It's the Size of the Heart, Not the Body

Special Note: Don't miss the Breyer Second Chance sale today at 1:00 Eastern Time! It's for those who had VIP, All-Access, and Online tickets to this year's BreyerFest.

Ticket holders can purchase up to two Special Runs along with special, BreyerFest only, tee shirts, a mug, and other things.

I am looking for the crystal, Fortitude, so you can bet I have got my alarm set.

----

There are three Guide Dogs, all Labrador Retrievers, in this photo (and one something-doodle. Look closely.) All three who are trained to do the same thing, all who performed well and made differences in their partners' lives. And all very different size-wise. 

Pepper is quite petite for a Lab and is on the couch next to Marianne. Nacho is the yellow Lab on the bottom right. He is retired and lives with Marianne and Bill, Kathy's parents. Nacho is a medium sized Lab.

By Marianne's feet is Tate, Kathy's current Guide. And he is absolutely enormous.

Just look at that massive head!

Pepper and Tate nose to nose.

Kathy and Tate when they were first paired together.

Kathy and Nacho when he was her guide. He is brilliant and to watch him in action was, at times, jaw dropping. There were times Kathy had no idea what challenge he had guided her around or through until someone who had seen it happen told her.

Kathy, Nacho, and I being interviewed by Korean radio station eBUSAN-FM. Culturally, blind people and others with disabilities are not considered as someone who can contribute much to Korean society. 

Interested in exploring that and maybe even changing that perception, the radio station was doing a series investigating how other cultures treated their disabled. They had flown two reporters to the USA to interview Kathy about being a teacher who was blind. I was invited to offer my perspective as her colleague.

Nacho, of course, did his usual exceptional job of getting Kathy there for the interview. He made a striking impression on the interviewers as to what a Guide could and would do in facilitating a blind person's abilities and empowering them for the work force.

Originally this blog post was going to be a humorous look at the size difference between the three dogs. But as I wrote, I was struck again at how much these three dogs, regardless of their physical size, have contributed - both to the person they were partnered with and to those that their partner impacted in turn.

In Kathy's case, it was hundreds of high school students early in her career, and then later it has been as she oversees, instructs, and mentors 75 - 100 new teachers annually. Both Nacho and Tate facilitated that along with Elias and several other Guides before them.

Kathy and Elias at the White House after meeting with President Obama (and Bo, who shared his water bowl with Elias.)

For Pepper, she enabled Sarah to get her doctorate in divinity and become a minister, then guided her as she ministered to her congregation at her church. 

Pepper meeting Sarah's mother, Cindy for the first time. 

More than once Pepper has gotten all "guide-doggy" with me. "The smoke alarm is ringing; get out of the house!" "There is a car coming and you are too slow to beat it across the street so I am going to stand in front of you so you can't move forward. There, it's passed by us. You may cross the street, Lynn."

Clearly, the size of the Guide doesn't matter - it's the heart they have and how much they love and want to protect their partner from harm.

Guide dogs' hearts are huge. They make a difference in many, many ways. How lucky our society is to have them out and about, making life better. And not just for their partner, but for us all.

As Kathy once said, "Two (feet) + Four (paws) = 1 (heart.)

How right she was.

A Mini Pepper!

 Many of you know that my dog Pepper is a retired Seeing Eye Dog.

Pepper in harness guiding Sarah on campus for graduation in 2019.

Pepper loves retirement.

She REALLY does.

Does this look like a dog who knows how to take you safely around downtown New York City, threading you through crowds and around obstacles, and so forth? She may not look like it, but she can! (And has.)

Her training does surface occasionally, though. Last  month she "traffic checked" me while we were out walking. Traffic checking is a part of intelligent disobedience where the dog makes a decision to disregard your command due to safety issues that she can see and that you (presumably) cannot. I had started to cross the street knowing that a car was approaching but confident that we had time to cross. Pepper disagreed and stepped in front of me so that she was blocking my way forward. (Good girl, Pepper!)

Aside from those Seeing Eye behaviors that happen every now and then, I don't think about Pepper's former life much any more. A little while back, though, I got a little reminder in the mail from Shannon Rodgers.

A mini Pepper! A teeny tiny black Lab in working harness!

The grip handle that the dog's partner holds while they are working together even moves forward and back, just as a real one does!

Thank you, Shannon, for the gift! That was so thoughtful of you and I keep it right here next to me in my horse room.

(I'm up to three black Labs in my collection, but not to worry - I do not collect dogs any more than I collect Stablemates...)

Now We are Three

We have a new family member, and it's NOT a new grandbaby. Meet Pepper!

 Pepper is a three year old black Lab. She is also a very special girl - a Seeing Eye Guide Dog!

She joined her handler, Sarah, a little over a year ago and has been guiding Sarah around her activities as a doctoral student and pastor in a town two hours away from us.

Me, Sarah, Craig, and Sarah's husband Kevin (who is also visually impaired) circling Pepper for a group hug and photo.

Two weeks ago, Pepper suddenly became very ill and had to be hospitalized. It turned out that she has an autoimmune disease that is very rare in dogs.  Sadly, she would not be healthy enough to guide Sarah every day.

As you might imagine, Sarah was absolutely devastated by the news that Pepper needed to retire immediately. And, even sadder, Sarah was not able to keep her as a pet. My friend, Kathy Nimmer, who is also blind as well as a friend of Sarah's, heard about the situation via social media. She thought that we would give Pepper a good home and, after running the idea past Craig and me, contacted Sarah and shared a little about us, suggesting that Sarah might consider letting us adopt Pepper.

Kathy, her guide dog, Nacho, and me heading out for some fun.

There were four placements that Sarah was considering for Pepper's retirement home, and we were the lucky ones that she chose. To be sure we were a good fit for Pepper (and vice versa), Saturday we drove over to meet Pepper and Sarah. It seemed to be the proverbial match made in heaven,  and we picked her up yesterday and brought her to her new home.

 We are in love with her! She is very dignified when she is working, but take off that working harness and she becomes a great big puppy.

 With a healthy appetite.  

Like any typical Lab, food, balls,

 and people are her main loves in life.

 Pepper is settling in well so far.

She seems particularly fond of Craig and he returns that love. 

Our daughter, Lisa, dropped by to meet Pepper and discovered that Pepper is so strong,

 she can pull a human being across the floor! (And win the rope toy at the same time!)

We love our new family member. And, instead of two retirees hanging around the house, now we are three!

Elias - A Life of Service

I love horses. Having said that, were I asked to choose only one animal to have in my life,  I would choose a dog. Why? Because you live with your dog and have a relationship in ways that you do not with a horse.

One of my dogs was Zeus, a service dog. Used to sniff out narcotics by the police, he had to be retired due to hip dysplasia at age five. We were the lucky ones chosen to be his retirement home.

But this blog entry isn't about Zeus; it's about Elias, a retired guide dog belonging to my friend, Kathy. I have written about her before. She is an amazing teacher with many accolades for her teaching. She has a been a blogger on The Huffington Post, authored two books, and travels the country as a motivational speaker with her faithful guide dog, Nacho, navigating obstacles for her.

Before Nacho, Kathy's guide dog was a yellow Lab named Elias.

 Kathy and Elias, the moment she was told she was Indiana's Teacher of the Year for 2015.

2015 was a heady year for the pair. As Indiana's Teacher of the Year, she traveled throughout the state for speaking engagements, dinners, and seminars. Elias went with her, guiding her through countless unfamiliar places and waiting patiently by her side as she spoke or taught.

Chip Reid interviewed her for the CBS Evening News, Elias right by her side. Go here to watch the interview. She was then selected as one of four candidates for National Teacher of the Year!

Kathy and Elias were invited to the White House where they met President Obama who was charmed by Elias and didn't mind when he needed a bathroom break and the White House lawn was the only place available!

Bo Obama even shared his personal water bowl with Elias!

You may have noticed the grey on his muzzle in these photos. Elias was nine at the time and needed to be retired just after Kathy went to the White House. Her parents, who live a few blocks from Kathy, took him in as they had done with her previous two guide dogs, and Kathy began working with Nacho.

Kathy speaking at Sheridan High School in August with Nacho using her as a pillow.

Elias was happy in his retirement, and Kathy saw him nearly every day. When Nacho would be done working, she often would take him over there to play with Elias and enjoy just being a dog. (Work-Nacho is very dignified, focused, and quiet; Play-Nacho is hilariously goofy and playful.)

Elias passed away yesterday at almost age 13. Kathy texted me the night before saying that he was doing poorly and the time to let him go was close. Just as he had spent his life being there for her, she was there with him until the very end, shepherding him to the next life where he will be waiting to be reunited with her.

I learned from Zeus just how much good a service dog can do, but I never needed Zeus for his service or to guide me. I can only imagine how close you would become to a dog whom you relied on daily for help in accomplishing the myriad things on your plate. What an incredible wrench to your heart to say good-bye.

Rest in peace, Elias. You deserve all the doggy treats, tennis balls, and grassy meadows there are in heaven. And thank you so much for your service to my dear friend, Kathy. You truly blessed her life, and the lives of those she touched with your aid.