Benson

So I guess it's about two weeks late, but I'm finally coming around to posting about Benson. He came early Friday morning and left late on Sunday. I think the best part of puppysitting is each time I realize how much I appreciate Quasia.

Benson is a pretty big boy at 11 months (bigger than Quasia, but that doesn't mean much). His raiser had a martingale with him, but that was it - not even a leather leash. His raiser also said that he was a very laid back dog. I don't think I saw that side of him at all.

Anyways, he and Quasia had such a good time together. They wouldn't settle down together though, so I had to eventually separate them, as they were panting very heavily. At first, I was the only one home, so I took him on a walk, after giving him some time to settle in. We walked for about a minute, when he lied down on the ground and refused to move. I kept calling his name, with food in site, but he wouldn't move. Eventually, he walked some and we got to walk. He was pretty good with walking if there weren't any distractions. I think my hands started to blister after that first walk though, with a regular leash. After that I used Quasia's leather leash with him, and it worked a little better.

When my dad got home we took both Quasia and Benson on a walk together. I walked Benson in the street to keep him away from distractions, and midway through the walk he just lied on the ground once again. My dad pointed out that it was probably because the street was too hot for him. Once I moved him to the sidewalk he did better. Sometimes we would have to move him to the street and he just kind of freaked out and lied on the ground. Quasia never acted like the street was too hot for her, so it was just strange.

He was also hard to control because he did not care about food too much. I could say his name five times, and Quasia would look at me, but Benson was focused on something else. At first he was not too good with just general commands (sit, down, come), but eventually he seemed to get/listen better. At one point my dad had Benson and he told him to sit. Quasia sat down that instant, and she seemed to act like she was showing off.

On Saturday we decided to bring them to a tennis court to let them play. That was the best thing for them. It was so funny to see Benson watching exactly what Quasia would do. If she was interested in chasing the ball, so was he. If she started to slow down, so would he. She even started eating sticks (bad habit) at the end and he starting to bring sticks over for her to eat. It was so cute.

Anyways, that was pretty much our weekend with Benson. We didn't really have a chance to take him anywhere special, but he seemed to have a good time with Quasia. Here are some pictures.

When Quasia found out that he wasn't allowed on the bed, she acted like the Queen of England. He even tried to jump up at one point, but she kicked him off.

Quick Update

Yes, we did get Benson and we puppysat him last Friday and Saturday. Yes, I was planning on giving an update and posting pictures here.

The problem is that on Mother's day my dad fell (we don't know how, he doesn't remember) and he fractured both of his shoulders. He also dislocated his right shoulder and broke it in two places. The tried to pop it back in, but they were unsuccessful. My mom and I were in and out of the hospital until Wednesday afternoon when he finally came home. He's in a lot of pain and we've been rushing around to help him. My brother flew home yesterday and he's been a lot of help. Anyways, between all of that I haven't been able to update or do much. I feel horrible because during the days we were at the hospital Quasia was in her crate for almost the whole day (with little breaks). Either this coming Tuesday or the next one my dad is going to have surgery on his shoulder, so we'll be away again.

So I'll be posting about Benson in a little while.

3 Years Ago Today - Brandy

3 years ago today we had to say goodbye to my first dog, Brandy. Brandy was the best dog and she was the one that gave me my love for dogs. I honestly don't think I would have become involved with Guiding Eyes if it wasn't for Brandy. She was the sweetest, most gentle, and loveable dog. I grew up with her and we had her for 11 of her 13 years. I remember dropping her off at the Emergency Vet on a Thursday night, the night of the Friend's finale. She had pneumonia and she was not doing well. That Friday night we got our first GEB pup to puppysit, 16 week old Dinah. I was so excited that we were going to have two dogs. Saturday we took one last walk with Brandy and we said goodbye. She couldn't eat anything or even keep down her medicine. We had to come home to take care of a 16 week old puppy.

So this post is in memory of Brandy: 5?/15?/91 - 5/8/04

Puppysitting again!

I know this might not be a big deal to a lot of you, but I'm really excited. Pretty much the second I got home on Tuesday, we got a call. I just had gotten home from school, so we didn't want to bother with answering from someone we didn't know. They called again the next morning and left a message. They need a puppysitter for their almost 1 year old black male Lab, Benson, for May 11-12. My parents said that they've never gotten a call about puppysitting since I've been away, so I felt that was extremely odd. My grandparents said it was okay (they live with us, and my grandma has asthma). My mom was reluctant, but my dad convinced her finally. For some reason she never wants to puppysit, even though she doesn't do anything when a pup comes. She loves dogs and everything, but she always fights me when we get a call about puppysitting. Anyways, my dad called back and we're going to be puppysitting again! It's been about a year, so I'm not sure if I'm going to know what to do. We may not even be able to go to class on Sunday, so we'll have to see. It will only be for two days anyways.