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OUR GIFT..... (Brando Page 3)May 25, 2001 ~ Brando's 1st BirthdayOur "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 TrialsBrando 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 BallparkPart 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 CollegeThe 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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