Jedi the Wonder Pup
August
2002 ~ A New Home
Would you believe this huge puppy is only 4 months old? The photo at
right was taken on the afternoon we picked Jedi up from the Guide Dogs of
America campus. Even after a full day at school and a 2 hour car ride
home, he was still ready to take on the challenge of meeting the rest of
our pack. And, since there are FIVE of them to contend with, that was no
small feat. He adjusted easily to his new surroundings and, in fact,
seemed quite fearless. In no time at all he was following the other dogs
through our Dane size doggie door, and off he went to explore the 1 acre
dog yard. Gosh, and I was hoping he'd want to be a "momma's boy". Oh
well.
What's In A Name? EVERYTHING, when you're a sponsored dog!
In case you were wondering...... Yes, Jedi was named for the Star Wars
movies. What's even better, he received that name because his entire
upbringing and training will be paid for through the GDA puppy
sponsorship program. His generous sponsor is none other than Mr. Rupert
Murdoch of 20th Century Fox, the movie studio that produced the Star
Wars films. Pretty cool, huh?! Since he is a sponsored dog (unlike our
others) we are responsible for keeping a journal of the dog's progress,
as well as providing photos to the sponsor. So.... rest assured there
will be more Jedi pages to come as he grows. Please visit Jedi's page
regularly to see how he's doing and cheer him on as he travels the road
to becoming a guide dog.
Dog
Tired
After a long day and lots of play time with the rest of our crew, Jedi
settled right in to his new home environment. Think he figured out where
dinner is served? Poor guy held out as long as he could, but finally
passed out cold with his head IN this empty dog dish. By the time I
grabbed the camera he had adjusted to the more practical position you
see him in here. I didn't have the heart to tell him it would be 12
hours until breakfast time. Come to think of it, he was so tired I don't
think he even noticed. ZZZZZZZZZ
August 24, 2002
Jedi has been with us a little over 3 weeks, and he is approaching 5
months old. It's amazing how fast puppies grow at this age.... he seems
to change daily. If you compare this photo to the one on the first page,
you can see that his beautiful head is more dog-like, and he now has
full control over his straight and majestic ears.
Last
weekend Jedi had an opportunity to visit the Tehachapi Mountain
Festival, our once-a-year street fair shindig. He spent almost five
hours visiting vendor booths, listening to bands in the park, checking
out a miniature train exhibition, and meeting lots of kids. We were also
delighted to run into a GDA graduate, her family, and her working dog
Rayme, a 3 year old female black Lab. The dogs were well behaved, and
definitely adorable together..... the Lab in her harness, and Jedi in
his bright yellow puppy jacket. Needless to say we drew quite a crowd of
onlookers as we chatted.
October 2, 2002 ~ 15 Minutes of Fame
When you live in a small town, word gets around quickly that a training
guide dog puppy is a resident. In late September I received a call from
the Tehachapi News which was interested in doing an article on Jedi. We
met the reporter a couple days later, and he followed Jedi around during
a visit to the grocery store and our bank. On October 2nd we were
pleasantly surprised to see a very nice article and two photos of our
cute boy in the paper. Needless to say, it has helped increase awareness
of the guide dog program on a local level. Since the article came out,
we have received offers to visit schools and to be a guest speaker at
other social organizations. Jedi is now recognized by name all over
town.
October 17, 2002 ~ Jedi Visits the
Girl Scouts
Jedi and I were invited to a Girl Scout meeting in Bakersfield, so the
girls could meet Jedi, learn about Guide Dogs of America, and earn a
guide dog patch for their uniforms. We spent an hour talking about what
guide dogs do, how they help visually impaired people, and the methods
used to raise and train the puppies. It was obvious these very bright
young ladies had done their homework, as they asked many excellent and
thoughtful questions. Some even expressed interest in how to become
puppy raisers, so hopefully we will have some future volunteers to help
GDA in coming years. Jedi was well behaved while we talked, then enjoyed
a few minutes of hugs and pets with the girls while they posed for this
picture. Thank you, Girl Scouts, for a very nice afternoon.
Since Jedi's picture appeared in the
Tehachapi News earlier this month, we have received several phone calls
from people in our community interested in learning more about Guide
Dogs of America and the volunteer puppy raising program. One such call
was from Mrs. Hinkle at our local elementary school, who had an upcoming
Animal Week planned, and thought Jedi would be a nice "surprise guest"
for this event. We were pleased to accept her invitation to attend!
Mrs. Hinkle did an excellent job of preparing for our visit. The class
had already talked about proper guide dog etiquette, they were familiar
with the use of Braille, and they had even conducted some blindfold
tests in class to see what it was like to be visually impaired. So that
the students had a full understanding of service animals, Mrs. Hinkle
had even covered the use of dogs by people with other disabilities, such
as hearing dogs for the deaf, and service animals for people with
mobility problems or those in wheelchairs.
Considering
Jedi is just a little over 6 1/2 months old, he did exceptionally well
at handling all the excitement. He slept while we talked, but was fully
awake when he was given a chance to socialize with the students during
recess. We had a lot of fun during our visit, and hope the students
enjoyed it too. Jedi wishes to extend a very hearty WOOF WOOF (Thank
you!) to Mrs. Hinkle's 3rd grade class for their hospitality.
February 2003 ~ Final Update
We're sad to report that Jedi has been dropped from the guide dog
program. Although he certainly gave his best effort, he just wasn't cut
out to handle the pressures of the job. In December, I had a long talk
with the GDA trainers, and it was decided that he should be moved to yet
another foster family (his third). As most Shepherd owners will attest,
this breed tends to bond very closely with their handlers, as was the
case with Jedi. Although he was very intelligent and loving, his
separation anxiety was too much for him to overcome. On a more positive
note, however, we discovered that our handsome boy will be featured in
the 2004 GDA fundraising calendar. Be sure to pick one up and look for
Mr. November. Jedi now has a wonderful home as a pet, where is allowed
to stretch out on the couch with his owner. Hmmmm.... I guess he was on
to something! :-)
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