Meet Carol, Randy, and the Gavin x Duda litter Carol and Randy raised for Leaderdog for the Blind.
Carol and Randy stopped in Marshall on their 10 hour trip (10 hours is the driving time the trip was much longer with potty breaks, etc.) to Rochester MI so I could see Gavin’s Leaderdog babies. Thank you Carol and Randy we really enjoyed your visit! Monday morning Randy and Carol brought the pups to Leaderdog for them to vet checked and evaluated 5 of the pups are going over to volunteer homes were they will be raised for the next year before returning to Leaderdog for their final training as Leaderdogs for the Blind. The other 5 pups returned to Iowa with Carol and Randy to be raised by prisoners in the Iowa Penal system.
Carol:
Randy, the long-suffering husband (not really but he would like you to think so):
Leaderdog’s Duda, the mom, with a t-shirt to keep the needle sharp puppy teeth from attaching themselves to her underside. Carol was telling me that she recently certified Duda for Disaster Relief Therapy. Something I hope she will tell us more about.
Gavin, the dad:
And the babies:
I WISH that we had gotten to bring 5 of Duda’s pups back with us, we brought back 6 labs instead………..Leader does not put the pups of a puppy counselor back in their group. Makes sense……we either think they are perfect or terrible and should be doing much better (neither would probably be exactly right). Thanks Julie for everything! It was so great to meet all the “kids” that I have been following since Duda met Gavin.
Diseaster Stress Relief is just taking a Therapy Dog one step further. Duda has been doing Therapy Dog work now for 2 years and loves it and the folks at the nursing home love her. She can now respond to areas (like in 9-11) where workers are resting and just help them deal with what they are having to see and work with. Sometimes just a soft fur to cry into or talk to with no hint of an opinion as to what you are saying. If want more detail tdi-dog.org is the website. It is a good job for Duda when she doesn’t have a litter and isn’t trying to teach me agility!
“Leader does not put the pups of a puppy counselor back in their group.” Ok I can understand their thinking, they want you the counselor to be unbiased about the puppies. Are you, the Counselor, in charge of all the dogs in the Iowa prison system? You told me how many puppies are currently being raised, but I do not know if you want it mentioned online?
Carol the work you do for Leaderdog is priceless. I feel an immense admiration and gratitude of you and the service you provide.
Yes I am the puppy counselor for Iowa – we have 55 pups in Fort Dodge, 11 in Newton, and 10 in Rockwell City prisons currently. We have 4 outside puppies being raised that I’m supposed to help in any way that I can….Randy says he got drafted, but he is just as good at working with anyone as I am!
Quite a while ago, I saw a TV show that focused on prisoners who were training dogs while serving their sentences. It seemed to be a perfect combination: the prisoners developed a bond, learned compassion, and discovered that they still could be loved (albeit from a dog); while the dogs were the recipients of attention and training during every waking moment from the prisoners. Looked like a win-win to me.
Duda is gorgeous and all the pups look great. A bunch of great pups for a great cause… you should be very proud!
Lee I am so glad you said this. I think Carol and Randy were very proud of the puppies. They did a GREAT job of raising them and I picked up a few tips from them I am going to add to my puppy raising toolkit. The pups were bold, confident, and social. I do not know what Leaderdog looks for but I was very pleased with what I saw.
Julie – you don’t know how nervous I was bringing the pups to see you. I feel like such a novice! Thank you – and you BET I’m proud of those little 40 paws!
I am so proud of you guys, very proud of you!!!
Carol & Randy, thank you for providing such a wonderful service! The pups look fabulous and Duda looks to be in perfect condition for having raised a litter. I knew Gavin when he was this age. I see quite a few of his youngsters that remind me of Dad in both looks and attitude.
Excellent job!
This truly is a wonderful gift. I had a client several years ago, that had a leader dog. She told me that there was no way she could live independently without her dog. The dog just happened to be a GSD 😉
What PRECIOUS little puppies!!!! I just know they are the most beautiful service dogs in the world already!!! I hope each and every one of them provides a special person with a happier, more fullfilled life, congratulations Carol and thank you for what you do. 🙂
Whatever those sweet pups end up doing for their life’s work will be a blessing for whomever gets to love them. Wonderful.
The puppies look great. Good job Carol and Randy.
These puppies are going to make a huge difference in people’s lives. It is so beautiful to see. Thank you, Carol!
Here is a great article on training service dogs, including a funny and touching account of an inmate training program: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/magazine/wonder-dog.html?pagewanted=all
Also, that license plate is priceless!!
Wow, what a selfless act of love to work so hard and give them all away.