K9 Buddy Dogs and their Families

By: Kathy Featherstone, GDB Dog Placement Coordinator

For the past year, it has been my privilege to coordinate the K9 Buddy Program placements here at Guide Dogs for the Blind. This unique program was established more than a decade ago to partner youth who are visually impaired with a career change dog as a pet companion. I get to spend time with wonderful dogs and match them up with a recipient that may live as far away as Colorado. Unless it’s a local placement, one of our Community Field Representatives (CFRs) will do the home visit and bring the dog to the family when the time arrives. I live vicariously through photographs, emails, and phone calls pre and post adoption. All of our K9 Buddy families are so grateful to the puppy raisers for allowing them the gift of a career change dog with the capacity to enrich the life of their child, their family, and their communities. Katie, whose daughter received K9 Buddy Widget said, “This whole experience with Guide Dogs for the Blind has given us so much joy and hope. When we went to a Puppy Raising class we were overwhelmed at the care and willingness other people had in raising a guide dog puppy. We could not believe the K9 Buddy program was available to us at no cost. The gift of Widget is one that we will never be able to repay all of you for. Just know that whatever part you had in providing this dog for our family, you have made an incredible impact on our lives. We do not take it for granted for one moment and see this as a blessing we will cherish for a long time.”

Here are a few K9 Buddy families who wanted to share their story with all of us:

Bluebell, a four year-old retired guide dog is a calm, sweet natured female black Lab. She was matched with Claire, a young girl in Colorado and her family, consisting of older sister Stella and parents. As mom Marlo explains: “In April of 2014, we met Bluebell for the first time. We felt like we had waited forever for her to arrive. Bluebell makes our family so happy. Claire’s favorite thing about Bluebell is that she is soft, cuddly, cute, and sweet. Claire loves snuggling next to her to read books. Older sister Stella’s favorite thing about Bluebell is that she is playful and always happy. We love that Bluebell greets everyone in the morning. Bluebell walks with us to the bus stop every weekday morning and afternoon; our bus driver always gives her a treat. We love taking her on walks and watching her play in the snow. Even though we don’t think she has ever lived in a snowy place, she just can’t get enough of the snow! Bluebell sleeps calmly every night, well maybe not calmly because she snores. We are so happy that Bluebell is in our lives.”

Claire and Bluebell

Ella, a female Golden Retriever completed a portion of formal guide dog training and was then career changed. She is a very sweet, calm, sensitive-minded girl that loves to please her people and cuddle when the opportunity presents itself. Ella was matched with Sarah, a teenager from Colorado. Sarah’s parents and her younger siblings all wanted a dog in their life. Marianne, Sarah’s mom describes having a K9 Buddy companion: “Owning Ella has really been like adding another kid to our family! It is an adjustment to have another responsibility, but such a blessing to see the love and bonding between the kids and Ella. It is really touching as a mom to see children show love to an animal, and learn to love them by caring for them, and then see that animal show compassion in return! It has really given Sarah a friend that was much needed. Having Ella as Sarah’s K9 Buddy dog has really been so great for teaching Sarah the responsibilities and lifestyle of having a dog. I love that Ella will listen to me when no one else is up to paying attention to me. When I’m lonely, I can talk to her. I love to walk with her; she keeps me company when I go on walks at the park. We all LOVE her. If there is anything our whole family can agree on, it is that our dog is the best and deserves every bit of love we can give her. We LOVE that she is already trained so that all we do is continue to reinforce the training, we did not have to start from scratch. Even if we did, Ella would be more than worth it.”

Sarah and Ella

Gia is a female Golden/Lab cross that also completed a portion of formal guide dog training. Gia is very affectionate, enjoys physical attention, a quiet lifestyle, and staying close to her favorite people. She was matched with Annabelle, an 8 year-old girl who lives in Marin County, CA. It was my pleasure to do the home visit and place Gia with the family. Annabelle says: “My favorite thing about Gia is that she is the cutest dog in the world. She’s very, very nice to me and I just love her. She’s really sweet.” Annabelle’s parents could not be happier with their new addition to the family. Laura, Annabelle’s mom said: “Gia has brought so much love into our family. Annabelle is very proud to have Gia as her K9 Buddy and she became so comfortable with her so quickly. If Annabelle is going through a hard time, she goes to Gia for comfort. Annabelle has expressed interest in having a guide dog when she becomes a teenager, and having Gia is perfect for her now. She enjoys telling people about Guide Dogs for the Blind and about Gia’s special training. Annabelle is outdoors more and exercising more thanks to Gia.” Annabelle agrees, “Gia changed my life, because now we have a dog and now I have much more fun.”

Annabelle and Gia

Widget, a female yellow Lab completed most of formal guide dog training before becoming career changed. She is sweet, smart, confident and easy going. She was matched with Hallie, an 8 year-old girl living in Colorado. This is an active family that includes two younger brothers ages 6 year-old and 22 months. Katie, Hallie’s mom, writes: “The day we got Widget, Hallie had so much excitement, adrenalin, and anticipation built up on what the experience would be like. After the initial greeting and walk, we gave Widget a tour of our house. Hallie finally got to have a moment to really settle in and sit with Widget. As Widget’s warm body snuggled into Hallie, that’s when she said something like, ‘My anxiety was at 100% but now that Widget is here it’s at 0%. My heart is now 100% full of love instead.’ Widget sleeps on Hallie’s floor each night and will follow Hallie up to her room when she knows it’s getting close to bed time. Hallie drapes her arm over her bed to pet her furry companion as she falls asleep; her room is quiet and calm. Before Widget, this was not the case for bedtime. Hallie has always had a hard time falling asleep and was usually ‘stir-crazy’ at night until about 10:30-11pm. We have tried EVERYTHING to help Hallie; medicine, homeopathic items, music, calming exercises…EVERYTHING.  For the last five nights Hallie has been quiet and sleeping by 8:30. This is a miracle! This extra sleep will only be good for Hallie’s mood and health!!! It is incredible to my husband Adam and I how much work went into this dog. She is so well behaved, listens not only to our commands, but takes direction from both Carter (6 years-old) and Hallie (8 years-old). She’ll seek Hallie out to snuggle. She has seamlessly slid right into our family, only enhancing our lives.”

Hallie and Widget

Katie also shared some of Hallie’s comments about Widget, her new best friend:

“Didn’t God make Widget with so much love inside her!?”

“Widget’s heart beams love into mine.”

“When she greets me with her tail wagging it’s like she’s putting fairy sparkles everywhere.”

To Hallie, Widget has filled our home with magic.

Thank you to everyone who contributed some “magic” into these families lives!

To learn more about our K9 Buddy program, please visit: www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer?pagename=programs_youth_k9buddy

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A Dog Nose Story: Gucci Finds a New Career

By GDB Canine Welfare Training Manager Jeannine May (with contributions by Marilyn Richen and Tammy Jackson)

I would like to share this story of Gucci. A career change lab that is spending a lot of time nosing around….

Gucci, an adorable female yellow lab, was born on June 25, 2012. She was raised in GDB fashion by Marilyn Richen and Tammy Jackson in the Pups With Vision puppy raising club. She was a somewhat challenging pup as she wanted to eat everything she could get her mouth on and always had her nose to the ground. I first met Marilyn and Tammy on September 7th when these first-time puppy raisers anxiously awaited the GDB Puppy Truck for the dog that would change their lives. I happened to be working Isis, my Lagotto Romagnolo puppy, during lunch to recognize the scent of truffle (underground fungus that is considered a culinary delicacy). We got into a conversation about my curly haired little dog being an Italian Truffle dog. It somehow came up that I teach truffle dog classes—training people to train their own dogs how to find truffles. We exchanged some information as they had potential truffle land, and life went on.

I encountered Gucci again when she came to the Oregon campus to board when she was in season and another time for an overnight for her spay surgery (incidentally she was the first laparoscopic spay dog done on the OR campus). What a cutie she was!

At 14 months, Gucci was dropped from the puppy program. Part of her drop notice states:“Gucci is an intelligent and opportunistic dog requiring active handling. She demonstrates above average interest in things on the ground and may grab and ingest an item even when closely monitored.” Tammy and Marilyn decided to keep Gucci, but knew they needed to do something to keep her busy.
They have forested land; forests have truffles. Why not see if she can be a Truffle Dog? After all, she always had her nose to the ground anyway! They started taking Truffle Dog training classes with me at Pacific Truffle Dogs in November 2013 not long after she was career changed.  

Gucci was a quick study! She learned to find the odor of truffle and really liked the game of using her nose, finding the correct odor source and getting a treat for it. ‘Wow, how cool’ she must have thought. Being rewarded for what she has always wanted to do…use her nose! Tammy and Marilyn soon decided they wanted to expand her repertoire of odor recognition and we began to teach the odors used in K9 Nose Work competitions.

Gucci was taught three additional odors simultaneously; birch, anise and clove. She passed her Odor Recognition Test (ORT) for all three odors on the first try! She was now ready for Nosework competitions. In the meantime, she was also working in the woods with Marilyn learning by experience how to find the buried treasures. When truffles are ripe they produce an aroma that is very attractive to some species of mammals, including squirrels, voles, dogs, and yes—pigs! Isolating and locating the specific source of fungi that grows underground, out in the middle of a forest, with all the various scents that a forest emits, takes talent and focus!

Throughout 2014 Gucci continued weekly training with Tammy and Marilyn. Tammy and Gucci began competing in K9 Nosework trials. Gucci earned her NW I title on her first try, and it only took two tries to get her NW II Title!  At the NWII trial in which she qualified she took a 1st place in Interior searching, 3rd place in Vehicle searching and a 3rd place Overall (for all search areas combined)! Awesome! To get to this level in only three trials is a BIG accomplishment!!  

To top off Gucci’s amazing year of competition, Marilyn entered her in the first-ever North American Truffle Dog Competition called the “Joriad.” Gucci continued practicing real life truffle hunting on the family property as well as other locations in preparation for the event. On the day of the Joriad all 26 dogs entered had to pass two qualifying rounds in order to continue to the finals round. Many of the dogs she was competing with were of the famed Lagotto Romagnolo breed—the Italian Truffle Dog. The qualifying runs were held in a horse arena; this offered some special challenges to the dogs as they not only had to sniff out the truffle odor, but also they had to pay no attention to the crowd, the smell and sight of horses, the odd environment, cameras looking down their noses, nor horse manure.

Gucci was one of the 16 dogs that passed the first qualifying run. Woo hoo! And she passed with flying colors; no faults and well under time. Sadly, 10 dogs did not go through to the next round.
The next test was a bit more challenging. The truffle scented targets were hidden in a large area of the horse arena. There were two such areas and two dogs were competing at the same time adding to the ‘trial nerves’ of the handlers!  The teams each had five minutes to search the area and find five truffles. There were trees in pots, large rocks and logs placed in each search area to give it a bit of doggy interest, but it was definitely not the same as a real search in the woods.

Of the first four dogs competing in Round Two—none of them passed the requirements within the amount of time given. It was seemingly a bit more difficult than it sounded! Gucci was up next. I’m not sure who was more nervous; the students, Marilyn and Gucci, or me the teacher? I think it was me!

Team Gucci approached the start line and she saw the dog across the way. From my view point in the bleachers I thought Gucci was looking a bit distracted, which added to MY nerves.  Marilyn gave her the search cue to look for truffles and Gucci quickly headed in the direction of the dog!  Aaah!  Marilyn kept her cool though and did a good job in getting Gucci’s focus back. She quickly put her nose down and went to work. Not long after Gucci found her first truffle!  About a minute later her second, and then third, and the fourth followed quickly. We spectators were feeling excited but a bit anxious too. After all, none of the other dogs had found five. The clock was ticking…come on Gucci only one more. At 4 minutes 41 seconds Gucci started pawing and truffle number five was uncovered. She had qualified for the Championship round the following day! Of course she did, I knew she would…whew.

She was the first dog to make it to this point so far. The remaining dogs completed their runs with the result that only one other dog met the original five truffles in five minutes requirements!!  The event organizers had a pow-wow and decided to allow all dogs that found at least four truffles within the five minutes to compete as well. This brought the total Championship competitor number up from two to six. It proved to be a tough competition day in which 20 dogs had been eliminated!

Now the world of mushroom hunters and truffle hunters can be a bit on the secretive and unique side. In keeping with this theory, the organizers would not allow any spectators at the event. The only people privy to the sight location was the competitors, judges, organizers and volunteers. No friends, no relatives, no instructors. So Marilyn and Gucci went off on their own to compete for the top honors in the Field Championships of the Joriad. Go Team Gucci!

This round was ‘for real.’ They were in an overgrown Christmas tree parcel of land in the undisclosed location somewhere around Eugene, Oregon. All the dogs and handlers were going to be competing at the same time on the same piece of land.  The rules said they had to keep at least 20 feet away from each other. They were given one hour to find as many truffles as they could. Each dog/handler team was assigned a volunteer that would keep the truffles the team found in a bucket with that dog’s name on it. At the end of the competition the truffles in each bucket would be counted only by the officials. Whichever dog found the most truffles would be the winner. If there was a tie for the same number of truffles, they would weigh them (they come in a variety of sizes) and the highest weight would win.

Since I couldn't go and watch, my knowledge of the details of the actual hunt are slim, but I know that Gucci went right to work and quickly started locating the naturally grown truffles deep in the soil. When Gucci locates a truffle she paws at the ground and Marilyn will then kneel down and finish digging it out. The majority of the truffles located this day were Oregon White Truffles – their scientific name is ‘tuber oregonense.’ This is one of about three or four native Pacific Northwest culinary varieties of truffle. The PNW truffle market is in the early stages of developing, but they can sell for anywhere from $30-$80 per ounce at the retail level.

At the end of the hour Marilyn was feeling tired, but good. Gucci had done her job well! They had located and dug up many truffles, but didn’t really know well how all the other dogs had done. Were they better/faster than Gucci? Had they found more than she? No one would know until the award ceremony that night.

The awards dinner was held at Willamette Vineyards just south of Salem, Oregon. There was wine, good food, and lots of interesting conversation. Finally they announced the winners—and YES!  Gucci had won the first ever North American Truffle Dog Joriad Championship!! The number of truffles the dogs had found was not announced, but rumor has it that Gucci was double the number of the second place dog.

I was certainly proud of my students and friends; Tammy, Marilyn and Gucci! Gucci won out over several dogs of the infamous Lagotto Romagnolo and has shown everyone what a great career-change dog she is.  Her new career is just beginning! Gucci will continue in both Nose Work competitions and will be looking at going pro in the truffle dog world.

GREAT JOB,Team Gucci!

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Newshounds: Guide Dogs for the Blind in the News!

Real Simple Feature: The Intrepid (Mommies with Guides)  – http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/seeing-impaired-mothers-group-00100000119851/

The BARk magazine: Guide Dogs for the Blind's Training Methods –  http://thebark.com/content/guide-dogs-blind

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences/The Oscars Video "There's Not Much To See: How Blind People Enjoy Movies" Featuring GDB Graduate Melissa Hudson – https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=10152174401071406&fref=nf

Bay Area Guide Dog Puppy Raisers Club: Information Video – http://vimeo.com/89060824

GDB graduate and U.S. Paralympic Skier Danelle Umstead – http://www.ksl.com/?sid=28752409&nid=

GDB Guide Dog Puppy Leanne AT&T Commercial – http://www.business.att.com/content/speeches/day-in-the-life.mp4

Guide Dog Glendale Wins Purple Paw Award – http://www.greatfallstribune.com/media/cinematic/video/7868537/guide-dog-wins-purple-paw-award/

Past GDB graduate Kristina Blum on the Katie Couric Show (first legally blind contestant with the genetic condition albinism to compete in the Miss California USA Pageant and ended up winning the Miss Congeniality Award) – http://katiecouric.com/videos/woman-with-albinism-redefines-beauty/

GDB Career Change Dog is Now a Certified Hearing Dog Helping Cedar Point Woman Find Freedom – http://www.jdnews.com/features/neighbors/new-leash-on-life-1.288761

Saying Goodbye to Tiki: Eighth Grader Max Angel Raises His First Guide Dog Puppy – http://ktvl.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/ktvl_vid_12386.shtml

Residents in Portland Metro Area and Surrounding Regions Benefit from New Partnership – http://www.dovelewis.org/news-events/media-releases/residents-in-portland-metro-area-and-surrounding-regions-benefit-from-new/8336

GDB graduate Nancy Stevens featured in Ruffwear’s Video “My Dog is My” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep8daoZQVwY

Five Houston Area Families Train Future Guide Dogs – http://www.khou.com/community/5-Houston-area-families-train-future-guide-dogs-246471491.html

GDB Career Change Dog Pauletta is Now a Therapy Dog –  http://www.news10.net/story/news/nation/2014/03/18/how-a-dog-is-making-a-big-difference-in-a-second-career-at-a-hospital/6566637/

Silicon Valley Bank and Guide Dogs for the Blind Team Up – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v-7JjPO4j8

GDB graduate Nancy Shugart’s TED Talk “Be the One to make it Happen” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9QghVlreno

GDB Career Change Dog Pesto Now a Therapy Dog Who Helped Change the Lives of Two Brothers – http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=378728

South County Safari Featuring the O.C. Coastal Puppy Raisers – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRlKTZixtT4&feature=share

GDB’s Collaboration with DoveLewis: Portland Area Canine Therapy Teams (PACTT) – http://www.oregonlive.com/forest-grove/index.ssf/2014/02/bridge_to_independence_therapy.html

GDB graduate Wayne Heidle Gives Inspiring Lecture with Guide Dog Poncho  – http://optometryadmissions.com/2014/03/06/pre-optometry-students-inspired-by-low-vision-rehab-assistant-professor-wayne-heidle/

GDB Program Dog Teton is a Newly Trained Therapy Dog Working with Veterans – http://www.garthstein.com/news/index.php#45

Volunteers Play Critical Role in Helping Train Service Dogs – http://tdn.com/news/local/volunteers-play-critical-role-in-helping-train-service-dogs/article_e62c1620-b7ce-11e3-a279-001a4bcf887a.html
 

 

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Bonnie's Gifts

By: The Neff Family

We first saw her as she checked out the exercise area at Guide Dogs for the Blind. We sent a looping three tone whistle and a cheerful "Bonnie, come" and she was ours!
 

Achoo! Achoo! Allergies and ear infections were what kept Bonnie from guide dog service. Instead she would be there to give her new owner John, the much needed encouragement that would eventually be needed. With the best traits of a Golden/Lab Retriever, Bonnie through the years has given more than an accountant could score!

 

Twice daily walks stopped while John underwent hospitalization, recovery, and therapy for a serious spine infection. During a long course of rehabilitation, a major factor in his recovery was a strong desire to “walk with Bonnie.”  Once home, the leash waited until one day, Bonnie brought it to John and they had their first steps together in months.

Being curled asleep by his shoes, Bonnie encouraged John to bend over and pet his friend. If John were to fall outside, Bonnie, twirling and with little sounds coming from her throat, would race indoors to seek help.

The gentle, wet nose on his arm would say, "I am awake, how about you?" Waiting at each doorway, Bonnie seemed to say, "You go first - I am right behind you." As John exercised each day, she seemed to tell him, “I AM HERE, YOU CAN DO IT.” From her long held innate traits, she knew that they must continue their former activities – and today they do.

 

Gifts given; love exchanged.  Companions meant to be!

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Dog Placement and On Campus Care with GDB's Canine Welfare Technicians

By Kathy Featherstone, Dog Placement Coordinator

The matching process between career change dogs and adopters is a team effort for those of us in GDB's Dog Placement Department who are finding forever homes for these dogs. As we are entrusted to make the best match possible, we look at a range of placement options, including:

• other service organizations
• pet companions for people who are blind
• therapy dog programs
• as the ultimate pet and best friend for a family

A vital step in this process is the care and commitment provided by members of GDB's Training Department, the canine welfare technicians (CWTs).

Each CWT has a project dog and will work on a specific behavior plan created by the CWT manager or a Dog Placement staff member. This behavior plan is unique to the individual dog's needs as well as keeping the dog healthy and happy on a daily basis. Outside of daily grooming, walks and supervised playtime with other career change dogs, each CWT is tasked to assess their project dog's behavior and use positive training techniques with clicker and food rewards for such behaviors as:

• eye contact
• polite greeting 
• walking on a loose leash
• basic obedience
• recall, etc.   

As Senior CWT Shannon Del Buono said, “I find it very rewarding to work with a dog and seeing them progress when I’ve taught them a new skill/behavior that will help them get adopted.”

The CWTs insightful observations, canine knowledge and handling skills enables those of us in Dog Placement additional insight into determining the best match for each individual dog.

We are all appreciative of the commitment by the puppy raisers to the special dog that they have raised.  We want to ensure that each career change dog transitioned into our temporary care is valued, nurtured and continually learning new skills while on campus and awaiting their adoptive home.

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