Legacy Puppy

So, my very own puppy is going to have to wait for a little longer. Why? I'll tell you why and I couldn't be more excited about the reason.

Remember when I posted that KENO became PWAP's very first ever breeder after having been an organized club for ten years? Well, his first litter was born on May 1st and the Momma dog is a female black lab named Disney (cute name huh?). Keno's raiser was battling back and forth about whether or not she would raise one of Keno's puppies because she goes to school and she's never had a puppy younger than 6 months because of this. I extended my services and said that I would be more than willing to co-raise with or fully raise one of these puppies for her until he/she was old enough to be with her full time. She finally made the decision about a week ago and we have been assigned a puppy from Keno and Disney's litter!

I'm excited about this for two reasons. First, Keno was an awesome puppy! Seriously, he was such a mellow yellow fellow. And super cute. Second, Disney is an Atrus puppy. For those of you who don't know my second puppy, Rocco, is also an Atrus puppy. Which means I'll have Rocco's half niece for a little while.

The little pup will be ready to come to Fresno at the end of June and I'll still be in Aberdeen until the beginning of August. So, Keno's raiser will have the little one for a full month before I take over and then I'll have the pup until early November. I'm very excited about being able to help her raise one of Keno's babies.

So, assignment!

Female Black Lab, Letter "Q"

Ok, so there are three reasons I'm excited. Female black lab! I love them little black labbie girls!

Ok, ok. There are four reasons. Miss "Q" will be PWAP's very first "legacy puppy". I think that's pretty cool.

Alright, five reasons. How cool is the letter "Q"? I've got one of the interesting letters now (and because I know one of the raisers of the parents I've been subtly suggesting names *wink*).

Maybe I'm just all around excited.

After Miss "Q" goes back to Keno's raiser in November, I'm not too sure what I'll be doing. I'm hoping that Dulcie becomes a breeder and if she does then I will wait until her first litter is born to get my next one. If she is spayed, then I will put in for a different puppy. I figure since Hilly gets her female black lab in Miss "Q" then my next one will be another female golden. (For those of you who don't know Hilly doesn't really like any of the puppies in training unless they are black labs. Well, she actually plays with the black labs. I know, I know. It's weird.) But who knows!? I sure don't, but I'm very excited to see where this next year takes me.

Even though I won't be there to pick up Miss "Q" or see her when she's a very little baby, I'm SO excited to see pictures.

M is for... (for real this time)

MARCO!!!!

Marco's "birth certificate" 

Marco's profile. Handsome boy.

Me and Marco.

Marco wouldn't stop moving, so the best I could do is a blurry picture.

Marco arrived in Aberdeen yesterday, but I just got a chance to meet him today. Let me tell you, the pictures don't do this little guy justice at all! He's super cute. In fact, I think it's safe to say that he's super duper cute. Haha! Love at very first lick.

I don't know when I'll get a chance to have him. We wanna give him a week or two to settle into Aberdeen at his "primary" home and then Quinn is going away early December, so I'll probably want to take Quinn before I take Marco just so I can see him again. 

Marco is a yellow lab / golden retriever cross. He looks like he's going to be a little fluffier than Frankie or Quinn, but still isn't coated. And, this is the first time I know ALL of his siblings here in the UK. 

"M" is for...

Ok, so little "M" isn't here just yet as there is still some tummy issues. But I just couldn't resist posting up this picture of little, teeny "M"!

Luckily, this doesn't really give away the breed though I suppose it's safe to say that some breeds are far less likely. Haha! I just can't wait to meet little "M"!

Little M Delayed

Little "M" won't be here until next week. The poor puppy got a little ill in the kennels so GDB is keeping the little one up there until everything is all cleared up. Nothing too serious, just a bad tummy. But they want to play it safe just in case (I can't say that I blame them).

Of course that means that you all have another week or so to guess the gender, name, and breed (I'll tell you a secret, I don't even know the breed!).

Finalized Arrival Date

We finally got a date for when little "M" will arrive! Hooray! Little "M" will arrive on November 6th! So you still have time to guess M's gender, name, and breed.

Just as a reminder you can guess the following breeds;

Lab
Lab/Golden cross
Lab/Shepherd cross
Golden
Golden/Shepherd cross
German Shepherd
Long Coated Retriever (or any of the crosses)

Can't wait to meet the newest little one!

Another New Puppy

So, we will have another new puppy around here. Not my own puppy as my landlord still isn't allowing a full time puppy, but another puppy that I will help out with. Much like Frankie and now Quinn. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea when the new puppy will arrive nor what breed the little one is. All I know, is the name.

But I'm not going to tell you the name because how much fun would that be? If you have any guesses though and you guess anything correctly I will announce the winner on the blog. I don't promise any winnings or anything except for pride, satisfaction, and kudos. But a guessing game is always fun!

You can guess;

Gender
Breed
Name

Now, I don't really know all of the breeds they use here in the UK, but I can guess that the new little one won't be one of the experimental or rare breeds. So here are a list of breeds that you can guess;

Lab (Black or Yellow)
Lab/Golden Cross (Black or Yellow)
Lab/Shepherd Cross
German Shepherd
Golden Retriever
Shepherd/Golden Cross
Flat Coated Retriever (Liver or Black)

I will let you know when the new pup arrives! I'm pretty excited to have another baby around so soon especially since I got Dulcie at 13 weeks old. This new one will be 6 or 7 weeks old!

The name starts with "M".

Happy Guessing!

Pictures of Dulcie

Some more cutie patootie pictures of our sweet, darling Dulcie! She's definitely on the darker side and it looks like she's got a great golden personality. I just can't handle how cute she is! Hope Mary is getting some sleep. She's 10 weeks old so she might be able to sleep through the night a little better than a younger puppy. I'll definitely update you as I get updates from Mary.

Dulcie giving a goofy grin with her eyes closed

Dulcie giving a sweet smile

Sweet Duclie lying on the floor 

Dulcie sticking the tip of her tongue out. Mary says she does a lot. Haha!  

Please welcome...

DULCIE!!!!

Wait...what!? The observant of you will notice that Dulcie isn't an "H" puppy but rather a "D" puppy. That's a pretty funny story there. When we first got our puppy assignment we were actually due to get a puppy from the Amici/Garcelle "D" litter born on March 14, 2013. But, when it was finally decided that Miss "D" would come to us, we had a puppy switch to Miss "H". This morning we were given another puppy swap back to our Miss "D"! Been a puppy swapping roller coaster over here. Haha! Either way, I'm super excited to meet her when I get home. She is Colorado's half sister and I LOVED Colorado. She looks like him too! Mary also says she's "feisty". Oh puppy raising department, you did it again. 

Below are some pictures that Mary sent me. She looks like she's on the darker side and I LOVE dark goldens. Amici is a pretty dark boy so there's no surprise there. *smiles* 

Dulcie with Brenna right off the puppy truck.

Dulcie's sweet face.

Dulcie on the left with the other puppy club's newest puppy Hamilton. He would have been Miss H's sibling. 

Gonna be home in 16 days...they'll go by so slow won't they?

Miss "H" Comes Tomorrow!

I'll be honest here guys. I haven't allowed myself to get too excited about Little "H" up until now. I was waiting for something to fall through or for some tragedy to happen that would make it impossible for her to come. But we're in the home stretch now! Miss "H" will be home with Mary by this time tomorrow!! Really and truly, I can't wait to see who she is. I can't wait to meet her. And I can't wait to get to know her golden personality.

Only one person has taken part in the name game so far. If you're interested in guessing her name then by all means do. Just reminding you that she is a female golden retriever whose name starts with the letter "H". You can guess 5 names and if you're right I'll figure out a prize for you.

I suppose it's time to reveal some of my guesses:

1. Hepzibah
2. Habiba
3. Hutspah
4. Henna
5. Harlequin

Those are my favorite "H" names so far. Mary found a street named Hilmar and there's a town in California called Hilmar as well. We both think that it would be funny if Miss "H" ended to be Hilmar. Hil for my Hilly and mar for her last puppy and Miss "H's" half sibling Marley (rockin' it in phase 7 of formal training this week!).

Not long now.

A New Puppy for Erin

The title of the post pretty much says it all. There is a new puppy in the future for me.

There are so many emotions running through my body right now. Excitement is pretty much the most prevalent. I am excited to have a baby again. I am excited to have a full time puppy again. I am excited to really feel a part of the puppy group again instead of just the facebook page moderator or just that girl who used to raise. But, while I am most definitely excited, there is so much else I am feeling.

I am skeptical. Why? Well, I've known about this puppy for months (and let me tell you, keeping that secret was HARD) and for a while it was a sure thing but then it wasn't then it was a possibility then it wasn't. It's been such a roller coaster ride. So, there's a part of me that doesn't actually believes it's going to happen.

Strangely, I'm a little sad. Part of what has made this such a roller coast ride is that my parents didn't want another dog in the house. Understandable. But it meant that I had to find somewhere else to live. Which means that I wouldn't be spending all day everyday with my Gorgeous Golden Girl, Arwen. Now that it's being announced and is definite, I know I won't be spending all day everyday with her. It's hard. I feel a little like I'm trading in my old dog for a young pup. I know I'm not. In fact, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I get at least a couple of hours of Arwen everyday. But, I still have this little knot in my stomach that I don't think will go away. I know that I'll be spending a lot of time with her this summer, but still...I wish I could do both. But I'll be home often to house sit and the like so it's not like there won't be times where I'll just sit with Arwen.

I'm also nervous. Not living at home...well it's one of the reason I go home isn't it? To be at my parents' and not have to worry. I guess it'll be good practice for next year after I graduate. I'll have the ability to lie with my parents and make it easy on myself, but I'm not going to. I'm going to get out there and try and do something with my life. So...I guess I need to get use to being near but only visiting. And then there's the fact that GDB has introduced a whole lot of new protocol while I've been here in Scotland and what if I can't handle it? It's weird to think that I've been doing this for nearly 5 years and I'm nervous about being good enough.

And I'm feeling a little reserved. As if I don't want to be excited. Or, rather, I'm not allowing myself to be completely excited. Instead of focusing on all the excitement, I'm thinking about the other emotions and then feeling bad for feeling excited because those other emotions are there too and they should get recognition right?

I'm also numb. As soon as I made the final decision we had a puppy swap. Now, I'd been thinking about this puppy since March. So, it was a little like...I went through all of that emotion, all of the thinking, all of the pros and cons lists, all of the worrying, all of the disappointment for this puppy and I'm no longer getting it? It was strange. I've already begun to like my new assignment, so it's not like it's terrible or anything. But that initial shock hasn't worn off.

Talk about roller coaster rides right? But like I said, excitement is definitely the strongest feeling among the bunch. I guess I just didn't think I could feel so much with just the decision to start a puppy over the summer. It's strange. But I think I've made the right decision. I think whatever I ended up doing this summer would be rewarding and valuable. And I think that it ended up playing out the way it did for a reason. I mean, there must be a reason that at the last minute when I thought I was going to have to turn down the puppy I was offered a room somewhere. When it was looking like it wouldn't happen I said that I would let it play out the way it was going to and that I wouldn't push it or try to force it into working. And this is the way it played out. So, there has to be a reason and I'd like to find out why.

Well, after all of that emotion exploring I suppose I should tell you about my new little one.

I will be getting a female golden retriever born on March 19, 2013 to Franklin and Kaylee. Her litter letter is "H". We've already made sure that the puppy raising department knows that I already have a Hilly and that she's the only Hilly I need since she's perfect. She'll be arriving on May 24 via the puppy truck. Mary will pick her up for me and start her for the first 2-3 weeks since I'll still be in Scotland then recovering from jet lag.

So...if you have name guesses I would love to hear them! In fact, we'll make a game out of it. 5 name guesses per person. Winner will get the satisfaction of know that they guessed the name. (Quite possibly something tangible as well but I haven't had a lot of time to think about it.)

Fingers Crossed

I approached my landlord again about raising a puppy full time. We'll see what he says. It would be so nice to have a dog around full time again. If he does say no at least I'll still be able to be a sitter. It's not ideal, but at least I'll still have a pup when I need one.

I sent the email about 4 days ago and I haven't heard back as of yet. I hope that means he is thinking it over instead of just saying no immediately. It's hard to be patient sometimes.

Congrats are in Order

I just wanted to say congratulations to my friend Alicia. She's been waiting for such a long time, but it's finally happened. Yesterday, HANK was transferred to her as her first puppy to raise for GDB! We're so happy that Hank gets to stay in the group and I'm so happy that she is an official puppy raiser. Alicia went to UHS as well, two years behind me. Yes, that does mean that she also has just graduated from high school. *smiles* Such a big weekend for her, but I know that she is going to have so much fun with Hank. I still don't know if I'll end up back home after I finish my degree here, but if I do I hope she's still raising then.

Anywho, just felt I should say congratulations. *grin*

PWAP Update

So, I suppose it's time for another PWAP update. I know it hasn't been that long since I last posted, but quite a bit has happened since I last updated on the club.

First off, a few days after TIPPIN went into phase 8 we got news that she was in class. She graduated on May 12 with a woman who lives really close to us. I was super excited to hear that she had graduated. She was such a nice puppy and I'm so happy that she's out there working. I don't have any pictures of her in harness, but hopefully there will be some up on the facebook page soon.

Now, PWAP has gotten two new puppies. The first is DARRELL. He's a half and half Lab/Golden cross born to Simon and Tess. Jealous? I sure am. He's super cute. It makes me miss my little Indie. But  every time I get sad/jealous I just remember that it's not my time to raise a puppy right now and I'm OK with that. I get to help with Frankie at any time his raisers need a break and, while I'm at University, that can be enough for me.

Darrell, a yellow lab/golden cross

The second puppy is the one I'm most excited about. She was a surprise puppy and came in yesterday. Her name is FIENNA. Does that name sound familiar? Well, it should. It was on my Mother's Day post. Have you figured it out yet? That's right! She's Hestia's puppy! I'm so excited that one of her puppies ended up in my group. I hope that Hilly and I get to spend some time with her while I'm home this July. Gotta say, more jealous about this one. Haha!

Fienna, a black lab

Oh yes, that's another thing. I'm going home for a month in July which I am pretty excited about. I can't wait to see my Hilly girl.

Lance and A New Puppy

Well, he did it. Sir Lance-a-lot is now a working Guide! I'm sorry, but I don't have any pictures for you of him in harness as I wasn't there. But stop by my group's facebook fan page in the next couple of days and hopefully there will be a few loaded. I have to say, not being able to be there killed me just a little. Lance wasn't my puppy, but I saw him a lot when he was a baby because Mary, Brenna, and I were still co-raising Rocco. And he seemed to not mind me walking him at puppy meetings. Sure, he still looked for Mary, but he wasn't hard to walk while he did it. It was more like he'd turn his head every thirty seconds or so but he would never stop walking and he never turned around. I do miss the goofy boy. But, I hear his new handler is an absolutely WONDERFUL guy. That's all anyone can ever hope for. So, good luck with you new job and your new life Lance! Your Erin is so very proud of you.

With every graduation comes a new puppy. Well, really, I guess that isn't true. I guess it's not ever true to say that with every recall comes another puppy. But, I'm sticking with it. A new family just finished their week long puppy sit and it went fantastically! They've been assigned a Female Black Lab born to Simon/Salina on February 25, 2012. The litter letter is "A". I'm a little bummed because next weekend is about the time Hestia's babies would be old enough to leave the kennels, but I guess, from the birth date, that there are still a lot of older puppies in kennels that they want to get out. But, at least this is a black lab female. You all know how I love the black lab females. Haha! Can't wait to see the newest member of PWAP!

New Puppy for PWAP

First off let me introduce you to the newest member of PWAP:

A little yellow lab/golden puppy in the smallest puppy jacket smiling at the camera. She looks more lab. 

TORI!!!!

Tori is a female yellow lab/golden cross (she's 1/4 golden and 3/4 lab). She was born to Medford and Belize on February 21, 2012. There were a lot of older puppies in the kennels so Emily and Meghan (who are raising PIT Shep right now) agreed to start one. I'm not sure, but my best guess is that Little Miss Tori might not end up transferring. Haha! I think Emily and Meghan are enjoying having a puppy small enough to hold and one that actually wants to be held.

Also, LANCE in in class! He's due to graduate on April 28, 2012! That's just 6 days from today! He'll be living in Michigan which is good for Lance because he never liked the heat of California. I'm sad that I don't get to go to his graduation and say good bye, but I'm so happy that he's found his forever person. We're all so proud of Lance. He's just more proof that Goldens can be great Guides as well.

That's all for now. 

Postponed

Well, the title says it all. I've had to postpone getting my Little I. *sad face*

It's not because of the doubts I was having involving my social life. In fact, there wasn't much I could do to stop it. You see, I was due for minor surgery back at the end of February. Unfortunately, there was a bit of miscommunication between my GP and the dermatology clinic. When I got there they said that it would take five to six months for them to get me the surgery. I agreed to this because I was thinking that in five or six months the puppy would be between seven and eight months old and I wouldn't have to carry him/her (this was before I knew about Little I) outside to go potty or to the vet or bend down to clean up accidents on the floor or pick up accidents on walks. Well, I got a letter on Saturday telling me that my surgery date had been moved up.

I was happy, but the surgery date was just five days after Little I was suppose to get here. I thought about it for four days and finally decided to do what's best for my Little I. I would get him and then immediately have to ship him off to a sitter for a month. Then when I got him back it would only be a week until the week of finals. That's when I was going to ask for a sitter for the week anyway. So, in the two months that I would have Little I, the pup would only be with me for two weeks.

I really wish it didn't have to be this way. But I know that it's what is best for my Little I.

I do know why GDB back home doesn't give up the name of our puppy before they get here though. It was so much harder for me to make this decision because I knew who I was getting. I'm so attached to this puppy already and it hasn't even come home to me yet. I was getting Little I all of these toys and a new bed and some new blankets. I'm so sad that I can't have him anymore.

Now, with me telling you his gender, I can tell you who would have won the Name Game out of the people who have put in guesses. I was going to receive a Male Yellow Golden/Lab cross (1/4 lab and 3/4 golden) named:

INDIE

So far Ashley would have won with 2 points.

Well, that's all for now. I should know in another month and a half what my new puppy assignment is and as soon as I know you will all know. I'm missing my Indie already, but I know he'll be happier with a raiser who doesn't have to send him to the sitters right away. And, now, I'm for sure able to have a baby because it'll be summer when I get one.

The Name Game Begins

I know, I know. It's been a while since I've spoken about the new puppy. I guess it's because there's still a part of me that wants to say no. I guess most puppy raisers go through a series of doubts. It's what I'm going through right now and I don't think these doubts will go away until the puppy is here. I've tried very hard to make them go away and I've been wondering if it means that I'm not ready for another puppy. I've decided that these are natural concerns (whether or not the puppy will mesh with my lifestyle, whether my social life will be ruined, etc.) and I've decided if anything life changing happens before the puppy comes then I can still say "not right now" and if some of my fears happen to be true then I can talk them over with Graham then. But, that's no reason to leave the name game until the last second. These are concerns and doubts that everyone has...right?

Anyway, on to the rules of the Name Game! First, before I give you the rules, let me tell you that there are three things that you can guess about my new puppy; gender, breed, and name.

The Rules:

1. To give a guess just leave a comment on this post (or any posts about the Name Game)
2. You have until the puppy arrives to get your guesses in (really, until I post about the pup)
3. You may guess only ONE breed and ONE gender over the whole game (if you end up guessing more than one each I'll only take your first guesses)
4. You may guess 5 names per comment (I'll only count the first 5 names in your comment if you leave more names)
5. You may only leave a comment once per week (that's one every 7 days and if there is more than one I'll only count the first one)
6. Each feature (name, gender, breed) is worth 1 point and whoever has the most points at the end is the winner
7. For an extra 1/2 point you can guess the colour
8. I will think of a suitable prize for the winner...

Now, since Guide Dogs uses quite a few more breeds than Guide Dogs for the Blind back home I'll make it easier for you. Here are the four breeds you have to choose from:

1. German Shepherd/Lab Cross (sable or black)
2. Golden/Lab Cross (black or yellow)
3. Flat Coated Retriever (black or liver coloured)
4. Lab (black or yellow)

And obviously you can guess either male or female.

Let's see...is that it? Oh no! There's one more thing that I have to tell you before this game goes live. The letter the pup's name starts with is "I".

Good Luck! The pup comes on April 11, 2012.

Still Here

Hey guys! I'm still here and I'm still waiting. Graham is on leave until tomorrow morning, so everything should be official soon enough. Waiting to be absolutely sure definitely sucks, but I figure that it's worth the wait. Hopefully, by the end of the week I'll have more news for you all. Until then, I am here; alive and mostly well.

In other news for those of you who aren't on my facebook; I found an extremely cheap dog bed at the co-op yesterday! It was five pounds which is just about eight dollars. And it's the perfect size for next to my bed. And all I went in there for the half off Ben and Jerry's. Little did I know that I would find such a great deal. Haha! I'm pretty happy about the new dog bed.

Date Possibility!

I got a phone call from Graham today about a possible date for the puppy to arrive. He said that there was one available for delivery on April 11, 2012! That's two year (plus a day) since Mary and I picked up Rocco from GDB. I think it's a perfect date for the puppy to arrive. Kind of like an anniversary present or something. Haha!

He also gave me a name! *big grin* But I'm going to keep that a secret until the puppy gets here. That way we can have a name game!

We'll see when things are more official.

No Pup Yet

I'm having some real trouble staying focused. It's so hard to concentrate on things like Psychology and Dr. Faustus when I still don't have much information.

I got an email from Graham yesterday (because I sent him an email asking when I could expect to know anything) and he said that puppies had not been allocated to Scotland yet. He did say he was poking and prodding the person who is in charge of allocating the puppies to get on Aberdeen. *smile* I'm just a little impatient I suppose. Haha! OK...I'm a little more than just a little impatient. I'm just so ready to know whether or not there's a puppy in the kennels for me.

I've decided to take this time in reviewing the puppy manual. They do things a little differently here and use a few different commands. I still haven't found the equivalent for "that's enough" for GDB back home. As long as it distracts me from thinking about getting an email from Graham. I'm sure I'll find time to study in there somewhere.

Also, good luck to Mandy and Saxon today. Saxon is going back in for training today and she's getting her new little puppy. I can't wait to hear who she's going to get. Teesha and Stuart are also going back in for training today. They're being driven up to San Rafael today instead of puppy them on the puppy truck that came through yesterday. I'll be thinking of them all today.