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Joanna was kind enough to give me some of Lomax’s baby pictures, and I thought I’d share my favorite “before I knew Lomax” shots. Joanna, if you want to give us some context, feel free to leave explanations in the comments section!

Brothers Liam and Lomax on puppy pickup day:

What I assume to be Lomax’s first encounter with a being of the feline persuasion:

Dog is my co-pilot:

Lomax and the first of many indignities to come (see “Lomaximus“):

And I’m REALLY curious about “Air Lomax” in this one:

A trip to Disneyland is a puppy-in-training rite of passage, and lucky Mr. Lomax has been able to go twice!

It’s a great experience in general. First of all, unlike many public places, the park is very accommodating toward working service dogs AND dogs in training. All the “cast members” (Disneyland employees) we encounter welcome us and go out of their way to make sure we have immediate escorted access to the handicapped entry and exit points on the attractions…yes, Lomax gets to go on the rides, and the rest of his party doesn’t have to stand in an hour-long line! Disneyland Guest Services does not have an official printed list of do’s and don’ts. They do recommend you not take dogs on rides that require safety restraints (no dogs on Space Mountain, for example), but for the most part, decisions are left to the puppy raiser’s discretion, since we’re the ones who know our dogs best.

A day at Disneyland is a “no touch” day, meaning that I don’t allow people to pet Lomax, no matter how nicely they ask. It’s just too overwhelming an environment, and it’s best to let a dog focus on the task of navigating the crowds without any additional distractions or stressors. The one exception I allow is a Disneyland cast member. If no one else is looking, I’ll let the employees greet Lomax as a gesture of our thanks — you see, not only are the park staffers accommodating, many of them also voluntarily contribute money from their paychecks to the Disneyland Cast Fund. The Fund has sponsored many a GDA puppy, each dog named after a Disney character (Lady, Ariel, etc.). I figure they’ve earned a little puppy love for their generosity!

The first time, we went with brother Liam and his puppy raisers, who (like my roommate and I) are also annual passholders. This makes it easy to hit the park and not feel like you’ve just wasted sixty dollars if your dog is tired and stressed and needs to leave a few hours into your day. Being a summer weekend, it was hot, humid, and crowded, but I was very proud of Lomax. He handled the crowds like a champ, with nary a sign of stress. He didn’t even pull on the leash until the very end of the day, when he was tuckered out and losing a little focus (which, after eight hours at Disneyland, happens to the best of us).

There are a million photo ops in the park — the first one I insisted upon, of course, was the huge sign at the entrance to Disney’s California Adventure.

One of the things that got me interested in puppy raising was the fact that I was always seeing puppy raisers when I went to Disneyland. This day was no exception — as we were relieving Lomax and heading over to a cafe for lunch in the Grand Californian Hotel, we were stopped by a man and his son, who recognized Lomax’s yellow working jacket. Turns out, they have a GDA puppy as well, who since he is from the most recent “K” litter was too young to accompany them to the park. But isn’t it funny? Just like being in a foreign nation and recognizing someone from your native country, you feel a kinship with a total stranger and are compelled to say hello.

It’s hard to take photos on the actual rides, because in general, I prefer having both hands on the dog. 🙂 But there’s something amazing about Disneyland that enables you to get a good shot even of someone lying under a table at lunchtime.

And everyone’s excited to see these dogs. Toddlers (who are at DISNEYLAND, for cryin’ out loud!) completely look away from whatever they’re into to shout, “Doggie! Doggie!” Cast members ooh and ahh…including a costumed character overdue for her break who has waved bye-bye to a bunch of children clamoring for her to stay. Lilo was as excited as she could be without breaking the costumed character vow of silence, waving us over for a picture.

There are so many traditions involved in the “last hurrah” at the park: the stop at City Hall on Main Street for “Honorary Citizen” stickers, the purchasing of nametags, the requisite photo at Mickey’s house. He was a little freaked out by Mickey at first and didn’t want to sit still for a photo, so I had to step in and take the leash. Toon Town was fun, but I think Lomax decided that if Liam was driving, he wanted no part of the experience.

Between his two Disney excursions (one with Liam & company, and one with our roommate Amy), Lomax experienced several of the park’s attractions…

* It’s A Small World
* The Disneyland Express train ride around the park
* Haunted Mansion
* Jungle Cruise (he settled quickly after the initial surprise of the gunshot)
* Pirates of the Caribbean

…and a whole host of other unusual sights, sounds and smells throughout the day.

Like I said, I was very proud of him, as I have been frequently over the last several months. I wasn’t sure how he’d react to the craziness, but he was a pro, both times. I think he’s ready for formal training.

And here’s a rare sight for you… Lomax, tired. Genuinely tired. (So THAT’s what it takes!)

Tonight was our last obedience class. We’ve been attending ongoing weekly classes with many of the same dogs who have been attending for years. That’s the great thing about this — it’s not just a six or eight or ten week course; you can keep coming to keep your dog sharp. A few of our human classmates have been training their pooches for dog shows, and it’s been fun to see the pups’ progress.

So I brought my camera, because I wanted to post some photos of Lomax’s friends.

Here’s most of the lineup:

And who is this handsome young man?

Me with GDA “career change” dog Neon, who looks like the girl version of Lomax:

Chico, in the capable hands of his young handler:

Michael, who’s Chico’s “brother”:

The girls, Olive and Mandy:

Our good buddy Trooper:

When I started taking Lomax to this class last fall, he was so wiggly and distracted that he could hardly walk next to another dog for ten seconds without lunging for playtime. He was also completely focused on the basketball players on neighboring courts. But tonight, he heeled perfectly on a loose lead and ignored the half-dozen or so basketballs that bounced or rolled through our class thanks to the spirited game going on just a few feet away.

He’s come so far already, and I don’t think he’s done yet. Good job, little man.

Lomax and I met a friend for ice cream at the mall last Thursday night (fortunately, there is a Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop nearby…but even more fortunately, not TOO nearby).

I’d never paid much attention to the fountain before, but when you have a puppy in training, ordinary things take on new meaning. That new meaning usually takes the form of “good training experience,” or “good photo op,” or both. Lomax is accustomed to the huge fountain in front of my office building, but the water in that one flows evenly and continuously. The little geysers of this fountain shoot in patterns and cycles, which surprised him a little. So I let him watch it for a while until he was comfortable enough for the requisite pictures:

It’s official: we’ve entered The Final Week.

I’m feeling pretty good right now. Sure, I’m sad, but I have to keep things in perspective. It’s actually kind of a win-win for me and Lomax — either he’ll graduate and go on to be an amazing guide dog for someone who needs him very much, or he’ll “career change” and be adopted by a family I know that loves him very much. I have to stay focused on this while we go through all of our “lasts.”

Today was Lomax’s last day at my church, and it was our day to do the greeting and hand out the bulletins as people arrived. I had Lomax dress up for the occasion, of course. Here’s my handsome little man with his favorite church friend, Kim:

We all had lunch after the service, in honor of my pastor’s birthday. Lomax was wiped out from a busy Saturday visiting friends, so he slept soundly while the rest of us chowed. Here he is, looking a bit like Jerry Lewis after the Labor Day Telethon:

After all his buddies at church scratched Lomax’s ears and offered words of encouragement for his future, we went with a couple of friends for a walk along the Venice canals.

“Ready? On the count of three: One…*CLICK*!”

We weren’t ready!

Okay, that’s better:

It’s dinner time now, and after another short walk, the Moof-Dog and I are going to end our day with a quiet evening of snuggling in front of the TV.

Just a couple of shots from our walks around the neighborhood….

Today, Lomax and I finally got to meet Chandler! And though he’s not a littermate by birth, Lomax has decided that since Joanna was his first puppy raiser — and since Chandler is such a fun playmate — he should officially be a member of our pack.

Lomax welcomed our guests with his typical enthusiasm, and Joanna and I spent a good hour or so letting the lads get acquainted before taking a leisurely lunch at Chipotle. Some of us were more leisurely than others:

But I suppose if I were allowed to stretch out on the cool stone floor under the table, I’d be napping too.

We of course made a stop for ice cream, where we encountered a…colorful…woman who, by the end of our reluctant conversation, had three strikes against her:

1.) she pulled up a chair and invited herself to join us, also inviting herself to pet the dogs without asking

2.) she thought I was Joanna’s mother, which — though flattering in that Joanna is smart and pretty and talented — was either a horrifying commentary on how I looked today or simply a presumptuous take on the kind of person I was at age fifteen, and

3.) she gleefully stated that she has a fake service dog jacket for her own pet dog so she can take it out in public.

I know. It makes me mad, too. Such people and their ill-behaved, I-can-eat-french-fries-off-the-table-because-I’m-wearing-a-pretty-vest FOOFYmonsters are the reason legitimate service dogs in training get hassled all the time. The only reason I didn’t ream her is that we are, especially with our dogs in jacket, representatives of GDA. Grrrrr.

Anyway, after that we headed back for more playtime in the air-conditioned apartment, where Chandler was bold and Lomax was tolerant. Tiny teeth met with face, and leg, and tail, but the boys played together well for the most part, until energy levels got out of hand and they both had to calm down.

Here, for your enjoyment, are the mighty snake killers at work:

It was a fun afternoon, and Lomax is fairly wiped out this evening from all the restraint he had to show! Thank you, Joanna, for bringing Chandler out today and hanging with me and the little man…I’m almost certain I noticed Lomax imparting some snorts of doggy wisdom in his ear when they were tussling.

I have a checklist of all the things Lomax and I need to do before he goes in for training. One thing we were able to check off is “lunch with John.”

John has been a friend of mine for several years. I met him at church and have since come to know, through spending time with him at the nearby restaurant where he eats lunch twice a week (John’s lunch plans should be added to the “death and taxes” list as the measure of a sure thing), what a blessing he is.

He can always cheer me up and put things in perspective when I’m having a hard day. The thing is, he doesn’t know he’s doing it. He’ll start by making a joke — usually a bad pun or a literal take on some phrase I just said, the kind of joke a small child might tell. I can usually see those coming, from the look that crosses his face just before. Or he might say, proudly, that his next-door neighbors have asked him to take care of their cats while they’re on vacation. Then, if it’s hot outside, he might relive far-off memories about going swimming once a week with the other kids from the “special school” he attended when he was growing up. Then he’ll tell me about the detective story he’s writing — he’s particularly inspired by re-runs of Matlock. An afternoon with John can make time stop, at least for me. Sometimes I’ll sit there with him for three hours, and still be reluctant to leave.

When I told John I was going to be a puppy raiser for GDA (mind you, it was nearly three years between my decision and the actual “getting a puppy” part), his whole face…it was indescribable. I don’t think anyone else in my life was quite as excited. And every time I saw him during that nearly three years, he’d ask me when I was getting the puppy. And what kind of puppy I wanted. And what the puppy would look like. And what I was going to name the puppy. And what I’d feed the puppy. And what I’d teach the puppy. And if I’d bring the puppy to visit him, so he could hug the puppy.

Of course, we knew just where to find him on this “last visit with John before turn-in.” He was even at his usual table.

No one is more confident than John that Lomax will go on to live a life of service. I explained that Lomax has to “go to college” first…John laughed, and looked at Lomax, and told him to study hard and not drink too much.

We may have to figure out a way to have one more “last visit” with John.

Ann, our friend and fellow puppy raiser, invited us over on Saturday for a meet-and-greet with Turbo, her new desert tortoise.

“Looks crunchy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside. Can I eat it?”

Turbo, who appears to be fearless in the face of dogs, remained unphased by seven leaping Labradors (one of whom licked him square in the face). He chased Lomax around a little bit before retreating to a nice shady corner of Ann’s yard.

“Is it coming to kill me?”