Community Connection
The newsletter for volunteers and friends of Guide Dogs
September 2008
A Day in the Life of….the Puppy Truck
It’s me again, back again to update you about my life as a puppy here at Guide
Dogs. My adventure this time around? The Puppy Truck! Littleton, Colorado,
here I come!
More than half of us Guide Dog pups travel to our raisers via the Puppy Truck;
my sister is bound for Oregon, and my brother gets to go to Arizona. That Puppy
Truck – it certainly makes the rounds! In fact, it makes trips to eight western
states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and
Washington. In fact, the Puppy Truck makes an average of two trips per month,
and is on the road for about seven for those trips. Between GDB’s two trucks,
they travel more than 30,000 miles each year, and deliver hundreds of puppies to
their raisers. The trucks also pick up dogs and return them to either of the GDB
campuses (Oregon or California) for their formal guidework training.
To get ready for my Puppy Truck trip, I got my vaccinations and my last health
checks. Anywhere from seven to more than thirty pups can travel in style on the
Puppy Truck; I’m one of about 20.
My buddies and I made our way to the Puppy Truck in a big gray plastic tub on
wheels. Before loading us up, they checked all of our ears again (that’s at least
twice just from the time we left the kennel, a short distance away!). I guess they
want to make sure it’s me. Once at the truck, one of the drivers (was it Mick, Lee,
Denny or Joe?) set me into a very comfy kennel, complete with shredded
newspaper – just like the kennels on campus. I was excited to see some of my
campus roommates and littermates are along for this trip as well. We were all set
to have some fun!
Once we got moving, I started to experience so many new things! Riding in a
vehicle is so different from anything I’d ever done before – you can feel bumps in
the road, hear all kinds of new noises, and all of us puppies can make quite a
racket. I wasn’t sure how long the ride was going to last… so after about the first
hour, I got a bit sleepy and settled in for a nap.
Before I knew it, we were stopped. Was it time to eat, I wondered?? It sure was!
We had finished our traveling for the day, so dinner time it was. I got a special
diet for the trip, with a food added that will keep my tummy feeling good during
the ride.
In addition to dinner, we all got to run around outside in an exercise pen (nice
chance to relieve after all that driving!). I played and played (empty plastic water
bottles are fun toys!), and just had a ball. Plus – I could drink all the water I
wanted. This traveling business isn’t so bad.
All that playing made me tired again! Thankfully, we were all loaded back into the
truck to have a good night’s sleep. (And of course – another ear check! Yes – it’s
still me!) With all of my buddies close by, we curled up nice and cozy and had a
sound sleep.
During our stop, we were joined by a few big dogs. I wondered what they were
doing with us, but learned that the big dogs were some of those dogs on a
special “recall list” – meaning that they were heading back to one of the Guide
Dog campuses for their formal guidework training! How exciting! Someday that
will be me.
When morning arrived, I was eager to get out and play! Luckily, the exercise
pens were set up for us pups again – yeah! I can’t wait until I’m a big dog like my
new friends – they get out three times a day and get to walk on a leash (not like
us little guys – we only get out twice!). Before we could go play – yep, you
guessed it – another ear check (seriously, it’s still me!!).
Once we were all on the road again, the time just breezed by. Before I knew it, it
was midday, and we were stopping. I was just having a little snooze – I’m a bit
sleepy, but if we were stopping for some more play time, I was ready! But no –
they were coming just for me! I was next on the delivery list - I’m going to my new
home! I got all dolled up with a new collar (I’m used to wearing one after all of my
campus socialization), and with much pomp and circumstance got handed over
to a new person - my puppy raiser! Finally!
Bye-bye Puppy Truck! I’ll be looking forward to traveling with you again someday,
but I’ve got a lot to learn and do in the meantime!
Join Us!
GDB’s Family Reunion: October 12, 2008, at the World Forestry Center
Discovery Museum in Portland, Ore.
Celebrating career change dogs, retired guides, breeders and their adoptive
families! All well-behaved career change dogs, breeders, retired guides and the
humans who love (or loved) them are welcome. Humans unaccompanied by
canines are also invited to join us in celebrating these dogs—even those dogs
that have passed on but whose memories live on in our hearts.
For more info, or to register, visit : www.guidedogs.com/familyreunion
Oregon Fall Luncheon, “A Lifetime of Love”:
Friday, November 7, 2008 at the Oregon Convention Center.
Proceeds will support programs at the Oregon campus, including dog/student
training and veterinary care. Tickets are $80. Please contact Debbie Hibbard at
503-668-2100 or email dhibbard@guidedogs.com for sponsorship information
or if you would like to be added to our invitation list.
Doo-Wop Doggies Fun Day a Huge Success!
We had a wonderful time at our 50th Anniversary of Fun Day, DooWop Doggies!
We enjoyed having more than 1,200 human guests in California and over 700
human guests in Oregon, not to mention many of our Guide Dog puppies!
One special feature was the “Nifty Fifty” ideas that puppy clubs came up with to
honor the anniversary. One puppy club’s idea stood out! The idea came from the
Lamphere family from Praise 4 Paws in San Diego; Mark Yturralde (husband of
club leader, Beth) came up with the design. Everyone worked on it. Their
creation? A “tree” featuring 50 rolls of paper towels, 50 poop bags, one bottle of
Nature’s Miracle cleaner and three pooper scoopers (pictured, top). The club
then donated all of the items to the California kennels.
The sign on their creation read:
50 PAPER-TOWELS
50 POOP BAGS
1 GUIDE DOG PUPPY
PRICELESS..........
If you had as much fun at Fun Day as we did, take the memories with you!
We’ve created a 60-page memory book with hundreds of photos from Fun
Day, available for purchase online only for $15.95 (plus tax and shipping). If
you and your pup were at Fun Day, there’s a good chance your photo could
be in the book!
Check it out at
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/230552/73b75995794aef261a7d4f559b3
2e5ab
Panda Fund Benefits Retired Guides
Generously founded by volunteer Wallis Smith, the Panda Fund was created to
financially assist adopters of retired Guide Dogs with veterinary care expenses
that the adopter might not otherwise be able to afford. For those times when
significant veterinary expenses could lead to the separation of these beloved
retired guides from their adoptive homes, the Panda Fund aims to help fill the
financial gap.
The total amount available for annual distribution from the Panda Fund is
restricted to $25,000. When that allocation is expended, there will be no
additional money available until the following year. If you would like more
information, or for a list of the factors used to approve an application for the
Panda Fund, please call (415) 499-4081.
119 Years of Experience at Your Service!
By Emily Brown-Leist,
Puppy Raising Manager
When the group of eight Community Field Representatives (CFRs) gets together,
the discussion inevitably runs to how much their backs hurt after a day of working
with puppies, or how much smaller the number buttons are on our new cell
phones! That, of course, leads to talk of “Remember when we used to work all
day and then go out for dinner and drinks?” and, “We used to set up Fun Day,
work all day, break the event down and still have the energy to go out and
celebrate that night!” Honestly, you’d think they are all hobbling around with
walkers!
And then I realized: all together, this group represents 119 years of working at
Guide Dogs for the Blind! The first thing that says to me is that the job of CFR
must be pretty enjoyable. How many other jobs do employees stay in for an
average of 13-plus years? In fact, when you talk to a CFR, he or she will tell you
that, yes, it’s about the only job they could ever have that would allow them to do
what they love (play with dogs and teach people) and actually get paid.
They come from different places (Pittsburgh, New York, South San Francisco,
Utah) and backgrounds (4H puppy raising, competition obedience, service dog
training), yet they all come together in a commitment to teach
people how to develop a puppy’s potential to be an excellent companion and
working dog. They have shown their commitment to this in a very concrete way,
too, by raising 78 Guide Dog puppies themselves.
So, yes, the CFRs have a few aches and pains now and then, but who wouldn’t
after almost 120 years!
In The News
 Deb Wood, who writes for the Oregonian newspaper, recently featured
GDB career change dog Emmitt (originally called
Pentagon) in her blog. Connie Coleman, who adopted Emmitt from
GDB, is very proud that he is featured for his wonderful personality.
Scroll to August 18, 2008 at the following link to read the post:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/pets

Another great story featured in the
Oregonian is about visually impaired intern Jackie Cabrera, who
worked at the Oregon campus this summer in the Dormitory kitchen:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/margie_boule/index.ssf?/b
ase/living/121919551582620.xml&coll=7

The Associated Press recently ran a story called, “Students’ Guide
Dogs Provide Guidance in Many Ways.” The article included a sidebar
titled “To Train Your Dog, Take a Lesson from Guide Dogs,” featuring
an interview with GDB spokesperson Emily Simone. The story ran in
many newspapers and other outlets throughout the country. Read the
stories at the following links:
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=773&sid=1455527
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=773&sid=1455525

Guide Dogs for the Blind was recently named on the Best Places in
Work in North Bay by the North Bay Business Journal! Read all about
it at the following link:
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/20080728/BUSINESSJ
OURNAL/167971180/1218/businessjournal
Snapshots
Kearney Finds Her Sea Legs
From Jane Ormiston, adopter of career change German Shepherd Kearney:
“Kearney is now swimming quite regularly in her Connecticut cottage home (we
are summering on Long Island Sound – we will return to San Francisco in
September). She was initially quite reluctant to engage with water, but then she
saw some other dogs, mostly labs, retrieving and having a lot of fun in the water,
and, over the course of many days, she would follow me in further and further.
Finally, one day, she followed me in to a point where her legs lifted off from the
bottom and, after a brief moment of shock, she started doing the dog paddle
rather naturally. Since then she goes in all the time. She recently completed her
first kayak ride (wearing her dog lifejacket, of course), and she loved it. She was
sitting up there in front of me so proud. In any event, we are a match in heaven, if
I do say so myself. Thank you, so much, again. Kearney has brought such
incredible happiness to my life. I truly love her.”
Summer Camp Goes to the Dogs
18 puppies and their raisers recently visited the Louis Braille School Summer
Camp for visually impaired children in Edmonds, Wash. (left). For some of the
campers, it was their first introduction to dogs and a chance to meet a dog oneon-one. Assisted by the volunteers, the children were able to pet, hug, groom
and walk with the puppies. At the end of the event, each child had a try at
a pinata filled with GDB stuffed pups - one for each camper. Many of the children
named the stuffed pups after one of the visiting puppies in training that they had
just met. One of the campers is already a K-9 Buddy recipient, and
several parents of other campers also asked about the program. This great event
was covered in the local news, too. Click here to read the story:
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080715/NEWS01/704721032&news01ad=1
Send us your photos and fun tales—you could find yourself featured here!
Send news c/o Sarah Netoff, editor at iconnection@guidedogs.com
Major Gifts, De-Mystified!
So what is a “major gift’? Major gifts to GDB are contributions of $1,000 or more,
which fund current programs, special projects and capital campaigns, like the
remodeling of the California campus kennels. To honor and thank our donors of
major gifts, we established the Norah Hamilton Straus Donors’ Circle (NHSDC),
with the following giving levels and appreciation gifts:
Buddy--$1000-$4999
(Box of notecards)
Friend--$5000-$9999
(Guide Dog pen)
Companion--$10,000-$24,999
(Gold filled dog bone pin)
Partner--$25,000-$49,999
(Gold filled dog bone sapphire pin)
Hero--$50,000-$99,999
(Gold filled dog bone ruby pin)
Soul Mate--$100,000 plus
(Gold filled dog bone diamond pin)
In addition, members of The NHSDC are invited to special events, such as the
reception prior to our Festive Holiday Luncheon in San Francisco,
on Wednesday, December 10th. The keynote speaker will be NHSDC Chair Betty
White. For more information, please contact Janet Benjamin at (800) 295-4050,
ext. 4022.
Matching Gift Opportunity: Support Retired Breeders
Double your donation today! The Hart Foundation of Reno, Nev., recently made
a $70,000 grant to GDB’s Duncan Fund. The grant requires that an additional
$70,000 be raised in a dollar-for-dollar matching arrangement.
The Duncan Fund was created as an Endowment by Barbara and Dick Kattman
to honor their breeder dog, Duncan. The income generated by the Fund is used
to assist custodians of retired GDB breeders with the costs of extraordinary
veterinary procedures.
The matching funds must be received by the end of 2008 in order to claim the full
grant amount. You can donate online at www.guidedogs.com (make sure to
designate your gift to “The Duncan Fund”), or send your donation to: Duncan
Fund, c/o GDB, PO 121500, San Rafael, 94915-1200.
Donate online! It’s the easiest – and greenest! – way to support GDB!
Contributions at www.guidedogs.com are secure, quick and don’t require
stamps, envelopes or checks!