Frito's Last Class

Frito's very last puppy class was September 26, 2010. I obviously had known for awhile that Frito would be leaving me but it was not until I was working her in class that I started the whole "This is the last time we'll ever..." game. Our last ride up to class...our last time walking into the Animal Medical Center together...you get the picture.

Before classes started, Frito taunted China, who was relaxing in a crate.


We practiced "get dressed" with t-shirts.


Then Frito showed off her newest trick, a non-GEB required trick where she retrieves a bottle of soda for me when I ask her.


Persia, Frito, and Breezy posed in their "get dressed" items. Apparently I don't know how to dress dogs because Frito clearly has two paws in one sleeve.


We then tried to have the dogs stay while the raisers came behind them for a nice picture. This is the best one we got:


Frito practicing the "close" position while other dogs loose leash walked around the room.


And finally, we took our picture with the Guiding Eyes banner.


Overall, it was a wonderful last class for Frito and I. She behaved beautifully - I am so proud of her!!

Laugh for Sight

Laugh For Sight is a non-profit organization located in New York City. It's collective goals are to raise funds and public awareness for retinal degenerative eye diseases – specifically retinitis pigmentosa, stargardt's disease, and macular degeneration. The proceeds benefit the Scheie Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and Guiding Eyes for the Blind – one of the top guide dog schools in the world. The organization was founded by Brian Fischler, a blind comedian who recently received his first guide dog from Guiding Eyes. (His dog, Nash, is the brother to my first GEB dog Nordic and to GEB brood Nancy, who is fostered in NYC).

On September 20, 2010, Laugh for Sight held a silent auction and comedy show at the Gotham Comedy Club in Manhattan. Frito and I attended with Krissy and Paloma. Frito insisted on posing outside of the club.


There were a few other puppy raisers there with their pups, included Robbin with Erie and Linda with Vassar.


John & Evelina also came with Breezy.


Frito and I chatted briefly with Brian Fischler and Nash, who kept licking my pants near my treat pouch. I think he was trying to be as cute as possible so I would give him a treat.


Frito and I were lucky enough to sit right in front next to the stage. We had a completely unobstructed view of the stage.


Oops...Nash noticed me taking his picture! He sure is cute!


There were a lot of great comedians who performed in addition to Brian Fischler, including Jessica Kirson, Todd Barry, Jim Gaffigan, Dave Attell, John Oliver, and Robert Klein. It was a fun night full of laughs and hopefully lots of money was raised for Guiding Eyes!

A Farewell & Birthday Party

On September 18, 2010, the NYC Puppy Raising Region had another party/playdate at Allison's home to celebrate Jessie's (raised by Allison) birthday and to say farewell to Frito. Allison had the place decorated with a pretty balloon for each dog, party hats, and lots of delicious food, including a homemade dog cake.


I picked up some yummy doggie party favors from the Three Dog Bakery online store. They make excellent dog food and treats from all natural ingredients.


Cake!!


Frito checking out all her guests.


My pet dogs, Dexter & Bailey, crashed the party.


It isn't a playdate if someone isn't playing the dog whisperer.


Posing with my sweet Frito.


A group shot of some of the raisers and sitters in attendance.


This picture is a bit dark but it is too cute not to post. Frito is the one laying down and Nancy (a GEB brood) is the one with her paw on Frito's head. Silly dogs!


An attempt at a group shot of everyone in their party hats. What can I say - it was the end of the night and dogs & humans alike were tired. :)

Reunited and it feels so good!

My dream before Frito goes in for training was to get as many of her siblings together again to play and to take a great picture of them all. Unfortunately, that is a challenging dream as the puppies live all over the east coast, but we were able to get Frito together with her sisters Faith and Frannie, both of which are being raised in the Monroe County region. All three girls are absolutely gorgeous:


We took the pups (along with Julia's current pup, China) over to the Guiding Eyes guest house where there is a small, fenced-in area where the pups could get to know one another off-leash. They initially were all interested in sniffing but soon a nice game of tug-o-war got started.



The sisters bonded while sniffing something delicious together:


One final picture before the F's all went their separate ways: