Cameron at the beach (ignore the date on the photo)

Saturday, July 7, 2012

July 5th

July 5th was a very special day for my sweet boy, Cameron. He turned  3 that day!!!! Of course, I did call to wish him a very Happy Birthday!!! He sounded happy to hear my voice on the phone. They truly never forget their Puppy Raisers even though they have someone else who loves them very much. It doesn't seem like he should be 3 already. Time sure does fly by.

I have also received from his new mommy his official Olympic Training Center ID card. It is so cute! I love his photo on the card. He is sitting so proud and proper. I think that's one thing I loved most about him, he always looked so dignified. He knew he was important from the very beginning and I never let him forget that. I know his Mom always reminds him of that too. She loves him dearly and that makes my heart so happy. I couldn't have picked a better person for him if I had tried myself. I will have to post a picture of his official ID.

Take care,
Cameron's PR Mom

Friday, September 23, 2011

PR Day Pictures

ENJOY!!!!










I've Got Mail!!!

Hi everyone,

I have just received the pictures that were taken at Puppy Raiser Day on August 6th of Pam, Cameron, and I!!! They are gorgeous photos!!! Receiving these in the mail have just made my day. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get the pictures and they finally came. I will have to upload them so you can enjoy as well. I am so proud of my big boy!!! He has grown to be a super dog in my eyes. I bet his new mommy thinks he's a super dog, too. I know she is loving and enjoying him just as much as I did (and still do).

Will post them soon,
Cameron's 1st Mommy

Monday, September 19, 2011

Halfway There

Well, we are now halfway through our waiting period to hear from Cameron and Pam. Only a month and a half longer to go before I can hear how they are doing. I am sure that they are having such a great time together and Cameron is getting to see a world of new things. I can hardly wait to talk to Pam!

Stay tuned to find out how they are getting along,
Cameron's former Mommy

Monday, August 8, 2011

Puppy Raiser Day

I had the best time at Puppy Raiser Day this weekend. This is where I got to see my once-so-small Cameron work his graduation route with his forever person. They were perfect together!!!

Saturday was a great day to have it since it was sunny and bright, the weather was nice except for the heat (which is expected during the Summer), and all of the Puppy Raisers made it to the graduation. We all met in the Administrative building first to be signed in and go over a few rules before the routes got started. A few people on the Puppy Raiser Services Team went over "guide dog etiquette" with everyone and read us the students' Bio forms which tells us a little bit about the student before we actually get to meet them. (In case you did not know, there are rules for greeting a guide dog team such as: greeting the person first- not the dog, never pet or talk to the dog-pretend it's not even there, and do not ask about the person's impairment-if they want you to know, they will tell you). All of us Puppy Raisers gathered outside, at a distance away, to watch each team work a route together as a class. We have to remain very quite during this time so we do not distract the dogs from their work. That's the last thing we want to do is to draw attention to ourselves.

Cameron and his partner worked their route first. They came out of the building with Cameron pulling ahead in his harness like he is supposed to and his nose in the air. I could tell he could smell me and so could some of the other raisers. I kind of laughed to myself watching the expression on his face. You could almost read his mind and this is what it appeared he was thinking: "I know she is here but I don't see her. I can smell her, though." It almost made me hold my breath for fear that he was going to track me down. After the initial smelling of the air, he went about his business and worked his route like a pro!

After all the teams completed their walks, we got to go back inside for the best part of all- meeting the person that has our dog!!!! That is the BEST part about Puppy Raiser Day. I got to meet his forever partner, which is a woman (I knew it would be since Cameron likes his women), and talk with her for a while getting to know a little about her and she got to learn a little about me and, of course, Cameron. I gave Cameron and his partner a gift bag. Cameron got a Nylabone to chew on and a jacket since I didn't know where he would be living and his owner got a picture album of Cameron growing up. She, in return, gave a gift that is very special, it's a picture frame with two pictures in it- one is Cameron's baby picture in the harness and then other is of the two of them on the beach where Cameron is giving her lots of lovin'.

She loves him dearly already and this feeling is clearly mutual. It turns out, Cameron is her 2nd Vizsla guide dog and she is very familiar with the breed since she has several Vizsla friends. How perfect! I couldn't have picked a better person for him if I had tried myself. She is very active so Cameron will have a lot of working time. He will be living up north and will be pampered. My boy is going to love her even more when he finds out what's in store for him when he gets home!!! He is one lucky dog and I am one happy raiser. This is what makes you want to keep raising, and I will continue to do so as long as I am able. The students, staff, and raisers all sat down to eat lunch together before our goodbyes had to come. It was a great meal, Southeastern has some good chefs. Goodbyes, unfortunately, had to follow too soon after our meal. We gave each other a huge hug and I gave Cameron one too. I am looking forward to keeping in touch with such a wonderful team!

These two are truely a Bicycle Built for Two. (This is the title of her bio and is very fitting.)



After Puppy Raiser Day was over, we (my daughter, mother-in-law, and I) left to go down to Lehigh Acres to see Jesse and Hugh. They were happy too see us. we spent the night there with them. I shaved Hugh's fur a little to help with all the shedding and he looks really cute! We left their house the next morning and went down to Sanibel Island to spend a day/night. It was nice to explore a new place this time. We stayed in a hotel on the island for the night and got up early the next morning to make the long 13-hr drive back home.

That is a recap of our weekend. I hope you enjoyed. There will be more updates to follow on Cameron so just stick around.

Cameron's Raiser Mom

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Great News!!

Okay for those of you reading this blog, I have one favor to ask of you before you read the rest of this entry....please sit down. Are you sitting? You sure you're not just saying that? Great!

Well......


Cameron got matched!!!!!! He is on the list for the July class. He is among six other dogs that were all raised in Florida. Assuming that this match is a good one and he does not get sent back IFT for any reason, I will be attending Puppy Raiser Day next weekend at the Southeastern campus. I am looking forward to it!!! He has made me very proud!! I knew he could do it.

I will get to watch Cameron and his forever person work a route together as a team. When all of the students have worked their route for their raisers to see, we all go inside the Administrative building so that we actually get to meet the person. We get to exchange information about ourselves. I will get to tell Cameron's new owner lots of stories about Cameron (at least the good ones).

After PR Day is over, I would love to go see Hugh and Jesse again and maybe the Cameron's (Cameron's sponsors) too. We will see if our schedules permit us to do this. I will be taking tons of pictures so be on the lookout for more posts.

Take care,
Cameron's Mom

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Cameron has been spotted!

One of my PR friends had to take her dog IFT today. CW(one of our black Lab males in the group) had to go IFT at Southeastern. It is time for him to start his new chapter in life. While CW was being handed off to the kennel manager, his raisers got to see Cameron while he was being walked by a volunteer!!! Talk about perfect timing! They took some pictures for me of course. If I can copy them, then I will post them on here for you to see. He looks great and seems to be very happy. His report cards are awesome as you already know if you have been looking at them. I couldn't ask for him to be doing any better in school.

Proud Momma :)