Walk-A-Thon 2010...

...IS HERE!! (I also turned 11 months today!).

Waking up around 7 this morning, after feeding & such we headed over to the fairgrounds for SEGDI's 24th annual WALK-A-THON!!

The weather caught up with us - and it was COLD and wet :(

That of course did not stop us from walking. We met up with our group and once the walk started we were off!

My Raiser got to work with me on pulling. Pulling & dog distraction are 2 problems she has had with me. But I've not had much problems with the doggy distraction, as my Raiser has been working with me on that. After the 2+ mile walk I was doing great with walking, and NOT pulling! My Raiser was happy, & I got treats :)

Each year down at WAT they have "Silent Auctions". They had 30+ gift baskets (all donated). You could walk around, and if you really liked one you signed your name/number & price. Some items went really high!

My Raiser "won" a spa basket for me, (she will post a picture of it later). And the basket she made sold for $50! (Picture of it below).

They were offering free massages, so my Raiser thought it would be a "great" idea for me to have one. I did end up liking it (and the people), after a while, they were soo kind!

My Raiser met new people, I made new friends, & most of all we had FUN!!

Please enjoy the pictures, don't forget my Raiser tags them for me:)

We sure had a Super "Soaked" Saturday, hope you did too! (without the soaked)

(Pictures taken later today will be posted by my Raiser if I don't get time tonight)

Toby

The dog with a blog

Goodnight!

Southeastern Guide Dog school...

Hey everybody, I'm here in FL enjoying my doggy life! (anytime I go out of the room, I see 5+ dogs!)
We started our trip at 3am this morning (if you count that morning...).
Arriving in FL late afternoon, just in time for a SEGDI school tour.
We got our picture taken in front of the pawesome SEGDI rock out front, then headed in to start the tour.
Once we got to the IFT (In For Training) & Puppy kennel, us dogs got put in a "kennel van", since we weren't allowed in the kennels:( At least I had some "buddies" beside me!
My Raiser told me she had a BLAST in the puppy kennel, and the pups were soo cute! (see pictures below!).
They headed down to the IFT kennel to visit all the dogs that have returned to finish training. She had a list of dogs she knew that she was hoping to get pictures of. A couple were in the kennels at the time, but some were out training:(
We enjoyed seeing the school, I said my goodbyes and we headed over to the hotel.

This hotel is PACKED With SEGDI (and other) puppy raisers/guide dog users!

I walk out of my room... and see many dogs!!

If my Raiser's computer will work tomorrow, hopefully I'll post, otherwise WAT post will be posted by her when she gets home... without me.

Enjoy the pictures.

The second to last picture is of My Raiser & I with Kathy Champion & Angel. Kathy is a blind lady, who just recently received a guide dog - Angel (who was a dog in our group!).

To learn more about Kathy, visit here.

Have a FUN FRIDAY!!

Toby

The dog with a blog

Have a Pawesome time!

Library Assignment

Hey guys, Toby here. (really quick!)
My Raiser, her father and I are getting ready to head down to FL. I'm going to ask my Raiser's mom to publish this post for me, and check my spelling and such. (I'm SO tired, my eyes are like half closed).

I had a "blast" at the library yesterday. There were many kids for me to not play with, and they all asked questions about me!
After play time, all the kids got a chair, then brought it over near me & made a circle for story time. The teacher read out a book called "Mouse's first Christmas", it was sure funny!

My Raiser even stood up for a couple minutes & talked about the guide dogs.
I enjoyed "helping" my Raiser make a edible craft afterwards (don't worry, I really didn't!).

I did fine with all the noise & singing, and behaved like a perfect dog.
Please enjoy the pictures & movies!

Toby
The dog with a blog

(Movie of me not paying attention to the kids signing a song & dancing around, I'm knocked out and didn't move AT ALL!!)

(Another movie of me watching the kids sing, I moved a little in this one, but that was because I wasn't quite comfy)

Walk-A-Thon's post...

...Will be posted by my Raiser when SHE gets back from Walk-A-Thon without me. (knowing she will take 100+ pictures, it may be Tuesday before it get's posted!)

We are leaving VERY early tomorrow morning (I heard the number 3 and "AM"...); my Raiser is hoping to make it to the school's tour on Friday.
My Raiser is hoping to visit (and take pictures of...) some doggies she knows while down at the school.

I would also like to say a special THANKS to all my supporters who kindly donated to SEGDI.
If you remember my post about FUNdraising Fun I recently had $553.
We are currently now at $723!! (Our fundraising page can be viewed here). Thank you soo much!!
We may not have made it to our goal ($1000) but she is quite happy that we have raised so much!

I hope you guys all have a GREAT Thursday (and weekend!), please stay tuned for the 2010 WALK-A-THON post!

p.s. I was also just taken to the library this morning to finish up our assignment. My Raiser is hoping to help me get that post written/published before we leave "tomorrow". I had a blast, and loved meeting all the kids!


Toby
The dog with a blog

Sleeping is the hardest thing in a guide dogs life...

Wordless Wednesday

New News for Toby...

Yesterday My Raiser got a new dog tag made for me,

I thought the highlight of this new tag was it being cool and red. But today I found out otherwise.

My raiser just told me I won't be coming back home from Walk-A-Thon next week with her, instead I will be "attending" a 3 week puppy swap. THREE WEEKS?!? I will be a whole 4+ hours away from my raiser for 3 weeks :(

She tells me the family sounds really nice, and even has some children I can play with.

I told her I will "try" and be brave, try new things, and love my life... We'll see how that goes!

I'm told this puppy camp is the highlight of my getting the new red tag, though I'm not so sure I agree.

During this puppy swap my raiser will be receiving my sister "Duchess" (black lab). Since I'm going to a different puppy group and Duchess is from our group the drop off/pick up dates won't be the same. So I'm quite happy about that, maybe I'll have a day with my sister!

I will be dropped off at my "new" house on the way back from WAT in FL. My raiser will take her laptop so I can write the the WAT post on it and then she will post it when she gets home...WITHOUT ME. I'll have the blog updated by Duchess when she gets here.

The new tag was to replace the one I was wearing that said "Frankie", (my last raiser's puppy), since my last tag with my name on it was to scratched up to read.

On the plus side I am feeling MUCH better!
The vet hasn't an idea of what was bothering me, but we are all just glad I'm fine:)

Thanks soo much for you thoughts & words!

Enjoy the photos of my new tag, and have a Marvelous Monday!

Toby

The dog with a blog

My cute red tag & I...

IWYPRSD and Vets...

(Written by Toby's Raiser)
You got that right, my day yesterday had to do with the 1 thing Toby dreads... VETS!

I was planning on writing, posting (and taking pictures) for "IWYPRSD" yesterday, (International Wear Your Puppy Raiser Shirt Day).
But instead, I woke up to find Toby sick!
He had really runny diarrhea,(in his crate too...) so we got permission from our AC to take him to the vet, and off we went!
Toby of course would rather have stayed at home, but lucky for us dogs don't make the decisions!
The vet had to check a stool sample of Toby's (which we didn't have), so we brought that up to him this morning.
For now the vet said he could be contagious to other dogs, so Toby & I had to stay home from puppy class today (which he really isn't happy about!). You may notice in the pictures below, Toby is totally "spaced out", the reason for that is a shot the vet gave him, so Toby was really out of it in the pictures!

Please note that I have started "tagging" pictures for Toby, (if you put the mouse over the picture you can then see the description), I may also put words to the sides of the picture, or I may only tag them. Really just depends on what Toby wants!

Hear are some words from Toby -
HAVE A SUPER SATURDAY!

Enjoy the pictures,

Toby's Raiser
The human that has a dog with a blog





SMILE!

FUNdraising FUN!

I'm SO excited, next week is the annual guide dog Walk-A-Thon in FL, and I'm going!

I have been very busy helping my Raiser with fundraising, we are currently at $553, my Raiser's goal is $1,000.
We've raised more than half!
Please feel free to stop by our fund raising page, and pass it on to everyone you know!

My Raiser just got a GREAT package in the mail today... HER NEW CAMERA!! (see picture below)
Boy am I glad that quest is over. We went in so many stores, even when we went to TN, searching for a camera that would do just as many cool things as the camera my raiser's sister has. Unfortunately, the newer versions of this camera only have about 1/2 the selections under their "best shot" mode. We all know she needs to be able to get lots of great shots of me; she can't be limited. She gave up looking in the stores after trying millions of cameras in hundreds of stores, and finally found the same model online.

She is quite happy, and is glad to have it for Walk-A-Thon:)

Have a FUN Friday!

Toby
The dog with a blog

Wordless Wednesday

Toby

The dog with a blog

Here comes the bride...

That's right, I went to a WEDDING last week!
My Raiser's friend's mother was getting married last week, and we were invited to go.

We all made a trip to Tennessee (with shopping stops on the way!).

The following day we did MORE shopping...

1. A Western store (to get some things for my Raiser's horse)

2. Belks

3. Bed, Bath, and beyond

4. And almost EVERY single other store!! (My Raiser was shopping for a camera)

Then finally that evening we headed over for the wedding.

I enjoyed watching the wedding, and I even got to hear bagpipes!

After the ceremony my Raiser took me over to get my picture taken with the newly wed couple.

On our way back home it had started snowing and when we stopped at a rest area I even got to play in the snow! (more like "eat" the snow...)

Hope you enjoy all the pictures below, have a happy Tuesday:)

Toby

The dog with a blog

(Toby at the Western store, he is wearing a cream cowboy hat and pink/brown cowboy boots, (yes his feet are really IN the boots!), he is in a sit-stay in front of shelves full of boots!)

(Photo of Toby in a sit-stay in front of the newly wed couple, the groom is sitting right behind Toby, and the bride is sitting to the right of Toby, she is wearing a long white dress, with blue on the top of the dress, the groom's young son is to the right of the picture)

(Close up picture of Toby in a sit-stay, he is wearing his coat/harness, and gazing right by the camera)

(Picture of Toby & I, Toby is in a stand leaning on me, I'm kneeling down with my face leaning on his head, the background is an outdoor yellow block with green vines hanging down)

(Picture of Toby in a stand beside me, I'm kneeling down leaning on his back, his eyes are almost closed. The background is is the same outdoor yellow block wall with green vines hanging down)

(Picture of Toby in a sit-stay beside a rocking chair in a family room, he is gazing to the right of the camera, there is an antique-looking brick hearth behind and a basket with a plant in it behind him)

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!
I have been gone for the past couple of days (sorry for the lack of posting!), but I had a blast, and will hopefully get a post done in the next day or so about my trip!

For now, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

My raiser is trying rubber with me today, (hoping it won't cause any eye issues).

So she gave me a big squeaky pink rubber heart toy!!

Hope everyone has a pawesome Valentine, enjoy the following pictures & movies!

Toby

The dog with a blog

(Black/white picture of Toby's face & chest, he is waiting for the toy)

(Picture centered on Toby's face, but does go down to his bottom & back legs, he is laying down chewing on his toy)

(Close up of Toby's heart toy in package, the title is "Heart Throbs" and the heart is pink)

(Movie of Toby receiving the toy, which we found out he LOVES!)

(Movie of Toby "dropping" his toy down the stairs, and playing with him self)

A bookie adventure

Because of all this weather some of our guide dog meetings have been canceled, so we were given an "assignment" for this week. (visit your local library, meet some children, read some books, let children read books to the dog)

My Raiser & I have gotten "half" of this done.
She has taken me to the library and I did meet some children.

She does hopes that in the next couple days I will be able to attend a "story time" (where a bunch of "youngsters" gather to be told a story).

Please enjoy the bookie pictures of me below,

Have a great Monday!

Toby

The dog with a blog

(Black/white picture of Toby in a down-stay, mostly centered around his face/front legs, you can see 2 "doggie" books sitting on his front legs & he is wearing his guide dog coat/harness)

(Black/white picture of Toby's face, his head is laying on a page from "Henry & Mudge", his lead rope is visible in the picture)

(Black/white picture of Toby's front feet on a page from "Henry & Mudge", Toby's head is laying off of the page and he's sleeping)

(Color picture of Toby in a sit-stay, behind him are shelves full of books; he is in coat/ harness)

It's time for...

MANGO MINSTER!
(Actually it's been going on for the past week...)

Tonight 'til tomorrow night the class "hard workers" are up for voting.
Please head over to Mango's blog and cast your vote for the "working dogs" class!!
Which I'm entered in :)

If you don't know who to vote for, feel free to vote for TOBY!
(please note that I'm in the male category!)

And to prove that I am a HARD WORKER, attached below is a quick slide show through my life; as a guide dog in training! (Just various pictures of Toby in coat or harness, with the photo date at the bottom)
Thank you Mango for doing this awesome contest!

Please enjoy the short slideshow of "Toby's life... as a guide dog in training".



Toby
The dog with a blog

Make a Smilebox photobook