Showing posts with label FLD August. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FLD August. Show all posts

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Okay to cry

August 15, 2014
Chippewa

Our session was drawing to an end, in more ways than one. FLDs August, Sammy and Ekco would be leaving with us this day. Tammy would take them back to Leader Dogs for the Blind so they could begin their formal guide dog training.

Emotions ruled. Abe, who suffered through this last April when FLD Zella left, gave sage advice to the teams. "You know it's alright to cry, right?"

Tammy announced each puppy's new "dog" tag number and presented its raisers with thank-you certificates from Leader Dog. Lots of us had blurry vision. Pick (an inmate who volunteers to help in the program in any way he can) was so distraught he left the yard and retreated into Pike Unit. Eric never took off his sunglasses.

A bald man wearing the blue prison uniform is sitting in the bright sun on the seat of a picnic table. Between his legs sits a young yellow lab, whose leash is hanging on the ground. The man is smiling at the camera, his right hand is touching the dog's neck from behind, and his left hand is holding a certificate on his left thigh.
John and FLD Ekco with the certificate.


A man wearing sunglasses, blue prison pants and a white t-shirt is sitting in the sun on a picnic bench, facing the camera. Between his legs is a young yellow lab. The man is holding the dog's leash with his left hand on his knee, and a certificale in front of his body with his right hand. There is a brick building behind him. The man has a somber look on his face.
Eric and FLD August.
A man wearing glasses and the blue prison uniform with a blue ball cap is sitting in the sun on a picnic bench. He is holding a certificate in his right hand by his knee. A young yellow lab is sitting between his legs facing the camera. The dog's eyes are closed. There is a brick building behind them.
Dave and FLD August.

A close head and shoulders shot of the man dressed in a prison blue shirt and blue ball cap and glasses, with his left arm wrapped around the neck of the young yellow lab. The dog is pressed against the man's cheek.
Dave gives FLD August a big hug.


An african american man dressed in the blue prison uniform is sitting on a picnic bench leaning over a black lab. The man's arms and hands are cradling the dog's chest and snout, he is holding a leash in his right hand at the dog's chest, his left hand is under the dog's snout. The man is looking up to the right with a pained expression on his face. It is a bright sunny day with a bright blue sky behind him. The dog's eyes are closed.
Ro and FLD Sammy.

A close head and shoulders shot of the african american man from above. The man has cornrows in his hair. His arms are wrapped around the head of a young black lab that is in front of him. The man is pulling the dog's snout to his face and giving the dog a big kiss on his nose.
Ro plants a big one on Sammy.







The men shared stories.

FLD SAMMY

Ro said that FLD Sammy LOVES apples. He told us that Sammy once stole five apples off the top of his crate over the course of a week. Ro had admonished his  roommate for giving the apples to the pup. The roommate insisted he did no such thing. "On Saturday I stopped by my room after lunch to drop off my apple," Ro said. "Sammy was snoring on his back outside the crate, so I quietly put the apple up there and went to work out." His roommate called him back. "There was Sammy in his crate eating the apple!" Ro said.

The picture is taken on an angle. An african american man dressed in the blue prison uniform is standing on the left with an apple in his right hand at his chest. His left hand is at his side. The man is looking down at two black labs sitting in front of him. The closest lab to the camera is a very small pup, her leash is draped on the ground. The young male lab is sitting beyond her with his tail in a curl and his legs poised like he his about to spring up. He is totally focused on the apple in the man's hand. There is a brick building behind them with four windows.
Ro shows FLD Sammy an apple he had hidden in his pocket. (Ro's new puppy, FLD GeeGee wants in on the action too.) We had never seen this normally laid back lab so animated. After a quick series of "puppy push-ups" (sit/down/stand/down/sit, etc.) Ro gives Sammy (and GeeGee) some treats. He puts the apple back into his pocket. "You are planning to give that to him in the van, aren't you?" I ask. Ro smiles.
An african american man (left), wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants, and a shorter man (right) wearing the blue prison uniform, stand in front of a brick wall. The african american man is cradling a small black lab puppy in his arms and the man beside him is resting his right hand on the puppy. This man's left hand is at his waist. Both men are peering at the camera with a "tough guy" gaze.
Hello FLD Sammy. 2013.



Ro and Abe wanted to re-enact their first photo with FLD Sammy from last September. 


What a change in all three of them!

A head and shoulder shot of the african american man (left) and the shorter man (right) in front of the brick building. Now they are holding up a large black lab between them. The man on the left has his arms cradling the dog's body, while the man on the right is hugging the dog's head to his, with his hands holding the dog's head. Both men have big smiles on their faces, in starck contrast to the previous photo.
Good-bye FLD Sammy. Almost a year later, Ro (left) and Abe (right) hoist up a much bigger puppy.



FLD EKCO

John shared how FLD Ekco would come to wake him up in the morning. "He'd put his front paws on my bed and nudge me with his nose," he said. "Get up!" John also told us how Ekco always stretched before getting out of his crate, so he started saying, "bow," whenever the pup stretched. "Now Ekco bows on command," he said. A brilliant example of putting a behavior on "cue."

Scott said, "We don't believe you. Show us."

A man dressed in the blue prison uniform is standing on the left side, slightly bending over. His head is not in the picture. The man's right hand is curled at his chest and his left hand is holding the leash of a yellow lab that is "bowing" on the right. The dog has his nose and chest toward the dirt and grass, with his rear end in the air.
FLD Ekco "bows" on John's command.


FLD AUGUST

FLD August's raisers were quiet and no one else ventured a story about him. So I did. I talked about the first time the little guy went on furlough with Tammy and me in the Soo and we took a walk on the bike path next to business loop I-75. August responded quickly to positive reinforcement for loose leash walking. "He just pranced right along," I said. I thought he was a puppy who was eager to learn.

Two men stand in front of a brick building with some plants behind them. The man on the left is wearing a long sleeve white t-shirt and blue prison pants and a blue ball cap, the man on the right is wearing a green sweatshirt and blue prison pants. The man on the left is holding the leash of a small yellow lab puppy, whick is lying on the grass at the feet of the man on the right. The men have somber expressions on their faces.
Dave (left) and Eric (right) with FLD August last October. These three have changed also!


TIME TO GO

For some reason, the photos I took of the guys putting their puppies into the Leader Dog van were all a little bit blurry. My camera has auto-focus, but perhaps I was shaking. Just a little. This never gets any easier. I'll let my "photo-shopped" pictures tell the story of good-bye...


A man dressed in a blue prison shirt is reaching into an airline crate that is sitting in the back of a van. There is a yellow lab inside the crate looking out at the camera. The man is looking at the dog. There is a blue ball in the van on the right side.
John says good-bye to FLD Ekco.

Two men wearing blue prison shirts (the man on the right is also wearing a blue ball cap) are facing the camera with a yellow lab dog to the left. The dog is coming out of the airline crate that is in the back of a van. The man in the middle has his right arm wrapped around the dog's back and is smiling at the camera. The man on the right with the ball cap is reaching his right arm over the other man along the top of the crate and his reaching his left arm in front of the other man to pet the dog under his chin. The man with the ball cap is wearing sunglasses and has a serious look on his face.
Harlan (right) can't contain himself and has to come out to the van to say good-bye.

A man dressed in the blue prison shirt and a blue ball cap with glasses is standing at the rear of a van that has the doors open. The man is facing the camera with a sad look on his face. His left hand is closing the door of an airline crate. You can just see the tail of a yellow lab in the crate.
Dave puts FLD August into the Leader Dog van. Eric could not bring himself to come out to the van.

An african american man with corn rows in his hair and wearing the blue and orange prison shirt is backing a black lab into an airline crate. Both his hands are grabbing the dog's chest and the dog is looking down trying to come out. The man is looking at the dog.
Ro puts FLD Sammy into his crate in the Leader Dog van. He tossed the apple in with Sammy, who waited until Ro left before he ate it.

The african american man is turning toward the camera, walking away from the open side doors of the white Leader Dogs for the Blind van. He is holding a leash and collar in his hands at his waist. He has a sad look on his face.
Ro turns from the van. Nope. It is never easy.


DOGSPEED puppies! And great job raisers!

Two airline crates in the back of a van hold two yellow labs. The lab on the left is sitting down, the lab on the right is standing. Both are looking at the camera.
FLDs Ekco and August, in their crates for the long drive south.
A black lab is sitting in an airline crate, looking at the camera with his tongue hanging out.
FLD Sammy, apple eaten.


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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

All in a day, across the UP

August 14, 2014
en route to Chippewa

With the click of the gate echoing behind us after our training session with the Baraga teams, Tammy and I start our long drive across the UP. We are to meet up with a group of furlough volunteers, with Chippewa puppies, for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings in the Soo. But first, a stop in Marquette, about one and a half hours east of Baraga.

Mary, one of Tammy's Independent puppy raisers, lives in Marquette and is raising a male yellow lab named Stellar. Mary asked Tammy if we could do FLD Stellar's In-For-Training (IFT) assessment on our way through.

Every Future Leader dog puppy must be assessed after reaching the age of 10 months and prior to its date of return to Leader Dogs for the Blind. The IFT "standards" give puppy raisers a goal to shoot for in training the puppies, most of which have to do with developing self-control. The IFT includes obedience skills such as sit, down, stay and come, loose-leash heeling through doors, up and down stairs, in a crowd and next to traffic, and dog, noise and motion distractions.

The ever-accommodating-Tammy squeezes Mary and FLD Stellar into our schedule. I have to wake a sleeping FLD Henry to use as the dog distraction.

Another interesting coincidence. Turns out that Mary was the raiser of a puppy named Glacier, who ended up becoming Jess's second Leader Dog! (Jess is my blind blogger friend who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and had visited Chippewa with us.) Mary wanted to know why Jess had retired LD Glacier at a fairly young age. This is what Jess posted on her blog:
"Glacier retired himself at age five and a half. His sensitive, sweet and goofy nature was just not cut out for guiding a totally blind person. He is now happily living with a friend who takes him to work and spoils him rotten; which he deserves. I miss him terribly, but know that he is getting the best retirement any dog, or handler, could ask for."
After the IFT, we have about 170 miles to drive from Marquette to the Soo. Luckily there is no snow on the roads this time of year, but we still arrive a few minutes late. ARUS Rob and Joyce, Chippewa Correctional Facility staff, are waiting for us with FLD Ekco, Greg and his wife are handling FLD Chewy, Dave and Paula have FLDs Ashley and August, Julie handles FLD Sammy and Lion Tom has FLD Bandit.

The tall tables at Buffalo Wild Wings make dinner with seven puppies more of a challenge, but we make it through without too much commotion. I end up standing most of the time, my foot firmly planted on FLD Henry's leash, keeping him out of reach of the others.

After dinner, Tammy conducts a "furlough training" class outside the restaurant. While furlough volunteers aren't expected to "train" the puppies they take out (that's why the pups must be at least four months old, so they go out having some skills), we want to give them tools to help manage the puppies. Puppies might know things like "sit" and "down" when in the prison, yet not so much with a new handler in a different environment. Tammy wants to see how the puppies do with the volunteers and teach them redirection techniques like name recognition and touch. We also cover tips for loose leash walking and proper bandana/jacket removal and use.

Six people are standing in a row on a sidewalk against a brick walled building, on the left side of the photo. On the right, a woman wearing jeans and a light colored sweatshrit is facing them with a piece of paper in her hands. All the people agains the wall have a puppy sitting on their left side.
Nope, it's not a firing squad! It's just Tammy (right) having the furlough volunteers run through some obedience with the puppies.

Someone wearing red pants is standing off-camera to the right facing a young black lab lying on a cement sidewalk in front of a brick wall. The lab is facing the person and looking up at her. He is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and his leash is looped loosely from his collar to the person.
FLD Sammy lies down and looks longingly up at his handler.

Two men are walking around puppies that are lying on a cement sidewalk. The man on the left is wearing dark blue pants and a light blue long sleeved shirt. He has the puppy's leash in his left hand and is looking down at the puppy while reaching into his pocket with his right hand. The puppy at his feet is a small chocolate lab wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana. The man on the right is wearing blue jeans and a black and grey jackeet. He is looking down at a small yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy and holding the leash in his right hand. The puppy is lying on the cmeent, facing the brick wall which is behind the men. In the background behind the man on the right is a woman wearing blue jeans, a grey sweatshirt and holding a big purce. She is leaning agains tthe brick wall.
Tammy leads the group through the relaxation protocol. Here Lion Tom (left) and ARUS Rob (right) walk around FLD Bandit (chocolate lab) and FLD Henry.

The same two men are now both leaning over toward their puppies to give them a treat! The puppy on the right is starting to come out of the down position to get the treat.
Gentlemen, treat your puppies!

In this partially blurry shot, the woman wearing blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt is running from left to right in front of the line of people and puppies in front of the brick wall of a building. All of the puppies are sitting nicely.
Tammy gets into action, providing a moving distraction for the puppies. Not one is perturbed!

Before the pups return to Chippewa, Tammy and I do the "traffic" portion of the IFT with FLDs August, Sammy and Ekco. We will be taking these three back to Leader Dog with us tomorrow. Even though by now it is dark, all pups do fine.

Henry goes with Joyce; she's dropping him off to spend the night at Chippewa. Tammy and I are puppy-free!

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Saturday, November 15, 2014

War to peace?

July 17, 2014
Chippewa

Two men, wearing blue prison uniforms (the man on the left is wearing a white t-shirt, are facing a gym wall. They are using a metal rolling ladder to tape posters on the wall.
D Lo and Eric tape thank-you posters to the gym wall.


 
Tammy and I came back to Chippewa in the morning. ARUS Rob took us, and some of the inmate raisers, to the gym where the activities would be taking place in the afternoon. While the guys taped thank-you posters on the wall and set up chairs, I test-played the video the men had asked me to make. (Check out my post about Puppy Days here to see the video: http://puppiesinside.blogspot.com/2014/07/one-year-already.html)




The piercing puppy cry in the opening scene caught everyone's attention. The men paused in their preparations, the room stilled as Queen's song, "My Best Friend," echoed off the walls. I glanced around at the mens faces, hoping my video did the journey of the past year justice.

Moist eyes all around were all the affirmation I needed, but Doug noticed something in the video that I caught right away when I put it together. The faces of the men in photos from the beginning of the program were reserved, closed - quite opposite of their faces in later photos.

"Everyday we have to put on our hard faces," Doug said. He said that in prison you have to be ready to "go to war" everyday.

What softened their faces? Puppies!

Two men stand against a brick wall facing the camera, both are wearing the blue prison uniforms. The man on the left is holding a yellow lab puppy in his right arm with the leash hanging down. The puppy is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana. The men have somber faces.
In the beginning. Dave and Eric pose with FLD August. Photo taken by Doug.

Two men are kneeling on one knee in front of a Leader Dogs for the Blind banner, looking at the camera. The men are wearing blue prison pants, the man on the left is wearing a white t-shirt and the man on the right is wearing a green sweatshirt. Between them is a young yellow lab that is sitting looking at the camera with a graduation cap on his head.
Later. Eric and Dave with FLD August - a STAR PUPPY!


Two men stand in front of a brick wall, the african american man on the left is wearing blue prison pants and a white t-shirt, he is holding a small black lab puppy in his arms. The man on the right is wearing the blue prison uniforms. They have serious looks on their faces.
In the beginning. Ro and Abe pose with FLD Sammy. Photo taken by Doug.

A man dressed in the blue prison uniform is squatting on a tile floor, he is hugging a young yellow lab. The lab is wearing a blue Future Leader Dog jacket. In the background are two men and a woman and a golden retriever, on the right side are the legs of men standing in a line.
Later. Abe gives FLD Zella a big hug. Ro is in the background joking with visitor Kim (left) and Robert.

A bald man wearing a white t-shirt is smiling at the camera, he is holding a small yellow lab puppy in his left arm. The puppy is looking at the camera and is wearing a blue Future Leader Dog bandana.
Tim and FLD Adell. Doesn't his smile say it all?

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Monday, November 3, 2014

Dress rehearsal

June 20, 2014
Chippewa

Tammy's agenda for our training session includes the monthly topics we need to cover: STAY and TRAFFIC. Needless to say, we won't be doing much work with traffic on the inside. But we can work on STAY.

A small golden retriever puppy is snuggled in a grey prison blanket on a tile floor. The puppy's head is on the floor on its right side and the blanket covers the rest of his body. A brown leash is attached to his collar and is draped over the blanket. A man's lower leg (in the prison blue pants) with a black shoe is visible next to the puppy on the right of the photo.
No problem here with STAY. FLD Andie has it down!

The guys are eager to show us what they've planned for next month's "Puppy Days" celebration. 

Two men are holding up a large, long vinyl sign. The man on the left is wearing jeans and a blue short-sleeved shirt. The man on the right is wearing the blue prison unform. There are men sitting down around the room in the background. The room has a tile floor and white ceiling tiles with lights and a fan. The banner is white with black paw prints along both sides. It has "Leader Dogs for the Blind" in blue letters on the top and large black letters below say "PUPPY DAYS" with a green outline of the Upper Peninsula behind them. Below that in smaller blue letters is "Chippewa Corectional Facility"
ARUS Rob (left) and Matt (right) hold up the banner for July's "Puppy Days" celebration.

Tammy had charged the teams with figuring out a routine with the puppies to show off their skills. The men re-imagined the relaxation protocol, adding distractions such as dribbling basketballs, running and clapping, stepping over the puppies while in a down position, recalls and more. They ask Tammy to read each step as they perform the almost-military-drill for us.

We are impressed.

An outside shot of the prison puppy raisers demonstrating their performance. Two golden retrievers on the left and one chocolate lab on the right are lying down on the grass; two men are visible standing next to the goldens on the left, the nearest one is wearing the blue prison uniform, but his head is out of the frame. The furthest man is wearing the prison blue pants and a green sweatshrit. A man wearing a white t-shirt and prison blue pants is bouncing a basketball past the puppies. Another man dressed in the prison blue uniform is also bouncing a basketball. In the background is the brick wall of the prison with a couple windows. A man wearing a maroon sweatshirt is in the background.
FLD Drummond (foreground), FLD August (behind), and FLD Bandit (right) hold a down position with bouncing ball distractions.
The two goldens are still lying down, the one in the foreground is looking up at the man standing next to him. The man is looking down at the puppy.
FLD Drummond looks up at his handler...

The two goldens are still lying down. The one in the foreground is yawning. In the background is a woman wearing blue jeans and a grey t-shirt; she is holding a piece of paper and smiling. A man wearing green prison pants and a white shirt is running toward the right clapping his hands.
...he seems bored with all the commotion.
The goldens and chocolate lab are still lying down while two men dressed in the prison blue uniforms step over them. There are several men and the woman standing in the background watching.
The puppies hold still even while the men step over them.
There are several men and the woman standing in the background watching as two black labs run past each other from opposite directions. A goldne retriever is standing up on the right side like he is trying to reach the running puppies, but a man dressed in the blue prison uniforms is holding his collar. A yellow lab in the background is lying on the ground.
Whoops! The racing labs during the recall pull FLD Granite out of his "down."

We are so proud of the teams and all their hard work.

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Sunday, August 31, 2014

Catchup 3

May 14, 2014
Chippewa

PART THREE - PUPPY FURLOUGH

"The bus is here," ARUS Rob announced. Gary was a bit early. As an outside puppy raiser Gary also drove a school bus for the Pickford Public Schools. Tammy had arranged for him to take the older Chippewa pups and their furlough handlers to the elementary school for an outing. Not only would the puppies experience a bus ride, they would be exposed to lots of kids on the playground during recess.

Tammy still had items on her agenda, but our session was over. She had covered information about TAG teach, a sort of "clicker" training for people that we learned at Leader Dog during puppy counselor training, but we had no time to try the exercises. Maybe next trip.


This photo is shot from inside the school bus looking down the stairs. A woman with long brown hair wearing blue jeans, a light purple shirt with a gray zippered sweathshirt open over it, is stepping up and holding the railing with her right hand. She is holding a leash in her left hand, attached to a yellow lab who is stepping up the steps with her. The woman is looking down at the dog. She also has a black treat bag around her waist.
Kim negotiates the bus steps with FLD Ecko. Check out the nice loose leash!

A woman with short grey hair and wearing blue jeans a grey t-shirt and a purple zippered sweatshirt open is standing at the top of the steps coming out of a school bus. She is wearing a black treat bag on her waist and smiling at the camera. A large golden retriever puppy is standing at her left side looking out at the camera. He is wearing a blue Future Leader Dog bandana.
Puppy counselor Tammy pauses at the top step with FLD Drummond before disembarking at the school.

A group of four women and two men, and six future leader dogs ( two yellow labs, one black lab, two golden retrievers and one german shepherd) stand in an elementary school yard. The brick sided building is behind the group. Three of the dogs are standing, two are sitting and the black lab is lying down.
FLDs August, Ecko, Sammy, Bravo, Drummond and Chewy hang out in the school yard with the furlough handlers. I have been instructed not to take any photographs of the children. Children played basketball, baseball, soccer, swung on swings and played on the playscape while we walked the puppies amongst them. The puppies were more interested in each other than the kids!

A child's hand pets the head of a black lab. The child is wearing a blue and grey plaid jackent. The arm of another chold is just visible in the background, wearing a navy blue with a white strip jacket.
The children were respectful in asking permission to pet the puppies. FLD Sammy was happy to oblige.

A group of people and Future Leader Dogs pose in front of a yellow school bus from the Pickford Public Schools. From left to right, a man wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a grey jacket is with a black lab, a man wearing khaki pants, a green shirt and an open black jacket and a safari hat is with a golden retriever, a woman with short white hair and glasses wearing blue jeans, a grey shirt under an open purple zipper sweatshirt is with a golden retriever, a woman with short grey hair wearing blue jeans and a long sleeve orange top and holding a blue jacket is with a german shepherd, a woman with long brown hair wearing blue jeans a light purple shirt under a grey open zippered sweat shirt is with a yellow lab, a woman with longish grey hair wearing blue jeans and a dark shirt under an open light yellow jacket is with a yellow lab, and a tall man with a white mustache wearing dark pants and a short-sleeved blue polo shirt with a black lab. The first six puppies are wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and the puppy on the far right is wearing the blue working jacket.
Our intrepid furlough handlers and their charges pose after our outing. From left to right are ARUS Rob with FLD Sammy, Frank with FLD Bravo, Tammy with FLD Drummond, Rhonda with FLD Chewy, Kim with FLD Ecko, Judy with FLD August, and Gary with FLD Allegiance.

Thank you for the bus ride Gary!

 
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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

There comes a time...

April 11, 2014
Chippewa

The games are over.

This day's training is complete. We retreat into a small classroom in Pike Unit to process the three puppies that are returning to Leader Dogs for the Blind. It is time for them to start formal guide dog training.

FLDs Nell, Zella and Tara - the "parolees" as the guys dub them. 

Three portraits of inmate raisers and their puppies that are leaving to go to Leader Dogs for the Blind. The man on the left is kneeling on one knee with his black lab standing on his left side. The man is bald and is wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants. He is smiling and has his left arm around the dog's back. The dog is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana. The middle picture is a closer shot of a darker skinned man with his right arm wrapped around a yellow lab's neck in an embrace. The man is wearing the prison blue uniform and looking seriously right at the camera. The dog's head is facing up and to the left and appears to be trying to get out of the embrace. The man has the dog's leash in his right hand. The man on the right is squatting with a black lab sitting on his left side. The man is smiling at the camera, he right forearm is resting on his right knee and his right hand is holding the leash. His left arm is draped over the back of the lab. the dog is looking at the camera.
From left to right, raiser Justin with FLD Nell, raiser Abe with FLD Zella, and raiser Jeremy with FLD Tara.

 There are not many questions from the somber group. 

Four men are sitting on light blue plastic chairs in a row facing the camera. The first man, left to right, is wearing green pants and a white shirt and glasses, the second man is wearig blue pants and a white shirt, the third man is wearing maroon pants and a white t-shirt, and the fourt man is wearing the blue prison uniform. All the men have puppies lying down beneath them on the floor and under their chairs. The dogs are, left to right, a golden retriever, a yellow lab, a golden retriever and a yellow lab. The dogs are all lying on their left sides with their heads facing left and are asleep. The men all have sad faces.
Everyone seems tired out.

Tammy asks me to share my story about meeting Gail, Leader Dog Dutch's new partner. I meant to tell them how proud and sad and anxious I felt when I left that silly Golden at Leader Dog last November, how I tried not to think about him living there in the kennels, how waiting so long for news of his progress was excruciating. I wanted to tell them how my heart burned, especially when I chose not to take another puppy right away, yet how this prison program gave me "puppy fixes" to help with the waiting.

I only remember to tell them it was a long wait, but it was great to see Gail pick up the harness and say, "Dutch, find the door." Off he went, his tail wagging in time to my heartbeats. In the end the long wait was worth it, seeing the happy team.

A group of about 11 men circle a small carpeted room, some kneeling on the floor, others standing and the rest sitting in light blue plastic chairs. The man staning in the middle is taking a photo of the man sitting on the right with a black lab sitting between his knees. There are yellow labs, golden retrievers and a german shepherd puppy with the men.
Doug snaps a photo of Jeremy and FLD Tara. The men share a long good-bye to the three that are leaving.

Tammy asks for stories in return. Abe laughs at Zella's "snorting." Harlin remembers the first day Abe got Zella. "She dragged him all over the place!" Everyone agrees that now, Zella is Abe's "champion."

Justin is animated with his falling-on-the-ice-taking-Nell-out-to-park story. Nell stole her bandana and then Justin's full cup of coffee. The poor guy slipped and fell three times trying to round her up. "I was so mad!" he exclaims, but laughs at himself with all of us. Justin describes how the guys stored small cartons of milk in the snow banks to keep them cold. "She grabbed one of those and bit it and drank it all," he says.

Churchard tells an elaborate tale about Tara and Nell. Tara, leash dragging behind her, snuck into Nell's cell, grabbed her Kong and took it back to her own cell. Nell would have nothing of it; she trotted down to Tara's cell and took the thief by her leash to bring the toy back.

The mood lightens with the stories.

Tammy announces each puppy's grown up "dog" number as she drapes an official Leader Dog chain collar and new tag over each neck. "That's the first time a parolee gets a number going out!" Harlin says.

A close shot of a woman (on the left) wearing a purple sweatshirt putting a chain collar over the nost of a yellow lab, which is being held by the man on the right. He is wearing the blue prison uniform. Both the woman and the man are bending toward the middle over the lab. A second yellow lab is sneaking into the middle of things from the left, its leash being held by a man behind wearing a green sweatshirt and blue pants, sitting down on a blue plastic chair. This man's head is out of view.
Tammy slides the new collar over Zella's head. FLD August is curious. His turn is coming.
A man wearing a white t-shirt and the prison blue pants with orange stripe is sitting on a light blue plastic chair, leaning over onto a desk and facing away from the camera. A black lab is lying on the carpeted floor under the chair. A woman wearing blue jeans and a purple sweatshirt is standing on the right side, leaning over the desk.
Nell relaxes while Justin and Tammy fill out the turn-in paperwork.
A bald man wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants is on the floor with his hands on the body of a black lab. The lab is lying on its left side with its head toward the camera. The man is resting his head on his right knee.
Justin and Nell.


It is time.





There are two men on the left in the background sitting on chairs facing the camera. The man on the far left is wearing a white t-shirt and maroon pants and there is a golden retriever sitting on the carpet between the man's knees. The man next to him is wearing the prison blue uniform and is resting his forearms on his knees with his hands clasped between them. There is a man to the left coming in a door, leaning over a black lab wearing a light blue jacket. This man is wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants. On the right side are two men stting on light blue chairs facing the left. The man closest to the camera on the far right is wearing a light orange shirt and prison blue pants and is leaning over to pet a german shepherd with his right hand. The german shepherd is lying on the carpet under his chair. The next man is wearing the prison blue uniform and has his elbos on his knees. A black lab is lying on its left side under the man's chair.
Cody and FLD Baker can be seen in the background coming in from the yard.



















In the bustle to leave the room, I remember FLD Baker. Cody has been handling her since we left her on our way to Baraga, but I don't see them. I finally find him in the doorway to the yard. "I took her outside because I was crying a little," he whispers.

There comes a time in every puppy raiser's life to let go. To wish one's puppy "dogspeed." This time came early for Nell, Zella and Tara's raisers. The three pups came to Chippewa as "finishers," a little older than the rest. Their leaving is bound to leave a big hole in Unit 8. The raisers still with puppies feel the pain, too.

Justin, Abe and Jeremy walk their puppies out to the Leader Dog van and put them into crates. Morrison says that when it is time for his puppy to go, "I'm going to put Bravo on a down/stay and just go to my room."

The bald man in a white t-shirt is holding the chin of a black lab and pressing his face toward the lab. The lab is inside of an airline dog crate, facing out, with the wire door open wide.
Justin says his final good-bye to Nell.
The man in the prison blue uniform is leaning in toward a yellow lab that is inside a dog airline crate. The man is gripping the wire door with his left hand and holding the jaw of the lab with his right hand, his face pressed against the face of the dog.
Abe already said good-bye, but returns to Zella one last time.
A man waring a blue shirt with a long sleeved white shirt under it is walking away from the Leader Dog white van, he is looking down and is holding a green treat bag and a leash in his hands, which are by his waist.
Jeremy turns away from the Leader Dogs for the Blind van after putting Tara into a crate.

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