Brando - Our 1st GDA Puppy
The First Homecoming ~
July 2000
The adorable little fellow pictured in all these photos is our beloved
Brando -- a male Labrador Retriever. He was born at the GDA 8-acre campus on
May 25, 2000. His four brothers and sisters are also learning to be guide
dogs.
Guide Dogs of America is a non-profit organization run completely on private
donations. They do not receive any government funding. As it takes nearly
two years of training before these dogs are provided to their new blind
owner, a certified guide dog is worth approximately $30,000. These
remarkable dogs are provided FREE of charge to their blind and
visually-impaired owners, giving them the freedoms and independence that
many of us take for granted.
If you've been looking for a charity that needs YOUR help, this could be
just the one. Please open your heart and give as much time and/or money as
you can afford. And, don't forget to check out the Guide Dogs of America
Gift Shop for authorized logo items, where 100% of your purchase price goes
directly to GDA to provide financial support of their seeing eye dog
program!
A Day in the Life of a Guide Dog .....
Some people are under the misconception that guide dogs (and puppies in
training) are always "on the job". While this may be true in public when
they are wearing their puppy jacket or leather working harness, guide dogs
get to be normal everyday dogs at home.
Brando is very fond of our 1-year-old Great Dane named Becky. As you can
see, he was only about twice the size of Becky's head when he was 3 months
old. In spite of their vast size difference they have been, and still are,
the best of friends. They sleep on one dog bed, play tug in the yard at
every opportunity, will drink from a water bowl at the same time, and will
even share the opposite ends of the same rawhide bone.
Learning to be a guide dog is hard work. Brando gets out every day, and
everyone in town knows his name... from the tellers at the bank, to the post
office staff and the bag boys at our local grocery store. Being so "pupular"
really wears him out, but he loves being the center of attention. When he
gets home after a long day, taking a nap is his number one priority. And, as
you can see, this secure little guy will fall asleep just about anywhere.
December 25, 2000 ~ Brando's 7 Month Birthday
Brando whispered to Santa... "I want to be the best Guide Dog in the whole
wide world". With a twinkle in his eye, Santa asked him, "Have you been a
good boy this year?" Brando answered, "Yes, Santa, I practice my special
Guide Dog skills every day. My Mom is very proud of me." "Well then", Santa
said..... "It will be so."
January 26th ~ 8 Months + 1 Day Old ~ Brando's First Snowfall
Yes, we even get snow here in sunny Southern California! Brando wasn't
sure what to make of the cold white stuff, as you can see from his
curious look. After spending an
hour or so sniffing around, he and
his pal Becky got revved up and raced around the yard approximately 427
times, before the sun came out and everything started to turn to mush
(and MUD!)
Our
boy has never been happy when it's hot.... he seemed to really like the
cold weather. Isn't he getting big? We haven't put him on the scale
lately, but he's got to be pushing 70 pounds by now.
February 2001
"Baby" Brando was called in to GDA to be fixed. We didn't even know he
was broken!
March 2001
Brando took a trip to Colorado. It was his first time on an airplane, and he
handled the confined space during the 2 hour ride very well. Mom, on the
other hand, sat with her knees wrapped up to her chin to give him more room.
:-)
The American Airlines flight crews were very kind and helpful -- we would
highly recommend them to others traveling with service dogs.
"I smell the elk but where are they hiding?"
April 25, 2001
Brando is 11 months old today. Thinking about his birthday reminds me
that he's not a puppy any more, and it won't be long before he heads
back to GDA for his formal training. In fact, I'll be taking him there
next week for his preliminary evaluation -- getting his physical and
having his first "road test" with a GDA trainer. I'm very proud of his
progress and look forward to him becoming a guide dog, but I'm not
ashamed to admit it brings tears to my eyes to think of him leaving
us...
Brando Goes Global
April 30, 2001
Brando visited the Anaheim Convention Center to attend the International
Collectors Exposition. He was generally not very excited about all the
shopping mom was doing, but he did enjoy stopping by the Cardew Designs
collectible teapot exhibit to meet Paul Cardew (see photo at right). The
folks at the Cardew booth were very welcoming, and Paul even took time out
from his busy teapot signing schedule to offer Brando a "spot of tea"
(water).... from a Cardew teacup! Needless to say this drew quite a crowd,
and they became the center of attention with cameras flashing all around.
Brando was honored as the first 4-legged and youngest member of the Cardew
Collectibles Club, and we're told that he will be featured in an upcoming
edition of the Teapot Times published in England and distributed worldwide.
Brando may not be the first guide dog puppy-in-training to be in the
spotlight, but he's probably known the furthest away!
May 25, 2001 ~ Brando's 1st Birthday
Our "little" 85 pound puppy becomes a dog, and celebrates his first birthday
in style. As you can see from the expression on his face, the Blue's Clues
party hat was a big hit. We took this photo outside his favorite Mexican
restaurant, just before Brando joined some friends for chicken tacos and a
couple of margaritas. (Just kidding, GDA trainers.... honest!) Of course,
all of Brando's human friends proudly sported a Blue's Clues party hat in
his honor during dinner (under duress), but you won't be seeing THAT
ridiculous photo. I've been threatened with bodily harm if I dare to
publish it.
June 7, 2001 ~ GDA Open House & Puppy Trials
Brando scores BIG in the annual Guide Dogs of America puppy trials event and
takes home a placing ribbon for his efforts. Of all the dogs in the 12 to 15
month group (about 40 or so), Brando took 4th. He did his best, of course,
but the competition was very tough. After all, these dogs are the "best of
the best". So, although we would have liked to place higher, we're just
tickled that he's in the top 10% of his class. The trainers congratulated us
and said we should be proud of our dogs..... and you KNOW we were.
July 28, 2001 ~ A Day At The Ballpark
Part of our job as puppy raisers is to expose our dogs to as many situations
as possible. We take this very seriously, and are constantly racking our
brains trying to think of places he should go. Brando had never been to a
baseball game, so we headed off to the Lancaster Municipal Stadium to check
out a Jet Hawks evening game, followed by a fireworks show. The temperature
at the 7:15pm game time was still in the 90's (hence Brando's "hot dog"
look) but he took it in stride.
The game was full of base hits and home runs (we won 5 to 2), so there was a
lot of crowd action for Brando to keep track of. Well, actually, he was more
interested in the pizza, hamburgers, beer, and peanuts being consumed around
us, but he IS still a dog after all. The 10 minute fireworks show following
the game was of no concern to our cool-as-a-cucumber pup, who pretty much
passed out after a long day of excitement and took no notice.
November 10, 2001 ~ Brando Goes to Puppy College
The big day is finally here..... Brando has returned to the GDA campus for
his formal guide training. As I sit down to write this, it's actually late
in December. It has taken me well over a month to muster the courage to put
that day into words. In fact, I'll be lucky if I don't get electrocuted by
my wet keyboard. :-) Brando's in-for-training day was very difficult for me,
but one I will never forget. My heart hurt as Brando gleefully bounded off
into the run with his new roommate Cambria (on the right), knowing that I
would not see him until graduation day in 6 months with his new blind owner.
Of course, there is always the possibility that he'll fail out of the
program and come home, as 2 out of 3 don't make it. But, honestly, as much
as I love my boy, I'd rather see him go on to change someone's life for the
better. Good luck, Brando..... we love you.
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