puppies inside: FLD Jedi

Showing posts with label FLD Jedi. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

News

Chippewa

October 23, 2014

Deb Donnelly's visit with the men in Pike Unit begins with an announcement by ARUS Rob. Abe, who is quick to introduce himself with the phrase, "I raise champions," has passed his GED!


Abe (left) is currently raising FLD Andie, the golden retriever that is lying between his feet. His last puppy, FLD Zella, returned to Leader Dogs for the Blind in April. In September she was matched with her new person!

Each prison facility sets its own requirements for inmates to participate in the Leader Dogs for the Blind puppy-raising program. One prerequisite here at Chippewa is that the inmate must have a high school diploma or GED. ARUS Rob made an exception for Abe. He saw potential in the young man, who had been working hard to get his GED.

Applause was freely given.

As usual, I hand FLD Henry's leash to an inmate so I can concentrate on taking photos. I am impressed by the patience of these men. Matt is eager to handle my barking puppy, even if Henry can be a handful.

A yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy is lying on a tile floor between the feet of an inmate, whose legs and feet are only in view on the left. The man is wearing maroon sweat panst and white tennis shoes and his holding the leash to the puppy. The puppy is facing out to the right and is wearing the baby blue Future Leader Dog jacket. He is busy chewing on an antler that is between his front paws. In the background is a yellow lab that is lying on a blue mat. She is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and has her head up looking toward the other puppy.

FLD Henry is busy with the antler that Matt gave him to chew. FLD Adell is interested.

A man wearing a white long sleeved t-shirt and maroon sweat pants and white tennis shoes is leaning down and petting the yellow lab/golden retriever puppy that is lying between his feet. The puppy is on his left side facing to the right, with a grey mat and antler next to him. The yellow lab puppy behind him is also lying on her left side. There are two other puppies in the far background. One is a black lab standing up and facing away from the camera, the other is a german shepherd lying facing the camera.

Matt does a good job helping FLD Henry settle.

The yellow lab/golden mix puppy is now on his right side with his left paw on the face of the yellow lab beyond him. This lab is lying on her left side facing him. She is also wearing the blue working jacket. There is now streaks of sunshine across the floor.

FLDs Henry and Adell share a cuddle.

The yellow lab/golden mix puppy has his head up now and is leaning back away from the yellow lab on the right. The lab is still lying donw, but her head is up too and she has her mouth open almost over the snout of the puppy on the left.

Henry leans away from Adell's advances.

A floor level shot of the lab/golden puppy lying on the grey mat between the feet of his handler. The puppy has his head resting on the floor next to the man's right foot and has his eyes closed. The man is scratching the puppy's head with his left hand.

Matt regroups FLD Henry and helps him relax.

A man wearing a white t-shirt and green pants and a blue ball cap is sitting on the tile floor on the left with his legs crossed. He is facing right. His arms are stretched out resting on his knees. In front of him is the lab/golden puppy, who is lying on the floor facing the camera, but his head is turned to the left as he chews on the antler, which is being held in the man's left hand. In the background are the legs of the man with maroon pants and white tennis shoes, and the yellow lab. The lab is lying on her blue mat with her chin over her right leg looking toward the other puppy.

Harlan takes a seat on the floor with FLD Henry and coaxes him to chew the antler instead of causing trouble while Deb chats with the teams.

Deb shares a story about one of the men from the program who has been out on parole for a few months. Scott had raised Drummond, one of the first puppies to come to Chippewa. The big golden returned to Leader Dog shortly before Scot was paroled.

Unfortunately, Drummond was recently career-changed for anxiety-produced behaviors. Because Scott was now free, he was able to adopt Drummond. "I asked him what was the best thing about being out," Deb says, "and he answered, 'Food, food, food!'"

The guys laugh in agreement.

We are all disappointed in Drummond's career-change, but these puppies will end up just where they need to be.

A floor level shot of a large german shepherd puppy lying on the floor. He is facing the camera and his tongue is just coming out. He is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana. The background is out of focus - there are three men sitting with puppies between their feet. They are wearing white t-shirts and the blue prison pants.

FLD Jedi seems bored with all the talk.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

UP presence revisted

October 22, 2014

en route to the eastern UP

We have the rest of the day to make the 200+ mile drive to where we'll stay in the Soo. Deb's training session at the Chippewa Correctional Facility starts in the morning.

The drop-dead gorgeous fall day begs for sight-seeing. You haven't seen "blue" until you've witnessed the sky above the pristine forests lining Lake Superior.

A shot looking straight up into the deep blue sky under a canopy of brilliant yellow leaves.

I lead the way to Munising Falls. We pose our puppies, looping their leashes through the fence in front of the falls.


Deb takes a photo of FLD Jedi while FLD Henry sits...

A close up shot of the golden/lab puppy sitting in front of the wooden fence. The puppy is looking at the camera, with his tongue just barely stickling out. He is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

I don't think FLD Henry is happy about me taking so many photos. Here is an interesting series of shots - can you read his body language?

Another close shot of the same puppy, with more of the forest background visible behind him. Now his tongue is further out and his head and ears are drooping.

He's getting droopy...

The same close shot of the same puppy, but now the puppy is facing left and having a huge yawn with his eyes closed.

FLD Henry. Not amused.

I suppose he thinks the stairs are more fun.

A shot from above, looking down at the golden/lab puppy sitting on a wood staircase, littered wtih yellow and brown leaves.

Later we find more photo ops on the Lake Superior shore.

A german shepherd is standing on the left, tied by his leash to a gigantic piece of driftwood. Behind him is Lake Superior. He is looking at the camera, and wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

A majestic FLD Jedi next to a majestic piece of driftwood.

A black and white photo of the same piece of driftwood, with a small yellow puppy sticking his head out from behind it.

WHERE'S HENRY?

A landscape shot of the sun setting behind a tall bluff on the left, down to a beach and water on the right, gentle waves kissing the shore.

And the sun sets on Lake Superior.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

A caveat

Baraga Correctional Facility

January 9, 2014

FLD Bear was thirsty. When you spend as much time monitoring a puppy as I did with Bear the last 10 days, you learn to "read" his signals. Of course, it only made sense. Bear had just spent about five hours in his crate traveling across the UP in the Leader Dogs for the Blind van, was then welcomed by seemingly everyone at the facility and was now being handled by his new inmate puppy-raising team.

Heck, even I was thirsty by now!

But FLD Bear's new handler didn't understand why Bear was being squirmy. He had taken him out to "park" but still the pup wouldn't settle.

I said, "Do you have a bowl? I think he is thirsty."

In a shot, the inmate handed Bear's leash to his teammate and went off to get a water dish. He returned with a shiny stainless steel bowl and asked, "How much water should I put in it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Fill it up."

Turns out that FLD Bear wasn't the only thirsty puppy.

A black lab puppy and a larger german shepherd puppy are vying to get a drink from a stainless steel bowl on the floor. The two pups are held on leashs by two inmates dressed in the prison uniform - blue shirts and pants with orange stripes on the shoulders and legs. In the background are two more inmates sitting down smiling and watching.

FLD Bear gets his head under FLD Jedi and is first to the bowl of water.


The two pups make quick work of the water, and not too neatly!

"Can you guess what's going to happen next?" I asked.

"He'll need to park," the inmate raisers answered in chorus. "Yep," I said. "Bear is a real good peer."

Sometime later, and not too much later, FLD Bear started to pull toward the door. He whined. His handler asked Tammy if he should take the pup out to park.

Too late!

A close shot at floor level of a small black lab puppy sitting between the feet of his handler. The handler has blue pants with an orange stripon the side and is wearing black shoes. He is stepping on the brown leash of the pup, who is wearing a blue bandana with a white trianble patch with red letters that say Future Leader Dog and a black paw print. The pup is looking over his right shoulder and one could say his expression looks "guilty." Beneath him is a puddle of pee!

FLD Bear tried to tell his handler he needed to go out, but he just couldn't hold it any longer.

The handler grabbed him up and ran outside. "He peed again!" he said after coming back in from the cold. But FLD Bear wasn't done. A clean up crew had three more puddles to sop up before the afternoon training session was over.

"Patti warned you," Deb said.

Two men dressed in the prison uniform of blue shirts and blue pants with orange stripes on the shoulders and legs are squatting behind a small black lab puppy. The man on the left is handing the leash to the man on the right. The puppy is sitting down but turning to face the second man. The puppy is wearing a blue bandana.

"He needs to go out again!"

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Chippewa training - in photos

January 8, 2014

The Chippewa raisers weren't lined up waiting in the snow outside of Pike Unit when we finally arrived. Can't blame them, the wind was wicked cold. Rob was quick to bring some helpers to carry in the 50 pound bags of Purina Pro Plan Deb brought up from Leader Dogs for the Blind.

We handed off the new pups that were destined eventually for Baraga, FLDs Bear and Axel. Even FLD Jedi, the German Shepherd that Deb is raising now, went to an inmate handler. The inmates weren't excited at all. *cough

A bald young man is holding a small black lab in his tattooed arms. The puppy is facing to the left and is wearing a blue bandana.

FLD Bear.

A small yellow lab puppy is held by a young man with short dark hair. He is wearing the blue with orange stripe uniform of the prison, wth a white long stleeved shirt underneath. He has a huge smill on his face!

FLD Axel.

A small german shepheard puppy is lying on a light colored tile floor. He is wearing a blue bandana with a white and red patch that says Future Leader Dog in red letters with a black paw print. His body is facing to the right of the photo, but he is looking back over his shoulder to his left toward a pair of lower legs. The legs are wearing blue pants with an orange striped on the side, with tan boots. The puppy has a brown leather leash going up to the person.

FLD Jedi.

TIME FOR TRAINING

Two men are standing in front of metal prison tables, each with a golden retriever sitting at their left side.

FLDs Drummond and Bravo practice their "sits."

Three large puppies lie on a light colored tile floor while a woman dressed in a blue fleece jacket and blue jeans steps over them. She is on the left side facing away from the camera. Three inmate raisers stand opposite the dogs, facing the camera. There are several other men sitting in the background.

FLDs Bravo, Drummond and Zella (left to right) hold "down" positions while Deb steps over them and their handlers stand by.

A small yellow Lab puppy is facing to the left, his head is sniffing a hand that is at the floor level. A young man with short dark hair is squatting to the left of the puppy, handing him a treat. He is dressed in the blue prison uniform with an oragan strip down his shoulder. Another young man, dressed the same, is squatting behind him. That man is holding a brown leather leash.

Is FLD Axel being lured?


FLD Bear sits nicely in heel position, eyes intent on his soon-to-be-awarded treat.

At the floor-level shot of a small yellow lab walking from right to left toward a black water bowl that says Purina Pro Plan on it. A golden retriver's head is just peaking out from between the legs of an inmate wearting green pants and white tennis shoes. Another inmate is sitting behind the yellow pup wearing blue pants and blac shoes.

Learning new things makes a pup thirsty. FLD Axel heads for the water bowl. FLD Harper is happily chewing on a Nylabone.

A low-level shot of a small yellow lab in the distance, a bit out of focus. He is laying on his left side, asleep, with his brown leather leash on the floor in front of him. On the left side of the picture is the face of a larger yellow lab peeking out between inmates legs. They are wearing the blue prison pants with an orange stripe on the side.

After his drink of water, FLD Axel finds a quiet corner and takes a nap. FLD Zella hangs with her handler.

A bald man is squatting, facing away from the camera. He is wearing a white t-shirt and the blue and orange prison pants. A golden retriever is sprawled out on the floor facing the same way in the foreground. The dog's back legs look like frog legs!

Frog legs! FLD Bravo cools off after working his brain.

A full-sized yellow lab is lying on a light brown tile floor facing the camera. She is wearing a blue bandana with a white triangle patch with red letter that say Future Leader Dog and a black paw print. Her brown leather leash is being held by a man off camera to the left, except for his lower legs and feet. He is wearing the blue pants with an orange stripe down the side and white tennis shoes.

FLD Zella looks as though she is bored. "Really, now, all this fuss over a couple of puppies?"

FURLOUGH

After training, every Chippewa puppy went on furlough. Rob had arranged a presentation at the Pickford Fire Hall for several eastern U.P. Lions Club members. Deb talked to the group about Leader Dogs for the Blind and the prison puppy-raising program.

The pups were a big hit.

A woman dressed in a blue fleece jacket and blue jeans is kneeling on one knee on a wood floor facing a small german shepherd puppy. He is lying on a blue "mat" and facking her. She is gestering with her right hand, which has a black wrist brace on it, and is holding the pup's brown leather leash with her left hand at her right knee. A man and a woman are in the background on the right side smiling and watching the two.

Deb Donnelly talks to a group of Lions while FLD Jedi demonstrates "mat."

Three men and one woman sit on folding chairs. The first man and woman at the left are holding a yellow lab puppy. The third man is holding a black lab puppy.

FLDs Axel and Bear are great ambassadors for Leader Dogs for the Blind. The Lions Club members enjoyed holding the puppies.

A group of seven people are standing around with Future Leader Dog puppies. The woman on the far left, wearing all black and carrying a huge black purse, is interviewing a woman who is kneeling on the floor with her yellow lab puppy. Two of the other puppies are black labs, two are golden retrievers and two are yellow labs.

The Future Leader Dog pups and their furlough handlers are celebrities. A reporter from the St. Ignace News interviews the group before taking their photo.