Puppy number three was born on August 28th 2004 to parents Finesse(left) and Norman(right). There were 8 live puppies in the litter: Yani, Yorktown, Yarmouth, Yvonne, Yaltsiin, Yanda, Yolette, and Yellsea. I found out that I was on the list for this litter on September 20th. On September 25th I started to get emails from a team member, who was on a list with Finesse's foster, with information on the litter. Finesse's foster did home litter care so I was able to get updates and pictures of the puppies. I found out that there were three black and tans (b&t) in the litter. I secretly hoped to get one of those puppies and started to research mismarked labs-click articles and then mismarked. I found it fascinating to see color genetics and really liked the Mosaic effect that labs can sometimes have. Six of the puppies passed into training although it took 2(!) extra tests for one of the pups. Only a few days after the Wren left I was back at the gas station were she left waiting on the van bringing my new Y puppy. I was super excited when I saw the van pull into the parking lot. I was the first one there so the drive opened up the back so I could see the puppies. There were three puppies in the kennel. They were all very cute. I was very excited to find out that I did get one of the B&Ts and already know what her name was. I had gotten Yellsea. My AC showed up as well as the AC for the region were the two other puppies were going ( two black males named Vic and Valdez). I got Yellsea out of the kennel and quickly took her over to GB will the others tried to figure out which puppy was Vic and which was Valdez. After they got sorted I had puppy placement with my AC at her work just down the street. We did a little bit of work but Yells had so much pent up energy from riding on the van we decided to give her a break from working and go upstairs and take pictures for our region Christmas card. Yellsea was very photogenic. We ended up doing lots of pictures with her. Since it was close to Thanksgiving and Christmas we had a dog family photo shoot with the pumpkins and a photo shoot with her and my boyfriend. Below are my favorites from the fall and the Christmas card photo.
Yellsea's biggest problem as a puppy was that she would pee. When I say pee I mean that she would go on the floor or in her crate approximately 2 minutes after we came in from outside. The most frustrating thing about it was that she would give no warning signals and if she went in her kennel she would just lay in it. It was pretty much like she did not even know that she was doing it as I caught her once peeing and laying down. We had many tests done to make sure that she did not have a UTI or any other medical explanation for her problem which all came back negative. Other then this she was a great little puppy and I was happy when she just seemed to one day out grow her pee problem at about 6 moths old. Raising Yellsea was a great experience. It brought me a lot closer to the puppy raising program. I was able to keep in touch not only with Finesse's foster but also got periodic updates from Yarmouth, Yorktown and Yolette(photos in order).
It was great to be able to talk to litter mates and see the progress of each of them and compare and contrast as well as get ideas on how to conquer different behaviors. I was also a part of a yahoo puppy raisers list and met Sarah, Jamie, and many other raisers and graduates. With Yellsea I began to come out of my shell more. I know that with every puppy you get stoped and asked questions about the dog and the program but with Yellsea these questions were multiplied by 3 at least and she doesn't even have the most noticeable B&T markings! I started becoming more active in my region. Faith and I ran the periodic puppy class to give my AC a chance to work her own dog for a change and we began helping out at Evals. Faith and I were invited to go to GEB and work at Eye Clinic (I will have a post to explain this ASAP!). April brought the sadness of Wren being released from training but when she came home she immediately fell in love with Yellsea and they were inseparable. They would even go into the same kennel when told to kennel! In May we traveled down to GEB with my AC and 2 team member to work with the broods and studs for the weekend. It was awesome. I got to meet the Director of the Canine Development Center (CDC-Yes I know what else CDC is short for and I didn't name it) and the Director of Breeding and placement. I also got to meet Sarah in person as she also volunteered to help at Eye Clinic and I got to meet Miss Finesse and her Foster. What an awesome experience to see how thing work not only outside of the region but outside of the puppy raising program its self. Not long after we got back one of my favorite lady's had Yellsea on a home switch in May of 05 and I had her BEAUTIFUL golden retriever Taffy. Everything was great until the day before we were supposed to switch back. I got a horrible phone call from my AC saying that Roberta was killed in a car accident and she had a dog in the car with her at the time. I was devastated. I sat with Taffy in my lap and cried for hours. My boyfriend and my friend tried to get me to tell them what happened, as I was at my boyfriends house when I got the call but I could speak. Roberta was a mentor for me AND she had my puppy. It took a while for them to figure out which dog was in the car with her when she was killed but it was finally determined that it was her dog Lincoln. I was very relieved to get my dog back but I was very worried about what would happen to her Taffy. My AC finished Taffy. She was released at IFt and was adopted by Roberta's daugher.
My grandfather also died in May. Yellsea went with my family and my boyfriend up to Syracuse to be with my grandmother for a few days and for the funeral. She was excellent with all the people and worked well for both my boyfriend and I. June started the 4-H dog show circuit. I kept my fingers crossed the whole time that she would not come into heat and she didn't. Yellsea and I participated in 5 dogs shows and she got a 100 in each show. August we got the opportunity to meet up with Finesse and her foster in Delhi. We worked around the school and then went out to dinner. The next day I was scheduled to work at a baseball game in Rochester. It just happened to be Yellsea's 1st birthday and she got to see her brother Yorktown.
At State Fair, I got to know another young GEB raiser from the Central NY region who was raising her first puppy Osaka. Yellsea and Osaka participated in the dog show. They did well. Yellsea and Osaka also spent lots of time hanging out with Wren in the cynology booth that we run for the full 2 week fair. August also brought on Yellsea's first birthday and Wren's 2nd.
On Thursday I got a call from my AC saying that Yellsea's leaving date was changed again and that she would be going with my friend and her mother with Osaka on Sunday as they wanted to watch his IFT. Well needless to say stress induces heat and since Yellsea still hadn't had her first heat she of course picked this time to come in. She went in to heat on Friday night. I immediately called my AC as she would be traveling down to GEB in a personal vehicle with a male dog I was a bit worried but it all worked out. They would put her in a kennel in the back of the vehicle. My mom and I traveled up to Syracuse on Saturday and put her in the truck on Sunday morning.
True to my tradition we went out for breakfast afterwards. I was lucky that Finesse's foster went to the training school and got to watch her grand puppy pass her IFT. She even sent me a picture of my "bulls-eye butt" after the event. 
Yellsea was on breed watch but after looking at the siblings she was put into training after her IFT on January 10th. I was slightly disappointed. She did not do too much training in January or the beginning of February as she was in heat. I looked forward to getting kennel reports and had heard about them sending some raisers pictures of their puppies working or a DVD of them working. I hadn't received one for either of the others but got both pictures and a DVD of Yellsea.
I was really surprised when I got the letter that Yellsea would be graduating in May! I found out on really short notice as she was a substitute dog for one that did not match earlier in training. I found a puppy sitter for my PIT and made arrangements to go spend the night with Finesse and her foster. That was really cool as Finesse had had puppies and her foster was doing home litter care. I got to play with little Irie, Irwin, Izzie, and Ina when I got there that night and was able to help with chores on Saturday morning.
After chores I got ready to go to GEB. I was so nervous I could hardly eat my lunch at McDonald's. Was she going to remember me? Would her graduate want to keep in touch? So many questions. We got to the training school and found our designated seats. I watched as the new guides filed in. They all looked so mature! There was another B&T graduating. He was gorgeous! Then finally came Yellsea. She had filled out a bit since I had seen her last and she worked very well laying down at her graduates feet. I felt so proud!! During the ceremony there is a point were the puppy raisers are acknowledged for their hard work. The raisers of the dogs were called up one by one and ou had to walk right past the graduates and the dogs to get your certificate. When I was called I walked up and tried my hardest to ignore Yellsea as I walked by. When I got back to my seat my mom told me that Yellsea had perked up and had watched me go get my certificate and walk back to my seat. She Remembered Me!! After the ceremony we are allowed to greet the graduate and talk for a few minuted before getting pictures and being free to talk or do a tour.I waited patiently as Yellseas harness was removed and I was allowed to say hello. My heart melted. What a great time. We moved out into the sitting area and her graduate gave me a huge hug. She told me how nervous she was to meet me and how happy she was with "Sassy-Pants". I was so happy. They were a perfect match. She was thrilled that I showed up and Yellsea worked great even though I was there. We got our photos taken and decided to go on the tour of the kennels. Kate showed us down to her room...I got to watch Yellsea work! Yellsea was left on a tie-down and we went to the kennels. It was a great tour as I had never been to the training school before. We stopped and petted all the dogs in training and took pictures of those I knew. After the tour we went back to the graduation room and I got to take pictures with Yellsea. All too soon it was time to say good-bye. Yellsea's graduate gave me her email and home address so that I could contact her and she already had my info. With a happy and heavy heart we went back to the kennels to pick up a released dog to bring back to her raisers. Carrie- an IA and a friend of mine- brought her out and off we went. We met up with Gabrielle's raisers.
What a cool experience. She was going home just when she was needed as one of her raisers was recovering and needed her to be at home. While there I found out their AC was raising the brother to my PIT. Cool! It was late decided to stay in Syracuse over night instead of driving home. We went to KFC for dinner and bought a cake. We surprised my Nanny by showing up at her house. It was a great birthday!
UPDATE:
Yellsea was returned to the training school in August. It was not her fault and they were sure that she would be matched again soon. Her training reports were sketchy. She was having some pull issues and would also veer to the left. She was bounced from trainer to trainer as they could not find a match for her. Her reports continued to sound hopeful but reading between the lines she needed some work. Yellsea's buddy Brian changed his career multiple times: from a guide back to GEB training to Canada guide back to GEB and finally retired. We swear that Yellsea and Brian-s talked about how to make their raiser impatient and draw out their stay as long as possible. Only about 2 weeks after Brian was retired, March 8th I got the phone call that Yellsea had chosen the same option. She was just tired of it and who could blame her. She had been in training for a year. I was heart broken. My AC had already know that I would not be taking her back but she offered again. I wavered on the idea of taking her back. It was a really difficult decision but I knew that it would not be fair to her to take her back. If circumstanced had been different I would have taken her in a heart beat. I called Faith to tell her the news and found out more horrible news to add to the bad day. My GSD buddy Dave-s (second puppy raised by Faith) had died that day. I couldn't believe it! He was only 3 - the same age and best buddy to Wren. it was devastating. Well when Yellsea was retired they were looking at another career for her and thought that the National Service Dogs in Canada would be cool. I, of course researched it. What an awesome place. It is for children with autism so that they have a buddy and can lead relitavely normal lives. She would be perfect for that I thought. She loved kids and was a patient dog. Well I got news a few weeks later that that option did not work out and she had been adopted. I could not be more pleased with her new family. They are keeping in touch with me and she has a little boy to play with. What could be more perfect! They all look very happy!Yellsea is truely the one I named my blog after. It was deffinately a rollercoster rider with her. Frustration, joy, sadness elation and many may other emotions in between. I wouldnt give the experience up for the world. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. 
2 comments:
What a great post! Yay for all the Irie mentions ;) I'm glad everything worked out for her and can't wait to see you tomorrow!
Yay for a post!!!WAHOO!!!
Anyways what an adventure!1 I'll bet you'll never forget that year!!
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