Gracie Arrives

'Variety is the spice of life'. This familiar adage aptly describes Gracie, the newest addition to the SLD Puppy Club. Three-month-old Gracie is golden retriever, poodle and border collie all wrapped up in one energetic, bold puppy. With bushy eyebrows starting to develop and whiskers sprouting on her chin, the name ‘Gracie’ seems a bit of a misnomer for this cream-coloured, very busy puppy.

When not playing with one of her giant, stuffed animals or enthusiastically doing her training exercises, Gracie is getting a good dose of socialisation with second-time raisers, Tony and Viv. She’s ridden on the Earnslaw Vintage Steamship where she was admired non-stop by the tourists. She’s recently been to Probus and the Historical Society annual luncheon where she shook numerous hands. She’s been to coffee shops, restaurants, the supermarket, and perhaps her most exciting outing was riding the Queenstown Gondola to the Skyline Complex.


Tony meets Gracie at Queenstown Airport

Already this smart whiz-kid puppy is getting straight 'A's in: shake, sit, down, roll, stay, wait, tug, lap, off, and she comes (like a speeding bullet) to a whistle recall and speaks (one time!) on command. Tony and Gracie are currently working on walking at heel and retrieving. Go Gracie!

Fundraising Bucket Rattle

Our annual street appeal at the entrance of the Frankton New World proved once again to be successful as shoppers dug deep in their pockets to make a donation. The three SLD puppies and their raisers took shifts to raise funds and tell people about Mobility Dogs.

Sincere thanks to our wonderful raisers, Tony and Viv and Heather and Steve, for their time and dedication, and thank you to the people of the Southern Lakes District for helping get trained mobility dogs to the people who need them.

  
Southern Lakes District Puppy-Raisers @ October 2009

David’s Blog

When David and Emmit were matched, we asked David if he would like to blog his experiences and feelings during team training so that people could follow along as he and Emmit began their journey together. For an informative and heart-warming read, go to David’s Team Training Blog.

Keeping Frita looking her very best

Thank you to Barbara Rogers of K9 & Feline by Design for donating her grooming services to maintain Frita’s neat, poodle puppy cut. Barbara generously offers her services free of charge to service dogs in the district.

  
"I do like to take a little time out from training for a manicure"

Happiness is…
…having the first puppy you’ve raised successfully placed and working
…watching Gracie, with gleeful abandon, demonstrate her tasks
 …the welcome arrival of spring in its full regalia of blossoming fruit trees and flowers

 
 Frita and Gracie share resources practising their tug command!

Judy and Grant Puppy-raisers, Puppy Development Liaison
Arrowtown, Southern Lakes District
New Zealand 

Posted: Fri 02 Oct 2009

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