A Romp with Indy

At just under 12 weeks Shirley went for a walk with Jessica, meeting our neighbor's dog "Indy" along the way. Indy is a fine Golden Retriever who's lives to have her back scratched and a ball thrown, and has become a wonderful playmate for Shirley.

Pumpkin Picking 2009

We were priviledged to have Shirley join us this year for the annual pumpkin picking trip. We started off the day at a Yale science presentation for the kids, while Dad walked Shirley around the streets, as part of her training (and his). It was parent's weekend at Yale, so we had lots of families stopping to admire the puppy ("Oh how cute, can I pet her?"), giving both Shirley and Dad lots of opporunities to apply what they learned in class this week. From there she had a long (and needed) nap. Then off to pumpkin picking. That we got any pictures without someone else in them was a miracle, as the attention she got was overwhelming. Eventually we just had to go, but not until she got to romp in the hay, walk among the pumpkins, meet the llamas and goats, play, and get some fun pictures taken.

Shirley Comes Home

Today marks the culmination of several years of the kids asking for a dog. For many reasons, we finally acquiesced, with one caveat. The dog we got today is Shirley. Born 7/24/09, she is the property of Guiding Eyes, a program for raising and training canine guides for the visually impared. Shirley is with us on a trial basis; however, if the program agrees that we are a good match for each other, we will have the priviledge of training her for the next 16 months, or so. After that, she is tested; and, if she passes the test, she will go to a sort of puppy college, where she will learn the rigors of being a service dog. If everything works out well, she will graduate and be paired up with an impared partner, a celebration we will be able to witness.

Today, however, she is a puppy. And it is our opportunity and privilege to help her become socialized; and, to the degree that we are able, trained. This was a big surprise to the kids, who thought we were going to visit a friend of mine from school ("Shirley") who didn't have kids and wouldn't make us lunch when we got there...they were happily surprised...