OUR GIFT..... (Brando Page 3)
May 25, 2001 ~ Brando's 1st Birthday
Our
"little" 85 pound puppy becomes a dog, and celebrates his first
birthday in style. As you can see from the expression on his face, the
Blue's Clues party hat was a big hit. We took this photo outside his
favorite Mexican restaurant, just before Brando joined some friends for chicken
tacos and a couple of margaritas. (Just kidding, GDA trainers.... honest!)
Of course, all of Brando's human friends proudly sported a Blue's Clues party
hat in his honor during dinner (under duress), but you won't be seeing THAT ridiculous
photo. I've been threatened with bodily harm if I dare to publish
it. :-)
June 7, 2001 ~ GDA Open House & Puppy Trials
Brando scores BIG in the annual Guide Dogs of America puppy trials event and
takes home a placing ribbon for his efforts. Of all the dogs in the 12 to
15 month group (about 40 or so), Brando took 4th. He did his best, of
course, but the competition was very tough. After all, these dogs are the
"best of the best". So, although we would have liked to place higher,
we're just tickled that he's in the top 10% of his class. The trainers
congratulated us and said we should be proud of our dogs..... and you KNOW we
were.
July
28, 2001 ~ A Day At The Ballpark
Part of our job as
puppy raisers is to expose our dogs to as many situations as possible. We
take this very seriously, and are constantly racking our brains trying to think
of places he should go. Brando had never been to a baseball game, so we
headed off to the Lancaster Municipal Stadium to check out a Jet Hawks evening
game, followed by a fireworks show. The temperature at the 7:15pm game
time was still in the 90's (hence Brando's "hot dog" look) but he took
it in stride.
The game was full of base hits and home runs (we won 5 to 2), so there was
a lot of crowd action for Brando to keep track of. Well, actually, he was
more interested in the pizza, hamburgers, beer, and peanuts being consumed
around us, but he IS still a dog after all. The 10 minute fireworks show
following the game was of no concern to our cool-as-a-cucumber pup, who pretty
much passed out after a long day of excitement and took no notice.
November 10, 2001 ~ Brando Goes to Puppy College
The big
day is finally here..... Brando has returned to the GDA campus for his formal
guide training. As I sit down to write this, it's actually late in
December. It has taken me well over a month to muster the courage to put
that day into words. In fact, I'll be lucky if I don't get electrocuted by my
wet keyboard. :-) Brando's in-for-training day was very difficult
for me, but one I will never forget. My heart hurt as Brando gleefully
bounded off into the run with his new roommate Cambria (on the right), knowing
that I would not see him until graduation day in 6 months with his new blind
owner. Of course, there is always the possibility that he'll fail out of
the program and come home, as 2 out of 3 don't make it. But, honestly, as
much as I love my boy, I'd rather see him go on to change someone's life for the
better. Good luck, Brando..... we love you.
