new blog

I have started a new blog. Since I have graduated from Fresno State and I am no longer raising for GDB there is nothing to update really for this blog. However, with that chapter being closed a new one chapter is occurring. I am now in my final semester at Bergin University where I am learning about service dog training and placement. This semester I am working with a male yellow lab named Obrien but I call him Obie. I have decided to start a blog that will show the training and adventures I have with Obie this semester. The blog is

http://obiesadventures.blogspot.com

If you would like to follow us on our adventure please feel free to go over and follow the blog.

Happy 2 years!!

This is few days late but on 9/11 Agent and I celebrated 2 years of him being my forever boy. He has grown up a lot in these 2 years and a lot has changed in our lives. Right now we no longer live in Fresno but in Rohnert Park which is near Santa Rosa. I go to school all day almost everyday ( I get every other Friday off) so he's had to adjust to me being gone for long periods. He does great while I am gone and I come home during my lunch break so that he can go out to go potty. I have taken him a couple places since we've moved here. He loves to go on long hikes I even found a place where he can run off leash while I hike. I have also taken him to the beach. It's crazy that he's been my forever boy for 2 years already. I'm so glad he is mine I couldn't imagine my life without him. And don't worry we celebrated his 2 years by him getting a new nylabone.

Agent sitting in the sand with the ocean behind him

Agent standing off leash with a trail behind him

Pinnacles final report

Well it has taken me a few days to write this mainly because once I right this I know it will seem so final to me. On Monday I got an update on Pinnacle. As of 7/26/14 he has been adopted. I have not been given any other info. I have no idea how many people or pets he's living with or where he is located. I sent in my information so I am hoping that whoever has him will want to stay in contact with me. I have had lots of emotions since getting the news he was adopted. Part of me is happy that he has somewhere to call home and someone who can love him a ton. The other part of me is sad. It is hard putting in so much work only to have them cc'd and then not be taken by another program. Those who met Pinnacle know that he is a dog who is active and loves to work. My hope is that whoever has him will find him something to do so that he won't become bored staying at home. I hope I will get more details about Pinnacles adoption if not this will be the last update on him.

Pinnacle Update

So it has been a while since I last posted. I am enjoying Bergin University and have been learning a lot there. I'm not allowed to share a lot of information but I can say I am glad I decided to attend. I am now half way through their 6 week summer program. During this time I have worked with 2 different dogs. Both dogs have taught me so much by working with them.

Now for the update on Pinnacle. As mentioned before Pinnacle was career changed and I decided to have GDB place him. GDB has a new policy that I love. The first week of the month raisers having dogs placed are notified as to where in the placement process there dog is. We are also notified once a dog is placed. Well the other day I got my first update on Pinnacle. I am told he is working with a canine welfare technician on a few things before it is decided where to place him. In the mean time he is staying in a foster care home. They said he really enjoys his foster home and has settled in nicely. During the day he enjoys sometimes going into one of the GDB offices and just chilling while on a tie-down. From the email it sounds like everyone at GDB loves him. I know GDB will do a great job at placing him where he is meant to be. Until then I anxiously await any updates on my red boy.

Please vote

Ashley Carroll



Hey everyone I need your help Guide Dogs for the blind is having a photo contest. The winner will have their picture featured in the yearly calendar. I have entered a picture of Pinnacle in it. This is where I need your help. I need you to go vote for my picture. Each vote cost $1 (you can cast as many votes as you want). The money goes to Guide Dogs for the Blind and it is tax-deductible. To vote click on the link (Ashley Carroll) above and cast your vote(s). Thanks for your support!

lot of catching up to do

Wow its been about 2 months since I last posted. I have been busy with graduation, saying goodbye to Pinnacle, and moving so thats why I haven't posted. I apologize this is going to be a long post.

To start in April we had our Spring Break. We started our Spring Break with a trip to San Francisco. The morning of our trip we were up early and another puppy raiser came over to my place to ride up with me. Agent had driven down to Bakersfield the day before with my sister. Anyways once the other raiser and her puppy got to my place we loaded up into my car and got on the road. We drove all the way to Pleasanton, Ca. where we parked at the BART station and met up with the other raisers in our group. We also had two other raisers from a different groups join us. Once we were all there we went and got onto BART and took it into San Francisco. Once we were in San Francisco we took all the dogs potty. Pinnacle was a pro at going potty when I told him to even with tons of distractions around. After all the puppies were empty we walked over to a hotel so us people could use the restroom. Once humans were empty we went over to the trolly to take it up a hill to a park so we could eat lunch. Pinnacle enjoyed the trolly ride though he couldn't understand why he had to sit and not lay down (the trolly is small so we had the dogs sit to avoid being stepped on). Once at the park we got to enjoy our packed lunches. We had the added bonus of pigeons walking around so we all got to work our dogs on ignoring the pigeons. After lunch we did some obedience with the pups. Pinnacle was a good boy and did all his commands which is no shock since he knows all of his commands.  Then it was free time. Pinnacle and I joined our leader, her guide dog puppy, another raiser, and her guide dog puppy in walking over to see a breeder keeper for Guide Dogs who works in the area. The 3 pups got to practice riding in a very small elevator when we went to meet the breeder keeper. After our visit we all headed back to our designated meeting area and took some pictures of the dogs. Then it was time to get back on BART and start the journey home.

Pinnacle sitting with a smile on some steps

Pinnacle sitting and smelling some flowers

Pinnacle sitting next to a red heart with a painting of the golden gate bridge on it

The morning after our San Francisco trip Pinnacle and I loaded up into my car and drove to Bakersfield to enjoy the rest of my Spring Break. We didn't do much since my sister ended up being really sick. We did however go to Johns Incredible Pizza. Its a really fun place with great food. We met up with one of my good friends and her guide dog puppy. The dogs did great and were very well behaved while we ate and played some of the games. After we enjoyed Johns Incredible Pizza we went to my house to pick up Agent so that we could go visit Malcolm and his family. It was a fun puppy playdate. there were 5 dogs there. All the dogs but Pinnacle got into the pool and enjoyed swimming. Agent's favorite thing to do was to take a tennis ball drop it on the side of the pool so that it would fall in and he would jump in after it. Malcolm enjoyed playing in the pool as well as playing tug with Pinnacle and my friend's puppy in training. It was great to see Malcolm again and enjoy some time with him. One of the last things we did during Spring Break was on Easter we went to the Stockdale Country club to eat. Pinnacle is very well known there and they have enjoyed watching him grow this past year. He was very well behaved and just slept while we ate. He also enjoyed watching the kids easter egg hunt once we were done eating. After that it was time to head back to Fresno.

Pinnacle and Malcolm playing tug

Malcolm jumping into the pool

Agent jumping into the pool

Agent, Pinnacle, and Malcolm all sitting together after a fun time playing

 Fast forward to May. On May 16th Pinnacle and I graduated from Fresno State. We received permission from the school to have him walk with me. Everyone thought he looked so cute at graduation with his bow tie on. We received many compliments on how well behaved he was. He just slept through the whole thing except for when it was our turn to go on stage. After my graduation I took Pinnacle out to potty and then went back in to watch my sister's boyfriend graduate. We only stayed to watch him go on stage then Pinnacle, one of my friends, and I left and went back to my place for a little bit. Around 3:30pm I crated Pinnacle so that my friend and I could go to my graduation party.

Pinnacle and I walking across the stage

Pinnacle and I giving each other a high five (note we do not teach tricks to puppies in training. I just placed his paw on my hand(

Pinnacle and I together after graduation

On May 23 Pinnacle's and I story came to an end. My mom and I moved me into my new apartment in Rohnert Park the day before so we weren't very far from the Guide Dog campus. On May 23 my mom and I got up ate breakfast, showered, and spent some last minute time with Pinnacle. About 11am we drove over to the campus to drop off Pinnacle. It was very hard to say goodbye to him and walk away with and empty leash. When we arrived at the campus we parked and got out to take some last pictures of Pinnacle and I. Then we walked to the kennels to check him in and then we were allowed to walk him into his kennel and spend some time saying goodbye. Pinnacle settled into his kennel pretty quick which was good. Pinnacle has been career changed and will be placed by Guide Dogs. He could possibly go to another program to be evaluated as a different type of service dog such as search and rescue, a hearing dog, or diabetic alert dog. He could also be adopted out as a pet. Once he has been placed they will let me know. Pinnacle has already been gone for a few days and it seems so quiet without him.

Pinnacle and I at the Guide Dog campus

Pinnacle and I in front of white roses at the Guide Dog campus

Pinnacle in a down by some yellow flowers

Pinnacle smiling in front of some yellow flowers

Pinnacle giving me one last kiss

As of right now I will not be raising any GDB puppies. Agent is staying with my parents for at least a month while I adjust to my new place and start Bergin University's summer program. I will receive a dog to train from Bergin University on June 12 and the dog will stay with me during the 6 week summer program.

Delta Gamma anchor slam

As I mentioned in my last post my sister is a member of Delta Gamma and this past weekend they had some events Pinnacle and I attended. On Sunday Pinnacle and I woke up a little early. I took care of Pinnacle and Agent then Pinnacle and I went for a long walk to Starbucks. After getting my Starbucks Pinnacle and I made the long walk back. Pinnacle got to work a lot on traffic during this walk and was a good boy.Once home we loaded up into my car and drove to Fresno State where Delta Gamma was hosting a basketball tournament for all the fraternities to play in. My sister was in charge of putting together the event and she did a great job at it. Once we were inside Pinnacle and I took a seat at some bleachers. It was very loud with people screaming and music playing not to mention tons of people walking by plus the basketball games going on in front of us I wasn't sure how Pinnacle would do. But he impressed me by staying calm and sleeping pretty much the whole time. He did get lots of attention from people there. I had to laugh though that some people were to scared to ask me if they could pet Pinnacle so they would ask my sister. We were there for about 2 hours then once the event was over we headed home. It was a great training event for Pinnacle. This coming weekend Pinnacle and I will both be very busy again so stay tuned for posts about next weekend.

Pinnacle sleeping through the Anchor Slam event

Delta Gamma father/daughter day

This past weekend Pinnacle and I were very busy. On Saturday my mom came up to Fresno to do some quick shopping. With my college graduation getting closer I needed a dress to wear to graduation.  We managed to find the perfect dress at the first store we went too. It is a cute dress that fits perfectly. Pinnacle was a very good boy while I tried dresses on. After we bought my dress we headed over to Delta Gamma the sorority my sister belongs too. I had been in there once before but Pinnacle had never been there. He got to work some on the stairs in the house. Delta Gamma was having their father/daughter event so it was crowded. My dad arrived about 20 min after my mom and I got there and we all sat down to enjoy a yummy lunch. Everyone was impressed how well behaved he was and that he went under my chair while we ate. I had my mom get my food for me since it was buffet style. Pinnacle is fine around food but some people are not fans of dogs near food so thats why I sent my mom to get my food. After we ate I took Pinnacle out to potty. He is such a pro and goes whenever I tell him to. About 15 min later all the Delta Gamma girls and their families went over to Fresno State for a father/daughter softball game. Pinnacle and I went with my mom to watch. My mom forgot chairs so we had to sit on beach towels. Pinnacle was a good boy and enjoyed watching the game. Poor boy did get hit by a ball once. Thankfully it hit the jacket he had on so he was ok just a bit startled. Once the game ended my mom, sister, and I picked up my sister's boyfriend to go get dinner and my dad headed back to Bakersfield. We dropped Pinnacle off at my apartment since he had been working all day and deserved a break. Dinner was yummy and once we were done I went home and went to bed.

Pinnacle doing a down stay while I dress shop

Pinnacle laying down in front of the Delta Gamma anchor

Pinnacle and my family in front of the Delta Gamma sign

Pinnacle laying down on beach towels while watching the softball game

1 year

Instead of listing 12 things I like about Pinnacle I am going to describe what we did for his birthday weekend. It started out with me leaving him home loose for 2 hrs while I went to take a test at school. He was a very good boy and didn't touch anything in my apartment. Once I got home we loaded my car up and headed to Bakersfield. After I got to Bakersfield I unloaded all my stuff then Pinnacle, my mom, and I went to the country club and met up with one of my mom's friends for drinks. Pinnacle was a good boy and just slept right next to my chair. After enjoying a drink my mom and I went home to decide what to have for dinner. My parents and I decided on Baja Fresh so my mom went to get the food while I let Agent and Pinnacle run in the back yard. Once we ate I let Pinnacle out of his crate and worked on him being loose. He has never been loose with all our dogs so that took lots of patience.

The next morning I got up and got ready to go with my dad to take Pinnacle to the mountains. We drove up to Ponderosa area and happened to find some snow. Pinnacle has never seen snow so he was very excited to play and try to eat it. He was like a kid on Christmas day all excited over this new experience. I wasn't sure how he would do about going potty in snow since it can be cold but he had no issue at all. After spending time in the snow we loaded back up into my dads truck and drove to Kernville to meet up with some of my dad's friends.My dad's friends were camping so Pinnacle got to chill and experience a campground for the first time. He was very well behaved and remained sitting by me. All my dad's friends couldn't get over how good he was being. While my dad talked to his friends I took Pinnacle down to the river near the camp ground. Pinnacle enjoyed walking near the river. Once I was done walking Pinnacle my dad and I took Pinnacle over to Kernville's Whiskey Flats day. It is a major event in that town. People were all dressed up in old fashion western clothes, there were tons of motorcycles, and tons of people with dogs. The event was packed so we only stayed a short bit. I enjoyed seeing some of the booths set up and Pinnacle was perfect while there. He ignored all distractions and remained walking on a loose leash. It was a great event and he was a great dog to take there. We left after about 20-30 min of being there since we had to drive home and my mom was cooking a yummy dinner.

Pinnacle by the river

Pinnacle and I in the snow

Pinnacle walking in the snow

Pinnacle laying down in the snow

Pinnacle giving the "do we have to leave" face

Sunday was a calmer day. Most of Sunday was spent on me doing homework. We worked more on Pinnacle being loose in the house. He started to realize that my sister's 4ib yorkie is the boss of all the dogs. It was quite funny to watch her take charge over him. After homework was done we had to get ready for an engagement party. The party was at a restaurant called Hungry Hunter's. I decided to take Pinnacle with me so he could learn how to be good in a restaurant even if the table is very crowded. When my parents and I walked in the hostess at the restaurant wasn't to thrilled about Pinnacle and gave us a hard time. After talking and explaining some stuff about him she finally let us in so we could join the rest of the party. I said my hellos and took my seat at the table in order to get Pinnacle out of the way. We were at the party for quite a while and Pinnacle remained under my seat perfectly behaved. When it was time to leave I stood up and called Pinnacle out. People who came into the party after I sat down were shocked as they had no idea I had him with me. Even the person sitting next to me had no idea. I was very proud of him. Sunday also happened to be Pinnacle's 1st birthday. We gave him 2 new bones which he loved.

Pinnacle and I ready for the engagement party

Monday was a holiday which meant no school so I stayed in Bakersfield that day as well. Pinnacle and I helped my mom run errands. Now that he is a year old I am starting to work Pinnacle more on his flat collar instead of his gentle leader. During the errands I worked him on his flat collar behavior and he did perfect. He has really come a long way and is great on outings. After running errands with my mom  we had to take Agent to the vet to have his ears rechecked because he has had an ear infection. I decided to take Pinnacle with us as he has a fear of being at the vet. He was nervous at first but relaxed once he saw how much Agent liked being there. After the vet I met up with one of my friends to eat dinner and walk Pinnacle along traffic. After all that I had her work with him on commands some. Then we both worked on him ignoring food from people's hands (he is only allowed to accept food reward from the person holding his leash). Once we finished that we met up with the puppy raising group in Bakersfield. Pinnacle was excellent during the meeting, and behaved while being worked on his flat collar and gentle leader. After the meeting was all done my friend and I enjoyed some cold stone ice cream and chatted some. Then it was time to head home.

Pinnacle had a busy birthday weekend but through it all showed what a good boy he is. It is hard to believe my time with him is quickly coming to an end.

Monterey

This is coming late but it was such a fun trip I figured better late than never. On January 31 Pinnacle and I traveled up to Monterey to meet up with some other raisers. There were 9 pups and 12 people on this trip. We all met up in a parking lot then made the walk to the Monterey Aquarium. While walking Pinnacle got to work on ignoring tons of distractions and also not being in front of the pack of dogs. He really likes to be in front so I have been working on him slowing down and not always being in front. He was a good boy and ignored all distractions. He did pull some to try to get into the front but once he realized that wasn't going to happen he stopped pulling. I'm sure we were quite the sight walking down the street with our big group of pups. Once inside the aquarium we all walked around, practiced commands, and took pictures. Every single pup was well behaved. People kept telling us how well behaved our pups were and also kept wanting to take pictures of all our pups. I would say my favorite part was when we went to see the penguins. While there I took Pinnacle up to see the penguins and he ended up having a staring contest with one of the penguins. Well this one penguin decided to play with Pinnacle. So while Pinnacle was sitting there being good the penguin came up and spit water at the glass in Pinnacle's direction. Everyone had a good laugh.

Pinnacle sitting in front of one of the tanks at the aquarium

Pinnacle sitting and smiling in front of a water tank that has water flow over you

Pinnacle sitting and smiling with the ocean in the background on the aquariums outside deck

Pinnacle in front of the jelly fish sign

Pinnacle laying in front of a fake jelly fish

Pinnacle doing his"frog dog lay" in front of the kids area sign

Pinnacle laying down inside a fake clam

Once we were done at the aquarium we all walked over to Bubba Gumps for lunch. It was a tight squeeze trying to get 9 dogs under our chairs and table, but somehow we did it. The food and service was really good. While eating I enjoyed talking with the other raisers and swapping stories about our pups and past pups we have raised. It's so nice to swap stories and realize that every pup no matter how good the dogs are they always will have some little thing to work on.

Pinnacle in front of Bubba Gumps after lunch

After eating we had some time to kill before we had to all go home so we decided to take the dogs down to the ocean and let them burn some energy. Once we got on the sand we took the dogs jackets off so that they knew they could play, but kept leashes on. Pinnacle was so happy to be able to play with his friends. I tried to see if he would get into the ocean but he decided he preferred the dry land. He really isn't much of a water dog. While he doesn't mind the rain and tolerates getting a bath he is not one to go swimming which is fine with me. After all that fun it was time to head home. Both Pinnacle and I were worn out and happy to get to bed.

Pinnacle playing with another guide dog puppy

Pinnacle sitting in the sand with the ocean behind him

Winter Break

Well this post is pretty late but I thought I would catch everyone up on what Pinnacle and I did over winter break. Due to somethings I am unwilling to talk about I am back at Fresno State for one last semester.  I spent most of the winter break taking care of some headaches with the school so Pinnacle didn't do to much traveling. My sister's horse passed away during winter break too so we were also busy dealing with that. Pinnacle did get to have some fun though while we were home he got to go with my dad and I to the country club we belong to and watch my dad golf. He learned how to ride in the golf cart (aka not sitting or laying on the gas pedal), walk nicely on a loose leash on the course, and to ignore golf balls. He did really good and got tons of attention.

Pinnacle on the golf course

Pinnacle ready to ride in style

Golfing wasn't the only fun adventure Pinnacle had. We also got to go to one of Guide Dogs graduations. It was a special graduation as Warren who was raised by one of my friends was graduating as a guide. He is now working in Canada. Also one of Medford's pups Bishop graduated as a guide that day. My friend and I got there early so we walked Pinnacle around the campus and went into the gift shop. After all that we went into the dorm/graduation area to see Warren and meet his new partner. Pinnacle was a good boy and slept through the graduation. After graduation a few of us raisers went to eat at BJ's. All the pups did great and even slept through a fire alarm (there was no fire it just accidentally went off). After that my friend and I along with Pinnacle drove back to Fresno, and she continued back to Bakersfield.

Medford's pup Bishop

Warren 

Pinnacle at the Guide Dog graduation

Other than that our break consisted of going to stores, going out to eat, and going to movies. Agent stayed behind in Bakersfield and will come back to Fresno midFebruary that way I can spend some one on one time with Pinnacle to work on some things.

life changes

Life never goes the way you plan. I was scheduled to be done with Fresno State this past December, but as life would have it things came up so I am back a Fresno State. This will for sure be my last semester. I am taking 2 classes which is good as I can work hard to hopefully get A's in both of those classes as well as work on a few issues Pinnacle picked up while we were home in Bakersfield. I've noticed Pinnacle seems to do better as an only dog. He plays fine with other dogs but struggles to settle with the other dogs around in the house (he does fine settling while working though). Agent stayed back in Bakersfield with my parents for now. He will join me and Pinnacle in February that way we have time to settle back into a school routine. We have a busy few months ahead of us so hopefully there will be more stories to share.