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

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Cameron is Back!

Mom here,

Here is an update from the time I last blogged: We went to the beach with my family and had a great time. Spunky and Bristol enjoyed the beach. Bristol enjoyed that water quite a bit more than Spunky. She loves to swim, but Spunky, on the other hand, would much rather watch from a safe distance from the water. Spunky sat with my dad at our spot on the beach and occupied him while the babies were sitting in his lap.

Over the weekend while we were at the beach, I noticed Spunky had developed a limp. I had not noticed him doing anything strenuous or playing too rough with Bristol, so I am not sure what happened. When we got home, his limp got a little worse and he had to go home early (Tuesday) so he could go to the doctor the next day. The verdict is possible soft tissue damage. Not sure how that happened but he seems to be doing better. I guess it is bed rest for this poor guy.

I was guide dog-less until Sunday when Cameron came home. I went to see some puppies Sunday morning, went to a wedding after that, and then went to pick up Cameron from my Area Coordinator. Cameron went on the Spencer Train Ride earlier that day and I have reports saying that he did great! I am so proud of my little boy! I wish I could have seen him on the train. He is maturing a lot and is an excellent puppy when he is working. I mean, he is good at home, but is fantastic when his coat is on. I am so happy to have him back! I missed him a lot! I also have reports that the puppy raiser that had Cameron on the swap absolutely fell in love with him. It was said that he did great and behaved himself. That just makes me squirm with excitement when I hear things like this about my dogs! makes me think I am doing something right....hehe

Cameron is still his normal goofy self, but is so grown up when I need him to be. Last night, I had the baby-gate down that was at my bedroom door and Cameron was missing for a few minutes or so, so I went to check on him and make sure he wasn't on my bed, guess where he was....on his blanket beside my bed, curled up and waiting for me to come to bed. I have a fluffy, green blanket on the floor beside my bed for him to sleep on that is where he stays during the night. It is his favorite spot. He gets to sleep on something soft, out of the kennel, and close to me, what more could he want?

He continues to surprise me and many different ways. I hope that one day he will surprise me in the ultimate way that he could, and that is, becoming a guide dog. He is a very sweet and smart boy, so he should do fine. I think I have a while left with him (February at the latest) so we will continue to work on the areas that are a little difficult for him (food scavenging, and getting on the bed/furniture). We shall see how everything works out.

-Mom

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Wagfest/Puppy Camp

Cameron's raiser here,

This past Saturday (May 1st), our group had an even that we attended in Stanly County. It is called Wagfest and it benefits the Humane Society and Animal Rescue League in Stanly County, but we were invited to come out and set up our own booth for people interested in puppy raising. We did a demonstration of our puppy obedience and we walked the trail that was marked for all the dogs that attended. Locals brought out their dogs to celebrate and there were dogs and puppies of all sizes and breeds up for adoption. There were games to play with your dog, plenty of food, and things to buy for your perfect pooch, or in my case, pooches.

It was a very hot day. Also on this day, we had another puppy camp that was starting up. Cameron has gone to another puppy raiser family that lives on Winston-Salem and we have a pup from Concord, I believe, who is named Spunky. Spunky is, well, spunky. He certainly lives up to his name. He is a black Lab who is very sweet and a little shy at times. He likes to play with the baby, my nieces and nephew, and of course Bristol and Biscuit. Spunky is almost 9 months old and has a lot of energy, but that is just fine with us. We are used to it, given we have two Vizslas who never seem to slow down. If you know one, you know what I am talking about.

Puppy camp will end on May 16th at out next meeting which is the Spencer Train Ride. At this time, we will trade dogs back. I will not be attending this meeting because I have a wedding to go to but I will be making other arrangements to get Cameron back home and Spunky to his home.

In other news, Legion, the pup we had on last puppy camp has been career changed due to hip displaysia (not sure if I spelled that right). He had a slight nick in one of his joints that was causing his limp and it is only corrected through surgery. Legion would not be able to work as a guide dog with this medical condition so I guess it is better to have him taken out of the program early rather than later. His brother Rudy, who is also in our group, has been career changed a while back due to the same condition. I think Rudy's condition was a bit more severe than Legion's. We still have the two girls from the same litter who are still going strong and that is Riley-Jack (the pup we had on the first puppy camp) and Sandy. So far so good for them. We found out that they will be called IFT sometime in September. Wish them luck for us.

Later now,
Amanda