Happy (late) Birthday Brandon! And a soon goodbye to my Sweet Boy...

*(written by Brandon's Raiser)*
I've been so overwhelmed with things lately, that I completely overlooked the fact that some cute puppy had his first birthday coming up!!
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY BRANDON! 
The poor puppy didn't even get a birthday celebration, or a blog post the day of his birthday... I feel like such a horrible mom for overlooking this!
Brandon turned 1yr old on September 4th (3 days ago)... I just can't believe my little puppy is already 1 whole year!
I do hope all of Brandon's wonderful blogging pals are able to wish Brandon a happy (late...) first birthday!!

On a sad note... I just received notification that Brandon will be heading IFT (In For Training) on October 13th to the guide dog school; where he'll be finishing his training, have various evaluations, temperament tests and once finished be placed in his new home (whether as a working guide dog, or another career path he may choose).
It seems like I just got my sweet, chubby puppy and to receive this news breaks my heart, though at the same time I'm extremely happy for Brandon.
Brandon will be missed, not only by me, but also by all of the awesome friends and fans he has out there...
And to answer the question that is always asked at this time (will I be getting a new puppy??)
At this point, I'm not planning on raising another puppy for a little while and will be taking a break. Though I really enjoy raising the guide dog puppies, I'm extremely busy at the moment and since Brandon was such a "challenging" dog to raise (with all his medical issues...) my family would rather have a break for a little while, before making the decision as whether to raise again or not.
This choice isn't definite, and things can always change, but for now it looks like it might be a while before we raise another pup.  I do plan on staying involved in the guide dog group and hope to remain a "puppy sitter" so I can have a "guide dog puppy fix" when needed!
This doesn't mean I'll stop blogging... after Brandon heads back IFT in Mid October I will continue to update about him, and maybe Liberty (our English Mastiff) will start blogging again!
But enough of the emotional news... and one last "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to my sweet boy!!

-Brandon's Raiser



One of my favorite pictures of Brandon as a sweet, innocent little puppy...

Picture taken at Brandon's level of him walking through the grass , with our  porch on the left side

Pictures below are of one of the most recent guide dog outings... a ice skating rink!!

Picture of Brandon (middle) and a few dogs playing on the rink 

Picture of a little black female puppy wrestling with Brandon 

A group of dogs running on the rink (Brandon's the yellow dog in the rear... I think!)

Picture of Brandon and his new girl friend

Picture of Brandon and his new girl friend getting a little hyper...