Where did the summer go? (October 2003)
It seems like just yesterday that our little puppy was
"helping" us plant trees, keeping the pesky gophers on the run in our
garden, and swimming after frogs in the pond. In the past few
months Darby has grown a lot, been out and about, and has enjoyed many
new experiences, including the Ringling Brothers Circus, Disneyland's
California Adventure, and one very strange day at the
Red Bull Flugtag on the
Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles. For those of you not familiar with
this event, the Flugtag is a friendly competition
where hand-made machines (bizarre hunks of junkyard scrap),
are
flown (hurled) into a large body of water (off a very high pier into the
cold ocean) by a team of people (weirdly dressed) who obviously have had
too much Red Bull before breakfast. If you ever want to test a
puppy's tolerance to large crowds, strange costumes, and more noise than
your average heavy metal concert, this is the place to go. (And,
lest anyone think this event is just crazy California behavior, you
might be interested to know that the Flugtag originated in Austria in
1991.) Darby handled the Flugtag flawlessly.
Puppy Public Relations ~ A Dog's Duty
Now that the Dog Days of Summer are gone, and Darby is
maturing into a polite young lady, we have been spending more time on
public relations tasks. In October, we were invited to be guest
speaker at the Bear Valley Springs Women's Club luncheon and, a few days
later, at the BVS Men's Service Club dinner. Darby was the hit of
these Halloween theme events in her student propeller hat (see photo
above), and I got a chance to polish my public speaking skills.
Large groups are tough for me, but talking about our involvement with
this worthwhile charity always puts me at ease. :-)
GDA
Las Vegas Golf Tournament & Charity Banquet (November 2003)
We were honored to be among a very (very) small group of
Guide Dogs of America puppy raisers who were invited to attend the
annual fundraiser at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. There are
over 300 hard-working puppy raiser families volunteering for GDA, and
only about 10 are invited to this event each year, as ambassadors and
hosts to the 1,200 charitable people who come from around the country to
donate to GDA.
The
golf tournament, held on a Friday with 288 people playing simultaneously
in a shot-gun start, was reported to have brought in over $100,000.
Darby and 2-year-old breeder dog Loree (right) enjoyed the beautiful day
on the course, as they silently cheered on the golfers. (Well, OK.
They might have looked at the resident ducks more than once, but they
didn't go after them!)
The banquet held on Saturday was even more successful,
with dozens of donations ranging from $1,000 to well over $100,000.
The generous check presentations went on for quite some time, and the
pot continued to grow as we enjoyed a fabulous steak and lobster dinner.
I lost my mental count after a glass (or two) of wine, but I would guess
that at least half a million dollars was donated that evening.
WOW. Given that GDA is run entirely on private donations and the
work of volunteers, this money will go a long way in helping many people
over the next year. It was great to have been a part of something
so special. (Thank you, GDA staff, for inviting us.)
November 18, 2003 ~ The week after this photo
(above, left) was taken at the Flamingo Hotel waterfall in Las Vegas,
Darby celebrated her 1st birthday. Happy Birthday, Darby....
How Time Flies.... (April 2004)
I can't believe it's been five months since I last
updated Darby's page...... the time passed so quickly. After the
Las Vegas fundraiser in November, we really squeezed a lot into our
schedules. There was Thanksgiving, the annual
Holiday Pot Luck luncheon at the GDA campus, and a house full of guests
at Christmas. In January 2004, Bill and I decided to open a new
pet-related business, which took up every waking moment during the next
couple months. In April 2004, Darby helped us to launch the
opening of Canine Creek, a Self
Serve Dog Wash located in our lovely little town of
Tehachapi, California. Also in April,
Darby made the annual visit to Mrs. Hinkle's 3rd grade class at Cummings
Valley Elementary School, where we were presented with a large jar of
change..... money saved and donated by the children to Guide Dogs of
America. We are very lucky to know teachers like Mrs. Hinkle, who
is not only educating the adults of tomorrow, but also encouraging them
to be charitable to those who are less fortunate.
The Big Day Is Upon Us (May 15, 2004)
As much as we like the folks at GDA, we always dread
receiving the letter from them stating "turn in day has arrived".
On May 15, 2004 we made the 2-hour drive to Sylmar for the Turn In
Luncheon..... a day of mixed emotions where we say a tearful good-bye to
our puppy-in-training, share stories with other puppy raisers, and hope
for the best as our charge starts a new life without us. It's
painful letting go of a dog that you love, but it helps to remember that
the 18 month commitment you made could literally change someone else's
life. Darby is smart, loyal, and has a wonderful sense of
humor..... a little imp in dog fur. Our household will certainly
not be the same without her. The photo at left is the last we took
of Darby before she entered the training kennel, where she will spend
the next five months learning her trade. Bill is holding the
yellow "puppy in training" jacket that will now be replaced with a
leather harness and a professional guide dog trainer. I'm behind
the camera, wearing a big smile, and a pair of dark sunglasses to hide
my puffy red eyes. Good luck, Giggle Girl. We love you!
