Visiting the Guide Dogs for the Blind Campus!

Saturday, April 17th I went with my family to the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus in Santa Rafael, Ca. We went to a graduation which is where blind people of all ages graduate with their dogs from the training program. The family that originally trained the dog as a puppy is also there to officially "give" the dog to the person. The class that we saw had ten people in it that were all older then thirty I would guess. The people that received the dog as well as the family that trained it made a little speech that was very moving and brought tears to many of the audience's eyes. The dogs were mainly labs, but there were a few golden retrievers, my favorite! After that my mom and I went on a tour with an older gentleman, who knew Mr. Freeman, a history and the Blueprint teacher, at my school! He was really nice and told us that he got involved with the organization because his daughter got a guide dog when she became blind from type 1 diabetes. He showed us all through the dormitory where the present class stays and trains with their dogs. Next was my favorite part! We got to go into the training kennels where there were tons of labs and goldens! The dogs were so cute! Especially the puppies who we got to pet because they have not been given to their training families yet. Overall it was a fun trip and I would love to get more involved in their organization volunteering but the campus is a bit far away to travel. Hopefully I can go back and visit again!

Guide Dogs!

Here are some pictures from my trip to the Guide Dogs Campus in California!

Today is Tuesday of my first week back at school. I forgot how hard it is to get up when the sun isn't shining. I never wound up going to the Canine Companions for Independence because I was not feeling very good. Instead my family and I are going to go to the Guide Dogs campus in San Rafael, Ca this Saturday. We are going to be going on a tour of the campus as well as watching a dog graduation. This graduation is said to be a very tearful exchange of the dogs that have been trained from their current owner to the new blind owner. I saw one when I was very little but do not remember exactly what happens. The tour shows us around the campus, from the mother dogs that breed, to the dogs that are going to classes for more evasive training. The process for training a Guide Dog is something my parents have looked into a couple of times. My parents were considering getting a Guide Dog puppy to train. We would have the dog at our house to teach it basic commands and then bring it to the campus to receive more technical training. My parents decided that they would not be able to give the dog away because we would be too attached which is very true for me to say the least. Then my parents looked into a dog that would provide the puppies for the organization. When looking more into this option we were told that our "mom" dog would get breaded many times and her attitude may become possessive and not very family oriented. My parents decided that having a dog like that in a family with a child may not be such a good idea so we just stuck with a regular family dog. But anyhow I am excited to be able to visit the campus again to see if I would one day be able to train a Guide Dog just because I know it is a good dead even though I do know it would be hard to give away.

Therapy Dog Shadow

Last Saturday I went on a therapy dog visit with Teckla Schlaich. She has a German Sheppard named Bridget who is six years old. Schlaich said she wanted to make Bridget into a therapy dog because she saw the benefits the animals had on her mother when she was in the hospital. For right now Bridget is only visiting elderly housing facilities. The place we went to was about thirty minutes from my house but not located in a very nice area. Considering the downfall of the area, the building was very kept up and secure. I think it was about 15 or so floors and had a great big dining room and sitting area. We visited the second floor which is more of the hospital area with around the clock care. We went from room to room, some people were more into petting the dogs then others but it seemed that everyone liked Bridget. As we made out way around the floor I found myself in what looked to be like an art room. There were about seven or eight people working on Easter decorations. Some more able-bodied than others, but they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. This is where we met a woman who was the most friendly to German Sheppard. She even carried around dog biscuits even though she did not have a dog! We must have chatted with her for forty-five minutes as she went on and on about the dogs she had and found out more information about us. As we left the woman she made sure to find out when Bridget would be visiting again and told us she would be waiting. As we walked back to the car I realized how much these visits really do mean to the people who live in the home. Some don't have any family that come visit them and these therapy dog sessions are the highlight of their week. Even if just one person says they appreciate the visit that is enough to keep going back week after week. This has made me consider making my dog into a therapy dog sometime in the next couple of years. Hopefully she can impact the lives of people just as Bridget has.