Well, actually Dozer will be leaving us about 6 to 7 mos sooner than I thought. He turns a year on Jan. 13, 2019 and is tentatively scheduled to go up to the New York facility for his IFT (In For Training Test) in either May or June 2019. I thought we would have him until then.
But, there have been some moving pieces in our region and we have become part of them. Jeter (who we sat for a couple of days) went for his IFT and "was a rock star"! That was pretty expected because Holly, his raiser, is very experienced. Holly was scheduled to get another puppy in late December, but due to certain parameters she had, she could not take a young, new puppy. She needed to take a pup who was a bit older and would be due for his IFT by late July/early Aug at the latest.
So, Cameron and his Mom Erika (another experienced raiser) were starting Paco for Holly (Paco is the little yellow lab next to me and Dozer in the photo with Cameron). Cameron is only about 15 and this was a new commitment to him. He apparently become so attached to Paco and the process that he wanted to see Paco all the way to his IFT. This was approved by the region, but left Holly, an experienced raiser, without a pup for over a year and meant that we (as a region) would not be raising as many pups as we potentially could.
So they began to look around and see if they could find a puppy who would fit in the right age range for Holly to take and Dozer was about the only choice -- he was kind of "off litter" as most of the pups we are in class with are either 3 to 4 mos older or 3 to 4 mos younger. I was asked if I would agree to transfer Dozer and they made it clear that there was no pressure to do so. But I agreed to it because: (1) I had been around Jeter and saw how exceptionally well trained he was; (2) I know that Dozer is a REALLY smart boy who learns quickly; and (3) I feel that Holly will be able to bring out all of Dozer's potential so that he will be a rock star for his IFT and maybe have a leg up at Guide College. I really think he could be an exceptional guide dog and I want him to have every advantage. It also allows our region to maximize the number of dogs in training. I know that sounds strange, but a lot of GEB clients have to wait 2 and 3 years for a dog, so the need is great.
So Dozer will leave us about Christmas and I will get about a three month old puppy (I already know the litter and a "reservation" for a pup exists for me!). It will also be an advantage for me as there will now be a new group of young puppies (3 to 4) and we will have our own class for about 3 months. We will go over all the 12 week program materials that I somewhat missed out on, so it is a great chance for me to really learn everything from the ground up.
I will be able to follow Dozer's progress and will be invited to New York to watch his IFT if I want and also invited to his ultimate graduation ceremony when he is matched with his final person and they graduate, so I still get to be part of his progress, just from a distance. But for now we continue on.
Our next big outing is to the U.S. Capitol on Nov 30 with a group of 15 to 20 puppies of all ages. We will go through security and take a tour. The Capitol Visitor Center is being very helpful in setting this all up and we are all excited. So look for more pics in a few weeks.
