The Photos...

Now that the scanner is finally working, I'm able to upload the pictures/letter Rudy sent me.

I should be receiving Rudy's harness picture in the next week or so, and I'll be sure to post it:)

Enjoy the photos/letter below!

Rudy's Raiser

Someone got mail...

*(Written by Toby's Raiser)*

Toby received a card in the mail today from SEGDI (his guide dog school), and much to our surprise it was a HAPPY BIRTHDAY card! (see pictures below)

Yes, Toby's 1 year birthday is THIS Saturday. On March 27th he will be a WHOLE year! Time sure has passed quickly,

Happy almost 1 year Toby!

I also want to thank you guys for helping Toby in hopefully reaching 2 of his goals.

He has already made it to 21 comments, and has 96 followers - THANK YOU!

2 of Toby's goals:

1. Get 100 followers on my blog (!!)

2. Get over 20 comments on 1+ posts (20 comments from 20 different blogs).

He still hopes to get more posts with 20+ comments, but he is very happy that he has already received 20 comments on 1 post.

Thank you so much for following, reading, and commenting on his blog! It means so much to a young puppy to know that people enjoy reading this blog :)

Toby went with me to Zumba (at the YMCA) tonight, and did a great 1 hour down-stay, and also made a new friend :) (See pictures below)

Toby's Raiser

The human that has a dog with a blog

Toby's wonderful card

Toby's new friend

Toby's Moving to China... and I'm going with him!

So I wish.

I came back inside from riding horses yesterday, to find THIS EMAIL from my Area Coordinator...

Email's title: "Our big pups are ready for their next stage in their training - yes - it's IFT time".

Email:

"Good Morning everyone
It’s an exciting time as we prepare to send our puppies back to school. The letters are on the way to you to explain all the details. For now, please mark on your calendars that your pups will need to go back to school between the 12th and 15th April.

Please let me know if you have any questions. This is an exciting time for the puppies and a tough time for you as we make this transition. Please know that I understand the emotion of this time – and that telling me you have left the country with the dog won’t work :)
Thank you for every minute you have invested in your puppy – that investment is getting ready to pay huge dividends down the track".

Wow, this was WAY sooner than I was planning for. He will only be 12 1/2 months when he returns, normally it's not till AFTER 14 months. This means I will only have him for TEN MONTHS!

He won't be returning back to me from puppy camp for another 1 1/2 weeks, I can't wait to get him back.

Toby will definitely be missed, and I will definitely be getting a new puppy... as soon as possible!

We have asked to see when new puppies will be available, but we won't know for a little while.

I do hope you guys will continue to follow Toby's blog while he's gone, even though we may not have another pup for a month or so.

(Yes my first thought when reading this email was I'M MOVING TO CHINA, Until I saw the part about not leaving the country) :(

Oh well, Toby's ready, and he will have a blast.

P.S. To my newer followers who are not guide/service dog raisers, IFT (In For Training) is a date that is set for our dogs to return back to school for further training with paid SEGDI trainers. It is very possible that we will never see our dogs again, it all depends on the career they choose.

Duchess's handler, Toby's Raiser

The human that has a dog with a blog

Letters From Camp... Outing time!

*(Posted by Duchess's handler, Toby's Raiser)*
I received a email yesterday from the father of the family Toby is staying with. It was a really long email with great details about his training, but I did take some parts out to make it shorter for you guys (if something sounds a little odd, it may be because I took a section out).
Enjoy!

"Recorded my first 4 hour working session with Toby. My gut feel- he is going to make it! The first place I took him was the bus stop. After that we dropped the 5 year old at pre-school and then went to the insurance office to conduct some business. We went in the office and he did very well staying in a seated position to greet the staff. After introductions and some petting, we went in to a private office where he laid down and slept for an hour. PERFECT.
We then drove to down town where we could walk past restaurants and shops.
We met some toddlers where Toby sat so they could approach and pet. Once again PERFECT!
Toby had a few issues walking past some sidewalk displays with plants and he also jumped when a semi rig bounced over the railroad tracks. We left that area and entered the new city hall. We rode the elevator up, stopping at 2 and 3 and then back down also stopping at 3 and 2 before exiting at 1. He was once again PERFECT! He remained in the sitting position as the door opened and closed on each floor.
We went down Richardson without issue and even stopped to watch some men making a racket by throwing kegs of beer out the back of a truck and loading them up on dollies. No issues with beer for this dog but the handler’s urge to enter a pub created a minor distraction. The will power prevailed and Toby’s work continued.
We passed a few pedestrians without issue and the number of bumps to prevent marking had dropped to near zero.
We took another pass down main street and he once again returned to PERFECT. He passed the flowers, plants, pedestrians, poles hydrants, signs without a single bump. He is really smart and learned how to meet expectations really quickly.
We made a pass through Lowe’s where I stopped and talked to several people and made a restroom visit. He was PERFECT Again!!!
He does very well with “come”, “sit”, “stay”, and “down”. Very sharp with “stand” and “forward”. He also knows “heel” and “switch” but could use a little practice to make those perfect. will get some pics to ya soon...” Looks like Toby's main issue at the moment is marking things, but it sounds like he is getting better!

I will be doing a "Paw it Forward" post soon, and passing it along to 3 other doggie blogs, so stay tuned!

Duchess's Handler & Toby's Raiser "The human that has a dog with a blog"

Letters From Camp... PICTURE TIME!

A few words from Toby-
"here's a few shots! More very soon!
~Toby~"
I also got an email update from the family he's staying with-
"Toby is a very smart boy...knows his commands nicely...
Distractions are many for his brain at the moment...(so much to see !!!.. so many things to sniff, to mark, to paw!!!) We are greatly enjoying him...

Hubby is off tomorrow and is planning for a full day of exposures and tooling around stores, etc.... I will give ya the lowdown on their day...

Did a bit of nail trimming just now.. he was so polite...
No issues with eyes/etc. so far - so good
More soon!!"

You may notice in the pictures Toby gets to meet their new puppies (rescued 3 week old Lab mixes).

More updates soon, enjoy the pictures! (Some Toby sent with words beside them, but all are tagged by me).


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








"No one loves this blankie more than me!"












"There's a party going on-- but I see a cat in the woods!!!"









"Puppy love??? No...They look like squirrels- or cats...or..!!"

Letters From Camp...

Hey guys, Toby's Raiser here. Toby started his puppy camp last night around 7pm.
I will miss him (I already do!), but I'm lucky enough for him to have gone to a family who plans on letting Toby send updates!
Here is a letter I just received from my big boy, please enjoy!

hello mom...

Camp is ok... the food is somehow the same so that is good. I slept in a big kennel last night with my bones and bed. It was my first night, but I didn't even whine- just ate my biscuit and went to sleep-- mostly... I was tired after a good long walk through the camp neighborhood.

Today I got to meet the other kids who live here... zak is five today... I think I smell cake. He makes a lot of high pitched noises which get me a little excited. almost like the puppies..oh... the puppies. There are two little little little tiny puppies here at camp, too. I think they're too small to be here (they look like small kittens!), but the humans said they didn't have a home so will be here at camp with me for another week or so... I tried to play with them... but they are a little small for my masculine figure!! Oh.. Jena is the other kid at camp... she is seven.... much calmer than zak. She will be a good playmate I think. Am I big for my age? Everyone here is surprised how big and strong I am already. (It's cool being the biggest kid!)

A bunch of human kids came over this morning and we went to the bus stop together... I liked sniffing everything... but you know I do... No goats here yet, but I saw an Emu down the street. Maybe I'll get to smell it later.

Well, gotta go, mom. I am told I have to help vacuum now... something about a birthday party later.... Yippeee! Maybe I'll earn a biscuit badge by lunch. I miss you of course, but I'm doin good so far. You know, mom... I AM almost one already....
More soon.
Your dog son..

Toby
P.S. we'll send pictures soon...

Enjoy it?
So heart warming isn't it!
attached below is the LAST picture I got of my sweet boy...
Tomorrow is the day Toby's sister Duchess will be coming into our home. We don't know if she will be staying the whole 3 weeks, as she is due to come into heat anytime. If she does then she will be going back home.
I will post more updates from Toby when I receive them, and Duchess will be taking over the blog when she gets here.

P.S. "Letters From Camp" will be the name of posts that have letters from Toby in them.

Stay tune for more!

Toby's Raiser

The human without a dog who has a blog