The last of the supervised....

 

Then there was Kira!

 Another Goldie! And a crazy one at that!

 She was career changed for over exuberance and went to live with my sister's yearbook advisor.

After Kira came Smidge...

 She was the first of Flossie's babies. Look family photo. My sister has Flossie and I have Smidge. My parents are in the background.

 She was the first dog I could really claim. While I'd been to meetings with the others and helped with the training, my name was finally on this application as a co-raiser!

 She became a guide dog of course!

Love the Smidgie!

 Kirby came next. And she was my first puppy that was all my own (and a golden of course!)

 Boy did I love her!

 There was a rule in my house growing up that if we wanted to keep raising puppies we couldn't keep any career changes... I would have stopped raising for Kirby!

Good thing she became a guide dog!!!!

 Amara was from the last Flossie litter. We weren't planning on getting her but Flossie had a heart attack  and it was our last chance to raise a baby. She was still around waiting for us in the kennel because her Mama had gotten a little exuberant cleaning and she was missing a toe!

  The three toed wonder became a guide dog!!!

Then came Hartley...

 He was a naughty guy!

 But he put up with my shenanigans so I can't complain much!

He was career changed and went to live with one of my dad's motorcycle friends

 

Then came Rembrandt!

He met me at the airport when I got home from a yearbook trip.

Biggest fluffball ever!

He tortured poor Kiva (our career change that someone else raised) cause he was a naughty kid!

(Guess karma sucks sometimes :-)

 But he also put up with my shenanigans. Yes he is the princess and I am the frog!

 And was ultimately career changed for "over exuberance and dog distraction"
(Best decision GDB ever made)

Don't know why my parents let me keep him. I was headed off to college. I guess it was because "I wasn't going to raise anymore puppies!"
Best Decision Ever
Thanks Mom and Dad!

So that's it for puppies raised with supervision. Onto Crazier times!

Oh the Memories....

Running down memory lane... Here's a look at the past in Guide Dog Land for my family

 This is Bennett. He was my families first puppy. My sister earned 10,000 points to get my parents to sign the application and we got him. Cute huh.....

 He was a naughty boy though and was transferred a few times between raisers before going back for training and being career changed.

 

This is Malta. With a cute little girl!

 Our second puppy.... She was a super sweet girl. That picture is in Oregon when we took her camping after we picked her up at Fun Day (wow have times changed)

She was career changed for an overbite and went to live with one of my sisters high school teachers.

 Hexa was our third puppy...

(awesome name right?)

 She was our first black lab. And look at that puppy coat!

(yes it has lace)

 

She was our first success 

 And when she retired she came home to my parents house to live out her retirement in luxury!

Brie was next. She was our first golden and an awesome sweet girl.

But it stressed her out too much to be a service dog so she went to live to a family friend.

Then came Flossie. She was my sisters favorite. She became a breeder. And we raised two of her puppies.

There's the first 5..... More trips down memory lane coming soon!

The Wise Old Guy

 

So this place is kinda cool...

 Lots of room to run....

 Stuff to sniff

 People to look lovingly at (and fool them into thinking I'm a sweet little thing)

 Faces to lick (or maul)

 And cuddle...

 But I hear everything might be changing soon....

 Not sure how I feel about that!

 

Griff laughed at me when I told him of my worries!

He said close your eyes real tight and imagine the best outcome ever....

 I said it would be me becoming a guide dog.... He said that would happen for sure....

Wherever happened.

He's a wise old guy! I hope he's right!

                                                       

                                                      Phanniman Report! 

 Phantom is in Phase 8
Looks like we may hang out here a while finding our perfect person!

Phase 8—Final testing, finishing, and pre-matching

Dogs are tested for obedience, blindfold, traffic, and buildings. Dogs practice with less experiences handlers. Some dogs are given special training like how to push a crosswalk button. Dogs are prepared to enter class. 

I won the lottery!

Hi, my name is Griffith! But my friends call me Griff.

On October 29th I won the lottery.

You see these people came into Homeward Bound Golden Rescue. They were looking for a buddy for their dog Isaac. This is what they told the people they wanted:

"An older dog. Because people dump old dogs in shelters when they get to be too much of a hassle and we want to give one an AWESOME last few years!"

I mean seriously.... the lottery!

I just had to not be a crazy puppy (apparently they had enough of those),  get along with dogs and win them over? Piece of cake!

So I gave my best cute face and snuggled up... And guess what??? They took me home!!!

This place is awesome! So many smells!

 

The butt scratches are amazing!

 

They never forget my old dog meds, so I always can run around like a pup!

My brother is pretty cool too! ( He needs to learn to smile for the camera though)  

 They do have this thing though that likes to jump on me and bite my face.....

I guess she's pretty cool though too...

The one thing I have not figured out though is how Isaac goes through the wall. They keep trying to teach me....But I think they should just keep opening the door for me...

 

Life is so good now!!!

Totally worth the wait!!!

You will be hearing lots more from me!

-Griff out