got Donna when she was about 3 months old and then offered to transfer her to a first time raiser in my club who wanted to finish a dog instead of start a puppy. So I only had her until she was 6 or 7 months old. I think that I had Chantilly, my fourth, from when she was 8 weeks until she was 5 or 6 months. And then Gene came to me at 10 months old. He was quite the challenge as he didn't even know the command "down" yet.


But Faulkner, I've gotten to see him through from the beginning. I don't know if it will make it harder to see him go, though. I have made a point of giving myself over heart and soul to each dog that comes through my home. Without that mutual unconditional love, it's a lot harder to train a dog.

My biggest challenge this coming week will be saving some love for the new puppy who will come into my life at the end of this month. I hope that Faulkner doesn't end up stealing it all away from me.

Puppy Magic

With Faulkner going back to school soon, I have been thinking a lot about just what Guide Dogs means to me and these past few months have confirmed how much a person can get out of an experience such as this. The feeling that you get when you are able to help someone else, while helping yourself in the process, is beyond explanation. I don't know that I'll ever truly be able to express what Guide Dogs means to me and what they have done for me. The organization came into my life at a time that I most needed it, even though I didn't know it yet. Through all of my medical adventures, and times of not knowing what life would bring day to day, I had at least one constant: a dog. Every morning, no matter how terrible I was feeling, there would be a wriggling ball of fur just waiting for me to wake up. Not because they wanted to ask how I was feeling and not because they needed to take me to another doctor's appointment. They simply wanted me. And even in in my days of not knowing where my life was going or when I would be able to really start living it again, I knew that puppy needed me. And not just that puppy, but, in extension, a person needed me. After the first graduation that I attended five years ago, I couldn't believe that I was actually a part of what the working team had become. Bob and Yamaha were soul mates and you could tell by just looking at them. To think that I was even a small part of that beauty and freedom still makes me swell with pride. I don't know where I would be now if it wasn't for Guide Dogs coming into my life when they did. But I do know this: This organization is magical. And not just for the blind that get partnered with a Guide.

Exciting Faulkner News!

Faulkner will be going back to school on Friday the 9th of next month, October! Very good timing considering that I was just talking about how ready to go back he is! When Pat Cook comes to do evaluations, she is going to take Faulkner and his brother Franco back to campus along with a puppy being raised in Elko, Nevada named Montessa. Hopefully, she'll be accompanied by new puppies for us as well!!