To know Lee Shenk was to love him

Lee Shenk, GDB Puppy Delivery Specialist: A Friend to All

Lee Shenk, who died on January 8, 2016, was more than just a puppy truck driver.  Lee was a friend to all. Lee loved the puppies. Lee loved the returning dogs. Lee loved the career change dogs and retired guides. Most especially Lee loved the puppy raisers and all the people he met at each puppy stop. Lee loved the opportunity to deliver these wonderful little bundles of warm and squirmy little furballs to their very special homes and puppy raisers.

My memories of Lee's joy and extreme kindness to all puppy raisers is endless. I think of Lee and see a tall man with a wide happy smile looking out over the crowd of puppy raisers from the open door of the puppy truck with a beautiful new pup in his arms and bubbling over with the exuberance he displayed at every puppy delivery stop.

Lee was always poised to begin the fun of handing out new little puppies—sharing the love and joy each puppy brings to their puppy raiser.

Lee carefully puts on a black Lab puppy's collar.

I can't remember for sure the first time Lee delivered one of our puppies. But I can tell you that each and every time he placed a new puppy in my arms or those of any other puppy raiser, I/we all felt it was just us and Lee and our new puppy—a "personal puppy delivery," especially for that one raiser and family, in the spotlight of that moment. We always felt like the special ones.  We knew we were the lucky ones.

Lee with black Lab puppy, Hedy, who later became a working guide made famous in the story "Steady Hedy."

For my family there have been 32 puppies. Some came before Lee arrived at GDB. But once Lee started making the trip to Colorado with the puppies, a deep and lasting impression of his goodness and kindness began to grow with us and other puppy raisers. Over the years, my husband Ken and I developed a wonderful friendship with Lee that was to also include his wonderful wife Deb.

Our deepest expression of sympathy goes out to Deb. There are really no words that can adequately express our deep sorrow. Lee and Deb were a wonderful and fun couple to spend time with. How blessed we are to have been graced with their friendship. And friends forever, they are.

Looking back through my piles of pictures, I have discovered many pictures of Lee gently placing those special little pups into the arms of many puppy raisers. And there I found a picture of Lee enthusiastically placing our dear little Miss Pat into my arms.

Lee hands off Pat to Alice.

Thank you, Lee.  Thank you so much. Little did we realize that it would be Lee that delivered Pat to us and then the following year be the one to drive her on her return trip to the campus in Boring, Oregon, for advanced training.

Lee helps a puppy raiser load his charge into the van to go back for advanced training.

This was such an incredibly special happening for us and little Miss Pat—special beyond description as Pat is the last guide dog puppy we would raise for GDB.

We have chosen now to raise puppies for a wider range of services through service organizations. We always felt totally at ease and comfortable knowing that Pat, as all the pups, was under Lee’s watchful eye and very special care. He treated those dogs like his own and he loved his dogs. This meant everything to us.

Each and every time the puppy truck arrived in Colorado, there was Lee with his infectious smile. Meeting up with Lee each time the puppy truck pulled in for a puppy delivery was like no time had passed since his last visit to Colorado. Timeless!

Lee hands off a yellow Lab puppy to a mother as her daughter looks on.

We will miss you, Lee, so very, very much.  Godspeed, dear friend. Just knowing you were doing what you loved and what we all loved for you to do—delivering our four-legged bundles of joy—was a special and comforting thought for us all.

We pray you are now surrounded by all those guides and career change pups that crossed the rainbow bridge ahead of you and will now snuggle up close to you as they remember your gentle and caring ways, when they too traveled with you across the western United States.

We can never forget your smile, Lee.  We will never forget you, standing there so tall with that wonderful broad and joyous smile at the puppy truck door. The kindness, joy and friendship you spread at every puppy delivery, to all of us, is our gift from you. Thank you, our dearest Lee.  Thank you again for all you gave us beyond our sweet little puppies.

God bless you, Lee, and God bless your dear Deb and special Sigmund.


Alice (& Ken) and all our pups, especially Cotton and little Miss Pat