Rosie Finds Her Person

It was our annual family camping trip in July, 2009, with my husband Andy's kids and grandsons and my sister, Anne and her three girls, Elaina, Sofia, and Natalie.  And, of course, the dogs.

Gypsy and FLD Rosie rested nearby on their tie-outs after an early morning walk before the rest of the family crawled out of their sleeping bags.  Our shaded campsites nestled beneath stately pines, the breeze gently swishing needles far above us.  The still-warm coals from last night's campfire crackled back to life as our blended family slowly awoke, settling in on comfy chairs around the fire-pit.  Grandpa Andy stirred his famous pancake batter; breakfast sausages sizzled on the grill.

I glanced back at the dogs.  There was Sofia, sitting in the dirt, bonding with Rosie.  Next to Rosie was the first place we found Sofia in the morning, during the day whenever we were back at camp, and the last place at night.  Just sitting.  Petting Rosie absentmindedly, petting Rosie with intent.  It didn't matter to her if Rosie was muddy, or wet from swimming.  Sofia simply wanted to be next to Rosie.  And Rosie sure didn't seem to mind.

After I received the fateful Rosie's-been-career-changed call from Leader Dogs, I phoned Anne.  The girls always asked if I had news of Rosie; I knew they would share my disappointment.

"What will you do with her?" Anne asked.  I hoped to place Rosie with Katie, a trainer friend of mind, but Katie had to clear things with her husband first.  They already had one dog, with dogs-in-training frequently spending overnights.  I didn't think this would work with Katie, but had arranged a trial meeting with her and her husband for later in the week.  I explained this to Anne and she offered to house Rosie until I could find her a home.  We couldn't take her since we were at our two-fur-covered-animal-limit at our townhouse.  Do you want her, Anne?

My question took Anne by surprise.  I didn't want to force anything on her--as a single mom she had her hands full.  But I knew her girls were always after her to get a dog.  They loved taking care of Gypsy and my FLDs when Andy and I went away.  They were instrumental in teaching both Rosie and FLD Mike name recognition.  Elaina, a natural leader, handled FLD Mike at a few of his puppy classes at Leader Dogs; Sofia and Natalie took a tour of the Leader Dog School with a group of puppy-raisers last winter.  Sofia wants to be a dog trainer when she grows up, and I knew the special bond Sofia shared with Rosie.  It seemed like a perfect fit!

"Well...let me know what happens with Katie," Anne deferred.

The next day, as we drove out to Rochester to pick up Rosie, my cell phone rang.  It was Anne.  "We had a family meeting.  The pros out-weigh the cons 2 to 1.  The girls set their own responsibility schedule.  WE want Rosie!  We all agreed that Rosie should be Sofia's dog, but she promised to share."

My disappointment did an abrupt u-turn into delight.  Rosie had found her person after all!

Rosie says, "I'm done!"

My opinion about Rosie is that she got tired of waiting in "holdover."  

After we returned Rosie to Leader Dogs for the Blind in July of 2009, she worked her way through the required four training phases and by January, 2010 she was ready to be placed with  her "person."  A group of vision-impaired people come to the Leader Dog School every month to be matched with a Leader Dog.  They live on campus for 3 1/2 weeks; here they are taught not only how to care for their dog, but more  importantly, how to trust their dog and function together as a team. The school always has more dogs ready than the number of people to assure that personality, life-style, and ability are well-matched with their dog.

"Rosie has a too-fast pace."  

That's what I was told when I learned that Rosie hadn't been partnered with a person in January.  What did that mean for her?  Now she was in "holdover" status--she had to wait until a new group of people came to the school in February.  No match in February.  No match in March.

I knew that Rosie was spirited, but she had been eager and focused in her preparation with me, if always READY TO GO.  A good puppy is a "tired" puppy, so I expended plenty of my own energy getting her pooped out.  She studied her Basic Obedience diligently; she knew "sit," "down," "stay," "mat," "come," "wait," "give," "take," "park," "leave it," "kennel-up," "settle," and "heel" (ok, so it seemed that I walked backwards more than forwards most of the time).  She was loyal--I wondered if we should have named her "Shadow."  I thought that my first FLD Rosie was great!

But.  After three rounds of holdover, the fine team at Leader Dogs decided that Rosie could not be placed.  Too distracted by dogs and other people, and worst of all, she started "parking" in harness.  I think Rosie decided that she'd had enough.  One sure way to avoid working is to defecate on the job!

Things Happen

When I answered the phone last Friday, the day before my 54th birthday, I had no idea my ensuing disappointment would rocket into jubilation.

"Is this Patti?"  yes  "This is Brent from Leader Dogs. Rosie has been career-changed and your contract states that you want her back.  When can you come to pick her up?"

My heart sunk. This is the phone call every puppy-raiser dreads.  Career-changed means that for whatever reason (and there are many), Rosie was not cut out for the demands of being a Leader Dog for the Blind.  She was coming home.  But, we had a problem.  Our townhouse complex has a restriction--only 2 "fur-bearing" animals allowed.  Our personal dog Gypsy is one.  Our 2nd FLD Mike is two.  What were we going to do with Rosie?  

Leader Dogs for the Blind may try to place a career-changed (cc'd) dog in another service-dog organization, such as Paws-for-the-Cause, or the dog may be a candidate for further training such as  bomb-sniffing.  Leading the vision-impaired is one of the most challenging jobs a dog can have--the dog must learn obedience, and then learn to disobey when it isn't safe for the person.  Dogs who make the grade are the "best of the best."  They are focused, loyal, intelligent, patient,  hardworking, and not too distracted by things like squirrels or other dogs.  Rosie's "official" reason for being career-changed: too dog and people distracted.  Oh, and she started to "park" while in harness (that means while she's working, a definite job-killer).

Is there another job that Rosie can do?  Unfortunately, there wasn't at this time.  Guess the economy is hitting hard everywhere.  We'll be there tomorrow afternoon.  We knew that Leader Dogs has a very long list of dog-lovers waiting to adopt a cc'd dog, but we wanted to place Rosie ourselves.  More than one friend had said to me during our year raising Rosie, "Boy, if she doesn't make it, I'll take her!"  Time to find out if their talk was cheap.

 

Puppy Lust

Why volunteer to raise a Future Leader Dog (FLD) puppy from 7 weeks to one year?  Why take on the most time consuming and important phase of dog ownership when you're not even going to own the dog when you're done?

I call it "puppy lust."

Puppy breath, puppy kisses, puppy snuggles, puppy wobbles, soft puppy fur.  All the "awwwwwws" that flow around you as you walk your FLD-bandana-ed puppy through a crowd; the smiles pulled from cell phone talkers, pre-occupied worriers, day-dreamers.

Puppy lust is the joy you feel when your puppy first "sits" on command and looks up at you as if saying, "Did I get it right?"  At that moment there seems to be something more than instinct working behind those sweet little eyes, and you know that one day this animal will develop into an extraordinary companion.

And yes, puppy lust includes the trials of training your puppy that "parking" in the house is not allowed.  ("Park" is the Leader Dog command given when the dog needs to poop or pee.)  In the instant when your puppy whines, runs to the back door, and scratches against it in desperation, you realize that your consistency, your attentiveness is paying off and that furry little creature is LEARNING.

It is for these reasons, and more, that I volunteer to raise Future Leader Dog puppies.  Of course, the proverbial icing-on-the-cake is knowing that the result of my effort may one day enrich another person's life in ways that I can't imagine.