A Homecoming Week to Remember

by Olivia Mesches, GDB puppy raiser

I am a Junior at Modesto High School in California. Our student body has a long history of displaying extreme spirit and pride during Homecoming Week.

My 10-month-old Guide Dog Puppy in Training, Gaston, was no exception. Gaston dressed up for every spirit day (or, rather, I dressed him up...often to his embarrassment) including Western Day, Neon Day, Explorer Day, Pirate Day, and of course, Spirit Day!

He wore each costume proudly. Occasionally, though, he'd heave a heavy sigh, his sad puppy eyes staring deeply into people's souls as if to say "Look what this crazy lady did to me! Please take this costume off me and have her committed!" Needless to say, Gaston attracted more "ooos" and "awwws" during Homecoming Week than at any other time!

Luckily, Gaston goes to school with me every day and has grown accustomed to such fame, so he has learned not to let it go to his head. However I am quite sure that, had there been a place for dogs on the Homecoming Royalty ballot, Gaston definitely would have won.

I convinced myself that dressing my dog up was really benefitting him in addition to being fun for me and everyone else who encountered him. (I know one dog who won't be having any sensitivity issues once it comes time for him to put on the big boy harness.)

There were a few costumes, however, that made my male friends cringe...such as the hot pink sweater he wore for Neon Day or the red tutu he wore on Spirit Day. But I assured them that Gaston is very secure in his masculinity (after all, there is an entire song dedicated to this fact in Beauty and the Beast). If you were to ask him, I definitely think Gaston preferred being a cowboy or a pirate.

Gaston and I finished off this fun and crazy week at a rally. He had the privilege of sitting in the front row seat and had plenty of eyes on him. Unfortunately, he slept through most of the activities including the school band's performance (even though they were set up right behind us). The resounding din of a gym full of hyped-up high school students right before school let out for the weekend wasn't enough to rouse him. He did get up lazily to help escort me across the gym, providing for the majority of the cheering and cuteness factor.

Gaston was such a good sport and he really made Fall Homecoming special and memorable for a lot of people, myself included.

Olivia and Gaston

Dangerous invaders (part 1 and 2)

We've Got a Bone to Pick with Marrow Bones!

by Carol Conway, Client Services Representative, GDB Veterinary Clinic

Our California Campus Veterinary Clinic had an emergency case recently, which we thought was worth sharing: The Harrowing Story of the Marrow Bone! This story's not for the squeamish, but it does have a happy ending!

We often have people ask us what’s safe to give their dog to keep it busy – there are so many products on the market, many with obvious flaws, but some which seem innocent enough. And our dogs love them all!

In this case, however, without the fast reaction of the dog’s custodian, the situation could have been painful and costly, and had serious consequences. A dog had been given a marrow bone to chew on, and somehow had worked it around its lower jaw, ending up with it getting stuck behind the two lower canine teeth. The dog had attempted to push the bone off with its tongue and managed to get its tongue caught underneath.

As soon as the dog arrived at the clinic, it was given sedation, and GDB's veterinary technicians began cutting the marrow bone off with a cast-cutting saw. (This type of saw cuts through bone and plaster, but does not harm the skin.) When the bone was sawed through on one side, a piece of metal was used to pry the bone until it broke in half. The dog awoke easily and had no lingering effects.

Needless to say, the dog is now happly munching biscuits! No more marrow bones!

Cute animal pictures (part 1)

Kitty wants to play too.






Polar bear baby exploring the world.






Birds huddle together.






 Kitten found a warm place to sleep.






Cats huddle together.






Elephant-wannabe rabbit.

Funny animal jokes

A panda bear walked into a restaurant. The panda ordered some food and ate it. After that the panda pulled out a pistol, killed the waiter and started to walk out the door. The owner of the restaurant said - “Hey, what are you doing? You came in here, you killed my waiter and walk away without saying a word. What is going on?” The panda said - “Look it up in the dictionary,” and walked out of the door. So the owner of the restaurant got out a dictionary and looked under the heading “Panda”. It read: “Panda is black and white animal. Panda lives in central China. Panda eats shoots and leaves.”




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A man went to sell his dog. The buyer asked him - “Is this dog faithful?”

The man replied - “Yes, I have sold my dog 3 times and every time he returns to me.”




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Two campers are walking through the woods when a huge brown bear suddenly appears in the clearing about 50 feet in front of them. The bear sees the campers and begins to head toward them. The first guys drops his backpack, digs out a pair of sneakers, and frantically begins to put them on. The second guys says - “What are you doing? Sneakers won’t help you outrun that bear.” “I don’t need to outrun the bear” the first guy says. “I just need to outrun you.”




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A turtle was walking down an alley in New York when he was mugged by a gang of snails. A police detective came to investigate and asked the turtle if he could explain what happened. The turtle looked at the detective with a confused look on his face and replied - “I don't know, it all happened so fast.”




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A mother camel and her baby were walking one day. The baby camel asked - “Mommy, why do we have such big, three toed feet?”

“Those are to keep us from sinking in the sand when we walk in the desert.”

“Oh” said the baby. A little while later she asked - “Mommy, why do we have such long eyelashes?”

“Those are to keep the sand out of our eyes when the wind blows in the desert.”

“Oh” said the baby. A little while later she asked - “Mommy, why do we have this big hump on our backs?”

“That is to store water when we travel long distances in the desert.”

“Oh” said the baby. “But Mommy, why are we in the San Diego Zoo?”

20 000 dollars dog house

One year ago Tammy Kassis decides that her dogs deserve their own house to live in.
Nothing extraordinary, except for the price of the dog house - $20 000. The house look like a regular hose, it is just smaller and the
furniture is lower to the ground. Tammy Kassis is 42 years old lady and lives with her husband outside of Los Angeles. She explained that
there was an accident where an owl almost took away one of her three dogs - Coco Puff, Darla and Chelsea. Then she decided to give her
dogs an extraordinary dog house. She commissioned a famous architect Alan Mowrer of La Petite Maison in Denver for the dog house and the
result is an 11ft replica of family home with luxury features like heat, hardwood floors, screened doors and windows, handmade curtains,
mini-blinds, and landscaping complete with a white picket fence. Tammy Kassis even has plans to install a plasma TV so the dogs can
all watch their favorite shows on Animal Planet together.





Tammy Kassis was quoted
as saying "My dogs are my life," We all are absolutely sure
about this – after all she spent 20 000 dollars for their home. See pictures of the extraordinary and very expensive dog house below:

 


















 

Funny animal cartoons | Ron Coleman

Noah's Ark:)

 

Secret grazing place :)



Milking machine :)







Source and Copyrights: http://animals.colemantoons.com/

Candid Camera

Voltaire had it made in the shade...

Our camera buffs have been busy!
Check out our photo submissions for September and October.
And don't forget to take a swim in our Flickr Group Photo pool!

Vivaldi had a great birthday party!

Our November Tradition: The Oregon Fall Luncheon

It's a First Friday in November Tradition! Our 12th Annual Oregon Fall Luncheon was held earlier this month at the Oregon Zoo in Portland. With a sell-out crowd of more than 300 people, the event raised funds to support programs at our Oregon campus, as well as introduced us to new friends and offered us a chance to reconnect with longtime supporters. Acting CEO Morgan Watkins with his guide Will emceed the program that featured a dog training demonstration, a keynote address by Paralympic Downhill Skiing Bronze Medalist Danelle Umstead with her Guide Dog Bettylynn, and the ever-popular puppy delivery where puppy raisers were introduced to their new pups (pictured above). Kudos to the volunteer event committee for putting on such a fabulous affair. To see all of the photos from the event, please visit our Flickr site at the following link: Oregon Fall Luncheon Photos.

Breeder's Digest for September 2011

Litter Announcements

Labrador Retrievers

• 9/10/11 Stockholm x Lania – 4 males – litter letter “B”
• 9/12/11 Ozzie x Leche – 4 males, 2 females – litter letter “M”
• 9/15/11 Pike x Nikita – 3 males, 5 females – litter letter “R”
• 9/15/11 Simon x Peach – 2 males, 2 females – litter letter “N”
• 9/16/11 Flamenco x Athenia – 4 males, 3 females – litter letter “T”
• 9/20/11 Stockholm x Sally – 3 males, 5 females – litter letter “A”
• 9/22/11 Ozzie x Gracie – 5 males – litter letter “W”
• 9/23/11 David x Trinidad – 1 male, 4 females – litter letter “V”
• 9/24/11 Marino x Mango – 1 male, 7 females – litter letter “D”
• 9/26/11 McKinley x Cognac – 3 males, 1 female – litter letter “C”
• 9/26/11 Simon x Mochi – 3 males, 2 females – litter letter “S”
• 9/28/11 Hurley x Genevieve – 4 males, 2 females – litter letter “H”
• 9/28/11 Jenkins x Favor – 4 males, 3 females – litter letter “G”

Labrador Retriever-Golden Retriever Crosses

• 9/17/11 Stockholm x Brisbane – 1 male, 2 females – litter letter “J”

Golden Retrievers

• 9/7/11 Franklin x Jingle – 7 males, 3 females – litter letter “P”
• 9/28/11 Johnny x Pebbles – 6 males, 1 female – litter letter “F”

New Breeders

Labrador Retrievers

• Anadale – raised in CA
• Hestia – raised in CA
• Joplin – raised in CA
• Tito – raised in CO

Lab-Golden Cross

• March – raised in CA

Golden Retrievers

• Fresca – raised in CA
• Picasso – raised in CA

Lovely and cute cat

Cute baby Elephant Seal

Curious animals - living together in harmony

Saying "Goodbye" to Denver

by Bonnie Finsthwait, co-leader, Auburn Foothills Guiding Eyes

In 1998, I received a fluffy, 8-week-old German Shepherd puppy to raised named Denver. I had been raising Guide Dog puppies since 1985, and knew from the minute I held Denver in my arms that he would go onto a great career as a working guide. Denver was energetic, smart, and quick. He loved to work and found such joy in being with people. It was a pleasure to handle him and as I watched him step forward into life as a working guide in September, 2000, I was very proud.

His first blind partner loved him immediately and they did very well together. They lived in a small rural town in Nevada with no sidewalks, and little traffic. Unfortunately, this gentleman died suddenly in May of 2001 and Denver was returned to GDB.

After a month's retraining, Denver was placed with another gentleman, to graduate in July, 2001. Denver continued this career for the next eight years in the Sacramento Area with lots of traffic, living in an apartment building and heading off to an office each day. He adjusted well to this new environment as I knew he would.

In late 2009, I received a called that Denver was being retired, and was given the opportunity to adopt him as my pet! What a joy it was to see him again and know that we had come "full circle" together! And, after not seeing each other for eight years, he remembered me and was as overjoyed to see me as I was him!

Denver spent the next year and a half on our ranch in the Sierra Foothills "at pasture" enjoying the freedom of our land and "educating" the new Guide Dog puppies I have continued to raise. In July of this year, Denver died of natural causes in my arms. His big heart just stopped...

I have always felt so fortunate and privileged to raise these wonderful dogs, and Denver gave me the gift of his love in his puppyhood and then in his elder years. He worked hard, played hard and loved much...he was a sweet soul who gave his all to his people. Goodbye Denver.

Giving Back to a Veteran

Meet Stanley, a GDB puppy whose career path took him on a very different journey than most of our puppies. He was donated to an organization called Paws'itive Teams and matched with the perfect partner -- an active duty Marine who lost both of his legs during his duty in Afghanistan and will be receiving his formal discharge this coming year.

Stanley is a great match -- friendly, dedicated and eager to please. He's learned to fetch and deliver objects, open doors and much more. Check out this short video, showing the team working during transition training.

Nice job, Stanley! And thank you to this Marine and all our veterans for your sacrifices.

pakistani cats

pakistani cats

pakistani cats

pakistani cats

pakistani cats

pakistani cats

Selective Beauty Of Panda

Selective Beauty Of Panda

Selective Beauty Of Panda

Selective Beauty Of Panda

Selective Beauty Of Panda

cats and kittens in the snow

cats and kittens in the snow

cats and kittens in the snow

cats and kittens in the snow

cats and kittens in the snow

cats and kittens in the snow