Pirates on the Bayou

Watson went on a Boat Tour of Buffalo Bayou through downtown Houston.

Cami and her mom, Jenni, joined the adventure.

Cami and Watson practiced their Down Under position as much as possible.

Watson and Cami were so well behaved the Captain was impressed and had to have his picture taken with The Girls.












We can now check off  "Searching for Pirates" on their Exposure List. 

Theatre District Open House

Houston has a very vibrant Theatre scene.

Once a year they hold an Open House in the Theatre District.

This is a great opportunity for Watson to be exposed to costumed characters, large groups of people, music and lots of kids.









Characters from the Nutcracker were very happy to pose with Watson.












The large crowds gave Watson practice ignoring children and adults.

It also gave us an opportunity to teach children and adults to ignore a dog wearing a service vest.

Watson certainly wasn't afraid of the "cheap seats" or "nosebleed" seats in the upper balcony.

Walking in front of the wall-length mirror was a piece of cake.











Watson was not invited to go on stage, but, as they say "in the business", performers should never share a stage with children or animals, because the children and animals always steal the show!

Exhaustion!

We took Watson and Clara for a walk in Memorial Park, our favourite "jungle" park in Houston.

It is a change from the regular city sidewalks and streets.

They loved the rustling sounds of squirrels, birds, lizards, armadillos (and other creatures that I don't want to know about) moving around unseen in the woods.

In Houston, mid-August means really hot weather, some days close to 100F (37C) with high humidity.

The park is cooler than the city streets, but, still very hot and steamy.

When we got home everyone was exhausted.

As we all know, tired dogs are good dogs!

Puppy Camp with Clara

We had a one week Puppy Camp at our house for Clara.

Clara is a 5 month old yellow lab being raised by one of the FFA high school students. 

Clara is a very confident little girl that adjusted well to her new home and new routine with ease.

This is exactly what we like to see. 

Clara is a "well built" lab puppy.

She is not all legs, ears and awkwardness. She is a "solid" girl. 

She loved playing with Watson.

Watson loved playing with Clara.

Clara LOVES to eat. She was relentless trying to find opportunities to break into her food bag. It seemed that as the week progressed, so did her girth. We nicknamed her "Chunks".

Clara loves going for walks. On her leash she walks with a mission. She walks straight forward and doesn't get sidetracked - much.

This earned her the nickname - "Tank"!

Puppy Camp was fun for Watson, Clara, Chunks, Tank - and us!

We Have an Official Date - She's Heading to College!

When we picked up Watson on July 30th last year, we knew she would be with us for about a year.

At that time a year seemed so far away.

Now, a bit more than a year later,
her IFT (In For Training) looms over our head.

We have received official notice that her initiation to College will be September 22nd at SEGD's campus in Palmetto, Florida.

Now IFT doesn't seem so far away.

How does time fly by so quickly?

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.