Saying Goodbye

Many people think that dogs don’t have feelings, but we are actually very sensitive creatures. We feel emotions just like people. I get really excited every time I see a tennis ball. Happy when my mom and dad get home from being gone or when I see my friends. Upset if I make a mistake and displease my family. Annoyed when my new little brother, Patrick, tries to take my toys or pesters me to play when I’m tired or not in the mood. Worried and anxious when I’m left alone somewhere I don't know well. Sad when someone close to me leaves.

I have gotten used to new friends and foster siblings coming into our lives and leaving, I never know what or when my mom will bring home. In my five years on this earth, we have had a few foster kittens and puppies stay with us, and I've helped raise four other guide dog puppies in training.

In fact, just before Patrick came we had a two foster chihuahua puppies that stayed with us for a couple of weeks.

I know that these fosters are usually temporary, but some stay longer than others. The guide dog puppies usually stay the longest. Every once in awhile a foster will stay with us permanently like my little brother Ozzy—and me, I guess. But often we say goodbye and these friends go off to live with others. These goodbyes aren’t too difficult because we know that they are happy, loved and well taken care of. We even get visits sometimes like from my previous little sister, Pilaf, who didn’t make it as a guide dog. She is over for a visit right now and is keeping me company as I write this. Sometimes our goodbyes are not happy ones, and I get very sad.

I have had to say goodbye to three family members over the years. The first was my kitty sister, Faith.

She got sick one day and went to the vet and never came back. I was confused at first but Mom explained that she went to heaven and I felt a little better. I still miss her—she was always so nice to me ... but she did like to hog Mom’s lap.

The second family member was my big brother Eli, my best friend. We did almost everything together. We went for walks, played tug, got yummy treats and snuggled. He was sick for awhile but was really brave for all his doctor appointments and medicine. I did my very best to help take care of him.

When he went to heaven, Ozzy and I got to say a final goodbye. We both miss him so much. Our house isn’t the same without him.

The third was our little special kitten, Fidget.

I helped Mom raise him. He was an orphan when he was just a tiny newborn. He was more bonded to Ozzy than me, but I still miss him snuggling up against me for comfort.

The other day my mom came home from work and sat me down and gave me the news that my oldest and best friend, Lucy, joined Faith, Eli, and Fidget in heaven. This made me very sad. But my mom was there to comfort me and we spent a lot of time talking about the fun times we had together.

Lucy lived with one of the veterinarians my mom works with. When I went to work with my mom, I often saw Lucy there. We sometimes would hang out in the same kennel together, and if our parents weren’t too busy, we would have play time.

Lucy also came for sleepovers when her dad went out of town and couldn’t take her with him. It was always so much fun when she came to stay. Eli, Lucy, and I were the three amigos, the best of friends. We would have fetch contests to see who could get to the ball first. She was amazing at fetch and my best competitor.

We often went for walks and off leash adventures together and had fun tearing up toys together.

We even took trips to the snow with Lucy and her dad—those were awesome trips!

Lucy was also always a great help with raising me and all the other guide dog puppies. She was very patient with puppies but also firm with them if they got too pushy. I was really looking forward to her helping me out with Patrick—he can be really pushy sometimes and I think he thinks it is fun to annoy me. Puppies always listened to her, and Patrick laughs at me and doesn’t take me seriously when I try to tell him to knock it off. I could have used her advice.

Lucy with guide dog puppy Chanel.

Having to say goodbye to one of my best friends this week is what inspired me to write about this topic instead of giving an update on how things are going with Patrick. I just wanted humans to know that we dogs do mourn and need time to get over the loss of our friends and family members. Thanks for listening to me talk about my feelings. It has made me feel better sharing some of my favorite memories.

Wags and kisses,
Ricki

Bringing back Growing Up Guide Pup: A Cause for Hope

As we head back to California on another Growing Up Guide Pup adventure, I ponder what to discuss for my premiere topic on the GUGP blog. I usually don't have a problem finding a topic I want to blog about because it seems I always have something to say. Amie tells me I never shut up.

As we work out of our mobile work station—a 2001 Toyota Highlander—returning through Lake Tahoe, I find myself in a bit of a mental freeze. I don't know if it's the foul stench of that disgusting rest stop in Nevada, or the gas station pizza near the California-Oregon border I should have avoided like the Black Plague. All I know is my brain is fried, so I ask Amie for ideas.  She says, "Why don't you talk about bringing back Growing Up Guide Pup and what it means to you?" Given that Amie and I often come to the rescue for each other, and she has not failed me yet, I take the idea and will run with it ... so here goes.

Bringing back Growing Up Guide Pup means many things to me, but most importantly it means hope.

Guide puppy in training Pilaf at a fire station.

Hope that we at GUGP can make a difference with our non-profit. Hope that the many obstacles we have observed in the service dog world may be addressed in some fashion. Hope that our various forms of new media will inspire more service dog volunteers. Hope that GUGP may help attract more financial backing to the service dog industry.

Hope that puppy raisers will have increasing societal tools for training, as well as the support of governing laws and culture to allow them to do their job at the highest level possible. Hope that service dog teams will find their lives more productive and easier to live as culture moves towards a better understanding of disabilities. Hope that people will acquire knowledge about service dogs' crucial role, and not assume this is just a person who put a jacket on their pet.

Hope that service dogs may be able to help increasing numbers of people with disabilities. Hope that service dog organizations will look towards a unified goal of helping the disabled regardless of economic, societal, fundraising, and political obstacles that may get in their way. And most importantly, I hope that GUGP will take all these needs and shake them up, stir them around, and pour them into a glass for enjoyable consumption. 

In the following years, the likelihood of coming in contact with a working service dog team will reach critical mass, yet the general public has limited knowledge of these wonderful animals, their jobs, and how to interact with their handlers. The demand for more service dogs to help people with disabilities will grow and the level of awareness and understanding will need to grow to keep up. Growing Up Guide Pup would be honored to assist as much as we can! 

Matt with his and Amie's first guide pup, Macklin.

Five years ago Amie and I observed that despite dozens of service dog schools in existence, something was missing that not too many organizations prioritize. What is missing is education that bridges the gap between the service dog world and the average person who knows nothing about the topic. I hope our that our new media approach and other developing visions for Growing Up Guide Pup may directly improve this area. Service dog schools have their hands full with their primary missions of breeding, training, and partnering service dog teams. Growing Up Guide Pup's goal is to raise awareness about service dogs, service dog etiquette, and service dog laws. This is an important public service to assist the service dog organizations throughout the world.

Therefore GUGP's hope is to:

1. Continue displaying the joy as well as benefits of raising service dogs.

2. Provide education and understanding to the general public, so people are familiar with services that service dogs provide, and how to engage when near a working service dog team.

3. Spotlight service dogs, service dog users, and service dog training organizations.

4. Advocate for service dog users, raising awareness about issues including access and what rights are granted by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

5. Raise awareness about fake service dogs, whom they hurt, and what we can do to fix it.

So as I see it, a cause for hope is what bringing back Growing Up Guide Pup means to me.

Now let's get back to work!

Matt

Finding Growing Up Guide Pup

Sometimes, YouTube knows what's best for you.

In August of 2011, I was owner-training my first service dog, Juno. Issues that had been simmering for years had finally developed into a full-blown disability. My doctors supported my plan to train my four-year-old Doberman mix to help me. To help myself, I constantly watched various training and service dog videos on YouTube.

Soon, every time I opened the page, this big shades-of-green pawprint logo would dominate the "suggested channels" section. I ignored it for weeks (bad decision). Finally, I clicked on Growing Up Guide Pup's channel.

For the next several days, I was glued to my computer and my phone. I had to know what each week held for adorable little Ricki. I loved seeing her adventures, especially when she got to tag along on an outing with working guide dog Bamboo. You wouldn't believe how few good videos of working guides are out there. I adopted Juno when she was 18 months old, so seeing a puppy being raised from day one as a service dog candidate was fascinating. I was sad when Ricki was career changed, but glad that she came home to Amie and Matt.

Training with Juno continued apace, and by September—nine months after beginning focused service dog training—she had graduated. Our partnership was unbelievable. She was unflappably professional, and we rarely had a miscommunication.

Then in February of 2012, I found out that Juno had Sudden Acquired Retinal Degenerative Syndrome, or SARDS. Basically, it meant that unless she responded to an experimental treatment, she would rapidly go blind. Of course, I retired her from work—and my world seemed to shrink instantly to a confining bubble. I began contacting the Doberman breeders I'd already researched on the assumption that I wouldn't be getting a puppy until summer 2013.

Soon, I knew that barring a lack of male puppies, I would be getting my new service dog prospect in June. I commenced binge-watching Growing Up Guide Pup again, this time looking at it with new eyes. In a few months I'd have a tiny little puppy just like that, and if I failed at raising him, two years later I'd still be without a service dog. I tried to absorb every extra bit of knowledge, even going so far as to download the Guide Dogs for the Blind Puppy Raiser Manual to see what tips I could glean from it. (The potty training section: Pure gold.)

At the end of February, I was walking a pack of dogs along Alameda de las Pulgas. I saw another group of dogs heading toward us, and was about to cross the street to give them more space when I suddenly had to take a second look. One of those dogs looked really familiar ...

In super cool and very dignified fashion, I blurted, "Is that RICKI?!" Then I recognized Eli next to her, and realized that Matt was walking them. I practically died—I may have a few hero-worship issues. I babbled to Matt about how I had watched Ricki's whole season within a few days—sometimes while walking the dogs—and he seemed almost as excited that I was such a fan of the show.

Despite my little performance, I became friends with Amie and Matt. Juno responded very well to the experimental treatment and regained her vision, taking the pressure off the mind-blowingly adorable puppy who arrived right on schedule in June—Kaline.

Thanks to Amie and Matt, Juno and I got to accompany a guide dog puppy group to a San Jose Giants game. Later, I brought Juno and little Kaline to meet Amie, Matt, and Pilaf at a local Mutt Strut. And Kaline, now three years old, grew into a confident and capable service dog, following in Juno's pawprints.

Having been such an ardent fan of the show, I was elated when Matt and Amie asked me to get more involved with Growing Up Guide Pup in preparation for Patrick's arrival. I love advocating for service dogs and educating people on the amazing things these dogs can do, from guiding blind handlers to alerting to impending seizures to stopping panic attacks.

I can't wait to see Patrick grow up!

Colt