Llarson went back last Saturday for his 11 month evaluation. I was pretty sure that last week was his last week with us because he has done so well with his evaluations.
Sure enough, I got a call from my mom (I was out of town at a golf tournament) that Llarson was being recalled early. Which is a good thing considering not many dogs get recalled at 11 months. I am proud and sad because I really have grown attached to him. He is such a great dog. I guess evaluations have proved this because everyone in the program has high hopes for him in training.
Tomorrow my family and I are going down to Lackland Airforce Base to say our goodbyes and return our equipment. It is going to be hard, but it will all be worthwhile no matter what, although a graduation would be wonderful. I am not sure about raising another dog because my family wants a little break, but I am hoping to stay involved and maybe take an older puppy for a shorter amount of time. Only time will tell.
-Addie & Ggoody
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
October/11 month Evaluation
Well it is November, so that means it is time for my October update. I don't why I do this or how it happens, I guess it just means that I am busy.
October was a pretty laid back month for us. Not much happened. A few weekends ago I had to drop my brother off at a swim meet at University of Texas-Austin so I invited my friend and we walked around the campus with Llarson. Sorry no pictures of this outing. The fountain I wanted to take a picture at was drained of water and forgot about my camera after that. Anyway, Llarson was great. He was not bothered at all by the large amounts of people or traffic. He just went with the flow. After walking around for about an hour or so, we decided to get lunch at a local burger stand called P. Terry's. Llarson was so tired by then he plopped down under the table while we ate, ignoring a ton of birds and two other dogs. I was very proud of him.
For Halloween the only costume Llarson wore was a Halloween bandanna. He probably would have tried to eat a costume if I put one on him. Ggoody dressed up as a bomb dog by wearing Llarson's vest. Silly dog! She loves wearing the vest, I think she feels official. Don't worry we don't let her leave the house with it on.
That brings everything up to date for today. Today Llarson left for his 11 month evaluation. I am not sure if he will be returning to us by the end of the week. Sometimes when the dogs are doing well in their evaluations they get recalled early at 11 months. Since Llarson did so well last time, I have a feeling that he has a chance of getting recalled early. I couldn't go to the drop off because I had a golf tournament, but I said my goodbyes before I left. Either way, whether he gets recalled early or not, I just hope he makes the program. It was hard to leave him this morning without truly knowing whether I will see him again, but I keep telling myself think of the big picture. He could end up saving thousands of lives one day. What ever happens I will be proud of him.
Hopefully by the end of the week I will know the status of his situation and I will update then. Until next time...
Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
October was a pretty laid back month for us. Not much happened. A few weekends ago I had to drop my brother off at a swim meet at University of Texas-Austin so I invited my friend and we walked around the campus with Llarson. Sorry no pictures of this outing. The fountain I wanted to take a picture at was drained of water and forgot about my camera after that. Anyway, Llarson was great. He was not bothered at all by the large amounts of people or traffic. He just went with the flow. After walking around for about an hour or so, we decided to get lunch at a local burger stand called P. Terry's. Llarson was so tired by then he plopped down under the table while we ate, ignoring a ton of birds and two other dogs. I was very proud of him.
For Halloween the only costume Llarson wore was a Halloween bandanna. He probably would have tried to eat a costume if I put one on him. Ggoody dressed up as a bomb dog by wearing Llarson's vest. Silly dog! She loves wearing the vest, I think she feels official. Don't worry we don't let her leave the house with it on.
That brings everything up to date for today. Today Llarson left for his 11 month evaluation. I am not sure if he will be returning to us by the end of the week. Sometimes when the dogs are doing well in their evaluations they get recalled early at 11 months. Since Llarson did so well last time, I have a feeling that he has a chance of getting recalled early. I couldn't go to the drop off because I had a golf tournament, but I said my goodbyes before I left. Either way, whether he gets recalled early or not, I just hope he makes the program. It was hard to leave him this morning without truly knowing whether I will see him again, but I keep telling myself think of the big picture. He could end up saving thousands of lives one day. What ever happens I will be proud of him.Hopefully by the end of the week I will know the status of his situation and I will update then. Until next time...
Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Whatawalk
Today on our walk I heard a woman say "excuse me" and I saw a car pull up next to me. I was a little nervous at first, but it turned out fine as she asked if Llarson was a service dog in training because she saw his vest. I explained that he was actually in training for explosive detection. She told me she had a friend that had a cadaver dog that searched during the aftermath of 9/11, which although is a morbid job it is a heroic job at that. The reason she was interested was because she had a service dog herself and was curious what group Llarson might have been from. Come to find out she actually trained her own service dog, which I thought was pretty neat. The last thing she said before she pulled away was "You are doing a great job." This made me realize why I keep raising and made me extremely proud of Llarson and my hard-work.
Llarson meanwhile for the rest of the walk was flawless. I think part of the reason was the weather. I found when we had some cooler weather last week (60s) he was really wound up every time he came out of his kennel, but now that it has warmed back up to the 90s the energy level has gone back down slightly. Overall a great inspiring walk!
-Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
Llarson meanwhile for the rest of the walk was flawless. I think part of the reason was the weather. I found when we had some cooler weather last week (60s) he was really wound up every time he came out of his kennel, but now that it has warmed back up to the 90s the energy level has gone back down slightly. Overall a great inspiring walk!
-Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Puppywalker Picnic
Here goes my promised long post about the puppywalker picnic. Sorry I don't have pictures from the picnic, we were running late so both the camera and dogs got left behind.
Well after a bit of a rough late start, we were on our way to San Antonio around 10:30 on Saturday to get to the picnic around noon. Around 12:20 we pulled up the gates of Lackland Airforce Base. A few minutes later we were finally on base and at the picnic site.
We walked up to the pavilion and we saw two dogs playing. They looked extremely similar to Llarson and come to find out they were his sisters! I know one was Llilore and I believe the other was Lleavey. (They all look so much alike, plus we saw five of his siblings so it is hard to keep them all in order.) His sisters were red in color like Llarson, but considerably smaller than him. Plus Llilore had much better manners when we were petting her.
We talked to Llilore's raisers for awhile. They have raised two dogs (1 working and 1 breeder) and Llilore is their third. The second dog they raised was there with them. Her name is Dd'atri (I believe this is the spelling). Dd'atri is a black Labrador breeder, who was bred a few weeks ago, so hopefully she will be having some cute little puppies soon.
After a nice discussion about raising pups from the L litter we headed up to get some food. They had great barbecue and a wonderful homemade cake that had blueberries and raspberries to make it look like the American flag. We sat down next to a family, that was raising a dog named Kkeating. Kkeating is a lab (I believe black) that is getting recalled in November. Their dog seemed to be a lot like Llarson energy wise, high strung.
Then after lunch we watched a demonstration of three dogs at different stages in training. They had five or so groups of luggage in a line with each group containing four pieces of luggage. The first dog was a novice so they did some pretty simple luggage searches, not extending past the third set of luggage. The second dog was a yellow lab named Iirgang (Ggoody's nephew) was next. He was more high strung than the first dog. He was in the middle of training so they extended the search further down the line. Finally the last dog was Ddanz, a black Labrador. He was the most advanced, so they put the aid (what they dog is trying to find) at the very end of the line and he found it with ease. It was really neat to see the different work ethics of all three dogs.
After the demo we headed over to the t-shirt stand and bought a new shirt plus they had car decals so I bought one for my car. Then it was time for my favorite part...the kennels.
We walked through the kennels and saw a lot of really cute dogs. We saw 4 of Llarson's siblings: Llinanne, Lleavey, Llangone, and I believe Llangley. We also saw Llarson's mom Cini. She was super sweet and looked a tiny bit like Llarson. The first group of dogs we saw was the R litter. They are all yellow labs about 14 weeks old. Some of the names that stuck out to me were Rrusso, Rreynolds, Rrall, and Rrand. Rrusso was my personal favorite. Cute name and adorable face. After looking and petting almost all of the dogs we were on our way home. It was a great picnic and totally worth the drive. Here are a few pictures to make things a little more interesting.
R litter (my guess a week or two old)
Back of T-shirt
Car Decal
Ggoody is ready for Halloween
Random picture of Llarson in Home Depot during the summer
Well after a bit of a rough late start, we were on our way to San Antonio around 10:30 on Saturday to get to the picnic around noon. Around 12:20 we pulled up the gates of Lackland Airforce Base. A few minutes later we were finally on base and at the picnic site.
We walked up to the pavilion and we saw two dogs playing. They looked extremely similar to Llarson and come to find out they were his sisters! I know one was Llilore and I believe the other was Lleavey. (They all look so much alike, plus we saw five of his siblings so it is hard to keep them all in order.) His sisters were red in color like Llarson, but considerably smaller than him. Plus Llilore had much better manners when we were petting her.
We talked to Llilore's raisers for awhile. They have raised two dogs (1 working and 1 breeder) and Llilore is their third. The second dog they raised was there with them. Her name is Dd'atri (I believe this is the spelling). Dd'atri is a black Labrador breeder, who was bred a few weeks ago, so hopefully she will be having some cute little puppies soon.
After a nice discussion about raising pups from the L litter we headed up to get some food. They had great barbecue and a wonderful homemade cake that had blueberries and raspberries to make it look like the American flag. We sat down next to a family, that was raising a dog named Kkeating. Kkeating is a lab (I believe black) that is getting recalled in November. Their dog seemed to be a lot like Llarson energy wise, high strung.
Then after lunch we watched a demonstration of three dogs at different stages in training. They had five or so groups of luggage in a line with each group containing four pieces of luggage. The first dog was a novice so they did some pretty simple luggage searches, not extending past the third set of luggage. The second dog was a yellow lab named Iirgang (Ggoody's nephew) was next. He was more high strung than the first dog. He was in the middle of training so they extended the search further down the line. Finally the last dog was Ddanz, a black Labrador. He was the most advanced, so they put the aid (what they dog is trying to find) at the very end of the line and he found it with ease. It was really neat to see the different work ethics of all three dogs.
After the demo we headed over to the t-shirt stand and bought a new shirt plus they had car decals so I bought one for my car. Then it was time for my favorite part...the kennels.
We walked through the kennels and saw a lot of really cute dogs. We saw 4 of Llarson's siblings: Llinanne, Lleavey, Llangone, and I believe Llangley. We also saw Llarson's mom Cini. She was super sweet and looked a tiny bit like Llarson. The first group of dogs we saw was the R litter. They are all yellow labs about 14 weeks old. Some of the names that stuck out to me were Rrusso, Rreynolds, Rrall, and Rrand. Rrusso was my personal favorite. Cute name and adorable face. After looking and petting almost all of the dogs we were on our way home. It was a great picnic and totally worth the drive. Here are a few pictures to make things a little more interesting.
R litter (my guess a week or two old)
Back of T-shirt
Car Decal
Ggoody is ready for Halloween
Random picture of Llarson in Home Depot during the summer
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Big Post Coming Soon!
First, thank you to all who commented about my possible business idea. I decided to stick with it and I am currently working on the beginning phases of a business plan. I will update how that goes as the project progresses.
Second, the reason for the big post coming soon is because Saturday is the Puppywalker Picnic at Lackland Airforce Base. It is basically the equivalent of a Fun Day for all of those who raise for GDB, but on a smaller scale. There is a barbeque, raffle, a tour of the kennel and cuddles with the little pupppies, and a demonstration from a working dog. Overall it is a thank you for all of the hardwork the program's volunteers do. I can't wait! So look for a big updating post sometime this weekend.
Third, but not last...On Friday Llarson turns 10 months old! Double digits. It is hard to believe he goes back in almost two months. Well his 10 month old day is jammed packed with it being my high school's homecoming and the premier of season 9 Degrassi. Friday is looking good!
Until then,
-Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
Second, the reason for the big post coming soon is because Saturday is the Puppywalker Picnic at Lackland Airforce Base. It is basically the equivalent of a Fun Day for all of those who raise for GDB, but on a smaller scale. There is a barbeque, raffle, a tour of the kennel and cuddles with the little pupppies, and a demonstration from a working dog. Overall it is a thank you for all of the hardwork the program's volunteers do. I can't wait! So look for a big updating post sometime this weekend.
Third, but not last...On Friday Llarson turns 10 months old! Double digits. It is hard to believe he goes back in almost two months. Well his 10 month old day is jammed packed with it being my high school's homecoming and the premier of season 9 Degrassi. Friday is looking good!
Until then,
-Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Poll...Please Comment
For my entrepreneurship class we have to come up with a business idea. I figured why not combine business with animals.
I was thinking of creating an online business, that would sell "puppy in training" equipment, but at a slightly discounted price. The business would sell service dog school approved toys, bones, leashes, collars, head halters, crates, food, etc. Maybe even flea/tick preventative and heartworm preventative? For instance nyla bones would be sold at a lower price. Another option that would be nice would be to buy in bulk. Instead of buying one bone, buy 10 and save the difference?
I don't know this is just an idea. I think this could work out ok, in that everyone who decides to raise a dog knows that there is a financial responsibility to raising a puppy. I figure why not "create" a business that has everything a puppy raiser would need on one site and at a slightly lower price and it is delivered to your house.
Please let me know what you think. Any comments are greatly appreciated!
-Addie
I was thinking of creating an online business, that would sell "puppy in training" equipment, but at a slightly discounted price. The business would sell service dog school approved toys, bones, leashes, collars, head halters, crates, food, etc. Maybe even flea/tick preventative and heartworm preventative? For instance nyla bones would be sold at a lower price. Another option that would be nice would be to buy in bulk. Instead of buying one bone, buy 10 and save the difference?
I don't know this is just an idea. I think this could work out ok, in that everyone who decides to raise a dog knows that there is a financial responsibility to raising a puppy. I figure why not "create" a business that has everything a puppy raiser would need on one site and at a slightly lower price and it is delivered to your house.
Please let me know what you think. Any comments are greatly appreciated!
-Addie
Saturday, September 12, 2009
9 Month Evaluation
Llarson is back after his week long evaluation! Unfortunately I could not go to the pick up because I was taking the ACT (I was mad when I saw the test and pick up were on the same day. I love going to pick ups.), but my mom and brother picked Llarson up. I asked if they could take a quick peek at Llevin, Llarson's brother, because he is the largest of the litter. Llevin is twenty pounds heavier than the other puppies in the litter. He is black with brown markings on his legs. My mom said he looked like a heavier set Ggoody.
Anyways on to the report...
Llarson did fantastic!! This is a quote from his evaluation.
"Llarson got a perfect score in his environmental test at the airport!! Keep up the good work."
I was sooo excited to see this when I got home. My mom was talking to the guy at pick up and I guess this is almost unheard of and is an extremely good sign. I am so proud of Llarson.
-Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
Anyways on to the report...
Llarson did fantastic!! This is a quote from his evaluation.
"Llarson got a perfect score in his environmental test at the airport!! Keep up the good work."
I was sooo excited to see this when I got home. My mom was talking to the guy at pick up and I guess this is almost unheard of and is an extremely good sign. I am so proud of Llarson.
-Addie, Ggoody & Llarson
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