October

October brings the always entertaining Halloween shenanigan that Emily and Kelsey put on. Steve and Cheryl are quickly finding out all the wonderful perks of being our co-raisers. ;)

This year it was M&Ms(when else will we have all the colors?)
Tahoe is rather used to us, you can tell by her expression. 

We wore our costumes for last night's puppy meeting due to an inconvenient meeting place next week (a library) and the fact that Steve and Cheryl are leaving for vacation on Friday. :) 

October has also brought news! Good news all around! Tahoe has not been recalled this month. Apparently they don't need her, so we're happy to keep her for however long they need us to. She's ready and waiting though. :)

Of course, Burgess is not far from our minds, especially when the phase report comes and says "Burgess  4S67  LAB  M  10"

Phase 10!? There was a time when we didn't think Burgy would make it back for training at all. Now we're waiting to hear one way or another. A lot of dogs are sitting in phase 10 for quite awhile now, so we're not expecting the GOOD call anytime very soon. We're so proud of Burgess, he really has the perfect personality for a guide, and we're so happy that it looks as if he might get to do just that! Fingers crossed. Third times a charm? Perhaps. 

~Kelsey, Emily, Tahoe, and Keno

Burgess is Cruising

A month since we've updated? Maybe we're busy people? Just a little. ;)

A month, and Burgess is now in phase 8 of his formal training. We've been gaining more and more confidence that Burgess' many health issues may not be detrimental enough to effect his guidework. It will be ironic if the least healthy of our puppies graduates, but it's definitely a good kind of irony! Go Burgess! We're so proud of you no matter what you choose to do, because you're Burgess, and that's reason enough to love you more than words can say. 

Unfortunately, Tahoe has been recalled with the October recall. :( The last weekend of this month will mark the end of our time with her. She's grown into a very special dog, who truly brings joy to everyone she meets. It will be hard to let her go, but she will do such great things. 

~Kelsey, Emily, Tahoe, and Keno! 

Fun Day and Bye Bye Burg!

Better late than never at all! Fun Day with Burgess and Tahoe was amazing. They were both so grown up and such a pleasure to have. Burgess attracted many stares and comments on his large stature, and Tahoe received many compliments on her beauty. :)

It was a typically fun Fun Day! We shopped, went to a presentation, socialized, and had fun!

At Tahoe's littermate meeting we got to meet Timothy(far left) and Trenton(far right). They're both very handsome boys, and look a lot like Tahoe. :) 

The end of the day was not as fun as the start. :( We had to say bye to the Burg. 

True to form even in our last moments with him, he was keeping us laughing. 

What can we say? Burgess was easy from the start. We loved him from the moment he came to us, and the love grew to something indescribable. Burgess will bring so much joy to whoever he ends up with. Whoever they are, however he helps them, they will be awfully lucky to have such an amazing dog. However much work we put into raising him, he came to us with a beautiful soul and that's what makes him so special. We miss him so much already! Past two weeks he's been in phase one on the report! Fingers crossed that the initial medical stuff is passed! 

~Kelsey, Emily, and Tahoe

Not so Fun a Day

The San Rafael Fun Day, August 15th, is becoming a drearier and drearier day. It marks the end of Kelsey's two week internship at Guide Dogs, and now it's also Burgess' recall date. 

This gives us a year with the big friendly giant, because last Fun Day, he flopped into our arms and our hearts. We both remember walking Burgess back to the kennel kitchen to retrieve his bag after the ceremony, and we looked at each other and said "I like this one". 

The love for Burgess was almost instantaneous. We are both very saddened by the news, but realize that Burgess is an amazing dog, who has so much ahead of him. Our time with him was well spent, and now he's on to bigger and better things. He will do so much good in this world. He is truly a special soul. 

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a sad sad post, mostly just to let everyone know about the date. :) 

~Kelsey, Emily, Burgess, and Tahoe

Better Together

Burgess is back from Camp Bloomfield , and I have them both for a few days while Emily's mom is out of town. Tahoe is in heat. For real this time. It was too much of a hassle to drive her back down to GDB, so I've had her at home for the past week. It hasn't exactly been pleasant, and she pretty much hates life right now, but we'll get through it I suppose. 

They're both really grown up, and dirty in these pictures! Burgess seems to have had an amazing time at camp, and I'm sure he did loads of good there. 

-Kelsey, Burgess and Tahoe

Happy Birthday Tahoe!

Our little golden is actually a year old! Time flies when you're learning, living, and loving! These past nine months Tahoe has squiggled, wiggled, and wormed her way into both of our hearts, and she's sure to have a permanent spot there. There is quite a difference between the fluffy puppy we picked up then:

And the truly beautiful dog we have now:

We love you Tahoe and wish you many more Happy Birthdays! 

This weekend we are both going to see the play Wicked in San Francisco, and we are not taking any puppies! It's sad, but Tahoe will be well taken care of by two very interested potential raisers. They're relatively new to the club, and are considering applying for a female cross, so Tahoe should give them a good feel of what their puppy might be like. Next week Emily is leaving to spend a few weeks with her family in Connecticut, and Kelsey is going camping for the Fourth of July! Tahoe won't be going with either of us, and will  be with one puppysitter or another! Poor, poor puppy. ;) Though, when Kelsey gets back she'll be spending a few weeks with her until Emily and Burgess get back! 

We hear that Burgess is doing VERY well at camp, and is much loved by whoever he meets! That's definitely the Burgy that we know and love. We do miss him. :)

~Kelsey, Emily, and Tahoe

The Return of Burg and Tahoe

We've had them back for almost a week. Last Tuesday we skipped our last class of the day and drove up to Reno to meet one of the training vans. The lady driving the van commented on what a "sweetie" Burgess is. :)

Kelsey had Burgess for this past week, and we traded at the meeting tonight so that Emily could have Burgess for a week before Burgess gets to go on a little adventure! 

Burgess gets to go with Dana and Caitlin to Camp Bloomfield! He leaves on Friday morning and will be there until July 12th, so just about a month. When he comes back, he'll be going back to GDB for an evaluation. So, these last two weeks are pretty much all we have left with the Burg. But he will be an awesome camp dog, and we know that he'll have an amazing time. :)

As for Tahoe, she'll be here with us for the summer! 

Next week both Kelsey and Emily are going to a horseback riding camp, so Tahoe is hanging out with Emily's mom for the week. Our summer is off to a roaring start! 

~Kelsey, Emily, Tahoe, and Burgess