Picture Post (and last chance to enter giveaway!)

Today's post will be pictures... lots and lots of pictures.
In this post you will see all the pictures taken on the way down to FL, in FL, and even the last couple pictures taken of Toby.

I really wanted to put off picture posts for a while... I don't care to look back at the last pictures I took of Toby, but I made myself. I really miss him.

Looking at those pictures reminds me of him, no I don't remember a cute little cuddly puppy. I remember a huge, strong, playful, annoying, handsome, obedient, fun looking dog... which was Toby.
At times he may have gotten "on my nerve" but in the end we both loved each other :)
He was my big baby!
Enjoy the pictures.

If there is another dog besides Toby in any of the pictures below, it will be 1 (or both) of his siblings. Cassie is the yellow lab, Duchess is the black lab, and Toby is... Toby!

****Today is the LAST DAY to enter Toby's giveaway. I will do a drawing tomorrow sometime & post the winner. If you haven't already PLEASE enter, just go to his giveaway post & leave a comment!****



More pictures coming soon, enjoy these for now! (I tried posting them in order... but that didn't work out, sorry!)

Toby's Raiser
The human without a dog that has a blog

Sorry that the pictures of the puppies look so bad. They were taken through a glass window with a teenage girl in tears (we looked at the puppies after handing over Toby).

The puppies were very cute, you really can't tell anything from the pictures though.

What's it like with 3 dogs in a car... all the way to FL?

Wild, Crazy, Fun, Interesting, Wild...

Monday night Cassie (Toby's sister), her Raiser and her Raiser's sister showed up.
They spent the night at our house, then the next morning we headed down to FL.
We made a "quick" stop to pick up Duchess (Toby's other sister).
Then with 2 female dogs in a car with 1 INTACT male we continued on :)

For the first 20 minutes it was 3 young dogs trying to play... with no space. Once they realized it would be more comfortable for ALL of us if they just laid down - they decided that was the better deal.
I brought 5 sterile dog bones for the trip down (for the dogs... not us!). And for some reason 1 dog always ended up with ZERO bones to chew on??
After about 5 hours of driving Toby got fed up with the "girls" stealing all the space. He decided there was MUCH more room somewhere else... on my lap. Yes, he crawled on to my lap and fell asleep!
Of course it didn't last long, I told him "off" and he went back on the ground with the "Space stealing" girls.

I remember when we stopped for lunch - taking 3 dogs out of the car, giving them a restroom break, then coating them up and heading inside.
I've had some people stare at me before thinking I was blind - but with 3 dogs in a restaurant... we got a LOT more looks!

Toby was perfect, not one bit dog distracted like I totally thought he would be.
He even did a down-stay beside his siblings PLUS ignoring them!

While in the car the dogs did have their "moments". All would be fine, 3 dogs sleeping at our feet. Then all of a sudden they all decide to jump up and start chasing each other, we calmed them down real quick!

All in all the car ride was quite "fun" and I really enjoyed having some other dogs with us.

My camera was in my hand for the entire trip... so yes the card is quite full!

Tuesday night was quite fun. 3 dogs in a hotel room! All who listened quite well (yes I was surprised!).

Wednesday morning we finished breakfast rather quickly, with 2 hours to spare we decided to visit the beach. (Toby's never been!)

Since it was a "no dog" beach we had to be careful (guide dogs in training are allowed on - but people do have problems sometimes).

I really wanted to let Toby play in the water... but we forget to bring towels!
We spent about 30 minutes on the beach taking photos :)

Still having time to kill, we went downtown to walk the dogs.
While on the walk we saw across the street a dog... in harness... working with a SEGDI trainer!

That was really neat watching them work - thinking Toby might be doing that in a couple months!

All to soon the time came... for us to head on over the the guide dog school.

Before "turn in" we took pictures with the SEGDI stone. Then I had an appointment with the lady in charge of the gift shop. I planned on showing her my dog & dog bone goat milk soap (same style as the giveaway is for).
She really liked them and decided to try them in the gift shop!

Of course once we finished with the soaps it was time... to turn him in, it was time... to say goodbye.

I don't think a single puppy raiser could ever turn in a dog WITHOUT crying. Goodbyes are hard and it doesn't make it any easier knowing that you may never see him/her again.


After Toby "left" we headed over to the puppy kennel to look at... PUPPIES!

There wasn't any puppies old enough for "puppy hugging", but I did get to peak in Ginger's kennel and see her cute black goldador pups... knowing one of those fluff balls will be mine in one month!

Heading back home without any dogs was hard, but we did make it.

Making a couple stops on the way, while inside I may have used "find the door" for entering and exiting. Yes, some people looked, wondering why in the world I would tell MYSELF "Find the door"?

I have lots of pictures of the trip down and many from "last things" with Toby.
I plan on posting them all through time before the new puppy gets here.

Thank you for following this blog and leaving comments on the way. I really appreciated reading all the wonderful comments from you guys on the last couple posts - thank you!
Pictures coming soon,


Toby's Raiser
The human without a dog that has a blog

Question: (and 300th post!)

Did you miss me???

Answer:
I HOPE YOU DID!

My Raiser picked me up at 10:30 this morning, I was sooooo happy :)
My swap father talked to her a little about my 3 week camp life - how I did and such, then it was time to go. I; of course, didn't mind one bit, as I was with my raiser, MY RAISER.
We made a few stops on the way home, my Raiser coated/harnessed me up and off we went. She got many, many, many comments on how well behaved I was, and we even had a few people who thought my Raiser was, well, blind! I felt so proud, that means I would have been a real guide dog. My Raiser said I sure was acting like one, and she was happy at how well I did, doing commands right on the spot, and if she was blind, she would have LOVED for me to guide her!

I was very excited to get back home, see Liberty, sniff my house and sleep.

I hope Duchess didn't "ruin" my blog to much with all her girly talk.
I wished I could have spent a couple days with her, but my Raiser didn't want to chance her coming into heat with me being in the same house, so we traded back at the same time :(

P.S.
My Raiser pointed out to me that this will be my THREE HUNDREDTH POST!
I have enjoyed blogging for the past 10 months and hope to fill this blog up with somemore exciting posts for the next 3 weeks!
Enjoy the photos below, all were taken today,

Toby
The dog with a blog

Letters From Camp - and goodbye Duchess!

Hey blogging buddies - this will be my LAST POST before I leave... I will NEVER get to post on this blog again :( I hope all you guys miss me!

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving with my handler to meet up with my raisers and the family Toby is with - so we can all switch back! Finally I will be HOME!
My handler put together a slide show for you guys; it's kind of short, but it goes through some various photos she has taken of me (most you have seen, but some were never posted on the blog). I hope you enjoy it!
Toby's swap family sent a "photo email" today... with lots and lots of pictures. My handler didn't want me to post them all - but said to pick a "couple". (You may also notice in some of the pictures, that Toby has a raw spot on his nose - that somehow got there when he was in the crate at the swap family's house, no idea why).

I had fun blogging for the "almost" 3 weeks I was here, and really hoped you guys enjoyed reading my pawesome posts.

Enjoy the slide show of ME, and the pictures of Toby below. (please note that my handler tags all photos, but all will have words beside them - as that was what Toby sent along with them)

Duchess

The dog with a blog

This free digital photobook created with Smilebox

"Neighborhood boys just LOVE me!! They play rough like me!"

"I just ADORE people... particularly the ladies...!!!"

"Another party... I didn't care about the cake... there's that cat on the porch...again!"

"Why do these little guys get balls... and raw hide... and stuffed animals??? No Fair!!!"

"My camp mom took a picture of my nose... she was REALLY worried about me... and it..."

"Waiting for a train in Summerville....(it didn't come!!)"

"Such lovely smells... EVERYWHERE!!!!"

"Wouldn't I make a good guidedog puppy action figure???!!!"

"Insurance Rocks....well sort of!!"

Wordless Wednesday

Duchess

The dog with a blog

Things I like...

I LIKE the vacuum.
I LIKE the YMCA classes.
I LIKE dogs.
I LIKE the baby goat.
I LIKE the bunnies.
I LIKE outings.
I LIKE vehicles.

And things I don't...
Llamas... and HORSES...
Those horses are like BIG MONSTERS. I just don't trust them. And the Llamas, well they just look WEIRD!

My handler did introduce me to some horses, a Llama, and some Alpacas - in person, which meant I didn't just see them through the fence :(

No I didn't "freak" when seeing the animals, I just didn't fall in love with them (see videos below). My handler did tell me I did better than she expected. She knows I'm not a "horse lover" like Toby is, but I do try to please her, and she is happy with that.

Enjoy the videos & pictures below, have a Terrific Tuesday!

Duchess

The dog with a blog

I LIKE Zumba. (Movie of Duchess in a down-stay on her paw print blanket, you can see 8+ people doing zumba behind her, she is not phased at all by it)

But I DON'T like Llamas. (Movie of a brown Llama coming up to Duchess, he is just wanting to sniff her, but Duchess thinks he wants to EAT her!)

The monster horses... (Movie of Duchess meeting 2 horses, she is really shy, and doesn't want to go near them, you can see some Alpacas in the background)

Something's missing...

AND IT'S ME!

Notice in the pictures below, I'm not in ANY of them! My handler went to some "4-H" camp thing, and LEFT me :( She thought it would be better to leave me since I would be bored and such. (and the possibility of me coming into heat)

BUT, she came back home today!

I did hear something about me leaving Friday... back to my raiser's! I think we may be "swapping" back - so in 5 days you will have Toby back & blogging! All for him to leave in just a few weeks... :(

I did have a blast while she was gone, of course I was quite happy to see her come back.

Hope you all had a Sunny SUNday!

P.S. My handler will be taking some pictures of me with some animals (joy oh joy...), so before I leave I'll be doing a animal post.

Duchess

The dog with a blog

Duchess says...

Hey guys!

Did you miss me? Seems like my handler has been HOGGING the blog lately :( Sorry about that, I'll have a "little" talk with her soon...

My handler got the letter in the mail yesterday... from SEGDI (the guide dog school). Which means the "IFT" date is official... Toby, Rocky, Spike, Cassie, & I WILL be leaving next month down to FL, and WON'T be coming back.

But I'm told we will have LOTS OF FUN!!

On to other stuff -

My handler has been busy trying to expose me to many things. I think the goose is scary, it looks at me with a "odd" face. And when my handler showed me the horses... well, let's just say. It wasn't pretty... "Those things" are BIG.

My handler has gotten many good comments on how well I behave in town! I have even attended a 1 hour YMCA class. All my handler did though was "dance" to music, and I was stuck doing a 1 hour down-stay, that was sure hard.
She was afraid I wouldn't stay that long, but I proved her wrong. I wanted to be just like Toby! (he attends 3 one hour YMCA classes EACH week!).

Enjoy the pictures & videos down below.

I'm going to finish having a "Freaky Friday". I heard something about my handler introducing me to a HORSE! I thought it looked big enough on the other side of the fence... now I have to MEET IT!

Wish me luck.

Duchess

The dog with a blog

(Movie of Duchess watching "Zumba", the 1 hour class at the YMCA. She was laying down in coat, but behaved quite well)

(Movie of Duchess meeting "Milo" the pig. Right after this movie was taken... she pulled her collar off & ran back to the house - I tightened her collar up a little more after that!)

Wordless Wednesday

Paw it Forward

.(Written by Duchess's handler, Toby's Raiser)
When picking up my mail Saturday, I was surprised to find... a package for TOBY!!
It was from our lovely friend's over in CA! (Thanks Kari!).
Duchess of course was quite excited, and didn't care too much about her name NOT being on the package...
We opened it up, and not to my surprise at all- it was for the dogs :) TREATS!
Of course I told Duchess we would have to wait to open them, as they are Toby's, not her's.
I have never received a paw it forward gift, and don't know too much about them.
I was told though, once you receive it, you pass it on to 3 other dog blogs.
Since I'm not rich (!!), It will be a small gift, but you guys should still enjoy it.
Have never received a Paw it Forward package? Want to be 1 of the 3?
Leave a comment with the word "pawesome" in it (thanks Duchess...), and the first 3 "pawesome" comments will receive a small gift! (in the USA please)
**(Please note that I DO filter comments, so they aren't published right away - though I do try and post them when they come in)**
Don't be shy, if you want to participate leave a "pawesome" comment!! (all comments are welcome, if you include "pawesome" in the comment I will count that as you are wanting to participate)
Please email me at "letters-fromhomeAThotmailDOTcom" if you were one of the three, or leave your email in the comment and I'll email you.
Thanks again Kari, Toby will enjoy the healthy treats when he gets back from camp!

P.S. I see a "IFT" (In For Training) email in my inbox... I guess that will be my next post...

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