Wow! Graduation was amazing. The day started off
by leaving at 5 a.m. and arriving in San Rafael
around 10 a.m. On Thursday Seth and I talked about getting together before the puppy raiser check-in. I called Seth when we were 5 minutes away from the campus and he said he would meet us in
front of the dormitory. We arrived before he did. When Seth was walking out he stopped and
DeSoto would looked out the window of the door and locked eyes on me. I was expecting him to
recognize me from just seeing me, but he did. When Seth came out
DeSoto was trying so hard to be good.
This is the first picture I got of him, he is waiting for Seth to tell him okay so he can see me. When
DeSoto leaped into my arms, I realized that saying goodbye was totally worth it. We hung out with Seth and
DeSoto for about and hour. We walked around the campus and we went over to the
paddocks where the blind people can let there dogs off leash to play in an enclosed area.
DeSoto was bouncing all over the place, but when he was eating grass, picking up stick, etc. Seth would say
DeSoto no and than come and he would do it, I was very
surprised because when I was raising him he would run the other direction. While walking back from the paddocks Seth put his harness on.
DeSoto`s work was amazing, to me it was really neat to see
DeSoto walking along and just stop at a curb. It was really impressive! We walked back to the dormitory and
DeSoto was always looking back at me, but still doing a great job of guiding. We then let Seth and
DeSoto go back to their room and get ready for graduation and we went to the mall to get something to eat.
DeSoto stopped at a curb looking for cars. Very impressive!
DeSoto looking back at me, to make sure I am not leaving him again.
When we got back from lunch, we checked in and they took us back to Seth`s room. The dorms are very nice! I brought
DeSoto a bone to take home and I made Seth a album of some of my favorite pictures while raising him. I also got to met Heather, she trained
DeSoto. She was very nice and I could tell that she and
DeSoto had really bonded. She also told me that
DeSoto got the highest marks on his final test out of all the other dogs in his string. It really did show too! After a few minutes of visiting, they took us to get our official graduation pictures. Seth also gave me an official graduation picture of him and
DeSoto that they did a week or so ago.
After the pictures we went out onto the stage where Seth`s mom came to greet him and us. She said she had been convincing Seth to get a dog for quite a while and thanked me for changing his life. Seth wanted to show his mom around the campus so we did! We went to the gift shop, the kennels, the
paddocks, and all around.
It was now time for the graduation
ceremony. They escorted Seth out onto the stage and handed me
DeSoto. I went and sat down in the room and waited for our turn to go out. I got to spend about 20 minutes with
DeSoto. When it was our turn
DeSoto literally pulled me out there and I handed the leash to Seth. My speech was short and sweet as I was crying through the entire
ceremony practically! We went and sat down in the
chairs and waited for all the other dogs to graduate. There were 11 dogs that graduated Saturday.
After the
ceremony we walked around some more and then it was time to say goodbye. Seth handed me the leash and I said goodbye.
DeSoto was very sad to see me walk away I think but I know he`ll be an amazing guide for Seth. He invited me to come and see them when ever and they even said they would be willing to met us some where in the San Francisco area. After saying goodbye
DeSoto was off the the San Francisco to spend the night and fly home today. Overall graduation was very special and I loved seeing
DeSoto.
The new team.
Katlynn & Focus (who got a good report from the puppy sitter)
Surprisingly, Focus was in a picture mood and I got some decent pictures.
Since I completely forgot about IWYPRSD I had to have Focus wear a GDB shirt. He was not so sure why he had to wear my shirt that he usually sees me wearing.
Tomorrow we have a puppy meeting at a place that involves horses so if I can get pictures i`ll try, so look for a post this weekend. Also Focus will be going with a puppy sitter tomorrow for the day because I have plans and it would be easier if I did not have him. So I am sure i`ll get a good report, but I never know with Focus.
Surprisingly, Focus was in a picture mood and I got some decent pictures.
Since I completely forgot about IWYPRSD I had to have Focus wear a GDB shirt. He was not so sure why he had to wear my shirt that he usually sees me wearing.
Tomorrow we have a puppy meeting at a place that involves horses so if I can get pictures i`ll try, so look for a post this weekend. Also Focus will be going with a puppy sitter tomorrow for the day because I have plans and it would be easier if I did not have him. So I am sure i`ll get a good report, but I never know with Focus.
