Introductions!

First day with Newport

Newport at the College Library

Newport in Yosemite

Newport and I in History class

Newports first night home as a Career Change!

Newport at a race

Since I haven't really introduced my dogs, both pet and GDB dogs, I decided to (try) and do one dog a day. So, over the next 5 days, you'll get to meet all my pups! Today, I have decided to introduce my first GDB puppy, Newport. Newport is a male black lab born on July 14th, 2010. His parents are Jenkins and Molly. His siblings are Nisha, Niles, Nicolet, and Nicolina. I picked him up at GDB on October 13th, 2010. He was a HUGE puppy, and they had to walk him in, as opposed to carrying him. He had a super cute cone head, and very sad puppy eyes. I loved him even before I got him home. His first night went great. He barked for about 10 minutes, then fell asleep and slept all night. After 2 weeks had passed, I noticed that Newport was not having solid poop...and that he was pooping up to 8 times a day. We took him to the vet and discovered that he had Giarrdia. He had it until he was about 8 months old. Regardless, he was a joy to take places. He was always super calm and could settle and go to sleep anywhere. He started going to College with me at 5 months old, and he was always a perfect "student". At 9 months old, it was clear that Newport was having relieving issues. He was having more accidents on walks, and in stores. He was also proving to be a "soft" puppy. That is, he would get stressed or feel unsure in some situations. So, he was sent to a very experienced raiser in another club a few hours from me. He was gone for 2 months, and although it was very hard to be away from him, I got to puppysit a lot of other dogs in our club! Hermes, Luigi, Cayenne, (who are ALL Guide Dogs now!!) and Gaston ( In Formal Training in Oregon) were the dogs I puppysat, and I loved them all :) I got him back the day before his 11 month Bday, and he was so huge! He had done a lot of growing and maturing while he was gone. Up until his recall, Newport was an angel. He was one of those dogs you could take anywhere and not worry about them acting up. He was recalled on December 17th, 2011, just shy of his 18 month birth date. Giving him back was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But, I did get to pick up puppy #2 the same day which helped a lot. 5 days later, my leader called me to tell me that Newport had been Career Changed. He had Bilateral Cataracts in both eyes, though they don't think they'll affect his vision at all. We chose to adopt him, and he is now our forever boy and mentor to future puppies. He will be getting certified as a Therapy Dog in May! But right now, Newport is enjoying his life as a pet :)