[nagdu] Welcome Home!

Sun Mar 14 23:34:04 UTC 2010

Jewel et Al,
    I want to thank everyone for their well wishes! Sarge is adapting very 
well to his new home! He seems to be quite content and comfortable here! To 
answer Jewel's questions, Sarge weighs in at about 95 lbs. (we will get him 
on a Toledo scale this week!) and stand 26" at his shoulders. One of my 
friends wrote "OMG, you are being guided by a Mack truck!" We begin our 
training tomorrow afternoon and I have rehearsal afterward, so perhaps there 
will be an update on Wednesday, since I give guitar lessons on Tuesday 
night.

Peace!
Marion

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jewel S." <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 11:09 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Welcome Home!

> Dear Marion,
>
> Congratulations on you new guide dog! Sarg sounds like he fits right
> in with your family. Not the boss, but not the baby either. It sounds
> like Louisa is playing Momma to the two puppies. She's the oldest,
> yes? Sounds like it to me. That's adorable how the other guide dog has
> shown herself submissive to Sarg...sounds like brother and sister for
> sure! It will be amazing over the next weeks for you, I'm sure. Do
> keep us updated on how it goes; I loved reading how it started.
>
> How much does Sarg weigh, do you know, and about how high does he
> stand? Is he a lab, goldie, German Shepherd, or another breed?
>
> ~Jewel
>
> On 3/13/10, Marion Gwizdala <blind411 at verizon.net> wrote:
>> Dear All,
>>     On September 8 - 9, 1986, I waited for what seemed forever for the 
>> birth
>> of my daughter Aislinn. When I got word of her healthy birth at 12:47 am, 
>> I
>> was excited, proud, and anxious. I couldn't wait to hold her and begin 
>> this
>> new relationship!
>>     Yesterday, march 12, I commented to my wife that the day was passing 
>> as
>> slowly as that one nearly twenty-four years earlier as I awaited the 
>> newest
>> addition to our family! Though I had many things I could be doing to pass
>> the time, my anxious excitement would not allow me to focus on these 
>> tasks!
>> . I checked the time frequently, counting down the hours until my new boy
>> would arrive! I even took a nap, knowing that sleeping would make the 
>> time
>> feel shorter! At about 3:00, a UPS truck stopped outside! My wife, Merry,
>> and I laughed about the prospect of Big Brown delivering my new guide 
>> dog.
>>     At about 3:45 pm I received the call from Mike Gallagher, the Guide 
>> Dog
>> Foundation's (GDF) Field Trainer, to let me know that he was on his way! 
>> The
>> excitement built as the half hour trip from the airport was lengthened 
>> due
>> to rush hour traffic and inclement weather. It seemed everyone else in 
>> the
>> family was anxious, too! My wife, her guide dog, Kappie, my retired 
>> guide,
>> Louiza, and I all huddled near the front window watching for the white 
>> GDF
>> van to pull up in the driveway! About 4:10, Merry said, "They're here!"
>> False alarm! It was another white van and it drove on by!
>>     At about 4:30, they finally arrived! With a few treats in my pocket 
>> to
>> make a better first impression, I greeted Mike and inquired about how 
>> Sarge
>> took the trip. "Just fine! No problems!" was his reply! He open the side
>> door of the van and I greeted Sarge for the first time. He was more than
>> happy to accept the treats, especially since he was not fed that morning 
>> in
>> preparation for the big trip.
>>     "Welcome to your forever home!" was my first statement to him, 
>> followed
>> by "He sure is a big boy!"
>>     "He sure didn't look that big in the pictures!" was Merry's comment!
>>     Merry went back inside the house and brought the rest of the pack out 
>> to
>> meet him. They all greeted each other with excited sniffs. Everyone went
>> inside and I gave him the grand tour of his new digs. His tail was 
>> wagging
>> and he seemed interested in exploring the home. I sat on the floor for
>> several minutes petting Sarge and reassuring him with several "Gud 
>> brau"'s.
>> After about 20 minutes of petting, hugging, and chatting, we let Sarge 
>> off
>> his leash. Kappie was definitely elated to have a new puppy in the house 
>> but
>> eventually we got a display of the Pack order, as Kappie turned belly-up 
>> and
>> later licked Sarge's muzzle in a show of submission to him. Louiza
>> demonstrated that she was the top dog with a couple of well timed growls 
>> and
>> an assertive first place at the water bowl. Mike, Merry, and I chatted 
>> about
>> some particulars of Sarge's temperament and our training regimen. Mike 
>> left
>> after about an hour.
>>     We fed all of the dogs and took them out back to relieve themselves. 
>> We
>> let them all have run of the yard. Sarge and Kappie romped and played, 
>> while
>> Lou took her usual position of "referee"! Afterward, we took the two 
>> guides
>> for a walk through the neighborhood in harness. kappie and merry took the
>> lead with Sarge and me following so as to not put too much stress on him 
>> too
>> soon! I felt as if Sarge was doing more following than guiding, feeling 
>> as
>> if he was dragging me. Since this was our first walk together, I didn't
>> press the issue and try to develop our pace. We will do that over the 
>> next
>> two weeks of training.
>>     Early this morning, I took Sarge for a little work around a two-block
>> perimeter of my home. He did very well and I felt as if he was working,
>> rather than just dragging me! With the exception of missing one overhang, 
>> he
>> did a fine job. I re-worked him three times before he took me around it 
>> and
>> once on another pass from a different direction. We sat together on a bus
>> bench for about five minutes before returning home. On this final pass by
>> the overhang, he performed perfectly!
>>     Around noon, Merry and I took a walk to the neighborhood grocery 
>> store.
>> We had to take the long way, as we discovered last night that the wooden
>> foot bridge  on the more direct route had been washed out by the past two
>> days of heavy Florida rains. Sarge pulled harder than during our morning
>> walk, yet more controlled than yesterday's. This will be one of the 
>> issues
>> we work on during training. I want a strong pull, yet I do not want to 
>> feel
>> as if I am being dragged. I found one of my weight lifting gloves and 
>> will
>> wear it for a few days, as I already have blisters on my left hand from 
>> the
>> leather handle!
>>     I have some pictures of Sarge standing next to Louiza and Kappie that
>> will give those of you who know either of these dogs a better perspective 
>> of
>> his size. I did not send them with this message in order to respec those 
>> of
>> you whose downloads are not as fast as others. If you would like to see 
>> one
>> or both of these pics, please send me a message at
>> blind411 at verizon.net
>> and I will send them on to you!
>>     He is a handsome pup with a very sweet temperament. As I write this
>> message, my granddaughter, hannah, is here and they have played together 
>> a
>> bit. He is more than twice her size, so we are keeping him tethered while
>> they are together. He has, however, given Kappie a couple of tumbles as 
>> they
>> romped in the back yard. I am looking forward to beginning our training 
>> on
>> Monday afternoon and the many adventures we wil share! More messages will
>> follow in the near future! Thanks for reading this message and for your
>> continued support!
>>
>> Fraternally yours,
>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>> National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> National Federation of the Blind
>> 813-598-7161
>> President at NFB-NAGDU.ORG
>> HTTP://NFB-NAGDU.ORG
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>
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