[NAGDU] FW: [New post] Whitney, Continued
d m gina
dmgina at mysero.net
Thu Dec 5 21:07:36 UTC 2019
Original message:
I do hope some day seeing eye will let us speak to the raisers.
That was wonderful she is getting the dog back.
Thanks for sharing.
> I’m forwarding a post to a blog I read, written by a TSE graduate.
> This particular entry is by the puppy raiser who’s going to take her
> retiring guide. I think it’s interesting to get a raiser perspective
> on the whole process.
> Tracy
> From: Beth Finke [mailto:donotreply at wordpress.com]
> Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2019 11:44 AM
> To: carcione at access.net
> Subject: [New post] Whitney, Continued
> Beth posted: " I am pleased to introduce new guest blogger Elisse
> Pfeiffer today – she and her husband live in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. by
> Elisse Pfeiffer Whitney's graduation picture is on her Seeing Eye i.d.
> card. (Courtesy The Seeing Eye.) Two weeks from "
> New post on Beth Finke
> <http://s0.wp.com/i/emails/blavatar.png>
> <https://bethfinke.com/?author=1>
> <https://bethfinke.com/blog/2019/12/05/whitney-continued/> Whitney, Continued
> by <https://bethfinke.com/?author=1> Beth
> I am pleased to introduce new guest blogger Elisse Pfeiffer today – she
> and her husband live in Red Lion, Pennsylvania.
> by Elisse Pfeiffer
> Photo of Whitney in harness.
> <http://bethfinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/whitneyportrait-214x300.jpg>
> Whitney's graduation picture is on her Seeing Eye i.d. card. (Courtesy
> The Seeing Eye.)
> Two weeks from now I’ll be meeting up with an old friend -- one I
> haven’t seen in over eight years. You see, this particular friend has
> been very busy fulfilling her life’s purpose, and in doing so, she has
> been a great benefit to a wonderful woman who needed her to enhance her
> own quality of life.
> My friend Whitney is an old lady now, about age 70 in human years, and
> she’s getting tired. I’m assured she is still in great shape, with many
> anticipated good years ahead of her, but as most of us know, age has a
> tendency to slow us down a bit, and our acuity begins to decline. We
> can still function, for sure, and continue to live a long and
> productive life, but when your job is to keep a person safe, you need
> to be 100% aware for 100% of the time you’re at work.
> It’s time for Whitney to retire.
> We have my daughter to thank for bringing Whitney into our lives. As a
> junior in her small country high school, Kate was president of the
> <https://bethfinke.com/blog/2019/12/05/whitney-continued/%E2%80%9D> Leo
> Club. A junior division of the International Lion’s Club, the Leo Club
> encourages young people to do community service projects. Kate was 16,
> and she wanted to raise a puppy for the
> <https://bethfinke.com/blog/2019/12/05/whitney-continued/%E2%80%9Dhttp:/www.seeingeye.org%E2%80%9D>
> Seeing Eye.
> I’m a dog lover, but I was reluctant at first: we already had a
> two-year-old Golden Retriever! Kate’s enthusiasm won me over, though,
> and shortly after we’d applied, we got a phone call from the Seeing
> Eye. An adorable six-week-old ¾ Yellow Labrador and ¼ Golden Retriever
> puppy named Whitney was available.
> They told us we’d be required to attend frequent puppy-raiser meetings
> and go with our puppies as a group on outings to the movies, the
> airport, the malls, you name it. What they didn’t tell us was that our
> puppy would come with a four-inch-thick binder of instructions:
> commands to use, do’s and don’ts, other rules and regulations. Whew!
> This was going to be a lot of work!
> Whitney, although cute as can be, was a handful. She did all the puppy
> things, but in mega-doses. She chewed up every toy we gave her, chewed
> up the molding in my dining room, ate countless shoes, and
> counter-surfed ad nauseum. She was so energetic that it bordered on her
> being crazy. We’d laugh at the way she spun around 2 to 3 times before
> laying down -- I’m told she still does this!
> She competed with our Golden Retriever, too. I’d throw a Frisbee as far
> as I could into our backyard and watch Whitney learning from Honey
> about retrieving toys. It didn’t take long before they reached the toy
> and brought it up together, tugging on it as they got closer to me, as
> if they were saying, “No! I’m bringing it to her!” Each dog eventually
> got her own designated playtime (to avoid the competition) and the two
> of them became great friends, often sleeping next to each other.
> It was a great joy to raise Whitney, and it was hard to not get
> attached. Every single day I would tell Whitney that I loved her, but
> that she had a higher purpose. “You are going to be a great asset for a
> special person one day,” I’d say. I’m not sure if I was telling Whitney
> that for her sake or for mine, but I swear she understood. Her eyes are
> so expressive, and she’d wait for commands as if to say, “I’m here, I’m
> ready, what do you need from me?”
> When we got the call that it was time for Whitney to go back to the
> Seeing Eye for her intensive training, we did our best to use our
> intellect over our emotions, remembering the original goal: helping
> someone we didn’t know who needed a dog to enhance their quality of
> life. An awesome thing.
> Thee Seeing Eye sent us Whitney’s official graduation photo months
> later along with a letter saying Whitney had been given to an author in
> Chicago. We were so happy to hear she’d been matched with someone who
> we surmised was active, and later on, when we Googled “Blind author
> Chicago Whitney,” voila! Beth’s name appeared. We checked out Beth’s
> blog from time to time, but followed Seeing Eye rules and never
> contacted her directly.
> Until a couple of months ago.
> Our dearly beloved Honey had to be euthanized earlier this year after
> suffering renal failure, a result of that insidious disease called
> Lyme’s. Grief over that loss got me thinking about Whitney. I looked up
> Beth’s blog, only to read that after 8 years of awesome service, it was
> time for Whitney to retire. I
> <https://bethfinke.com/blog/2019/12/05/whitney-continued/%E2%80%9Dhttps:/bethfinke.com/blog/2019/09/13/update-on-whitney-still-keeping-me-safe/%E2%80%9D>
> commented to that blog post, letting Beth know I was glad to hear that
> Whit had been such a great dog for her and was sad that their time
> together had come to an end.
> Beth emailed me personally then, assuring me Whitney would be in good
> hands with her great-niece Shelley in Minneapolis. Whitney and Shelley
> had developed a bond over the years, Shelley already had an older dog,
> Wilson, and was excited to take Whitney now, too.
> I completely understood. With Whitney staying in the family, Beth and
> Mike would be able to visit her from time to time. I let Beth know I’d
> always dreamed of getting Whitney back one day but never expected that
> to become a reality.
> When Beth told her wonderful great-niece about my message, Shelley was
> especially sensitive about our life without a dog now, and Whitney's
> long ago friendship with Honey. It was decided. Whitney should retire
> with her puppy raisers.
> I still can’t believe that in two weeks, I will be getting Whitney back
> – I am delirious with excitement and have already gotten her a new
> Serta sleeper bed, new food/water bowls, non-destructive toys (as I
> understand she still shreds a soft toy, haha), and have even darned
> Honey’s winter sweater as it will now belong to Whitney.
> I am retired now myself and plan to get Whitney certified as a therapy
> dog through the American Kennel Club so that I can take her to Nursing
> Homes and to our local library for the kids “Read to a Dog” program. I
> don’t want to overwork Whitney, but this will be perfect for her: she’s
> used to being a working dog. If she is the Whitney that I remember, she
> will love interacting with people while still being able to be of service.
> We will take nature walks, too, and go swimming and have play dates
> with my daughter’s dog –Kate got married this past year.
> I am so thankful to Beth and to her niece for making this crazy dream
> of mine a reality. I am blessed!
> <https://bethfinke.com/?author=1> Beth | December 5, 2019 at 10:11 am
> | Tags:
> <https://bethfinke.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=golden-retreivers>
> Golden Retreivers,
> <https://bethfinke.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=labrador-retrievers>
> Labrador Retrievers,
> <https://bethfinke.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=raising-puppies> raising
> puppies,
> <https://bethfinke.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=volunteer-puppy-raisers>
> volunteer puppy raisers,
> <https://bethfinke.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=volunteering>
> volunteering | Categories:
> <https://bethfinke.com/?taxonomy=category&term=guest-blog> guest blog |
> URL: <https://wp.me/p8qdst-472> https://wp.me/p8qdst-472
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