Meeting Michael Hingson

So this post is a little out of order sorry about that. Last Thursday night I was invited to a private event along with a few other puppy raisers to hear Michael Hingson speak. In case you don't know who Michael Hingson is he is the author of the book Thunder Dog (I highly recomend this book). He is also a 9/11 survivor who is blind and uses a guide dog from Guide Dogs for the blind. On 9/11 he was on the 78th floor of the twin towers. He and his guide dog Roselle walked down all the stairs and managed to safely get away from the buildings before they collapsed. In 2011 Roselle crossed over the rainbow bridge and Michael got a new guide dog a female yellow lab named Africa who is now 6.5 years old.

The event started out with a dinner. I'm sure it was quite a sight to see 6 raisers with pups in a buffet line trying to keep the dogs under control while holding our plates and getting food. I'm not sure how we did it but we managed to get our food to the table without spilling. Pinnacle was a little wiggly in the beginning since we had also been at school all day, but after a while he decided to settle down and be good.

Once dinner was over Michael Hingson gave his talk on 9/11, blindness, and team work. It was a motivating speech and a great reminder as to why I raise these pups. I highly recommend you going to hear him talk if he is ever in your area. He was not only a great speaker but also just a great down-to-earth guy who I enjoyed meeting. After his speech he came over to talk and take pictures with us raisers. He even took Africa's harness off so we could say hi to her. She was a sweet girl and I enjoyed getting to pet her. By time we got home it was 10pm we had been there for 4 hours. It was a great event and i'm so happy I got to go.

Pinnacle and I with Michael Hingson and his guide Africa

Clovis Night Out

Over the years the city of Clovis has put on an event to help build awareness in community safety. This year I decided to go and check it out. Pinnacle and I met up with one of my friends and her little boy. Once we where there we went and checked out all the booths. The had a firetruck, ambulance, first responder vehicle, garbage truck, military equipment, and different police vehicles that you could check out. Pinnacle did great going up and down stairs and ramps to get into and out of the vehicles. There was a good amount of people there and of course everyone kept wanting to say hi to Pinnacle. He was excellent about remaining calm while people pet him. A few little kids tried to hug him but he wasn't to thrilled about that so I had to make sure they understood they could pet not hug (I know for a dog who is mainly golden he really isn't into the whole lovey dovey thing it's weird). I did have to laugh at the fact that the different booths wanted to make sure Pinnacle got a gift (yes in the end he got more gifts than me lol). About 7:20Pm we left since they were about to do fireworks and we aren't suppose to expose our pups to fireworks. I was very proud of Pinnacle he did a great job and this was all after we had a guide dog meeting in the morning where we rode a bus and walked around Fresno State. Needless to say we were worn out by bed time.

Pinnacle in front of the garbage truck

Pinnacle in front of a volunteer patrol car

Hamilton and Pinnacle in front of a Clovis Police truck

Pinnacle in front of a Clovis Police truck

Pinnacle in front of the Pink Firetruck 

Pinnacle showing off his police sticker and frame that he got

Jelly Belly

So Saturday was the day I was looking forward to and the whole reason for the trip we were headed to the Jelly Belly Factory for a guide dog event. Me and the two other raisers I was going with had planned to leave by 8 am since we had to drive 2 hours, but with the late night we had we didn't get on the road till 9:30am. We all loaded up into my car. Pinnacle was in his crate, Alba in front with her raiser, and Roberto and his raiser were in the seat next to Pinnacle.

After driving two hours we finally reached our destination. It was already really warm so we wanted to get inside quick. We took the pups to go potty on some grass and then checked in. After checking in we were directed to the side of the building where there was a course with different surfaces to walk over. Pinnacle did not want to do it at all. While rest of the dogs walked across with no issue Pinnacle dove for a shady area by the building, sat down and refused to go. I finally got him to go across by sitting down on each surface and hed run to me but he wasn't happy one bit (something for us to work on once weather cools down some). After the course it was time to go inside. We climbed a bunch of stairs and Pinnacle did fine with that. I had him sit outside the door for a bit and rewarded him for being calm. Once I knew he was calm enough to come inside we went in. We walked around some of the different booths they had. Their was one booth with vet students and they did a physical exam on him. He was a bit confused at first but once I started giving him food reward he relaxed and was ready for a belly rub at the end.

After looking at all the different activities the two raisers I came with decided to do the tour of the Jelly Belly factory. I decided to stay back since Pinnacle is still young and that many people and dogs crammed together would've been to much for him. While they were gone Pinnacle and I looked at the silent auction items and put bids down on some items. We then went downstairs to the surface course again to see if he would do better. He went on two of the surfaces but the rest he still refused. An experienced golden handler tried to work with him but even he couldn't get him to go on all the surfaces. By that time it was really warm out so we decided to call it quits. I then let Pinnacle go potty again then headed back upstairs to see if the other raisers were done with their tour. They weren't so I headed to the gift shop to buy some candy. Once I bought the candy and put it in my car I went back in. By that time the tour was over and I actually got to see people I knew. I saw 3 Shawn pups. If you remember Shawn was raised in my Bakersfield group and I puppy sat him couple times. I also got to finally meet fellow Blogger Lisa. It was great to finally meet her in person. After all the happy meeting up and loving on all the dogs we decided to go eat some lunch in their cafeteria. Pinnacle was worn out and fell asleep right away.

After lunch it was time for another potty break. Then we headed back up to socialize with other raisers. When I got back up there I found out I had won two of the silent auction items. I ended up winning a blanket with a black lab puppy on it and a dog dish filled with different things. We even ran into our CFR who agreed with me he was impressed with Pinnacle and how well he did the little bit he saw him. Now that is a huge statement since he doesn't give to many compliments to the goldens or the crosses. I have to say I was proud of him to. He is normally very distracted and gets excited around tons of people. I was prepared to sit in a corner if he acted up but he did perfect. He ignored all the dogs even the ones who came up to him and remained calm with no mouthing or jumping when people would reach out to pet him.

After a long day we drove back to Oakdale dropped off the two other raisers and continued on to Fresno. We were both ready for bed by time we made it to my apartment.

Pinnacle relaxing by the silent auction table

Roberto having his physical done

Pinnacle inside the Jelly Belly Factory

Pinnacle taking a break

Pinnacle is sitting in front of the Guide Dog information board

Maxwell a working guide who is Medford's brother and Pinnacle and Agent's uncle

Relaxing at the end of the Jelly Belly event

Best Friends from Left to Right: Pinnacle Wilton Alba and Roberto

First Movie

This weekend Pinnacle and I are headed up to Fairfield to the Jelly Belly factory for a guide dog fundraiser. Since Pinnacle is young I decided to split the trip into three parts to make the long trip more enjoyable for him. Today was the first leg of the trip. Pinnacle and I drove from Bakersfield to Fresno. When we got to Fresno it was 104 degrees. Since it was hot I thought it would be perfect timing to take him to his first movie. 

As I've mentioned before when I take my pups to their first movie I choose a short kids movie. I do this mainly because kids movies arent as loud and tend to be more empty during the weekdays. I took Pinnacle to the Sierra Viesta mall theater since that one is usually pretty empty. I decided on seeing the movie Monsters University since I am not a fan of Pixar movies and would not care if I had to get up and leave. 

Pinnacle settled under my seat while we waited for the movie to start. The first preview was pretty loud and startled Pinnacle. He sat up and looked at the screen tolting his head trying to figure out what was going on. After that he decided to go to sleep. He only sat up one other time during the movie which was a pretty loud screaming part but once he realized it was only the movie he was back to sleep. He did excellent the rest of the time. As we were walking outside the theater to the car there was a band playing and some booths set up he did great and wasnt phased at all. 

Tomorrow is phase two of the trip. We will be driving to Stanislaus to spend the night with some raisers up there.

          Pinnacle outside his first movie

First Dinner Out

Now that Pinnacle is 16 weeks old I am starting to introduce him to some new outings though we still have a few more days till we can go to places where other dogs are allowed. It has been a little difficult to do outings since it has been extremely hot here in Bakersfield (usually 98-102 degrees) and we don't want him to burn his paws or over heat so outings are kept short for now. When my pups are around 16 weeks old I like to introduce them to going to a restaurant. I tend to make the first restaurant trip Jonny Rockets since the floors are pretty clean and they are great about the pups coming in.

So tonight I was bored so I called one of my friends and asked her if she wanted to meet me at Jonny Rockets for dinner. I decided to take Pinnacle and see how he did. He did great. He went under the table and laid down. He fussed with his gentle leader for 2 seconds and then fell asleep. He slept pretty much the whole time we ate dinner only waking up when he was startled because the waitress dropped food by accident in front of him. After one correction he laid back down and went back to sleep.

Pinnacle asleep at Dinner

Pinnacle asleep under the table at dinner

After we ate dinner we took Pinnacle out and found a shady spot in the one parking lot to see if he had to go potty. He sniffed some but didn't show any signs of having to go. After giving him the chance to potty we took him for a short walk and he did great walking on a loose leash and not rubbing his gentle leader on me. After the short walk we found a parking lot that was empty and shaded and gave Pinnacle another chance to go potty. He decided to pee which I was happy about. I'm glad he is a pup willing to potty on any surface I ask so far.

After going potty we went over to Cold Stone Ice Cream to enjoy Ice Cream. It was hot so I got Pinnacle a cup of water so he could get a drink. He was happy to get a drink. He again did great and laid down and enjoyed watching people walk by. After ice cream we went home and he got to enjoy his dinner.

Pinnacle being good while I ate ice cream at cold stones

Hanford train trip

  Once a year my Fresno guide dog group has a meeting where we take the Amtrack train from Fresno to  Hanford to allow the pups a chance to experience riding a train. Well today was the day for that trip. Since I do not have a puppy of my own right now I took another raiser's puppy named Atlanta (female yellow lab) for them. One thing about taking the train usually something happens, and today it happened to be that our train was an hour late. The plan was to take the 11:35 am train to Hanford get off walk some get some ice cream, and then head back on the 2:42pm train. Well since our train was an hour late that would have meant almost no time in Hanford (and no Ice Cream ) so we asked if we could change the time we came back to the 5:06pm train which worked out perfectly since we weren't rushed then. Once the train arrived we all got on and enjoyed the train ride (it was about a 30 min train ride). We then got off in Hanford and met up with one of my friends from Bakersfield and her Guide dog puppy Warren. No one in my group knew they were coming so it was a fun surprise for them to finally meet Warren since they had met his dad Shawn. After that we walked around some of Hanford, did obedience, and did some games to see how the pups did with their commands. It was then time to head over to get ice cream. The place we go to has the best ice cream, but sometimes not the best customer service. Our waitress came up to us and asked if our dogs were service dogs and what type were they. We explained that they were guide dogs for the blind and we were training them. The waitress told us she needed to speak to her manager but did not think we would be allowed to have the dogs in there. We told her that we have been going there for many years, but she could talk to her manager. In the end we were allowed to stay, but you could tell the waitress wasn't to happy. After ice cream it was time to take lots of pictures of the pups, and rest before getting back on the train to head home.  I had lots of fun, and Atlanta was a good girl for me.

Guide dog puppy Nikon taking a nap while we eat ice cream

Atlanta being good while I eat my ice cream

Nikon getting his picture taken

Atlanta in Hanford

Warren loves having his picture taken

group walking through Hanford

Puppy in training Graham didn't know what step he should lay on

Atlanta posing for pictures

Puppy in training Ivana 

puppy in training Frank

fun weekend

Ashley: This past weekend Andrew and I had lots of fun. On Friday Andrew and I went to the mall where I had lunch and took Andrew to meet the Easter Bunny. Andrew was a bit scared when he saw the Easter Bunny and tried to hide behind me. Since there was no one else in line I was able to let him slowly get comfortable with the bunny. We had the bunny get to Andrew's level and put his "paw" out. From there whenever Andrew showed any positive interest in the bunny he got a food reward. After 20 min Andrew was comfortable enough to let the bunny pet him and get his picture taken. From there we went to target to get some stuff I needed, and then to petsmart where Andrew got two new toys. On Saturday we had another busy day. In the morning Andrew and I went to the baby puppy meeting where we got to see Fresno's new pups Graham and Atlanta. Graham is the halfbrother to Andrew both are Medford pups. At the meeting the pups walked around and did some commands. After the meeting Me, Andrew, my leader, and her puppy nikon went to Oso de oro park where we walked the pups and let them watch the ducks and kids fly kites. We then went to Subway for lunch where both pups were very well behaved. After lunch Andrew and Iwent back to my appartment to rest for a bit. After resting up we headed over to Fresno state baseball field. We were meeting my leader, her husband, her daughter, and her daughter's baby. We got there before them so we walked around the walk way and did some commands. While walking we ran into Derek and David Carr so we said hi to them quickly before meeting up with my leader and her family. We went to our seats and the dogs did great at laying down. Neither pup was phased by the noise during the game. During the game me, Andrew, and my leader's daughter went to walk around and ran into Bear Pasco. Of course being the cute pup Andrew is he charmed Bear Pasco into giving him a belly rub. On Monday Andrew and I helped one of my friends get around since her car wasn't working, so he was able to go to some new places.

Baby Graham

Andrew at the park
Andrew in front of the Fresno state baseball field
Andrew laying down in our seat

Andrew: Hey everyone! I had a fun weekend last weekend. To start I met this big furry thing that my raiser called an Easter Bunny. She said that the bunny was nice, but I was a bit unsure I mean that thing was big. After that mommy took me to target and then Petsmart where I got two new toys. On Saturday my raiser took me to see the new baby pups one is my halfbrother who is really cute. I then got to go to the park with my buddy Nikon and his raiser. After that we went to this game called Baseball where I got tons of attention, but also had to lay down and be good. After a crazy weekend I'm worn out. Next weekend my raiser said will be even crazier since shell be on spring break.

Andrews "big" outing

Ashley: well today Andrew went on his first "big" outing. It was still low keyed like the other outings weve done but this time it was longer than the others and he got exposed to new things. We first started by going to jonny rockets to eat lunch. I like to take my pups there for their first out to eat trip since they know me pretty well there and have no issue with my pups plus they bring you your food so you dont have to try to walk a baby puppy and carry a tray at the same time. Andrew did ok he was pretty wiggly but was good at staying under the table. After i ate we went outside and releaved him in the parking lot( since he doesnt have all his shots grass and dirt should be avoided unless in my backyard to avoid him getting parvo). We then went and walked around the market place ( its a small outdoor shoping center). There he got to expereince small amount of people walking by, people pushing shopping carts, automatic doors, and water fountains. He did great and he had no fear issues. After that we got in my car and went to pick up laundry my mom had dropped off yesterday at the laundry mat. This was the first time Andrew had gone he did great had no fear of the noises from washing machines or dryers that were on and walked nicely next to me when i pushed the cart with our clothes to my car and then back to the store. Right now we are working on how andrew greets people so ive made a no pet policy while in public till we can get his mouthing under control.

Andrew: Hey everyone im Andrew im a puppy in training to hopefully be a guide dog one day. My mom has decided to let me tell my side of the story on the blog so i cant wait to tell you about my fun adventures. Today started out with my mommy loading me into her car and us going to this place called jonny rockets. She made me go under the table and tried to get me to lay dpwn while she ate. For the most part i was wiggly i mean come on im a baby and theres all these yummy smells going around and people to meet right so dont know why she thinks i should lay down while she has fun. After that mommy took me to potty she made this big fuss over me for being a good boy and pottying in the parking lot. I mean really parents can be embaressing sometimes. After that mommy made me walk around this place called the market place not sure what a market place is but it seems fun lots of new things to see and smell. I tried to be cute so people would pet me but mommy said no something about me being to mouthy. Such a meany. We then went to puck up laundry mommy said i did really good there too. Now to take a nap. After all im a baby and just had a busy day.