puppies inside

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

We had no idea...and then we met

Chippewa

March 6, 2014

This day I finally got to meet fellow blogger Jess, and her guide dog Nala. (Nala is Jess's third guide dog. Her first two guide dogs came from Leader Dogs for the Blind; Nala is from a different guide dog school because Jess was living abroad at the time.)

Four years ago, when I started writing about my Future Leader Dog puppy-raising experiences on my other blog, "plays with puppies", I got virtually acquainted with Jess. She wrote her own blog about her experiences as a guide dog handler. Jess's blog is now titled "Walking Barefoot in the Sand." She also keeps a blog about her amazing athletic career - "Sea, Land and Tires."

Jess and I share some twists of fate...

My third Future Leader Dog Gus has the same Leader Dog "dad" as Jess's second Leader Dog Glacier. (Read my post, Introducing: JESS, Guest Blogger!)

In the spring of 2011, Jess was staying at Leader Dogs for the Blind for some brush up work with Glacier. On the night I came to visit the new handler of my "graduated" second puppy (Mike), Jess and I practically brushed elbows as we passed each other in the halls of the Polk Residence. We had no idea that we came so close to physically meeting.

In August of 2011, Jess read my blog post, FLD Gus Goes to the UP. My puppy Counselor, Tammy, snagged me into heading north for outings with some of her UP raisers. Turns out that one of Tammy's Canadian raisers worked with Jess's uncle. Small world.

That's not the end of it. With the advent of "puppies inside," Jess made another connection. Our visits to the Chippewa Correctional Facility, not very far south of the Soo, brought me close to her home. I had no idea she lived on the other side of the International Bridge. In January of 2014, we made arrangements to meet during a furlough outing with the Chippewa puppies, but a winter storm kept Jess north of the border. Later that month, she missed another training session with us because she was off competing in the Canadian Para Nordic ski nationals.

In the meantime, Jess and Nala crossed paths with Kim and FLD Kayla at a mall in the Canadian Soo. (Check out Jess's post Puppy Fix!) The two got connected through me and they started spending time together. Jess and Nala even came to the Chippewa Correctional Facility with Kim to meet the inmate raisers. Seeing the end result to one's puppy raising endeavor is always an inspiration.

FINALLY. We would meet! Jess and Nala were waiting for us back at Chippewa. They have become a regular part of the team.

Here is a link to Jess's blog describing this day: Another Prison Visit + Long Awaited Meeting.

An adult yellow lab is lying on a light brown tile floor, facing to the left. She is wearing a neon yellow guide dog harness. A woman and a man are sitting on blue plastic chairs behind the dog. The woman, on the left, is wearing a long sleev blue and white striped shirt and blue jeans and furry winter boots. Her hair is brown and streaked with blonde in the front and is neck lenght. The man is wearing the blue and orange pirson uniform and white tennis shoes. He is bald and is leaning toward the woman in conversation. A man wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants is standing behine to the far left, mostly out of view.

Guide dog Nala waits at the feet of Jess, who is in conversation with one of the Chippewa raisers.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Thank you anyway, Bandit

patti's half-way house
May 4, 2014

If Bandit had not cried at 3:25 a.m. to go out and park, I would have missed the most spectacular clear sky. (We've had cloud blankets for days.) The night is so dark here that stars are visible to the horizon, and they twinkled through the unbudded trees. Jupiter flanked a crescent moon to the west. Above and beyond, the milky way's density reminded me of my insignificance. And in the north? The glow of the Aurora Borealis obscured the stars.

I was tempted to drag my tripod and camera outside, inspite of the need for more sleep.

I should have. Sleep did not come for a while anyway.

Mr. Bandit, upon return to his snuggly warm crate, whined, croaked, screamed, yipped, yapped and yodeled long enough to make me wonder if he wasn't finished with his duty. When he paused to take a breath, I took him back outside. He did pee again, but no "big" park was forthcoming.

Back in the crate, the green-eyed monster kept at it for what seemed like at least an hour.

Looking into the door of a small airline plastic sided dog crate with the door open, a small chocolate lab is lying down facing the camera, his eyes looking up adorably. He is laying on a green "mut mat" and there are two puppy toys on the right side, one is a yellow soft nylabone, the one tucked in by his belly is a green and blue nylabone rattle-type toy.

All sweet and Mr. Innocent now.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Sneak preview: chocolate kisses

patti's half-way house

May 2, 2014

MUG SHOT

FLD Bandit, upon his release from Leader Dogs for the Blind on May 2, 2014.

PUPPY NUMBER: P-10676
LITTER NUMBER: 2184
NAME: Bandit
BREED: Labrador Retriever
GENDER: Male
FUR: Chocolate
EYES: Adorable
WEIGHT: 11.2 pounds
CURRENT STATUS: Future Leader Dog in training
ASSIGNED LOCATION: Chippewa Correctional Faciltiy
DATE OF ASSIGNMENT: 5/14/14

The small chocolate lab is standing in front of a black statue of a german shepherd dog. The puppy is looking at the camera and the shot is taken from ground level. The puppy is wearing a blue bandana with a white patch with red letters that say Future Leader Dog and a black paw print. A windo and a half brick wall and glass door are in the background.

FLD Bandit poses with the statue in front of the Leader Dogs for the Blind kennel.

The small chocolate lab puppy is standing next to a silver dog bowl, he is looking to the camera with a surprised expression. His eyes are wide open and you can see the whtie of the eye on the left. Behind the puppy is a white x-pen. Next to the bowl is a yellow and teal colored dog toy.

Busted? Naw, it's okay Bandit, you can finish your dinner!

A big black lab is lying on a pine laminate floor under a brown wood kitchen table. His head is to the left of the frame and his head is up, but his eyes are slightly closed looking at the camera. A chocolate lab puppy is sprawled across his rear legs with his head hanging down on the floor in an awkward position.

Our gentle cc'd Gus is tolerant of the puppy who likely is missing his litter.

The small chocolate lab is lying acroos the back paws of a large black lab; both are on a pine laminate floor under a brown kitchen table and both of their heads are on the left side of the photo. The black lab is behind the puppy and his head is up and looking at the camera. The puppy has just lifted his head and his tongue is sticking out.

Gus doesn't seem to mind the little guy snuggling up to him under our table, but it doesn't appear that Bandit appreciates getting his picture taken.

A close up, floor level shot of the head of the chocolate lab, his chin resting on the floor and his eyes just about to close. Behind him, and out of focus, is the blocky head of the big black lab.

Both boys settle back to sleep.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Yooper time

Chippewa

March 6, 2014

We meet, as usual, in the visitor's entrance of the Chippewa Correctional Facility to get signed in. We trade our driver's licenses for our Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOT) visitor IDs. Tammy is given a locker key to stash the Leader Dogs for the Blind van keys; we emptied our pockets before we arrived. What we are able to bring in is documented on a manifest. My camera and flash. Tammy's bag of training tricks. Both of our treat bags.

FLDs Harper and Dax enter ike they are in charge of everything.

Paula and Dave are waiting for us. They have been visiting with Amy, an MDOT employee from a prsion in Jackson who wants to observe the program.

ARUS Rob brings FLD Nell with us on the long walk to check out the level 2 unit. Here we are subjected to another check in. Ironically, Amy is the only one who sets off the metal detector. A pat down clears her thick-soled metal-shank boots.

ARUS Don leads the tour through the unit. Tammy and I are impressed with a large conference room - we could really do some training with that much space. Pike Unit raisers will be able to come inside, but the guys here cannot get out to the Pike Unit. The big yard is a huge area with a pavilion, many sidewalks and a basefall field. If winter ever ends, this will be a wonderful training area.

The mens' living area is set up much like those we've seen at the Baraga Correctional Facility. Half walls separate spaces crowded with bunks, lockers and desks. As we walk down the dim, narrow aisle of one wing, men on lock down pay us no mind. At the far end Don tells us about the warden's plans to convert these eight-man "pods" to six-man in order to accommodate two dog kennels.

FLD Dax decides to put his two cents in and lets loose with a loud rendition of his nighttime singing. "Hey, there are dogs in here!" someone calls out.

Our group is subject to the scrutiny of men who are now sitting up on top of their bunks or hanging over the half walls of the pods. We navigate through reaching hands of those who squat at the entryways, eager to pet the puppies. Tammy lets them touch Harper, who calmly accepts the celebrity attention.

One young man sporting a full round beard asks about the dogs. I give a quick rundown of the puppy-raising program and ask him what he thinks. I am surprised with the thoughtfulness of his answer. "It will be really good for the guys," he says. "We have a lot of old timers."

We pause our tour in an area between wings. It feels like an intersection during rush hour when a buzzer blares and the men exit their quarters. Don points out where they plan to park puppies during the night, just beyond a set of double glass doors and in view of a correctional officer on duty. A grassy area alongside the building is edged with a chain link fence. Well, we assume that what is under the lingering snow drifts is a grassy area. It would make a nice run if the ends were closed off.

FLDs Harper, Nell and Dax are magnets. One man stops a few feet away and asks politely, "Can I pet your dogs?" Of course! Another man wants to know how he can get a dog. That would be up to ARUS Don, when the time comes.

We drop the pups off at Pike Unit so we can grab a quick lunch at the pizza and sub joint down the road. Our training session with the guys is scheduled for 12:30 and it's after noon already. At one o'clock we are still eating and chatting. I say to Rob, "We're late."

"Naw," he replies. "It's no big deal."

No worries. Rob is on "yooper" time. Things happen when they happen.

A close shot at floor level of a small german shepherd puppy lying on his right side on a blue mat with his head toward the camera. His leash is next to him and a man's leg in blue pants is behind him. There are lunchroom seats in the background.

By the time we start our training session with the Pike Unit raisers, FLD Dax is tired out from his vocal night and morning tour.