Ray The Wanna’ B Retreiver?

We took our boy, Big Ray, out to a friends camp on Halfmoon Pond in Swanville / Prospect the other day for a swim. And there he encountered a small flock of quackers which clearly caused  a bit of confusion on his part.

I've never used him as a gun dog but it seems to me that from his body language his instincts were kicking in..  soon however he overcame his primal urges and settled instead for a handful of kibbles.

Guess he's not ready for prime time...

Ray In The Spray

A calm start to a late afternoon picnic boat ride to Fort Point State Park turned a bit choppy on our return to Belfast. 

Raymond, who was comfortably lounging up front on his boat bed, was the recipient of some bow spray as we rounded the tip of Sears Island. Not appreciative of this treatment he was forced to endure, he started to pathetically stare through the windshield, envying the relative protection that it was providing us. 

...Some days it hard to be you Ray...

But soon we were out of the rough stuff and enjoying the rest of our homeward leg back to the boat launch.

...Life is good, eh Ray?

Awesome photographs by Pat Bailey Webber

Congrats To Our Boy Zed

Congratulations to our boy Zeddy. 

He passed his IFT (In For Training) exam with flying colors. In fact we have been told through a highly placed source that he is a rock star at Guiding Eyes For The Blind.

Zed following his commands..

A very nice down..

Intense concentration..

A well deserved rest..

So now he is in the formal training program to become a Guide Dog but there is a long way to go for him. Many things can still happen to derail his career. He could get released for stress, or something physical or, as the pressure mounts on him as his training intensifies, he may just say no to it all.

But for now he’s on course and making us very proud parents..

Good Boy Zeddy!

Off To College..Our Boy Zed..The Bitter and The Sweet

Friday was one of those bitter-sweet moments in life that we all go through. Our boy Zed got "called up" and left home to start his new adventure in life. From the first day he set paw at home, some 16 months ago, we knew this day would come, for Zed is a Guiding Eyes For The Blind puppy.

And being such we always knew that his duty would come a calling. We always understood in the back of our mind that he was always a loaner puppy, his time with us would always be borrowed time. 

Always, always, always..

 But no matter how hard we tried to keep that thought and worked really hard at keeping  our emotional attachment to Zed tempered by that reality..it never really worked.

From the first, we immediately found out that Zed was a special boy. He integrated extremely quickly into our home life and with his "Big Brother" Ray.  Ray does not suffer puppies gladly. And since Zed didn't pick on him, at least not much, the two of them would become good friends.

Zed was always up for a new adventure and accompanied us on many of our day trips along the Maine coast, always eager to meet new people, There was something about his demeanor that begged for a head scratch. Could that wagging tail have something to do with it?  He was very attracted to these lobstermen from Stonington or was it their lobster bait?

When the 2012 boating season arrived  little Zed immediately took to it without hesitation, but also needed a little assurance from his "mother".

Here they are enjoying their very first boat snug, one of many to come. 

This soon became standard ship board behavior and continued even to his very last boat ride.

Just a couple of days after this day on Lake Megunticook, Zed was gone.

Off for "college", to the campus of Guiding Eyes For The Blind in Yorktown Heights New York.

His next big test will be his In For Training exam and hopefully a new adventure of becoming a companion and of course guide, to whom some blind person will entrust their life. It is for this higher calling that we say farewell to our good boy Zed. 

 Good luck Zed.We will miss you.You have a special spot in our hearts.

The bitter with the sweet......

Best Friend..Ray..

An awesome boy...Big Ray


I just don't GET people who don't like dogs..
We just LOVE our big boy Ray..

He is a released Guide Dog and the very best dog I have ever, not owned, but been  partnered with.......
Actually blessed with..
Ray will be 10 years old this coming December and I look forward to more years with my best friend..

Vimeo

Snow Fun from MikeW on Vimeo.

Guess I'd Better Be Better...

I haven't done anything on this blog for so long..I am ashamed..

I'll pick up Ray's story in a while but in the meantime I'm going to post a couple of  recent photos of our pups.

The one above shows Zed on the left, our current Guiding Eyes For The Blind project,  shoulder to shoulder with his big "brother" Ray. They were poking their noses out of the Jeep window wondering what sort of treat we might have for them after coming out of the Port Clyde General Store.  They are always on the lookout for a treat!

The picture below shows Big Ray checking out one of the islands in a local lake that we frequent. This photo was taken last October, our last boat ride.

If anyone out there would like some info on raising a guide dog puppy for the blind check out this link..

http://www.guidingeyes.org/