Raising miracles one puppy at a time.....

Getting back on track

2009-08-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

Emily and Debit at Lowes.

Ledger and Debit

Debit, Audit, Ledger

Audit, Debit, Ledger

What a busy summer we have had!! My computer was gone for about three weeks for repair, but is now back and I can get back on a regular blogging schedule. I am now 20 weeks pregnant, HALF WAY!!!! I am feeling great and have all my energy back, which is a great thing because we are moving. We close on our new house next week and are super excited.

Debit and Ledger are doing great. They have grown so much and are really turning into handsome dogs. Their brother, Audit came to spend a week with us while his raiser went out of town. I have posted a picture of the three brothers. They were very well behaved while all together and definitely had a great time playing. We have been taking Emily to Lowe's every other weekend to do a building project and one of the boys gets to go each time. Generally there are about 50 kids and their parents hammering away while trying to complete the project. I have been super impressed with both dogs at these events

This past weekend NHSD hosted a training event at Stetson University, there were over 30 dogs and raisers in attendance. It is nice to speak with other raisers and meet other dogs in all stages of training. I will post pictures from the event this week. After the training we all headed to a local restaurant for lunch.

I hope this post finds everyone well and avoiding the heat of the summer :)

Summer Days

2009-07-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

We have really been enjoying summer to the max. Emily and I just got back from a weekend at Disney and had a great time. We try and get outside as early as possible to play and do yard work, the heat has really been killing me. I shot these pictures the other day of Emily playing chalk with Ledger, I thought they were pretty cute. He is such a tolerant boy.

Debit made his first purchase this week at Bealls. He bought a pair of shoes and he did so well. We need to practice "up" a little more as he thought I was asking him to "jump on", it was pretty funny. I don't think Ledger is quite ready to make any purchases, but I am sure he will in his own time. Their personalities are so different, Debit is all business once the cape goes on and does not miss a beat. Ledger is very laid back and needs alot of motivation to complete tasks, but he is by far better in the house manners department. I am sure it will even out over time and both will be GREAT.

Debit, Ledger

Education

2009-07-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

I find that one of the biggest aspects of being a puppy raiser is Community Education. I do not mind taking an extra five minutes out of my day to share information with any one who asks or may question my dog. I recently came across the blog of Lani, a service dog user. http://www.disabilitynews.org She is currently chronicling the hardship she went through to have blood drawn at Quest Diagnostics. I cannot imagine what it must of felt like to have something like this happen to you and I hope that through community education we can prevent it from happening to someone else.

The Mascot Games

2009-07-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to Stetson University for the Mascot Games. There were over 30+ mascots from all over the country participating in the event. We had a ton of fun. Our seats were in the first row and enabled Emily a ton of interaction with the mascots. Ledger attended and did pretty well considering all the craziness going on around him. He met a bunch of different mascots and got lots of practice with crowds. I can't wait til next year so we can go again :)

Great Article

2009-07-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Christopher and Dana Reeve foundation just published an article on service dogs and NHSD.
Check it out!
http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.mtKZKgMWKwG/b.5283025/k.6854/Service_Dogs_to_the_Rescue.htm

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! I was totally impressed by my boys, the fireworks did not phase them at all. My brother got a new yellow lab puppy this weekend and Ledger got to visit with her, he was very gentle with her.

I have been teaching swim lessons the past couple of weeks, it has been great practice for the boys especially when Emily is in the pool taking her lesson. Both, Debit and Ledger are very protective of Emily and become very concerned when she is in the water so staying in the down stay position is rather trying.

Well, heres to a great week!!!

Excuses and Big News

2009-06-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

I realize that I have been a total slacker in the blogging department, I have a good excuse but none the less I am sorry. The boys are doing great, as you can see they have moved into bigger jackets, the second and third picture are of Debit and the last two are of Ledger. The summer really has been crazy so far......Emily started swim lessons, we put an offer in on a house and it actually got accepted and is moving forward, and I recently found out I am pregnant. We are super thrilled to be expecting our second child the end of January. This pregnancy has been completely different from my first, I have been so sick and completely exhausted which really isn't very easy to explain to a two year old and two puppies. I have every intention of getting back into the swing of blogging, but please bear with me for a couple more weeks and I am sure I will be back to my energetic, smiling self. On another note, it has been ridiculously hot here, so hot that I haven't been taking the boys to swim lessons with Emily. I can't bear the idea of them sitting in the sun for 45 minutes with a fur coat in the blazing heat. OK, I am done whining! Have a great week!!!!

Welcome Orlando Sentinel Readers

2009-06-10T10:35:00.001-07:00

If you found my blog from Daphne Sashin's post on Animal Crazy......Welcome. I hope you enjoy our pictures and stories. If you have any questions about puppy raising, getting involved with New Horizons, or service dogs in general please feel free to email me.

A day at the park

2009-06-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

We love going to the park and I was able to get some great pictures yesterday. Emily and Ledger are constant entertainment going on the slides, through tunnels, and on swings. I hope everyone is having a great week!!

Puppy Class

2009-05-31T05:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being such a slacker in the posting department, it has been a crazy two weeks. Team Training is complete and seven dogs were placed, it was awesome!

So, every Sunday we attend puppy class and I actually took some pictures last weekend. Ledger and Debit's sister is in our class along with a new little girl named Maple, she is nine weeks old. Last week we worked on retrieving items and have been working on placement commands a bunch. (heel, side, front, behind)

After class was over we played with Ledger and Debit on the agility equipment, they had a blast. I thought for sure they would question the big A-frame, but both of them just went up and over...no questions asked. Such good boys! Well, we are off to puppy class this morning. I will post tonight with the rest of team training pictures.

Treasury, Ledger, and Debit

Debit on the A frame

Treasury

Maple

What a week!

2009-05-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Even though I have not spent much time with my dogs this week, I have had an amazing week. Eight people traveled to Deland, Fl to begin their team training journey this week and I have had the pleasure of participating with them. Each person has been such an inspiration in my puppy raising......... an affirmation of what my family and I am doing. I have been photographing everyone along the way and here are a couple of quick shots.

Chris and I took the boys on the field trip with the group today. Debit and Ledger are growing quickly and learning even more rapidly. They are the best!

A whopping 38lbs and 5 months old :)

Sometimes.......

2009-05-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

I just wanna pull my hair out and then I look at those cute, loving eyes and the hair pulling moment passes. Case in point:

The Weekend

2009-05-06T05:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had the pleasure of taking Debit and Ledger to SeaWorld. Jack Hanna and his wife Suzi were kind enough to give us media passes so we could enjoy the show Jack was performing there. Debit and Ledger really did a good job, the crowds were no problem at all for them. They got to experience a bunch of new things, including meeting a giant ant eater and riding on moving conveyor belts. We also were able to go behind the scenes at the Shamu show, it was amazing to see the killer whales so close. The trainers loved the boys and welcomed them back anytime. Saturday was really a great experience and I hope we can do it again soon.

The Salty Dog Benefit

2009-04-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Chris and I attended the Salty Dog Benefit for New Horizons on Tuesday night in Palm Beach. This was the fourth year for the benefit that provides much needed funds for the program. Did you know that it costs approximately $20,000 to breed, raise and train a service dog? I was impressed by the number of people in attendance and their generosity. The co-chairs and committee did a great job.

Jack Hanna was there and was a great sport about taking a photo with Debit and Ledger. I also met his wife Suzi, whom was very down to earth and genuine.

Debit and Ledger were very well behaved and of course, the talk of the party!

Ledger and Debit at the nights end.

Saturday

2009-04-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a busy day for Ledger and Debit. We headed to a birthday party for my cousin who was turning 7. The party was at Pump it Up, (a facility full of the jumpy inflatables) which provided lots of distraction for the boys. We have been practicing "stay" a bunch this week and they have been progressing quite well, so this was a good test.

Saturday night we went to a fundraiser at the Eagles club which benefited New Horizons. There were also three new puppies and Cypress attending. The dogs were a hit and hopefully helped raise some money with their adorable faces.

Here is a picture of Ledger and Debit exhausted after making the rounds at the fundraiser.

Birthday party at Pump it Up, practicing "stay".

Week in review

2009-04-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

Debit has been going to work with Chris at Stetson the past couple weeks. He has been doing very well and enjoying all the friendly faces at work. When I went to lunch at Stetson on Friday I was able to get a shot of Debit in Chris' office and in the "cub" at lunch.

On Friday I was at New Horizons with Ledger and took this picture of him with his Dad, Cypress. Cypress is New Horizons' Executive Director's service dog.

Earlier in the week I decided to buy the boys a pool in hopes to keep them out of our pond in the backyard. They have been thoroughly enjoying the pool, as it has been in the high 80's this week in Florida.

Last night Chris and I took the boys to a fundraiser at the Eagles club in Port Orange. Debit and Ledger were great ambassadors for the program and received lots of attention. I will post pictures later today of the fundraiser and birthday party they attended earlier in the day. Have a great day!

New Puppies

2009-04-24T10:48:00.001-07:00

There are currently four litters of puppies at New Horizons. I was able to snap a couple pictures of the newest litter when they first arrived and then snapped one of them today, a week and a half later. Foxy, a golden retriever had 11 puppies!! Wow!

Only hours old, here are Foxy's new puppies born last wednesday.

Today, 1 1/2 weeks old

Go Gators!

2009-04-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we headed to Gainseville for the Orange and Blue game at the University of Florida. There were lots of new and interesting experiences for Ledger and Debit, including lots of people, stairs and loud noises. Dressed in thier puppy jackets and orange and blue the boys recieved lots of attention. Today we are headed to puppy class. Have a great Sunday!

Talk about cute!

2009-04-15T12:08:00.001-07:00

While at New Horizons today I shot some pictures of the current puppies. Let me know what picture is your favorite!

Happy Easter.

2009-04-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter celebration yesterday. Ledger and Debit did great going to several different family functions. I posted my favorite Easter pictures below. Emily and I tried to do an Easter bunny shoot on Saturday and you can see the success we had....oh well, it was fun.

On Friday we decided to take a family canoe trip and Ledger got to go. He sat in the front of the boat the whole time and did awesome. My expectations were low since we had a 13 week old puppy and a two year old, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I am going to be working on some fundraising this week for New Horizons, so that means lots of visits to new places for Ledger and Debit. Have a great week.

PS. Check out New Horizons Service Dogs on Facebook :)

High Hopes

2009-04-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

When we were at New Horizons this week Jerri, the trainer was showing us some tasks the advanced training dogs can do. I certainly have high hopes that Ledger will pick up these skills and be able to help someone achieve more independence in thier life.

Ledger started puppy obedience class over the weekend. He was awesome and very attentive. We also took his brother Cash to class and Chris worked with him. They both know sit very well and we were working on down in class. Here is a weekly picture of Ledger, he is so darn cute!
Cash and Ledger

The big dogs working. :)

Cash (Ledger's brother and formerly known as Debit) came over for the weekend. They certainly tired each other out.

Puppies!

2009-04-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

The two litters of puppies are growing quickly. These pictures are taken at about 4 weeks old. Enjoy!

Oh the fun!!!

2009-03-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ledger is 12 weeks old today! He is so very good and so darn cute. We made a trip to the bank yesterday and a quick grocery run. He is such a confident puppy, not much phases him at all. He loves playing with Emily and his new favorite thing is to slide down slides. Yes, he climbs up and goes down all on his own, it is quite entertaining.

Other than the rain, the Freedom Ride event was great. Ledger and Rosie were very well behaved and attracted lots of attention. We were able to talk to several families about the benefit of a service dog and the New Horizons program. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of the dogs and horses.

12 weeks and growing

2009-03-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Rosie is staying with us this weekend and she is awesome. She is so well behaved in the house and out in public. Of course when I got her home yesterday and opened up the back door her first stop was the pond. She jumped in before I could even think to stop her and she loved every minute of it. She will be attending Family day at Freedom Ride in Orlando tomorrow.

Ledger is almost 12 weeks old and we have had him for about a month. He is such a good puppy. Bailey and Ledger have finally bonded and you will often find Ledger laying by Bailey. He knows the command "sit" and is walking well on the leash. He got to go to wine night at my Grandmother's house this week and you can see how entertained he was.

New Experiences

2009-03-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend was full of lots of new experiences for Ledger and Thunder. We went to a children's expo on Saturday and got to meet the Geico gecko and the Chick-fil-a cow. Thunder was not to sure how to react to the children's train that passed by a couple times, he eventually got used to it. On Sunday we went to Lake Mary High School for the production of Annie. Midas (one of New Horizon's dogs in training) was "Sandy" and he did a great job. Chris and I brought Ledger and Thunder and set up a table to answer questions and promote New Horizons. Ledger and Thunder did great with all the people around.

Here are a couple pictures of the new litters of puppies at New Horizons. www.newhorizonsservicedogs.com

Leer Jet- Labrador

Journey's puppies- Golden Retrievers

Let me play!

2009-03-20T12:09:00.001-07:00

Thunder is back at our home and full of energy. He adores Emily and is constantly trying to get her to play with him. Ledger is happy to have him here, since Debit took a vacation to West Palm Beach. Thunder went to work for the morning with Chris today, he apparently did quite well. We will be taking Thunder and Ledger to Lake Mary High School on Sunday for a presentation of Annie. One of New Horizon's dogs is Sandy in the play, so we will be there to hand out literature and answer questions. Have a great weekend!

Black Labradors?!?

2009-03-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

As Emily and I were working in the vegetable garden yesterday I heard a big splash. Ledger and Debit had jumped in the pond and proceeded to get out and play in the dirt, they were terribly dirty! They both got hosed off and are as good as new. Gotta love the antics of puppies.

Ledger went on a quick grocery trip yesterday and Debit headed to Lowe's for some garden essentials. They both did very well. Enjoy the Black Labrador pictures!

Yay for the weekend!

2009-03-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

As I was making pancakes this morning for breakfast, I looked down and this is what I saw. I had to grab my camera, I think this is one of my favorite pictures that I have shot in a while. To me I see two innocent lives that when both grown are going to make a huge impact on their community. This picture portrays so much love and trust on both parts. I hope you enjoy this special moment between Emily and Ledger.

On to the past couple days.........

Thursday night Chris and I took Ledger and Debit to Target for a quick shopping trip. Chris and I felt like we were in a parade as people were coming out of the aisles and watching us try to pick out toilet paper. The puppies did great, they walked the whole way with out any naps or accidents. On Friday I got out the sprinkler and let the puppies and Emily play. This was Debit's first time playing in it and you can see how much he loved playing in the water and dirt in the pictures below.

We also got a crazy idea to load everyone up and head to see my family on Saturday. I took a picture of the back of the car minus Emily, it was an entertaining trip to Longwood to say the least. We had a super relaxing day today, enjoying the backyard and organizing around the house.

Tomorrow Thunder will get his stitches out and on Wednesday head back to New Horizons. He is a wonderful dog and we have definitley enjoyed having him around the house. We can't wait for his graduation!

Ledger tries to lend a hand gardening this afternoon.

Ready to go!

Dirty puppies.

A new visitor

2009-03-12T04:57:00.000-07:00

Last night Chris stopped by New Horizons and picked up Debit, Ledgers brother.

Debit is going to vacation at our house for a little bit. It has been a week since I saw Debit and he has definitely grown, he is actually a little bit bigger than Ledger. Ledger and Debit were thrilled to see each other and enjoyed playing last night and this morning. I kenneled them separately last night. Debit whined a bit in the beginning, but nothing unbearable we all got plenty of sleep. My biggest challenge is going to be trying to separate them so that they don't become too attached to each other.

Yesterday Ledger visited Home Depot and was awesome. He walked the entire time, except for one quick rest in the electrical department. Lets see what adventure we can get into today!

A very busy week.

2009-03-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we have had Ledger for a little over a week. It has been a crazy week full of birthday celebrations, looking at houses, and lots of outside time. Emily and I spend a ton of time outside every day and Ledger seems to be enjoying the outside fun. He always finds water and dirt, it is a great combo. Ledger has adjusted well and is such a mellow puppy.

Thunder came to join us this week after just having been neutered. I am not sure that the actual neutering is what calms them down or the sheer embarrassment of having to wear the "cone". Ledger loves Thunder and to my surprise Thunder is quite gentle with Ledger.

We put a contract on a house at the end of last week and today is the inspection, needless to say we are very excited. I took a bunch of pictures this week and a few are posted below. Enjoy!

Picking up our new puppy.

2009-03-03T05:38:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to pick up our new puppy. Emily was super excited to finally be bringing one home. The litter of puppies was named after Accounting terms and much to Emily's dismay we decided on "Ledger". She had been lobbying for Pinky Pie, the name of her favorite My Little Pony, but has since decided Ledger will do.

Ledger did awesome his first night home. He met Bailey and Kobe with no issues and did not even have an accident in the house. He went to his crate about 10pm and we didn't hear a word from him until 6am. As an even bigger surprise, he had a dry crate. Well, I am off to give him a bath.

Below are some pictures with his brother and from when we first got home. Have a great day!

Puppies!!!!

2009-02-27T10:18:00.001-08:00

4 1/2 weeks old

6 weeks old

Introductions

2009-02-27T09:19:00.000-08:00

For my first post I thought I would introduce the people and animals that will be discussed in future updates. Enjoy!

Bailey- 10 year old black lab mix that my husband rescued from the humane society. Loves to chase tennis balls and play in the water. Bailey is truly a great dog.

Emily- Our two year old daughter. Emily is amazing, fully of energy, and absolutely loves animals! She is a constant source of entertainment.

Chris- My husband of five years whom I adore. He is constantly providing support to my crazy ideas. He willingly went along with this one. :)

Me (Megan)- I love being a stay at home Mom and am so blessed to be raising our daughter. I love photography, animals, and helping others.

I am hoping to document the next eighteen months of puppy raising for New Horizon Service Dogs. http://www.newhorizonsservicedogs.com/ Next week will mark the arrival of our puppy that will eventually grow into a service dog that assists wheelchair bound individuals. We have been visiting the litter of golden retrievers regularly and are very excited about our new adventure.

2009-02-27T08:22:00.000-08:00