Photo Shoot at Bayou Bend, Museum of Fine Arts Houston

I am a docent at Bayou Bend, which is the home for American Decorative Arts for the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

A short time ago one of the Museum's guests came with her Guide Dog. It is not something we encounter often at Bayou Bend.

They know that I Puppy Raise a Guide Dog in Training because Watson has accompanied me to lectures.

When they asked me if I could write an article about Service Dogs I was very happy to do this, because part of my role as a Puppy Raiser is to help educate the public about Guide Dogs and the important role they fulfill.




Every good article needs photos to tell the story.

Watson and I enjoyed a photoshoot in the historic Bayou Bend mansion.

I will say, as good as she is, I was still nervous with her around precious objects of art.

And I will also say, I did let out a sigh of relief that Watson was the perfect Guide Dog Puppy and we left everything exactly as we found it!

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

A Little Foster Brother

Generally we do not foster rescues and Puppy Raise at the same time. This is because we value our sleep and our sanity.

But our rescue group was desperate. So, we agreed to foster Brutus, a 7-month-old golden retriever puppy.

The first 5 nights we listened to Brutus' bedtime barking. Then we had the pleasure of getting up at least twice during the night to let a desperate puppy out to do his business. That was followed by the joy of barking at 4:30am. If we were really lucky, we got to sleep in until 5:30am.


In addition to the sleepless nights, Watson faced something she had never experienced before.

Rejection!

Watson received barking in her face for her efforts to initiate contact. Brutus was NOT open to a new friendship.


We were starting to question why we had agreed to do this.

Watson definitely questioned why we had subjected her to this.

Then, the second morning at 4:30 am, Brutus looked at Watson, picked up a toy, and tentatively started playing with her.



WOW! No more rejection.

They fell in love.

If Brutus had a perfect day, it would consist of non-stop play, with breaks only for copious amounts of food to feed his voracious appetite!




Sometimes I am sure Watson wished Brutus would dial down the energy and exuberance. When Watson tried to take a break, Brutus would taunt her to play.

Watson exhibited phenomenal tolerance.

Brutus and Watson learned from each other and helped each other grow.

Together they walked so much better, each trying to stay together and keep up with each other. Watson taught Brutus to ignore the other dogs. Brutus kept Watson motivated so she wouldn't stop for her stubborn foot-plants.

 When Brutus barked at imaginary ghosts, Watson never let out a peep. After a while, Brutus stopped barking (basically.) 

If they ever got separated during the day, the first thing they did when they got home was rush to greet each other.

After 3 weeks of fun and positive energy, Brutus found his perfect forever family.

We are thrilled Brutus now has 2 teenagers, a 2-year-old golden retriever brother, and a mom and dad that are thrilled to welcome him into their family. He has quickly brought joy to their family and renewed energy to his new 4-legged brother.



In our home, he brought us all joy and left a little hole in all our hearts. But we are happy to know that he has a great new life ahead of him.

Happy Tails Brutus.