Merry Christmas!

From The Seeing Eye archive, a yellow Lab from a different era

No, this isn't Vinson in the photo. It is a Seeing Eye yellow Lab puppy, but he's sitting with a harness in front of a Radio Shack "Micro Computer" - the TRS-80 II, released in 1979. Can you believe that computer retailed for $3,500?

Vinson will have lots of new stories to share on here next week. He's been staying with friends while Sarah and I are traveling and some funny moments have already occurred.

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, have a wonderful holiday celebration with your family, friends and precious canine pals!

Put Your Arm Around a Friend

After having their dinner, Watson and Vinson settled into Watson's big dog bed together, each with their own Nylabone. Watson proceeded to put his arm around his little buddy!

Although Vinson's antics are often compared to those of "Marley", the new drywall in this photo is thankfully not related to puppy play!

A Very Big Day for Vinson

Ryan & Vinson posing with the new vest [photo: Jill Jaycox, Vinson's Area Coordinator]

This morning after successfully displaying proper behavior and obedience throughout various Morristown locations, Vinson has officially been "vested", and may now wear the official Seeing Eye puppy vest.

The vest represents that Vinson is continuing on the path to ultimately become a Seeing Eye dog. Any time we take Vinson to public events or local businesses who have approved his presence, Vinson will now wear the vest instead of the puppy bandana that the young ones wear.

Typically, vesting happens at around 6 months of age and is handled through your puppy club, issued by your area coordinator. Vinson was about two months behind on puppy club work due to his leg break back in the Spring, so his vesting was a bit delayed. But that takes nothing away from the fact that this is a very big moment on the puppy raising path; and we're super proud of him! Way to go, buddy!

The Greeter

Vinson sitting at the entrance to The Seeing Eye this afternoon

Vinson's dream job is to be the official Seeing Eye greeter at the reception desk. He takes advantage of any opportunity to meet new people, say hi to old friends and catch up with canine pals.

Today he was super excited to meet an incredible family from the Philadelphia area. The family's two sons put together what sounds like a very cool and complex haunted house each October; and this year they decided that they wanted to use the event to raise money for The Seeing Eye.

Their haunted house, and the cause, were a huge hit, and the boys raised nearly $500 for The Seeing Eye through the generous donations of their haunted house visitors.

Today, the family made the 2-hour drive to our campus, as they wanted to see the campus, meet some pups and present their hard-earned check in person. Of course, Vinson was thrilled to meet and play with the boys. Everyone had a great time!

Decking the Halls

Today, Seeing Eye staff gathered in the main lobby to trim the holiday tree and place their toys for those in need underneath it. Since this is Vinson's first tree experience I wanted to expose him to the various scents and decorations.

Vinson was very gentle with the tree, but he really had his eye on some of the stuffed toys beneath it! Still, he settled down well enough to "rest" without being held for this photo.

Vinson laying in front of The Seeing Eye's holiday tree and fireplace

Catching Up

Sorry Vinson hasn't shared much of his story in the past two weeks. Here's a quick catch-up:

• Vinson and Watson have become fast friends, and while Vinson still needs to be reminded to settle down when the big guy is finished playing, they are both loving each other.
• Since both Vinson and Watson travel to and from work with me, we had some new routines to develop. Watson stays in The Seeing Eye's staff dog housing building, so he needs to be dropped of there with all of his toys and accessories before Vinson and I head up to the office.
• Vinson enjoyed meeting the Orientation & Mobility students at The Seeing Eye last week.
• The late cold temperatures have really excited Vinson when we're outside - which is normal. Some of the leash biting and other "old" behaviors have returned slightly when the crisp air meets the pup's excitement.
• Vinson and Watson are both preparing for extended holiday vacations with friends and family. Vinson will be spending part of the holiday break with Pat and Garcia from The Seeing Eye; and Watson will be spending some time with his puppy raising family.

More to come...

Beginning to Look More Dog than Pup

Vinson continues to grow at a steady pace and has recently begun noticeably filling out. As much as he looks more like a dog than a puppy, when it comes to energy and attitude, he's still all puppy.

Here's a photo of Vinson laying in the morning sun on the path at The Seeing Eye this morning.

Enjoying the early morning sun, resting like a big boy

9-Month Birthday Weigh-In

Birthday weigh-in at 9 months of age: 52 pounds.

Happy 9 Months, Vinson!

Today Vinson is nine months old! He's had a great Thanksgiving weekend including an overnight guest, a female boxweiler (boxer-rotweiler mix). Vinson and Watson both loved the gentle nine-year-old, fawn-colored dog; but being the Vinson isn't fixed yet, he was a little over-excited about having a female in the house. Shortly after their greetings, all the pups happily cuddled together for a nap.

Happy birthday, buddy!

Another Positive Vet Visit

Vinson made a stop in at the Highlands Veterinary Clinic in Sparta tonight for his bordetella shot. Thanks to his broken leg at the young age of 8 weeks, Vinson is very schooled in veterinary visits, and immediately tried to hop up on the exam table when we went into the exam room.

Erin, the tech who is a long-time puppy raiser and sibling of a Seeing Eye instructor, was happy to see him and is currently raising a black Lab that has the same father as Vinson!

The office allowed us to also bring Watson with us so he could meet the staff and check out the office. Both were very well behaved and attracted a lot of attention.

And just as with all other inoculations, Vinson didn't squirm or even react. What a cool pup?!

Big Boy Collar

Many have asked why we haven't replaced Vinson's puppy collar. It's not that we didn't intend to (in fact, we bought a new one months ago). It had more to do with Vinson's tendency to treat his collar and leash as chew toys.

Tonight, we officially retired his Seeing Eye-issued puppy collar and reserved a spot for it in Vinson's "hall of shame", as we jokingly refer to the items that he's, ahemm, "produced", stretched, chewed or knotted along the way. Other items for the hall include:

• Stomach X-rays from his underwear-eating incident
• Countless leg splint and "cone-of-shame" photos from his big break
• Tiny Nyalbone chew toys that are now way too small for him
• His knotted and twisted Seeing Eye-issued puppy leash

His new attire? A Ruff Wear DoubleBack collar in green. Handsome indeed - and we love the flat buckles and quiet, rubber tag attachment.

Vinson sporting his new collar, exhausted after another day's long walk

Weigh-In

Vinson has officially crossed the 50 pound mark! Official weight: 50.5 pounds. Next Sunday, he'll be 9 months old.

Puppy Club Fun

Friday night we had another puppy club meeting with Vinson. The meetings get all the current puppy raisers from a particular county or region together to work on specific training exercises, share information and get help with particular issues when required.

Despite his obvious high energy, Vinson did very well and the club leaders and members commented that he seems like he surely will make it through to training. Time will tell, but we're proud of the little guy!

Special thanks to the club member who snapped these photos for us!

Vinson sitting and resting at Sarah's side during a circle exercise

Stepping out on the circle walk as the club leader watches each pup's performance

Vinson's turn to perform the figure eight routine while the others watch

Affectionate reward from Sarah for a job well done

Happy smile

Puppy Club Meeting

Sarah and Vinson just got back from puppy club - Watson and I stayed home and tended the fireplace. Vinson did well at the meeting - will post photos tomorrow.

And then there were Three

Today Vinson had another special time in the field at The Seeing Eye - this time it was Vinson, Garcia and Watson together in the sunshine.

Vinson liked to try and keep the others from getting the ball, and Watson showed some of his hearding instincts as he tried to move Vinson into smaller and smaller portions of the field. Eventually they all rested together and enjoyed the crisp afternoon.

Three happy dogs.

Nick the Mailman

There are plenty of cliches about dogs and mailmen, but I can assure you that the only reason Vinson would attempt to chase one is to get some affection!

Vinson had the pleasure of meeting Nick, the mailman who delivers to The Seeing Eye, and they had a wonderful meeting. Vinson sat nicely and loved all the petting, while Nick and I chatted about the organization, puppy raising, etc.

I think the little guy will be keeping an eye out for that mail truck from now on!

Meeting a Student

Vinson's looking forward to a special meeting later this afternoon. A student in the current class here at The Seeing Eye has been following the blog and would like to meet Vinson in person.

You might think that the students must meet Vinson all the time. While we pass each other frequently, because the students are learning to work with their new dogs, a meeting with Vinson is a no-no. Too much distraction during valuable training time. Of course, with planning, Vinson will happily meet any student - or any person or canine for that matter!

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Seeing Eye dog team etiquette tip: If you happen upon a working guide dog team during an outing with your own pet, take special care that your pal doesn't interfere with the working dog or person in any way. They need to remain focused.

Block Head

As Labrador retrievers mature they typically develop a block-like head - some larger than others. Vinson's head is filling out, making his 18" training collar too difficult to remove easily; so today, another milestone: Vinson moves up to the 20" training collar.

The Dynamic Duo

Vinson and Watson are quite the odd couple - a small, high-energy Lab pup and his buddy, a giant, stoic shepherd pal. They continued to bond on a hike this morning on the Paulinskill Valley Rail Trail; and they love riding in the car together.

Backseat drivers

Great car riders

After a nice hike

On the Paulinskill Valley Rail Trail

Good Long Walk and Tired Pups

Vinson and Watson had a nice long walk with Sarah and I this morning. They did great at walking together and are now happily sleeping on their beds, side by side.