Cameron the Vizsla

PR Day Pictures

2011-09-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

ENJOY!!!!

I've Got Mail!!!

2011-09-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

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

Halfway There

2011-09-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

Puppy Raiser Day

2011-08-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

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

Great News!!

2011-07-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

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

Cameron has been spotted!

2011-07-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

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 :)

New Training Report 7-7-11

2011-07-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

CANINE NAME: Cameron

MONTH: June 2011

POTENTIAL BREEDER: N

TRAINING PHASE:

TRAINING/COMMANDS IN PROGRESS

X FORWARD : Dog surges forward on command without encouragement

X STRAIGHT LINE CONCEPT: Dog should walk in a straight line, avoiding obstacles, until the team reaches the curb, steps or an obstruction that blocks the path of

X RIGHT X LEFT X RIGHT-RIGHT X LEFT-LEFT

X DOWN CURBS: Dog stops at the end of curb or ramp before leaving the sidewalk and crossing the street

X UP CURBS: Dog stops at the curb or beginning of wheelchair ramp before stepping out of the street and onto the sidewalk and crossing the street

X CLEARANCES (OBSTACLES, OVERHANGS) : Dog moves handler around objects on handler’s right side

X TRAFFIC: How the dog reacts and works in traffic

X INDOOR MALL

X OFF CURB TRAVEL: travel on roads that do not have sidewalks

X STAIRS X ESCALATOR

BEHAVIOR: Behaviors exhibited during training

X WILLINGLY ACCEPTS HARNESS

X DEMONSTRATES OBEDIENCE SKILLS

X WILLING TO WALK OVER UNUSUAL SURFACES

X RESPONDS APPROPRIATELY TO PEOPLE

X RESPONDS APPROPRIATELY TO CHILDREN

x ACCEPTS PHYSICAL HANDLING/GROOMING

X INTERACTS APPROPRIATELY WITH OTHER DOGS WHILE WORKING

X RESPONDS APPROPRIATELY TO NOVEL STIMULI/VISUAL SURPRISE WHILE WORKING

X RESPONDS APPROPRIATELY TO ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDS/AUDITORY SURPRISE WHILE WORKING

X RESPONDS APPROPRIATELY TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI WHILE WORKING

X EXHIBITS APPROPRIATE KENNEL BEHAVIOR (NO FIGHTING, PROTECTIVE BEHAVIORS, OR EXCESSIVE BARKING)

COMMENTS Cameron is everything I love about Vizslas and then some! What a great dog!

I love the comments!

Cameron's Mom

Happy Late 2nd Birthday!

2011-07-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Cameron! I know I am a day late but I honestly didn't think to put anything on here. I hope you are continuing to do well in your training and I hope you know how much I miss you! I love you so much sweet boy. I will see you soon, hopefully at your graduation as a guide dog. If, for some reason, that's not what you choose, there will be another day for me to see you.

Love You!!!!
Mom

Pictures of Cameron

2011-06-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go down to Southeastern while on a mission. My mission was to return my AC's dog to Southeastern for her IFT date. It was a very nice trip. The weather was nice, meaning, not too hot, but not humid either. What a nice break from the humidity up here in NC! No rain clouds in the sky all weekend long, could my birthday weekend get any better than this? I mean really, spending it in what I like to call paradise.

My husband and I made the 10 hr journey down on Friday and spent the evening trying to find public beach access close by. We were semi-successful on this adventure. It is amazingly hard to find a beach in certain regions of Florida. ? Anyways, we got up early the next morning since we had to be at the school by 9:00 so our Guide Dog U Freshman Orientation could start. There is a new program that Southeastern has started (Guide Dog U Freshman Orientation) which is a designated time for the IFT string of dogs to return and you can take a tour of the school, hug puppies, do a blindfold walk with some of the class-ready dogs, and you get to meet and talk with the trainers who will be working with your dogs. There was a pinning ceremony at the Freshman Orientation which consisted of several Puppy Raisers receiving Presidential awards for committing over 1,000 hrs of service in a specified amount of time. It was neat to see the raisers who received these awards with their big smiling faces. :)

We had run through everything on the agenda (even the blindfold walk which I had never done before), and a very friendly staff member was willing to go down to the Main Kennel and snag a picture of Cameron for me!!! I was so happy to get to "see" him after having let him go over 7 months ago. He looks great and I do believe he has muscled up since then. As of right now, there are 3 Vizsla males left- Cameron, Tommy, and Hurley. So glad my boy is still there and seeming to enjoy his work a lot!

After we left the school, my husband I took a road trip down to Lehigh to see our second dog, Hugh, and his blind handler. They are doing well. Hugh was so happy to see us! He even followed me around the house like he used to do in mine. I was touched. He was smiling and there was no denying that! Wouldn't you if you had all of your favorite people under one roof? I'm sure that's how he felt. I took Jesse (Hugh's handler) grocery shopping while my husband set up a new tv for him and Jesse taught me how to make a new dish for supper. He is a great cook for being mostly blind. He has a lot of great ideas and recipes for dishes that he has made over the years. We spent a good amout of time with Hugh and Jesse this past weekend and I think we all were very happy to see each other again. At least I know I was!

We left Lehigh early Sunday morning and went exploring for nice beach area yet again before the long journey back home. We found a really nice beach in Fort Myers. That is definently a place we will be visiting again!! We made our long journery home after swimming in the ocean for a good hour-and-a-half. So nice to relax in the sun for a little bit. We drove all night long taking turns as the other person got tired. It wasn't that bad really. It took about 12 hrs to make it home on this trip with a few more stops and being further south than we originally would have been.

Anyways here are some pictures of Cameron, Hugh and Jesse, and Guide Dog U Freshman Orientation:

My handsome boy!!

Sorry about it being sideways. You can see a sibling in the run to the left of him and the KA.

SNAP and her sign. 'Here's your sign...'

Me and SNAP together.

Jesse and Hugh

Jesse, me, and Hugh

What a great trip to Florida!!! Maybe next trip will be for Cameron. If you haven't looked at his newest training report, look at my previous post. I think it will make you smile. You can only imagine how I feel about it.

Take care,
Cameron's mom

Cameron's New Training Report 6-8-11

2011-06-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Look at my boy go!!! He's got some ++'s on his report card!! He is now class ready.

TRAINING REPORT

DOG: Cameron	Tattoo: 3N09	Date: June 8, 2011

Training Phase: Phase 3

++ =exceeding expectations + = meeting expectations W=working on

Accepts harness: willingly puts on and wears harness	++
Forward: surges forward on command w/out encouragement	++
Straight line concept: walks in straight line avoiding obstacles	+
Left: makes 90 degree turn to left on command	++
Right: makes 90 degree turn to right on command	++
Down curbs: dog stops at curb or end of wheelchair before leaving sidewalk and crossing the street	+
Up curbs: dog stops at the curb or beginning of wheelchair ramp before stepping out of street and onto the sidewalk	+
Clearances: dog moves handler around objects on the handler’s right side	+
Traffic: how the dog reacts and works in traffic	+
Indoor mall	+
Off curb Travel: travel on roads that do not have sidewalks	+
Left, Left	+
Right, Right	+
Stairs
Escalators	++
Underfootings: willingness of the dog to walk over unusual surfaces	+
Food scavenging: does the dog try to pick up food off the ground	++
Obedience	+
Distractions:
Scent : air or ground sniffing	++
People: dog reacts appropriately to people while working	++
Small animal	+
Dog	++
Children	++
Kennel behavior: Does the dog show appropriate kennel behavior: no fighting, no protective behaviors, no excessive barking	+

COMMENTS: I was excited to find out that I would be working with Cameron (I love vizslas). He is proving to be a great dog that absolutely loves to work and please. I've only had a few opportunities to work with him so far and I fully expect to see higher scores as our bond strengthens. His work is already impressive considering that he barely knows me. Great job you guys!

I am such a proud Momma.

Training Report 5/11/11

2011-05-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry I am a little late posting this but Cameron is still doing good. :)

TRAINING REPORT

DOG: Cameron	Tattoo: 3N09	Date: May 11, 2011

Training Phase: Phase 3

++ =exceeding expectations + = meeting expectations W=working on

Accepts harness: willingly puts on and wears harness	+
Forward: surges forward on command w/out encouragement	+
Straight line concept: walks in straight line avoiding obstacles	+
Left: makes 90 degree turn to left on command	+
Right: makes 90 degree turn to right on command	+
Down curbs: dog stops at curb or end of wheelchair before leaving sidewalk and crossing the street	+
Up curbs: dog stops at the curb or beginning of wheelchair ramp before stepping out of street and onto the sidewalk	+
Clearances: dog moves handler around objects on the handler’s right side	+
Traffic: how the dog reacts and works in traffic	+
Indoor mall	+
Off curb Travel: travel on roads that do not have sidewalks	+
Left, Left	+
Right, Right	+
Stairs	+
Escalators	+
Underfootings: willingness of the dog to walk over unusual surfaces	+
Food scavenging: does the dog try to pick up food off the ground	+
Obedience	+
Distractions:
Scent : air or ground sniffing
People: dog reacts appropriately to people while working
Small animal
Dog
Children
Kennel behavior: Does the dog show appropriate kennel behavior: no fighting, no protective behaviors, no excessive barking	+

COMMENTS: Cameron has always been a pleasure to work. He is precise when it comes to curbs and obstacles. Cameron has wonderful obedience out-of-harness and easy to control. He's always ready to put his harness on and begin working. Cameron enjoys playing with roommates out in the field when he's finished working for the day.

Cameron's mom

Cameron and Dutch share a snuggle on Twitpic

2011-04-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

Cameron and Dutch share a snuggle on Twitpic

Cameron on Twitter

2011-04-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

Post after this one is Cameron having a snuggle with a buddy named Dutch. Cameron has always liked to use other dogs as a pillow. He looks so sweet and peaceful. Miss him!

Training Report 4-4-11

2011-04-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Cameron is doing well with his training! That boy just keeps making me proud as he moves right along in his training. I am hoping and praying that he can work over this dog distraction. I just need to keep reminding myself that he will do it in his own time. :) He is doing a wonderful job and I am so happy that I helped him get where he is today!

See for yourself at how well he is doing!

TRAINING REPORT

DOG: Cameron	Tattoo: 3N09	Date: April 4, 2011

Training Phase: Phase 2

++ - exceeding expectations + - meeting expectations W=working on

Accepts harness	+
Forward	+
Straight line concept	+
Left	+
Right	+
Down curbs	+
Up curbs	+
Clearances	+
Traffic	+
Indoor mall	+
Off curb Travel	+
Left, Left	+
Right, Right	+
Stairs	+
Escalators	+
Underfootings	+
Food scavenging	+
Obedience	+
Distractions:
Scent	+
People	+
Small animal	+
Dog	W
Children	+
Kennel behavior	+

COMMENTS: Cameron is progressing well in his training. He loves to go out to work.( as long as he has the proper amount of stretching time before the route) He is a pleasure to work with.

Will post again with any new info,

Cameron's Mom

Training Report 3-7-11

2011-03-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

I got Cameron's new training report today. He is doing well. Still a dog distraction going on that hopefully he will be able to overcome. We shall see in time...

TRAINING REPORT

DOG: Cameron	Tattoo: 3N09	Date: March 8, 2011

Training Phase: Phase 2

++ - exceeding expectations + - meeting expectations W=working on

Accepts harness	+
Forward	+
Straight line concept	+
Left	+
Right	+
Down curbs	+
Up curbs	+
Clearances	+
Traffic	+
Indoor mall	+
Off curb Travel	+
Left, Left	+
Right, Right	+
Stairs	+
Escalators	+
Underfootings	+
Food scavenging	+
Obedience	+
Distractions:
Scent	+
People	+
Small animal	+
Dog	W
Children	+
Kennel behavior	+

COMMENTS: Cameron is progressing on schedule in his guide dog training. He is a pleasure to work with.

He is still making me a proud Momma!!!

Cameron's Mom

Cameron on Twitter Again!!

2011-02-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

I just saw that my boy Cameron is on Twitter again! Woohoo! He is working a mall route today and he looks great! Thanks to the trainer who posted his picture up there for us all to see.

Isn't he a handsome boy?! He is making me so proud! He is advancing nicely in his training. How lucky have I been to be his raiser?

Cameron's Mom

New Training Report 2-7-11

2011-02-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

I got Cameron's new training report today and it looks great! See for yourself...

TRAINING REPORT

DOG: Cameron	Tattoo: 3N09	Date: February 7, 2011

Training Phase: Phase 2

++ - exceeding expectations + - meeting expectations W=working on

Accepts harness	+
Forward	+
Straight line concept	+
Left	+
Right	+
Down curbs	+
Up curbs	+
Clearances	+
Traffic	+
Indoor mall	+
Off curb Travel	+
Left, Left	+
Right, Right	+
Stairs
Escalators
Underfootings	+
Food scavenging	+
Obedience	+
Distractions:
Scent	+
People	+
Small animal	+
Dog	W
Children
Kennel behavior	+

COMMENTS: Cameron is doing well in in his guide dog training. He is a very loving, snuggly dog. He enjoyes going out to work and is a pleasure to work with.

Cameron's Mom

Cameron's IFT Picture

2011-01-15T19:36:00.000-08:00

Here is my sweet boy!!

Cameron's Training Report 1/13/11

2011-01-14T20:55:00.001-08:00

I got Cameron's first training report yesterday and I also got his IFT picture! I was super excited when I found his picture in the mail, unfortunately, I will have to wait until tomorrow or another day to post it. It will be soon. His training report goes a little something like this:

TRAINING REPORT

DOG: Cameron	Tattoo: 3N09	Date: Jan. 13, 2011

Training Phase: Phase 1

++ - exceeding expectations + - meeting expectations W=working on

Accepts harness	+
Forward	+
Straight line concept	+
Left	+
Right	+
Down curbs	+
Up curbs
Clearances
Traffic
Indoor mall
Off curb Travel
Left, Left
Right, Right
Stairs
Escalators
Underfootings	+
Food scavenging
Obedience	+
Distractions:
Scent
People
Small animal
Dog
Children
Kennel behavior	+

COMMENTS: Cameron is eating well in the kennel. He loves to play with his brothers. He is progressing well in his guide dog training.

I am very proud of my boy!!! Keep praying for him to keep moving on in his training in whatever career he chooses.

Cameron's Mom

Cameron is dashing on Twitpic

2011-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Cameron is dashing on Twitpic

New News

2011-01-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

I got some really great news today about Cameron....he passed his hip X-Rays!!!! I am so excited and proud. I have been so worried that he wouldn't knowing that it is out of my control either way, but as a puppy raiser, you can't help but feeling that way. He and two others have passed (one of whom is his sister), one dog is still pending on his hips, and there is a list of 8 dogs who will be Career Changed (another of his sisters is on this list).

The ones who are Career Changed will be evaluated for the Paws for Patriots program, which means that they can go to a veteran who are either visually impaired or need assistance otherwise based on that student's needs. It will still be nice for these dogs to have a job in life. I wish all of these dogs well in their adventures doing whatever it was meant for them to do in life.

Will blog again soon when I get more information,
Cameron's mom

Merry Christmas/ Pray for Cameron

2010-12-24T19:37:00.000-08:00

I got news from my Area Coordinator saying that the hip X-Rays are pending on both Cameron and Spunky. What this means is that Cameron and Spunky with both have to have a second opinion to see if their hips are good enough to pass them on to the next phase of training. If not, then they will be Career Changed due to hip displasia. Cameron is not the only one in his litter having this problem, all but one of his littermates are needing a second opinion. I know of one that has already been Career Changed. I got a response from a fellow puppy raiser telling me that two of the dogs have passed, I hope Cameron is one of them. She has raised his sister, Cheyanne, and is planning to adopt her if she is Career Changed. I really do want him to pass but, on the other hand, I know he will be right where he is supposed to be if he does not. It is really saddening to think about my dog being Career Changed, but I know he will make someone very happy. Oh well, I guess they can't all become guide dogs. :( I have to remember to put his best interest first.

On a brighter note, it is Christmas after all and I should be happy that I am spending time with my family and that Cameron is happy at the school. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!

This month has a couple of very special days in it (in my view anyway): December 23rd- Benjamin's (my first guide dog puppy that I raised) birthday (he is now 4), December 24th- Christmas Eve which means there is gift exchanging with my family, December 25th- Christmas Day and Jesse's (Hugh's blind owner) birthday. It has been good for me so far.

Merry Christmas to All!!!!
Cameron's mom

p.s.I will let you know more on Cameron as I find out. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Blue Coat Journal Photos

2010-12-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

Cameron's mom here,

A trainer at Southeastern Guide Dogs has posted some pictures of the new IFT dogs on the Blue Coat Journal site (guide dog blog). Cameron is on there with some of his littermates and a picture of Spunky! If you would like to check it out, here is the site to go to: http://guidedogsblog.blogspot.com/

Cameron's picture is the 5th picture down and Spunky's picture is directly below his. Our boys are looking great and it appears they are having a wonderful time at the school playing in the yard with each other.

So nice for an update, I know. It made me so happy to see my boy on the Blue coat Journal! I am excited and so proud of him! It looks like he is in the main kennel now (Phase 2 of his training). He should be working his routes now. :) Hope he does well.

Take care,
Cameron's Mom

Pictures

2010-12-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Cameron that another raiser sent me:

Me and Cameron together before he went on puppy camp.

Cameron in the back of her car.

I sure do miss my boy. No news yet, but I guess that's a good thing. I have to keep telling myself that. I am sure he is adjusting well at the school. They haven't said he has been career changed yet, so that's good. As soon as I get his progress report, I will be sure to post it on here.

Take care,
Cameron's mom

Wayne's Blog

2010-12-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hello there,

If any of you are interested in reading about my new puppy-in-training, be sure to visit Wayne's new blog at:

http://wayne-puppy-in-training.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

Still no news yet on Cameron, but it should be close to time to hear something. I will keep you updated.

Cameron's mom

Twitter debut!!!

2010-12-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

Cameron has just made his first Twitter appearance. Here is a lovely picture of him with Spunky (the other dog from our group that we took back) posted by one of the trainers at the school.

I miss my boy so much, but it looks like he is pretty happy at the school. If you would like to read more posts posted on witter by one of the trainers, the website is:

http://twitter.com/dogguidetrainer

Check it out and enjoy. I will keep you posted on Cameron as I get information.

Take care all,
Cameron's mom

No News Yet

2010-11-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

Cameron's mom here,

I didn't forget to post about Cameron, I just haven't gotten any news yet about how he is doing at the school. I guess the saying 'no news is good news' is applying here. I am thinking of my boy even though I haven't gotten any word on him yet. I am sure he is doing good. Keep your fingers crossed.

Will post when I hear something.
Cameron's mom

November 5-7, 2010

2010-11-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

Cameron's mom here:

I wanted to give you an update on how our weekend was. Cameron did great, although he knew that something about this weekend was different. He was still on his best behavior regardless. Cameron was ready for the long trip. He and Spunky rode well in the car all the way to Florida, of course, we had to stop for gas/bathroom breaks but they were great the whole time. They were quiet and they slept for the biggest part of the trip.

We left our home here in NC about 6:30 Friday morning and arrived at our hotel at 5:00 that afternoon. Not too bad of a trip. We made it in 10 1/2 hours. We had enough time to drop off our things in the hotel and feed the boys, then we went to have a nice supper with the Cameron's.

Here we all are together:

We went back to the hotel for a good night's sleep and awoke early in the morning for one last adventure with Cameron and Spuky before they went IFT at 2 p.m. We decided to go to the new Southeastern Guide Dog Discovery Center in Sarasota, FL. It was really nice and everyone there wished Cameron and Spunky good luck in their next phase of training.

Here are a couple of photos from the Discovery Center:

Me and Cameron together.

Spunky

Spunky to the left and Cameron is beside the guide dog model.

While at the Discovery Center, my husband and I had the opportunity to meet our newest puppy's daddy, Bob.

Bob-Breeder

We left the Discovery Center and headed for Southeastern Guide Dogs' facility in Palmetto, FL to drop off the boys. They were ready to go it seems and knew what was about to happen. We were about to say goodbye for a while and let them go on this new part of their journey on their own.

Here are some pictures of us at Southeastern Guide Dogs:

Me and Cameron together.

Giving him kisses and telling him how much I will miss him.

Exchanging hugs.

Cameron and Spunky together

Staff member coming to get the boys.

Headed to the Receiving Kennel

And they didn't even look back.

After dropping off the boys at college, we went to go see Hugh and his blind owner for a little bit.

Hugh and Jesse

My husband, Jesse, and Hugh

Me, Jesse, and Hugh

We headed back to the hotel to get another good night's sleep before our long journey home the next morning with 3 puppies! We were picking up Wayne (our new puppy), Emmy, and Doc. It was a long ride with 3 little pups, but they did great! They slept the whole night when we got back home in NC. Emmy and Doc are now in VA with their raisers.

Thanks for reading all about Cameron and his adventures. I will keep updating his blog when information comes my way.

Have a great day,
Cameron's mom

Leaving for Florida

2010-11-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

It is time for Spunky and I to go IFT this weekend. We will be leaving very early in the morning to head down to the school. I will get to see my sponsors tomorrow night when mom, dad, and the whole Cameron gang get together for supper. Spunky and I have to be at Southeastern at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Wish us luck and please pray for us to have a safe journey down to Florida. We are excited and ready to go, I hope we can sleep!

Goodnight. This will be the final post from me. Wish me luck in my journey to become a guide dog. Mom will keep you updated with my progress and any other news she gets from the school.

MUCH LOVE,
Cameron

Last Meeting

2010-10-28T22:01:00.001-07:00

Cameron here,

Mom and I went to my last meeting today. I got to see some of the puppy raisers for the last time before I go IFT. They gave me a lot of loving and wished me luck. It was a pretty good meeting where we learned two new things: Watch-Watch which is where the puppy raiser will stop at an object that is hanging in the way of our path (I can fit under it but my raiser cannot), make us sit, and will tell us to 'watch-watch' while touching the object and then leading us around he object; and Forward-Straight which is used at an intersection when we are crossing. It seems pretty simple.

We practiced walking down a sidewalk and using the new techniques. We listened to one of the puppy raisers speak about what else she had learned at the AC conference not long ago. We moved into the building to continue our meeting since it had gotten dark and we practiced walking past each other without being distracted. There were only three of us puppies at this meeting (Spunky is in VA with the raiser that had me for a couple of weeks) me, SNAP, and CW. I did really good passing the two pups and not getting distracted. Mom was proud of me and our AC gave me praise and said that I was ready to go! That is good news!

We will leave next Friday morning really early for the long journey down to Florida. I can't believe my time here with mom and dad is almost up. I will be reunited with my siblings. It has been a long time since I have seen any of them. It should be fun. Wish Spunky and me luck at the guide dog school. :)

Here are some pictures of me and mom at my last meeting:

I am all dressed for Halloween

I wait patiently while SNAP walks by. She was so hyper but it was funny.

Me and mom.

SNAP

CW and his raiser. (CW is SNAP's brother)

Mom and I listening to a puppy raiser speaker.

Wish me luck next week as I start a new chapter in my life....

Love,
Cameron

A Little Bird Told Me...

2010-10-15T20:35:00.001-07:00

That Cameron is doing great with the puppy raiser he is with while Spunky AKA Spunkmeister/Spunky Monkey is at our house. I have been told that he is working beautifully in his harness and that he gets LOTS of attention at church and in the classroom that the raiser teaches in. She has also informed of his wonderful house manners. I am pleased with all of this good news about Cameron! That has made me a proud puppy raiser mom hearing all of these complements on my pup! What more could I ask for? She loves him and is enjoying his company. C

Cameron will be returning in a couple of weeks to spend his final week in our home before he returns to Southeastern Guide Dogs. Spunky will leave our house when Cameron returns to stay with the raiser in VA (where Cameron is) and then go back to his primary raiser for a few days before coming back here to make the long journey down to Florida. Sounds complicated, I know, but it really is not. We are just playing puppy shuffle.

On the subject of Spunky,
He is doing good. He is a very sweet, young boy and he is pretty gentle for the most part. He is loving his daily run in the yard (several times a day) with my other two dogs. I think that is his favorite part of being here...just being a dog at home. He works nicely in harness and he has recently done a presentation with our AC for school children. He did great! I am also very pleased with him.

I love all of the dogs no matter who they are or where they come from. That is all I have for you right now. Will blog again later.

Bye for now,
Cameron's mom

Puppy Camp Tomorrow

2010-10-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Cameron here,

I will be leaving for Puppy Camp tomorrow afternoon to stay with a raiser in Virginia. I will be with her for a couple of weeks while Spunky comes to our house...actually, Spunky is already here. Mom went to pick him up last night at his house so that he can camp with her for a couple of weeks.

We have a meeting tomorrow at 4:00 in Albemarle and we might be doing a downtown walk if it is not raining. We shall see what the weather has in store for us tomorrow.

Mom, dad, Spunky, and I will be headed down to Florida the first weekend in November for mine and Spunky's IFT. I am looking forward to the journey and to start this new journey on my own. Mom will keep you posted on my progress as she finds out.

I will blog in a couple of weeks when I return, until then, Spunky will be here and you can hear about his adventures in the meantime.

Love,
Cameron

We Just Got A Letter.....

2010-10-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

And it just so happens to be my In-For-Training letter. It is the letter telling the puppy raisers what days we dogs are to return to the school. It also gives a brief explanation of what happens during the IFT time and what to expect.

Mom is excited for me to start the next phase of training on my own, but she will miss me.

While I am on the subject of IFT, I just want to say good luck to all of the October IFT dogs in our group: Sandy, Riley-Jack, Laura and Ranger. I wish you all the very best of luck and I will see you again soon.

Mom and I had a local event today at a PetSense store. It was their Adopt-A-Thon and we were invited to represent Southeastern Guide Dogs and maybe even recruit new puppy raisers. We will be continuing the even tomorrow. It went well today, so I am hoping the same for tomorrow.

Puppy love from,
Cameron

Mom and I Practicing Obedience

2010-09-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Mom and went outside today to practice some obedience training out in the heat, which is not my favorite. I do not like the heat but she says I better get used to it because where I'm going in another month, is going to be a lot hotter. Back to the place I was born...Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. in Palmetto, Florida.

Mom took some really good pictures of me while I was wearing the harness. I have really grown up to be a very handsome boy if I do say so myself! Want to see?

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Love,
Cameron

Did You See That?...No Probably Not

2010-09-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

Tonight's Obedience Training meeting was very interesting and well thought out. We started off the evening by doing our regular obedience training but with a twist: we had used exposures that were never done before. One of our puppy raisers conducted the meeting instead of our Area Coordinator and she had some very good ideas about things we should work on.

We had a soft dog bed cover to walk over in the grass, a squeak toy laying on the ground to walk by, a bowl of treats to walk by, and a couple of wet trash bags to walk over. We had never used the wet trash bags before and this is not something I and a couple of others were sure of. For one thing, one of them was black and the second thing is that they were both wet. When we were all walking around in a circle past the items, I tried jumping over the bags or going way around them to avoid touching them....I wasn't the only one which means this is something we all need to work on. I wasn't sure about the dog bed cover laying on the ground until I realized that it was soft and pleasant to walk over, then I liked it. After walking around a little and incorporating OT into the mix of it all, we had to sit at/on each object...no I still did not want to sit on the wet bags, but that's okay, I just need to work on it. We decided to move onto another part of the training after that which was doing puppy push-ups over popcorn and cat food that was scattered all over the sidewalk. It was difficult to focus, but we did it!

We cleaned up the food outside and then it was time for our surprise for the meeting....blindfold time! Mom and all the other puppy raisers were blindfolded. They all had to put our coats on blindfolded and were led inside by a person who was not to the table where they were all going to eat. This is a blindfold dinner where each raiser gets the chance to see what it is like to be blind and they have to eat that way navigating with their hands and being given directions by someone else as to where everything is located. Blind people use the clock method where every item is placed at a time position, for example: beans at 9 o'clock, bread at 6 o'clock, etc. All of us dogs/puppies did great laying under the tables like we were supposed to waiting for our raisers to finish. Everyone ate and carried on conversations for a while and then were allowed to remove their blindfolds. I think they really liked that part.

Mom made a cake for dessert which had all of the dogs' names on it that are going IFT soon: In October it will be Sandy, Riley-Jack, Ranger, and Laura; November it will be me and Spunky. It was a pretty cake and everyone liked it.

Mom found out today that the puppies will be available November 2nd, so we will be making the trip to Florida soon. That means I will be going in early most likely.

Here is a picture of the cake:

It was already inside the cake box but hopefully you can see it.

I will post a video of the dinner later.

Good night all.

Love,
Cameron

Best of Badin Festival

2010-09-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Our guide dog group got to go to the Best of Badin festival this morning in Badin, North Carolina. This festival is not a big event, but it is enough for us. There are a lot of people, food, other dogs, vendors of all sorts, games for kids to play, and a LOT more distractions that were sure to keep us on our toes.

When we first got to the meeting, we practiced some puppy push-ups to get our minds going and to also help relieve some of the puppy wiggles. We practiced for about 15-20 minutes and then took a break to let us dogs get some water. While on the water break, mom got each one of us dogs induvidually and ran with us to help get even more of the wiggles out. She had as good a time as we dogs did getting to run with her! Since she is all healed up from her surgery a few weeks ago, she is able to run and play and boy is she glad about that! (So am I for that matter).

After that was over, we all decided it was time to go into the festivities for the exposure part of the outing. We were all excercised, focused, and now ready to work. There were a lot, and I do mean a lot, of things on our exposure checklist that we found at the meeting today like: people (young and older), food (on the ground and in peoples' hands), balloons, flags flapping in the wind, someone in a Smokey the Bear costume, other dogs, there was a squirrell that I thought I wanted to chase, loud noises from the vending areas and stage area, a train ride for the kids, golf carts, kid play areas (blow-up play areas), and so many more things to name. It was a great outing for us! While the Badin festival was not a large area, it was still packed full of things we need to be exposed to. It was a little hot today, but we need to get used to working in the heat of the day. At least there was a breeze to cool it down a little.

We stayed there for a couple of hours and after we got to see all that there was, we decided it was time to leave. I was tired from the meeting....I slept the whole ride home! Mom thought it was funny that I was so worn out by that meeting. I think we all had a great time....I know I did!

It was a good day. I hope all you readers and followers had as good a day as I have. Will blog again soon.

Love,
Cameron

P.S. Mom talked to Jesse, Hugh's forever person, today and she was so happy to hear that he had received his photo album in the mail containing pictures of Hugh growing up. He loved it! He wants to meet with mom and dad when they go down to Florida to take me In-For-Training. He may even come to Walk-A-Thon next year. Mom and dad are planning on attending since they have not been in two years. What fun it will be!

Vet This Morning

2010-09-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

Mom took me to the vet this morning like she said she would and had the doctor look at my eye. He said it looked okay today, as far as any bad medical issues go, and gave mom some drops to put in my eye twice a day until it gets better. They also gave me my new rabies vaccine (3 year) a little early so I don't have to come back in in a couple of weeks and have that done. I didn't mind getting the shot, though.

I was a little nervous going into the vet office today, I guess it was because I don't go there often and there are so many other dog smells that had me a little distracted, but nonetheless, I did fine. Mom got me on the scale and guess how much I weigh.....50.6 pounds! I am lean and healthy! That's what mom wanted to see. Of course, I have never been a heavy pup.

I will be going to the festival in the morning with our group. Mom has never been, so it will be a first for her and for me. I bet it is going to be exciting....I am ready to go. There will be lots of smells and people, so it should be fun and challenging all at the same time.

Well, we better get some sleep so we can be there at 10:00 when the meeting is supposed to start.

Goodnight all,
Cameron

OT for the Babies

2010-09-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Cameron here,

I got to go to another of the little pups' obedience training meetings. We had a couple of guests today: another puppy, Charlie, which is CW and Snap's brother from the Charlotte, NC group and a High School Senior who is working on her Senior Project...us!

Our group will be helping her complete her senior project by allowing her to come to our meetings and working with us, as well as, researching all that she can about the school and the dogs. We will teach her how to work with us guide dog puppies and she will have opportunities to learn about the different programs Southeastern has to offer, while getting all the information she needs to complete her project. How exciting it is to have someone WANT to learn about us and even do a project on us for school! It not only helps her complete her assignment, but it also gives Southeastern exposure and teaches the public about guide dogs, greeting etiquette, etc...

I will be heading to a local festival on Saturday with my group. I was told there will be lots of food, children, other dogs, other distractions. This sounds like it is going to be a fun meeting.

Mom is taking me to the vet in the morning to have my eye looked at and to get some more medication for it. My right eyelid likes to droop some days allowing dust, pollen, and other irritants to get in my eye. I have been to the vet about this before and she said it was because my eyelid does not quite meet the curvature of my eyeball which allows those irritants to get in there creating the oozy mess. It's pretty minor as far as effecting me from doing my normal things. It doesn't bother me, it just looks bad. I just need more eye cream which is no biggie.

I think that about covers my day....Will blog again soon.

Love,
Cameron

IFT News

2010-09-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Mom has gotten some news for me...I am going IFT in November! It is time for me to start this next chapter in my life on my own. I hope I do well. Mom thinks I am ready, so I believe her. The IFT dates for November are the 15th-18th. Spunky, a younger male lab, is also going IFT at the same time I am so mom will be taking us both back to the school then. I am ready to go, but I don't want to leave my mom. My mom will be getting another puppy when I go in, if there are some available, and she already knows his name..Wayne. The sponsor for Hugh has requested at the guide dog school that she raise his next puppy named in honor of his brother. She is excited for me to move forward in my training, but also for a new little bundle of fur to work with.

On another note, I got to go to the puppy obedience class today for the little ones in the group. Laura and I were both there to show SNAP and CW the ropes and to also serve as a distraction. Since Laura will be going IFT in October and I will be going IFT in November, every little bit of practice we can get in between now and then is good practice! We had a new raiser join us for the meeting and she got to work with me. I was still very focused on my momma, but I did pretty good for her. It was a good meeting though.

I will be going on a puppy swap for a little bit pretty soon to get some of my attachment for my momma out of my system, but I won't be gone long since she wants to spend some time with me before I go in. Spunky will be here in my place.

I think that is all for now and it is time for bed.

Love,
Cameron

Meeting Last Night

2010-08-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

I went to my puppy meeting last night and it was a lot of fun minus all the rain. At least we were indoors during the rough storm that we had.

We practiced our regular obedience training and then we worked on some other things like recalls. I did not get to work with mom as everyone had traded dogs at this meeting.

When it was time for my recall, mom had to go out of the room because I would not go to the person that was calling me, I went straight to her. Mom couldn't help but laugh at me even though she knew I was not going to come to the person that was calling me. When she left the room the first time, I looked for her when I was called but I went to the person that was calling me. Mom was hiding in the bathroom and I saw her go in there but I could not find her when I went in that direction, and from that point forward, I did fine without her. What can I say? I love my mom!

When the meeting was over, it was pouring outside and lightning too! It was a rough storm. The power blinked while we were inside. We decided to head home carefully and we all made it here in one piece. The storm kept going for a couple more hours. The power even blinked at our house, but at least we were indoors where it is safe and dry! Thank goodness for houses.

I think that is all for now...

Love Cameron

A Few Pictures of Sandy and I and the Beach

2010-08-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

Sandy and I curling up on the floor together. She is my buddy.

I was watching another dog walk by on the beach.

Hi there!

It's kinda warm out on the beach, but at least we have shade under the umbrella. I am off duty at the moment while we relax on the beach. I had my bowl of water in front of me, mommy and baby right next to me, and shade...I was all set.

Home from the beach.

2010-08-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Mom, dad, baby, and all three of us dogs took a daycation to the beach over the weekend. We were all packed into mommy's new car and drove down to Holden Beach, NC where moms parents have a house. We got to spend a full day down at the beach. We left Friday afternoon and arrived back home at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. mom had to be at work Sunday morning so we had no choice but to come home early.

There wasn't enough time to go out on the beach Friday and it was raining, so we had to stay inside, but that's fine. It's a trip away from home. We slept in a little Saturday morning, then mom, dad, baby, and I all went out on the beach at lunch time and stayed for a little while. I chilled on the beach with mom and baby while dad swam in the ocean.

Later that evening, mom, dad, and baby took Bristol and Jake out for a little bit of fun in the sun. It was Jake's first trip to beach and he had fun. They got to swim while they were there, but I did not since I was working. Oh well, I still enjoyed being on the beach with mom.

They all came back home and cleaned up the house and then we all had to come back home. We were some tired pups (and humans)! We had a fun trip to the beach and maybe we can do it again soon.

By the way, Sandy is back now! I have my friend to play with once again! Everyone just loves her.

I think it is time for bed. Much love,
Cameron

Be Our Guest

2010-08-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Do you know what Disney movie this is from? If you guessed Beauty and the Beast, you would be correct.

There is actually a deeper meaning to the title than guessing movies....we have a guest in our house! Her name is Sandy (Legion, Riley-Jack, and Rudy's sister) and she us being raised by our Area Coordinator. Our AC is currently on vacation and has asked us to keep Sandy for them for a couple of days and, of course, mom said yes (I'm not opposed if that's what you are thinking). She came to our house on Saturday evening after the meeting. Our meeting ended up being a mall outing due to the weather, but we will make it up on a nicer day.

Sandy and I got to ride in the back of the car together. She is such a nice girl. Mom and dad really love having her here, but, unfortunately, she has to go soon. One of her raisers is coming to pick her up tomorrow and take her home for a few days and then she gets to come back to our house for a few more days. I don't want her to leave, but I am looking forward to her return soon! She fits right in to our household and loves the baby.

Well, it is almost time for bed. Will blog again soon.

Love,
Cameron

Pictures at the Beach

2010-07-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Let's Play Ketchup

2010-07-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

No not really Ketchup that you put on fries, I was just trying to be funny. Let's catch up on the time that we missed blogging.

We all went to Florida on Monday July 19th. We left pretty early in the morning and the trip went smoothly. I rode with the men in the back while the women sat up front. There were plenty of yummy smelling snacks near my nose that I wanted to test out but I was not allowed. I did good resisting the temptation of stealing food. We arrived down at our hotel probably about 6:30 or 7:00 that night. We went out to eat at Olive Garden that night, and it smelled sooo good. After that, we went back to the hotel and turned in early for the night.

The next day, we woke up early so mom could take the crew down to the school for puppy hugging and dog walking. I could not go to this event so I stayed behind with one of the guys in the hotel room. That was fine with me. Mom got to play with two litters of puppies, one of the litters containing the two puppies we were there to pick up. They had so much fun! Mom took lots of pictures of the puppies. The two puppies that we picked up were named Snap and CW. The mother of these pups' name is Tina and she is from the Charlotte group in North Carolina. Tina was around when mom had her first dog, Benjamin. After they got back from their trip to the guide dog school, we all decided to hit the beach! It was so nice out there. It was sunny and the waves were gentle. I was in my harness so of course I could not swim. I got to sit with mom on the beach while the others swam. After a little while, we all traded off and mom got to go swim. We went back to the hotel after a while and cleaned up then we took a trip to Red Lobster to eat that night. Mom and I had never been there before, but we really enjoyed it, mom with the food and me with getting to relax under the table. Another early night for us so we could leave around 8 in the morning.

Wednesday 21st: We got up early and packed everything up to head out of the hotel and to the guide dog school to pick up our group's new additions. We arrived at the Administrative Building to sign the papers for the pups and headed to the puppy kennel afterward. I was in my crate and stayed in the car with one of the men while mom and the new raisers went inside to get the babies. They checked the puppies and made sure we had the right ones and briefed us on anything that we needed to know about the pups. Snap was already showing signs of separation anxiety, so they gave us a couple of towels that had their littermates' scent on it, so she would feel a bit more comfortable. Mom let me get out of my kennel (crate) to meet Snap and CW and to busy before we got started on the long journey home. Now instead of there only being me in the kennel, there are three of us now, which means, I have babysitting duty all the way home (or at least to South Carolina where we are meeting our AC's husband who is picking up their puppy). Our AC and her husband actually got the chance to name, sponor, and are raising their own puppy named in honor our AC's father who worked for the Stanly News and Press hince the name Snap. We have to stop several more times on the trip going home than we did coming down so the puppies could busy, we could eat and stretch, and get gas. The trip went pretty somoothly, although, I did shoot mommy some pretty evil looks when she put me back in the kennel with the babies. There was a pretty good thunderstorm in SC, but we made it through and met with our AC's husband and gave him his puppy, then we headed home. I think we arrived at around 11:00 that night.

All in all, a great vacation from the everyday life at home. It's nice to get to go back to where my roots started every now and then. Mom says I have made the journey down to Florida more than any of her other dogs. What can I say, I like to ride with her.

We are supposed to be having an outing at our AC's house tomorrow evening. Let's hope it does not rain us out. *crossing toes*

Much love from,
Cameron

Florida-bound on Monday

2010-07-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Cameron here,

A new raiser, her husband, brother, mom and I will all be Florida-bound on Monday to pick up two new babies Wednesday morning. Now you are probably wondering what we are going to be doing in the meantime...the answer is vacation!!!! Oh mom is so ready to go. I can see it now, we will be soaking up the Florida sun and havin' some fun!

Mom may take the new raisers to the school and show them around during the puppy hugging and dog walking sessions. They will get to see the campus and play with the pups while I wait for them back at the hotel. I don't think current puppies-in-training are allowed to attend these events. Too much can happen if a couple of dogs get out of hand and things can be passed on from the big dogs to the babies in the puppy kennel, and that just would not be good for anyone. Waiting in the hotel is fine with me, I will get to sleep in a bit before we start a busy day having some fun.

I am so glad to get to go on this trip with mom because I love her so much. I should be a pro at riding down to Florida by the time I have to go IFT. I will get to show the little babies how to ride like a top dog. I can teach them a thing or two about guide dog work.

Did I mention that I am starting to work in the harness now? Our group has two harnesses and we pups get to start practicing in them when we turn a year old. It helps us adjust to the way it feels before we go IFT. It's kind of like a head start. I don't mind the actual body part of the harness, but the handle bouncing on my back is something else to get used to. It is a very different feeling from the coat which is what I am used to. I will have to get accustomed to wearing it if I want to be a guide dog. The harness will be my new uniform when I go IFT. Until then, this is just a little bit of practice before I go back. I will go back into my coat in a few weeks.

Prayer request: Please keep my sponsors in your thoughts and prayers as they are going through some medical issues at this time. I am so glad the world of medicine has grown in the way that it is has. Most procedures are simple nowadays.

I think that about covers it for the night. It's about bedtime I do believe.

Puppy love from,
Cameron

My First Birthday

2010-07-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

Cameron here,

I wanted to tell you about my birthday adventure:

Mom, dad, baby, and I all spent the day looking for a new car for mommy. I got to go to a lot of dealerships and look around, the pavement was very hot though on my paw pads and I didn't like that. All of the workers at the dealerships greeted me and gave me lots of attention, especially when mom told them it was my birthday. They were all impressed at my good behavior and how I listened to my commands, not to mention, how calm I was throughout the looking process.

Mom was getting discouraged at not finding the right car for the right price until we came to the last dealership. The last dealership we went to was in Concord and this is where she found the right car, with all the right features, for the right price. It is a Kia Rio hatchback....meaning I have my own space in the very back of the car to sit if mom wants me to sit there. We were greeted by an associate when we first got the and he showed us this car and let us take it for a spin. They didn't mind me riding along one bit. Mom loved the car instantly so they talked about buying and it went from there. I waited patiently for them to finish and all of the other associates really loved me and loved how good I was.

I really made an impression on people today. Mom is so proud of me and how far I have come in my training as a guide dog candidate. Mom knows I will do well at the school when it is my time to shine. But for now, I will be her Cameron and that's all I could want for my birthday! (I got an extra treat though)

Love from your dearest,
Cameron

Pictures/4th of July/Birthday

2010-07-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures that mom took of my face at the Intimidators game.

Mom had a surprise for me a week ago. She had my pictures professionally made at PetSense (pet store near our home) and they are so good. She can hardly wait to order the pictures. She had all of our pictures made actually but this event was more for me than anyone else. She never had the chance to do this with her other two puppies, so she decided to do this with me. If you would like to view the pictures, go to: www.angelakrolphotography.com and go to the Events gallery, click on PetSense, and scroll over until you get to the pictures that start with me in my puppy coat. Our pictures end when the Vizsla pictures are done. Mom is proud of them.

On another note, I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July! I skipped out on the fireworks due to the school not wanting us to develop fears of loud noises. We must be exposed to loud noises, but firework shows are a bit too much for some dogs and can cause them to develop fears which are almost impossible to break. Why would a raiser want to take a chance of ruining their dog because of this?

Birthday, did someone say birthday? Why yes, it is my birthday!!! I am now officially 1 year old, along with all of my siblings. Happy Birthday to my sisters, Cheyanne and Katie of Georgia, my brother Apollo of Texas, and all the rest. My mom is not sure what my three other siblings' names are or where they live, but wishes them a very Happy Birthday just the same! I am sending a lot of puppy hugs and kisses their way! I will see them soon when we all go IFT sometime in between November and February.

Anything else??? Ummm....can't think of anything else, so I guess that covers it.

Lots of Love,
Cameron

Color My World Mr. Personality

2010-06-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

'What's this about', you ask? This is about my new brother...Jake. Jake was the pup in the litter with the most personality and he was one of the breeders' favorites. He sure has a lot of spunk packed into one small pup! He really makes my mom happy (aside from me :) ). So... since he has lots of personality and he makes my mom smile, she decided to make his registered name: Color My World Mr. Personality. His AKC registered name will be official when mom sends in the paperwork.

Mom and dad picked him up on June 12th and he is a Vizsla just like me and Bristol! He is about 9 1/2 weeks old now and is a very playful pup. Mom and dad had been talking about someone that I didn't know and I didn't quite understand until they brought him home. Bristol and I didn't know what to think at first, other than the fact that we had a new friend that was here to stay. He likes to do whatever Bristol and I are doing, so we get to play a lot. When we are out running, Jake is not as fast as me yet, but as he grows, he might even be able to pass me. We share a kennel at night sometimes because he gets lonely and he seems to like my company.

Me, Mom holding Jake, and Bristol (mom's mini Vizsla farm)

Hey! He looks just like me when I was younger!

Well, that's my brother Jake. I'm sure there will be plenty more posts involving him.

Tonight, we have a planned puppy meeting at a baseball game so mom's going to "Take me out to the ball game, Take me out to the crowd" There won't be any crackerjacks for me and I DO care if I come back! hehe (Just a little baseball humor). Hopefully mom will remember to bring her camera and batteries that work so we can take pictures for you all to see.

Puppy Hugs and Kisses,
Cameron

News....

2010-06-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

Cameron here,

Wow it has been a long time since I have blogged. My raiser family and I have been so busy with regular activities, that we are ready to crash by the end of the day.

June 3rd and June 5th are both special days this week. June 3rd was my PR mom's birthday. There has been talk in between her and daddy that we are adding a new member to the family next weekend. Mom is getting a Vizsla puppy for her birthday! Can't wait to meet the little guy. Mom and dad have already met him but Bristol and I have not. He will be arriving on the 12th.

June 5th is a special day because it is Sandy, Riley-Jack, Legion, Rudy, and all the others from this litter's birthday. Happy Birthday to you all and many more to come! For those of you that don't know, Rudy and Legion have both been career changed already due to hip problems. Rudy and Legion have both been adopted out by their puppy raiser families. we have Sandy and Riley-Jack left in our group from that litter and I think they are going back to the school sometime in Spetember. I saw a post from Legion's raiser that he may start a career as a therapy dog. That would be an excellent career for him! He has the temperament and the personality for the job. As far as Rudy goes, I am not so sure what he is doing career-wise.

Last obedience training meeting was conducted by my mom. This was a good meeting if I do say so myself. She made sure to bring plenty of distractions. This was an amusing meeting. From flying frisbees about to take people's heads off, to balls of different sizes, to delicious treats. There was something to catch the interest of each and every one of us. None the less we all did great. We also had a guest interested in puppy raising which is good because we could use more raisers. We all had a great time, though.

Winderful news to be shared: Dexter and Dave (Hugh's brothers that were in our group) and another of Hugh's brothers, Luna (from Tennesse), got matched! We are so proud of them and their puppy raiser families! There are two more dogs from this litter waiting to be matched: Duchess (Hugh's sister from our group) and Magellan (Hugh's brother from Tennesse). I am sure they will be matched very soon. The rest of the pups in the litter have been career changed for several reasons. So far 4 out of 9 have been matched. That's pretty good.

Today I turned 11 months old. Wow it is hard to believe how much I have grown and how fast is has gone by. I should start working in the harness pretty soon. That should be fun.

Laura and her raiser

Me

Sandy

Spunky

Riley-Jack

Ranger

Leaving the treats:

Good Puppies!

I think that is all for now and it is time to go to bed. Good night all.

Love,
Cameron

Cameron is Back!

2010-05-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

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

Wagfest/Puppy Camp

2010-05-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

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

Florida Trip

2010-04-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

If you have read my last post, then you know that I, along with my puppy raiser mom, her daughter, mother-in-law, and a pregnant female named Dancer all traveled to Florida for the weekend. Mom was going down to take Dancer back to the guide dog school so that she could get ready to whelp her puppies, to meet Hugh's new 'forever person', and to meet my sponsors.

It was a long journey, and I mean loooonnnnnng. We left around 6:30 a.m. Friday morning. It took us a total of 14 hours driving time to reach our destination, whereas, it usually takes only 12. It was a long time to be in one place for a while. We had to stop plenty of times to get gas, busy, eat, and get our riding wiggles out. Anytime we stopped, we were all ready to stretch our legs. We finally got down to the hotel we were staying at at around 8:30 or 9:00 that night. We unloaded our cargo, breathing and non, and settled down for a good night's rest

The next morning mom got up and let us doggies get our busies done while her mother-in-law changed the baby. Dancer and I had our breakfast before mom had to get her ready to go back to the school. I had to stay in my crate at the hotel while everyone went to the guide dog school. Anytime someone attends Puppy Raiser Day, they are not allowed to bring any other dogs or pets with them as this may distract the working dogs. We don't want that to happen. The students and dogs are still bonding with one another and we don't want to do anything to break that bond.

While at Puppy Raiser Day, every family was introduced to the trainers and Puppy Department staff, some things are explained to everyone like: keeping things positive while talking to the new handlers of the dogs, not drawing attention to themselves while the teams are working their routes, asking before petting the dogs, and not exchanging contact information. The puppy Raiser families must keep things positive so that does not interfere with the bond of the dog and handler, they must also ask before petting the dogs because it is guide dog ettiquete, and they are not allowed to exchange contact information for the same reason. Mom was read Hugh's new handler's (Jesse) bio as was everyone else and then everyone got to go outside and watch each team work their graduation route. Hugh and Jesse went first and they did a fantastic job together. After all the teams were finished, all of the families came inside to meet the students and get to know one another, talk about the dogs, and eat lunch. Jesse is a wonderful man from what momma says. He takes care of his mother that has the same condition that he has, he can cook, and he has children and grandchildren of his own. Mom really liked getting to meet Jesse. Jesse really loves Hugh. He loves everything about Hugh. Jesse says that he thinks Hugh knows what he feels and that comes from the special bond that they already share. Of course Hugh recognized mom, baby, and her mother-in-law right away and gave them all plenty of lovin'. The trainers and staff all loved getting to see how Hugh reacted with the baby. She still knows who he is. After all, they grew up together. Mom and baby got to take a picture with Hugh and Jesse. After Puppy Raiser Day was over, everyone that wanted to, got to tour the campus. They got to play with the puppies in the puppy kennel and then they got to go to the main kennel where Hugh's siblings are still living just waiting to be matched with the right person.

Mom came to get me as soon as she was finished at the school since we were due to meet my sponsors at 2:00 that afternoon. We all met at a fancy Dutch Heritage restaurant in Sarasota, FL. Everyone was very excited to finally get to meet one another. The Camerons' are all very nice and they were all thrilled to get to see me again. They had gotten to see me while I was very young at the guide dog school. They enjoyed seeing how well-behaved I was in my pupppy coat. I layed down under the table while all the humans ate their lunch, laughed, and told a lot of different stories. We had a great time together. Sometimes they even come up here to North Carolina to visit. It would be so cool if they got to come up here and visit sometime.

After we were done at the restaurant, mom, baby, mother-in-law, and I all took a trip to the beach for a little bit, then went back to the hotel for the night. We got a good nights' rest and made the journey back home which didn't take as long as the trip down to Florida. Trips home are never as long as the journey away. We made it home safe and sound and had a wonderful weekend thanks to some very special people!

Love,
Cameron

Florida-bound

2010-04-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

We (my mom, the baby, mom's mother-in-law, and a pregnant Collie, Dancer who is going down to the school to prepare to whelp her puppies) will all be leaving for Florida in the morning. Wish us a safe and happy trip. It will be a long ride for all of us. Mom will get to see Hugh again and we will get to meet my sponsors for the first time. We are so excited. We are returning Sunday.

Love,
Cameron

Union County Dog Walk

2010-04-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

My raiser and I will be at the Union County Dog Walk in Monroe, NC tomorrow (April 17th) doing a presentation for Southeastern Guide Dogs. There will be a booth for us and someone is going to get on stage and talk about the school and the raising program.

Mom is bringing pictures of Benjamin, Hugh, and I to have so that everyone can see what we look like in our baby pictures and what the In-For-Training pictures look like. If you are in the area or would like to come, we will be downtown Monroe. I think there is a fee of $15 if you are bringing a dog. Please come on out and support Southeastern Guide Dogs if you can.

Love, Cameron

P.S. one more week until mom gets to see Hugh again with his forever person. We will be leaving early Friday morning and I may even get to meet my sponsors while I am there. So excited!

Congratulations, Hugh!

2010-04-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

Mom has received word today from the Area Coordinator for our group and found out that Hugh, my big brother, was matched! Puppy Raiser Day for him will be next Saturday in Palmetto, FL where we are from. She is planning on attending this event. She wouldn't miss it for the world. She is hoping that while she is there, she will get to meet my sponsors. Cross your fingers that we can work something out. Mom will get to meet the person that Hugh is matched with and will get to tell them all about Hugh. Mom is super thrilled about Hugh's news and getting to meet his new team-mate.

Mom has also found out that Dave's, Hugh's brother, match did not work out so he has been sent back In-For-Training but he is class ready. Maybe his perfect team-mate will be at the school soon and he will get matched.

Congratulations, Hugh. We love you very much and wish you the best of luck in your career as a guide dog!

Love,
Cameron

Easter

2010-04-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

I want to start off by saying mom and dad plus their parents got 75% of the yard improvements done today. They all worked hard together while Bristol and I ran around the yard. It was so much fun to get outdoors for a while even if you are working. Mom got her flowerbeds made up and mulched and she put mulch around the trees in the yard to make them look landscaped. Next project: to finish filling up the pool and cleaning it really good for the summer and mulching the entire fenced-in area where she lets me and Bristol run.

Mom is boiling eggs to dye for Easter. She is going to make a few different colors. She says this is an Easter tradition. I bet they would taste yummy. Guess I will have to take her word for it. That is okay. I think I would much rather watch her.

Hope you all have a happy and safe Easter,
Cameron

P.S. Mom wanted to me to share the news about Hugh's brother, Dave. He has just been matched with a blind or visually impaired person! That is fantastic! Mom got to keep Dave for a couple of days and took him back to the guide dog school when it was time for he and Hugh to return. She loved him. He was a very nice dog. He will make a great guide.

Yard Improvements

2010-04-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Today has been a very fun day! I have spent most of the day outside running around and playing with other dogs. I really loved getting to do that! It was decently warm but not unbearable. It was around 90 degrees.

I helped my mom babysit today. She iced a practice cake that she is doing for a wedding rehearsal dinner. It is a tuxedo cake. The real cake is going to look good, I can already tell. I sat at her feet while she did that and a little while later, we all got to go outside and play for a couple of hours. My mom's family has several other dogs that are all very friendly and I got to chase them around the yard, then they chased me. I made sure to stay close to my mom, though. She keeps a good eye on me and i do the same for her.

After babysitting time was over, we went home. Mom was going to go with her mother-in-law to pick up some flowers so she can start a flower bed. I stayed home while they went out. I was ready to take a break for a while. I wouldn't have minded going with them, but a catnap sounded great to me.

When mom returned, she had some beautiful flowers in the bed of the truck. She has all different kids and they look pretty interesting. I know the flower bed is going to look great. I may not be able to see all of the colors of the flowers, but I know they will be pretty when they are fully bloomed.

in addition to planting the flowers, mom needed to mow/weed-eat the grass inside the fence. It was getting a little taller than it needed to be. Bristol and I decided to play inside the fence while she worked, I even walked straight up to the weed-eater trying to sniff it, but I was warned not to do that, so I quickly changed my mind.

Mom did not have enough daylight to get her flowers planted, so she will do that tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow, she will get to visit her grandma in the hospital.

He grandma is doing better. She still has trouble every now and then remembering where she is but she is reminded. She has a successful surgery putting two shunts in her skull to help with the swelling. She will need time to fully recover. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Cameron

Prayers Needed

2010-04-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hello, Cameron here,

My mom's family is in need of your prayers. Her grandmother is in the hospital right now because she has been having some problems with normal daily functions due to a brain tumor that she has. It seems that the brain tumor is secreting a protein that is causing fluid buildup on her spinal cord. The doctors have done several MRIs and CT scans and have found that the tumor itself is not growing but it is secreting a certain protein that is causing all of these problems.

She had some of the brain tumor removed about six years ago and was in surgery for 22 hours. Not all of the tumor could be removed because a lot of nerves were in that region and the doctors did not want to take that risk which is very understandable. My mom's mom and her aunt (mom's aunt) have been visiting her the past couple of days and she seemed to be fine until late last night. My 'grandma' called the hospital to check on her mom and was she fine then, but later when her sister had called, she had begun to start fighting the nurses. The nurses had ordered another CT scan and found that more fluid had begun to buildup on her brain. She is being given an antibiotic and steroids to help with the inflammation and the accumulation of fluid.

The next morning my grandma and her sister went to see her again and she was still acting the same. Her behavior had changed very quickly and she didn't recognize the nurses that had been taking care of her since she had been in the hospital. She will be having two shunts put in within the next day or two to help drain the fluid. One will be a temporary shunt and the other will be permanent. We are not sure what will happen after that. At least the doctors doing the surgery for the shunts will be the same doctors that did the surgery when she had most of the tumor removed.

My mom's family is very worried about her. Mom hasn't gotten to see her grandmother yet but is hoping to get to see her tomorrow. Please keep her family in your prayers. They would really appreciate that. Hopefully her grandmother will get to come home soon.

Puppy love,
Cameron

Long Time no Blog

2010-03-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Cameron's raiser here,

Cameron got back from his puppy camp on March 11th. Legion got to stay with us for another day and he and Cameron had so much fun playing together. We went to a flea market outing that Saturday where we handed off Legion to our Area Coordinator. We do miss Legion being in our home but are very happy to have Cameron back. I do miss him a lot when he is away.

Cameron is back to his usual self and normal life (babysitting, playing with Bristol, and constantly doing things to get attention). While on puppy camp, he got to meet horses, go to horse shows, do presentations, and even go to school with Legion's raiser. She teaches young kids and they all loved meeting Cameron.

Cameron has come a long way in his training (if you know him, you know what I am talking about). He used to be out of control it seemed, but he is slowly calming down. I am pleased with his progress. I am hoping that he will be ready when the time comes for him to return to the guide dog school. We shall see when the time us upon us.

Yes it has been a while since Cameron has updated his blog. Since he last wrote, my daughter turned a year old and Cameron enjoyed the birthday party. He did very well.

Yours truly,
Cameron's mom

2010-03-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

Legion here,

I am blogging in Cameron's place for the time being. I got here on Sunday and am loving his house. I am having tons of fun playing with Bristol and she is having just as much fun playing with me. Cameron's puppy raisers love me too. I am getting some good exposures here. Cameron's mom is letting me help her with watching her nieces and nephew, and her own daughter of course. They are just my size so we almost see eye to eye...literally. They like to run around the house and play and so do I! I do not get to go to work with either of Cameron's raisers, but he doesn't either. Wish we could though. It would be fun.

I am excited about getting to go with Cameron's mom tomorrow to watch the kids at their house. They have a little dog for me to play with and keep me company while I am there. After we are finished there, we will probably go to town and run some errands. It sounds like it is going to be fun.

Love from Legion

Pictures of Cameron at the Beach 2/26-2/28, 2010

2010-03-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

The view of the other side of the hotel from our balcony.

The roof of the pool area of our hotel.

Cameron on the beach watching the seagulls.

He is focused. This is one of my favorites.

Yes, it is bright out here.

Cameron and Daniel running down the beach.

and again...

STOP.

and go...

'Now what?'

Looking at the seagulls.

Another one of my favorites.

The seagulls.

Cameron is a little unsure of the pool are at first but quickly adjusts.

Cameron smelling Daniel as he swims to the edge of the pool.

Beach Weekend

2010-03-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

Cameron's mom here to tell you all about our beach weekend. I have to start by bragging on my little boy because he did so good staying in a hotel for the first time and for his first trip to the beach. Here is a recap of our weekend. It will be a little long probably so sit tight and bear with me:

Friday: We started our weekend by packing and getting ready while babysitting. We left our house around 3:30 p.m.(with a full car load including me, my husband, our daughter, Cameron, and luggage) and arrived at our hotel (The Landmark) about 7:15 p.m. It usually does not take us this long to get down to the beach from our house, but we took a detour. Oh well, at least we made it down there in one piece. We checked in to our room and finished settling in and then we decided to explore the hotel and see what there was for all of us to get in to. My mother and father-in-law were already there waiting for us. We went down to the indoor pool area and sat there watching my husband and other people swim until the pool closed at 11:00 p.m.

Cameron in our room that night

Saturday:

We started off the day by taking a stroll on the beach early in the morning. Cameron and I sat with my mother-in-law in the dining room while she ate her breakfast. Cameron received a lot of compliments from the other guests because he was being so good laying under the table just like he is supposed to. He was very calm. We went back up to our room for a little bit, changed and went back to the pool for a couple of hours. After the nice swim and relaxing hot tub, we all decided it was nap time. We slept for a couple of hours then decided to go to the mall that was nearby and shop for a little bit. After shopping, we went out to eat at Golden Corral. Man that was good food and plenty of it! Back to the pool...again! Cameron went with us for a little bit until my husband took him back to the room so we could swim together and my father-in-law took Dixie back to their room. She was getting very sleepy in the warm pool. Dixie cried a little from being changed and Cameron could hear her next door and started barking. He knew that was his baby and he didn't like to hear her cry! He quit barking when he was told to and settled down until we got back to the room. Saturday was very busy and we were ready to go to bed when we did.

Sunday:

Today we have to go home. It is not only the end of the weekend, but also my husband's birthday (well it's actually the 29th but there is no 29th this year). We went out this morning to feed the birds before we had to leave. Cameron and my husband got to run down the beach for a little bit and burn off some of that energy. We finished that and then got all of our stuff packed and in the cars and left the hotel on our 3-hour journey home. Of course we had to stop and get gas and then stop a little later to get something to eat. We got home around 3:30, stayed for about 45 minutes or so and then had to leave again so we could go meet Anne, Legion's mom, and switch dogs for puppy camp. We did a little bit of shopping and then visited my parents for a little bit.

Yes, this was a very busy weekend! We are tired! We had a great time, though. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, every single time we rode in an elevator, Cameron would go to the back wall to see if he could see out. One elevator had glass walls so you could see outside the hotel as you went up and down. Cameron loved to watch the cars go by on the highway as we rode in the elevator. I am very proud of him and how well-behaved he was. He is starting to calm down.

Now, I hope that didn't bore you to death. We all had a great weekend and now Cameron is on puppy swap for a week. I know he is having fun at Anne's house.

More pictures will be posted in the next post. There are a lot.
Amanda

Meeting 2-25-2010

2010-02-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

We had a meeting today at the library in Albemarle. We got to meet Hope's new guide dog, Shannon. Shannon is from The Seeing Eye in New Jersey. Hope had to travel to New Jersey to learn to work with Shannon as a team, and what team they make! Hope is part of the Graduate Council at Southeastern Guide Dogs. She helps the school by letting them know what blind people need and also helps people by answering any questions they may have. Hope's former guide, Muffin, lives with her and Shannon and is enjoying her retirement.

Our meeting tonight was inside. It was very cold and windy today. My mom said she even saw a light dusting of snow on the ground this morning. We practiced our basic obedience by doing stand-stays (always the hardest for us to learn); going in a square to practice forward, left-left/right-right, and right-about; sits; and downs. Our raisers traded dogs for a little while to get us puppies used to being worked by someone new. I recognized Susan immediately (she was the one I went to puppy camp with the first time). She didn't work me though.

After we got our wiggles out, our handlers traded back and then they practiced eating beside us while sitting on the floor. The purpose of this exercise is to make sure that they can keep us under control while they eat and we are not trying to get any people food. We are NOT allowed any people food whatsoever. There are some things that humans can eat that we cannot, for instance, chocolate. Another reason is that it teaches us bad house manners. We could learn to start stealing food from people or from their plates while they are not looking and that would just not be good. It is impolite. Good guide dogs should resist the urge to eat anything unless it is their specific diet and even then, they should wait for the 'okay' release before they eat. I did very good on the exercises we practiced today.

I have some pictures to show you that I will post soon. I have tried to post them in this post, but for some reason they will not upload. I am going to try a few things and see if I can get it to work. They are really good pictures and I would love to share them with you.

One more thing: instead of leaving to go to Florida for the weekend, we will be taking a trip to the beach instead. It is a lot closer to out home and is less costly, plus mom and dad are trying to save their money to go to Florida so, if Hugh were to get matched with a blind or visually impaired person, they could go see him. It is called Puppy Raiser Day and it is a very special day in which the puppy raisers get to watch the dog that they raised walk their graduation route with their new handler/owner. As soon as we get back from the beach, I will be going on a short puppy swap with Legion and his family. I will be in Concord and Legion will be here. He will get to blog in my place.

Lots of love,
Cameron

New Pictures of Me

2010-02-11T07:17:00.001-08:00

hey there

I'm sleepy

The day after my surgery

Practicing my obedience training. This is my sit-stay

Here is my stand-stay

sleeping at my masters' feet

I sure am growing. I am already up to 47.4 pounds! I am 3/4 the size of Bristol and I am only 7 months old. As you can see in some of the pictures above, I had to graduate into the really big boy coat. The other was just too short for me. I am a strong and healthy dog.

Cameron

Pictures From Snow Day

2010-02-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hey there,

Mom couldn't find the pictures she was looking for when she posted our snow day blog (I think she would lose her head if it wasn't attached to her body), but here they are now.

Bristol waiting for the frisbee to be thrown

me watching Bristol

haha I have the frisbee now

try and catch me, Bristol

Bristol bringing back the frisbee

There wasn't a whole lot of snow but it was still fun just the same.

Puppy Love,
Cameron

Vet Visit...Oh Boy

2010-02-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I had to go to the vet to get neutered. That was not so fun. I do have a slight eye infection though in which the humans have to put ointment in my eye twice a day to make it better. My bottom eyelid does not form to my eye quite like it should so it allows dirt, pollen, etc. to get in there and cause an infection. The vet said she hopes I will grow out of it.

When I was finished with my surgery, the vet glued the area back together. I got to come home the same day. Our vet lets us come home the same day with some pain medicine and activity instructions. I am not in any pain which is good, but my mom still gives me my pain medicine to be sure. A day or two after my surgery, I messed with my incision area and opened it back up.
Since I keep messing with my incision area, I have to wear a cone on my head. I had to go have the area glued back together on Tuesday. At 6 o'clock that afternoon when my mom got home from babysitting, she noticed that I had already gotten the area back open again. This time she decided to leave the area open but watch me very closely to make sure that that particular area does not become infected.

I keep running into everything with the cone on my head because I can't see to the side. It gets stuck on some things when I am going around the house, but I can always get free when I back up and try again. It is loose enough where I will not be strangled. Mom and dad make sure I am safe from any harm with the cone on my head.

I need to be calm for the next week or two while the area heals....that's a hard thing for a Vizsla to do. We have tons and tons of energy to expel and staying in one spot is not our thing. If you know a Vizsla, you know what I mean.

Will keep you posted,
Cameron

Snow Day (Last Week)

2010-02-11T06:23:00.000-08:00

Cameron here,

We had some snow/ice at our house last week. We got to go outside and play. Bristol and I played with a frisbee while the humans watched us and pushed the baby around in her little buggy. Our driveway ended up being like an ice-skating ring. Our pond behind the house was frozen. It was a lot of fun though.

Baby all bundled up

our frozen pond

Puppy Love,
Cameron

Home Again

2010-01-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

Cameron here,

I am back from my puppy camp. I got back last night at out obedience training class. We met at a library and and changed back to our real puppy raisers. My mom was so happy to see me. I know she missed me. She said I even looked like I had grown a little taller in the almost-three weeks since I have been gone.

The raiser that I went to took me to work every day and I got to meet a lot of kids. She has a really big house and I ran all through it (that's what she told my mom). I was quite a handful for her, but then again, I am for my raiser mom too. I am a wild man (anyone who knows me knows that). She said I was really good in my coat. There was snow up where I got to go. I will miss her house, but I was ready to come home.

At obedience training last night, we practiced meet-and-greet (where we meet with another raiser and dog, chit-chat, and move on), we played a musical obedience game (had music playing and when it stopped, we had to perform the command given). I won second place last night in the obedience training and got a bag of treats as my prize. I kept watching my puppy camp mom the whole time. I really liked her. It was a fun meeting. I am glad I am home now.

Hope all of you enjoyed reading Riley-Jacks' blogs. I bet she had fun in my home.

Puppy love from,
Cameron

Rainy Day

2010-01-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

It has been a rainy day here in Norwood, North Carolina. It has been warm though, which is really nice. It is just a lazy day for us all. Naps are great. Maybe tomorrow it will be nice and we can go outside to play...if it is not too muddy. Oh well if it is. I better enjoy the next few days because I have to go home on Thursday. I will miss this home.

Puppy love from,
Riley-Jack

My First Week

2010-01-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

Riley-Jack here again,

My first week here in this home has flown by. It has been full of different things to do. I have helped babysit young kids, look after the raiser's baby, play with their dogs and cats, go outdoors to play with the humans, and travel to different stores with the humans whenever they go out. They love me so much. It has rained the other day and it is still a little muddy outside but today was nice so we got to go out and play. I ran around and watched Bristol catch a frisbee. Boy she loves that toy and she is a good catcher, too! I am a happy girl in this home.

I have become quite attached to Cameron's mom. I look for her whenever she leaves and I follow her throughout the house. She gives me lots of attention. Always smiling and greeting me with an always happy, "hello, Riley-Jack". If she leaves the room, I sit behind the baby gate and wait for her to return. Sometimes she even throws the Kong for me inside the house. When it is time to rest, I will lay at her feet until she is ready to get up. I love this home.

I am having a great time.

Love,
Riley-Jack

My First Day

2010-01-10T22:18:00.000-08:00

Riley-Jack here,

It is my first day here in Cameron's home and I am having a great time. I got to play with their other dog, Bristol (Vizsla), and puppy raiser mom. She loves me, I can tell.

I got to go to a birthday party today for her nephew's birthday. He turned three today. There were a lot of people at the party. The birthday boy led me around the house and I didn't even pull on the leash one bit. :) He would tell me to sit and I would. Everyone loved me and how well-trained I am.

I really enjoyed my first day. Time to go to bed now. I am pooped.

Puppy love from,
Riley-Jack

Extreme Ice Center Meeting/Puppy Camp

2010-01-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

Our January 9th meeting was held at Extreme Ice center in Indian Trail, North Carolina. At this meeting we practiced obedience training before we went inside (sit-stays, forward, dog distractions, left-left, right-right, and right-about). Both the Charlotte group and our group were there so we got to see some old friends. When we got inside, there were lots of people around us. Some wearing skating shoes, some people eating, mingling, and there were even people playing hockey in the rink that was the closest to us (we could see them through the glass).

After everyone got situated, we went into the small ice rink to play. Yes, we got to go out on the ice. Some for our first time and some of the other pups were more experienced. It was a lot of fun. We took some pictures and the really experienced skaters took us for a run on the ice.

After we played for a short time, it was time to leave and go to my new home for the duration of puppy camp. I get to go to the mountains. It sounds like I am going to have a great time playing in the snow and getting to go to work everyday. In my place, Riley-Jack will be blogging for me while she is at my house for puppy camp. She will be telling you all about her adventures. Hope you enjoy. Take it away, Riley-Jack.....

Riley-Jack

Love, Cameron

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

Wow I cannot believe that it is 2010 already. Where has the time gone?

I am growing so fast. I am going to turn 6 months old on the 5th and that means that I get to graduate from the regular collar (nylon) to a training collar (choke chain). It is really not as bad as it sounds. My mom has already fitted me for one and I really don't mind it. The training collar doesn't hurt. When all puppies in this guide dog program turn 6 months old, they get the training collars. The training collars are only used when we are working and it helps the handlers have more control as we grow and develop those big muscles.

6 months of age for some of us means that we will be getting a spay/neuter letter in the mail and that means we are not breeder evaluates. We don't know yet if I am one or not so we will have to wait and see if my mom gets a letter in the mail. The raisers and Area Coordinators are not told which puppies are evaluates or not so you never know until you either get the letter or not. Surprise, Surprise. Pretty much all Lab litters now are breeder evaluates because they are used so much. Goldadors have been reintroduced into the breeding program so some of them are now breeder evals. The school does not use Collies, Australian Shepherds, and Vizslas as often as the Labs and Goldadors so there are select few litters that are being evaulated. We just have to wait and see if it will be me.

Another thing I wanted to mention was that I will be going on a 2 1/2 week puppy swap starting next Saturday (Jan 9th- Jan 28th), so I will be gone for a little while, but a good friend of mine, Riley-Jack, will be blogging in my place for that time. (See previous post for a picture). I get to go to my other friends house, Riley-Jack's brother Legion. What fun that will be! I am so excited to get to stay with them and am looking forward to the wonderful exposures and adventures they will take me on.

Here are a few pictures of me so that you may see how much I have grown in the short month I did not blog.

Me under the Christmas tree with Magic the cat.

Me and Bristol together. I am almost as big as her now.

Puppy Kisses to all,
Cameron

Photos Of Christmas Party

2010-01-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

Our raiser and dog group photo.

Cameron the Gifted Canine and Santa.

Santa and Hope with guide dog, Muffin

Spunky with Santa.

Leo and Dancer with raiser/breeder host, Lori, and Santa.

All of us with Santa.

Legion and Santa.

Sandy and Santa.

Rudy and Santa.

Riley-Jack and Santa.

Dixie and Santa.

Here we are just chilling by the wall.

Dixie, Cameron, and Santa.

Cameron and Santa.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.

Love,
Cameron

Christmas Party

2009-12-05T22:50:00.000-08:00

Hello there,

Our group had our annual Christmas party today. This is where we all get together and have obedience training, all the puppy raisers bring food and they eat, play games, and us puppies have our pictures made with Santa Claus. It was a cold morning with a little mist here and there.

It was so much fun getting to see everyone since this is our only meeting this month, to get to play together, and to meet our newest arrival in our group, Spunky. He is a black lab and, boy, his name sure fits. He does have a lot of spunk!

We started the morning off with a little obedience training to get all of our wiggles out, then, one-by-one, we had our pictures made with Santa. I liked him and his big red suit. The baby even liked Santa too and she had a picture made with me and him. After the pictures, we all sat down at the tables which had red and green tablecloths and snowflake patterns with little Christmas trees that had dogs bones tied on them (my mom did this part) and had our coordinator and a helper handed out gift bags for all of the pups. The gift bags had treats and other odds and ends things in them. The raisers ate and played a game of Secret Santa where everyone brings a gift and exchanges them all by the use of numbers. It seemed really fun because you could either pick a present that hadn't been opened or you could steal someone else's if you wanted it. They all laughed and had a good time playing that. The party lasted for a good while and then everyone departed.

I will post some pictures soon.

Puppy hugs, kisses, and warm wishes this holiday season,
Cameron

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

Cameron here,

Dropped by to say that I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. I know I did. This is my first Thanksgiving and, boy, what a treat it was. I got to go to a dinner with my raisers at their family's houses and they had a feast.... none of which I got to partake in. It smelt so good though. I had a great time just the same getting to see everyone together and laughing with each other.

Not sure if we are going shopping for Black Friday tomorrow or night. If you all are, be safe. My mom says everywhere is going to be busy. So.. BE SAFE.

Puppy love,
Cameron

New Moon

2009-11-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

My raisers and I went to Olive Garden last night and they ate a good meal while I laid under the table and slept. They were so proud of me for being so good. That's what they condition me to do when I am out with my handler and we are at a restaurant. I am supposed to lay under the table so I am not in the way of anyone trying to get by, especially with hot food on a big plate.

After their dinner, we went to see the new Twilight movie, New Moon. They liked it. I was asleep for the most part. The loud noises in the theater were not really my thing but I waited patiently anyway. I want to be a good guide dog one day so I will wait until it is my turn to get up. I had a great time anyway.

Well that is all for now. Puppy hugs and kisses,
Cameron

Best in Show

2009-11-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

Cameron here,

Went to my first dog show today with my puppy raiser mom and dad. It was the first dog show they had ever been to too. We were going to observe everything that went on at a dog show. Mom loves to watch them on tv and had never gotten to go to one in person, so she decided we would go to the one they were having at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center.

It was a lot of fun watching all the other dogs walk around and getting to make some new friends. There were dogs galore that were doing various things such as dogs in an agility contest, dogs in obedience competitions, dogs being groomed and prepped before they show, dogs in the conformation ring (show ring), and dogs just walking around. There were big dogs, little dogs, and all sizes in between. Some people even knew about my organization (Southeastern Guide Dogs) and stopped to say hello. They were people asking about what I am hopefully going to be doing as a career. It is always nice for my mom to get to explain the program for those who would like to know about it. Everyone was so impressed at how well-behaved I was. I'm a good boy and I know it so I show it.

Finally, when all the dogs were finished qualifying in their breed to see who was the best and would advance to the show, the real event began. Time for the group shows. First up was the Terrier Group. The Lakeland terrier took the win for this group. Second was the Hound Group and the Afghan Hound took the win for this group. Third was the Sporting Group and the English Setter took the win. They had a nice looking Vizsla in this group. Fourth was the Toy Group. The Pug took the win here. Fifth was the Herding Group and the German Shepherd Dog took home the win for this group. Sixth was the Working Group and the Bernese Mountain Dog got the win for the group and the most cheer out of the crowd. Lastly was the Non-Sporting Group and it was the Bichon Frise that got the win for this group.

So a recap: Terrier Group-Lakeland Terrier
Hound Group-Afghan Hound
Sporting Group-English Setter
Toy Group-Pug
Herding Group-German Shepherd Dog
Working Group-Bernese Mountain Dog
Non-Sporting Group-Bichon Frise

All seven of the dogs now get to advance to Best In Show which is the win for the dog that is the best fit for its breed that has shown during this time and is the one who has it's eyes on the prize, the big ribbon. They introduce one dog at a time until all seven are out and then they let the real competition begin. The judge carefully goes over each dog and evaluates it according to its breed standard then picks a winner for Best In Show. And the winner is......the Afghan Hound.

Not a bad day for us all. We had a great time. I hope to do this again when another shosw comes around. Until then, I will be writing about my other adventures.

Puppy love,
Cameron

Pictures From Our Trip To Florida

2009-11-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hugh and Dave together the night before our trip to Florida.

Hugh and Dave in the hotel room in Florida.

The boys got to go swimming in the ocean for a little bit before going back to the school.

Hugh swimming in the ocean. His favorite pastime.

Dave in front of the Southeastern Guide Dogs sign.

Hugh in front of the Southeastern Guide Dogs sign.

The last few minutes with Hugh.

Daniel's last few minutes with Hugh.

Hugh and Dave together in front of the Southeastern sign.

Me, Hugh, and Dave together one last time.

Daniel, Hugh, and Dave all together for the last time. Dave is being silly.

Hugh and Dave walking to the receiving kennel.

We got to play with the little puppies that were on the puppy cam on Southeastern's website (www.guidedogs.org)

IFT Day

2009-11-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hi, this is Cameron's raiser, Amanda and I would like to share with you the experience of In-For-Training day:

In-For-Training day is a very emotional day in the puppy raising experience that EVERYONE must go through. It is the time where the cute little bundle of energy that has grown into the magnificent dog you have leaves you to continue his/her journey on to becoming a guide dog. Whether or not you take to dog back yourself or someone does it for you, it is a bittersweet day and there are many tears that come to the eye.

My husband, the dogs, and I started off the day by going to the beach for one last time together so they could have some fun. They had a blast, especially Dave. He was bouncing around trying to get Hugh to run and play with him in the water. Hugh LOVES to swim and when he does, he looks like an otter swimming around. Man, those boys do love to swim!

The boys got to swim for a little bit and then we had to make our way to the school. We got there a few minutes before 1:00 p.m. to take some pictures of Hugh and Dave in front of the big Southeastern rock. This is the most famous place to take a picture on the campus. It is a beautiful rock (will post pictures of IFT day soon and you all can see it). Tears are already coming to our eyes as we know what is laying ahead of us in the next few minutes.

1:00 rolls around and we go inside the office where we meet up with the staff inside who welcome the boys back. The Trainer or Kennel Assistants come into the office and get the dogs ready to go to the receiving kennel. This is the time where you, as the puppy raiser, take your collar and leash off of the dog and officially hand the dog over to Southeastern. The Training or Kennel Assistants will put their own collars and leashes on the dog and give you one final opportunity to say goodbye.Right about now is when the tears start coming more frequently.

They took Hugh and Dave outside and led them down the sidewalk to the receiving kennel. Both Hugh and Dave looked back at my husband and I and this does not happen often. Most dogs are ready to go but I guess in their own way, they were saying goodbye one last time before college.

Yes it is very hard to give them up, but it is like having a child, they have to grow up sometime and leave the nest to start their own life. It is time for them to make a career out of what they were bred and taught to do. We will find out sometime within the next month how their medical evaluations go and we will go from there.

GOOD LUCK HUGH AND DAVE!!!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed to story,
Amanda

Hugh and Dave are Going IFT

2009-10-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hugh's brother, Dave, has come to stay at our house tonight. Dave lived in Virginia with his raiser. My raiser parents are taking Dave down to the school with them when they take Hugh back. Hugh is really excited to get to see his brother again. They didn't get to see each other often but now they are together again and they get to go IFT together also.

IFT means they are going In-For-Training. That is the time in their life when they have to go off to guide dog school where they learn to work as guide dogs for the blind. It is like K-9 college. They learn many things down at the school. They learn how to find things for their handlers, they learn how to live in kennels, or "runs", with one another, and they also learn something that is called intelligent disobedience. Intelligent disobedience is when a dog does not follow a command it was given because the command is unsafe. They do many more things at the school, like having puppy hugger/dog walking times. Puppy hugging is when there are puppies in the puppy kennel and people come to play with them to help socialize them. Dog walking is when volunteers come to the school to walk the dogs in the main kennel. The school sounds like lots of fun. Hugh will have a great time.

Hugh, our parents, and Hugh's brother Dave are all leaving for Florida in the morning. I will not be going. I will be staying with my area coordinator and I will get to play with her puppy, Sandy. This is the last night that Hugh will get to sleep in our house (at least until he is discharged from the program for a medical issue or he retires from a long career of guide dog work). I will always remember him and I will miss him greatly.

I love you Hugh and wish you the best of luck! Make us all proud!

Love,
Cameron