Happy 1st Birthday!

    Today we are celebrating Stoney's first birthday! We attended a fundraiser being held by Stoneybrook Golf Course & Country Club. The fundraiser was well done and the facilities were beautiful!
    They also had a Veterans Service Dog trainer from the school come with a retired breeder dog named Jamie. She has trained this dog a few of the commands that a service dog for a soldier might need to know. The crowd's favorite was "Hug Me", where the handler sits in a chair. After the command is given, the dog rests their paws on the handler's lap and presses their head to the handler's chest, helping to reassure and calm to veteran. This presentation was followed by a video, telling the story of a veteran who lost her sight due to an IED. The short movie showed what the donor's money helps do.
    The club plans on sponsoring another puppy and naming her Brooke. They said that they plan on requesting me to be the next puppies handler. So who knows, maybe my next pup will be a female named Brook!
    Stoney was very well behaved and many people raved over how obedient and handsome and smart he was. He is such a good dog and so focused on his job. Let's hope his head doesn't get TOO big! Stoney is now in his crate, snoring and sleeping on his back after a tiresome morning. Happy 1st birthday, Stoney! Here's to many more.

This photograph of Stoney was taking in my "photography studio" against a white backdrop. He is looking up at the camera and he is wearing a colorful birthday hat on his head.

A photograph of Stoney sitting in front of a sign reading "Stoneybrook Golf & Cross Country Club of Sarasota Walk N' Talk"

A picture of Stoney's "puppy harness" picture. Beneath the photograph it says ♥ Stoney ♥ with his birthday, March 16, 2013.

A photograph of Stoney in a down stay next to my chair, looking up at the camera. 

This picture is of Stoney sitting beside me. We are next to the main sign reading "Stoneybrook Golf & Country Club"

Future Guide Dog? Or scientist?

Stoney went on the two-hour trip to Tampa with my family & I. After my doctors appointment, we proceeded to go to MOSI, the Museum of Science and Industry. I won family passes to the museum for a science fair project that won first place at regionals. The museum offered many unique exposures to a future-guide-dog-pup. I figured some experiences would freak Stoney out, such as the washer and dryer set rattling in the tornado simulator room, the whipping wind in the hurricane room, loud squeaky kids and dark, crowded rooms, but he didn't bat an eye, despite being there for a whole 5 hours. He is such a good dog!

Stoney & I in the hurricane simulator. The wind is whipping around.

Stoney and I navigating through a "forest" of wooden trees.

Stoney is in a stand stay in front of the photo prop, one of those wooden things where you just stick your face inside. I am the doctor, my sister is a firefighter and my brother is a police officer. And Stoney...well he's wearing his superhero cape, being a superdog as usual.

Wooden bunk beds at the museum. My brother is on the top bunk and Stoney is laying next to me in the bottom one. 

Umm...wow.

And worst blog of the year goes to.......





....Katie Redmann. Stoney must be so ashamed. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I would be able to maintain this blog, raising a guide dog pup, weekly 4H and agility classes with my other dog, volleyball, photography and something else....oh yeah..school. I started this blog in order to provide potential puppy raisers with a glimpse of my "job" as a raiser and Stoney's future handler with a record of his rambunctious activities. I need to do it. So my way late New Year's resolution will be to make one new post on this blog every week. I know I can't go back and fill in the holes, but the last few months I have with Stoney will provide some good documentation for me and his future handler. Stoney was neutered about two months ago, so being a breeder is out of the cards for him. I will try to
(hopefully) make up my severe lack of blog posts to all of you readers by posting lots of pictures and try to fill you in as best as I can. I went to the Sarasota Walkathon on March 2. The Walkathon is a 3K walk and is Southeastern Guide Dogs biggest fundraiser of the year. By selling raffle tickets and collecting donations, I raised over $800 for Southeastern Guide Dogs. I am excited for next year. I already have a goal to raise $3,500, enough to sponsor a pup! Other exciting news is that I have put in a repeat application to raise another guide dog puppy. Maybe with this next puppy, I will keep up with the blog a little better. Stoney is turning one year old in a week, Saturday March 16. Boy, has time flown!

Thank you for reading and enjoy the overabundance of photographs!

A photograph of the paper's the vet gave us when we picked Stoney up after his "procedure". Handwritten on the bottom, it says "Stoney is a sweet boy!" with a smiley face drawn next to it.

A picture I took of Stoney and myself. I am in the left corner and Stoney's big white cone is next to my face with him peering at something to the right. 

Stoney on the scale, going to the vet to get his stitches out. He weighs 61 pounds!

Stoney, causing mischief. I walked into the living room and found him on the couch! This is a photo of Stoney sitting on the brown leather couch, wearing a giant white cone on his head. 

The trouble maker is at it again! He tore up his fancy bed. The foam from the inside of the bed is strewn all around the crate that he is standing in.

A photograph of Stoney at the YMCA, where he went to his first basketball game to watch my younger sister play. He is wearing his blue "Guide Dog in Training" cape and there is an orange leash beside him. He is in a down stay with his front legs extended towards the camera. The left leg has a square patch shaved into it from when he was neutered. 

Stoney inside the gymnasium at the YMCA. He is on his back with his legs extending straight out. His back legs are blocking the door. He wasn't bothered one bit by all of the loud noises, buzzers and sneakers squeaking. 

A photograph of Stoney that I captured with my camera. He is staring at something behind me. The background is blurred out, but is bright green, making his black coat stand out nicely. His eyes are bright as well, reflecting the blue sky. 

A photograph of Stoney and I sitting on the bank of a pond, watching birds frolic in the water. Stoney is wearing his coat and we are looking away from the camera.

In this photo, Stoney has his paws on my shoulders and I am crouched down and have my arms wrapped around him. I still have my backpack on, as my mom brought him to meet me at the end of the street when I was walking home from school. 

This photograph is from the Sarasota Walkathon, which was hosted at Payne Park. I am laying down beside Stoney. Stoney is looking away from me and is wearing a lime green bandanna issued to all dogs that participate in the Walkathon.