Beulie is a 19-1/2 month old labrador/golden retriever cross who was bred to become a service dog by Canine Companions for Independence. She lived with her birthmother and human caretakers until she was eight weeks old. Then she was raised by a family and taught basic commands until she was 16 months old. At that point she returned to CCI for advanced training. As it turned out, CCI determined that she was unsuitable for the work and she was returned to her puppyraisers for fostering until a forever home could be found for her.
I wrote all this. I'm her puppyraiser so I know Beulie well. Our family adored Beulie although, we admit, she is imperfect. But the year+ of attending classes with her, taking her into places with her capes so she could learn appropriate behavior if she were to graduate as a service dog, all this made life with Beulie incredibly fun and fascinating.
I wrote this so her new family would know Beulie a bit better and so they would have access to her baby pictures and personal history. It was just yesterday that they received her so she is very new to them and our family is missing her terribly. For many reasons it seemed best to not keep her ourselves although we wavered in the decision and are delighted to know we will receive frequent updates about Beulie in her new life.
Beulie's ancestry
To begin with, Beulie was a twin, one of Mitzi's fifth and last litter of only two puppies. The larger twin was Basha. There is a YouTube video of the pups when they were seven weeks old which you can see if you go to YouTube and request "Basha and Beuli". (Yes, the spelling is different, no final "e".) If you do watch the video be sure to notice the dog that's forever digging. She still digs.....
Lucky us, we met some of the relatives. Basha was in the same training class with Beulie so we got to know her well. We've met both of their parents so let me introduce them.
Here is Papa Terrell, the yellow lab with another of his daughters, our Parisse. Parisse, half-sister to Beulie, is a special education doggy. We love her, but she's quite strange. We've taken her to five veterinarians, including a canine ophthalmalogist and canine orthopedist, but the only diagnosis so far is "strange."
We also know their grandfather, Bobby. Bobby sired nearly 800 puppies before his retirement last year. (It was a hard job, but someone had to do it.) This is Bobby with Demi on her Turn-In day. Demi was born premature, the only survivor of her litter, fed with an eye-dropper until we got her at eight weeks and six pounds. She later graduated and worked for a year but retired with a medical condition at 3-1/2 years. That's a whole other story.
I'll introduce you to Mama Mitzi later on but since they didn't meet until later, let's look at Beulie's puppyhood.
Lucky us, we met some of the relatives. Basha was in the same training class with Beulie so we got to know her well. We've met both of their parents so let me introduce them.
Here is Papa Terrell, the yellow lab with another of his daughters, our Parisse. Parisse, half-sister to Beulie, is a special education doggy. We love her, but she's quite strange. We've taken her to five veterinarians, including a canine ophthalmalogist and canine orthopedist, but the only diagnosis so far is "strange."
We also know their grandfather, Bobby. Bobby sired nearly 800 puppies before his retirement last year. (It was a hard job, but someone had to do it.) This is Bobby with Demi on her Turn-In day. Demi was born premature, the only survivor of her litter, fed with an eye-dropper until we got her at eight weeks and six pounds. She later graduated and worked for a year but retired with a medical condition at 3-1/2 years. That's a whole other story.
I'll introduce you to Mama Mitzi later on but since they didn't meet until later, let's look at Beulie's puppyhood.
The new puppy
To begin with, we didn't know we were going to be Beulie's puppyraisers. We received a telephone call one day from Canine Companions for Independence saying that they were in need of a foster family. The littermate had gone to her puppyraiser and this poor loner was going to have to spend an entire weekend alone in a kennel. Oh, how sad - and we fell for it.
Beulie was just eight weeks old. She was born on December 17, 2006, and now it was the following March. We intended to make the most of the short time we expected to have her.
Here's her very first day with us.... You have to admit they don't come any cuter!
A few days later I took her to our weekly doggie play group where several dogs from CCI played regularly. Beulie jumped right in with her first stick and first group tussle -- and loved it!
Our own dogs were delighted to have a new frisky playmate although Brix, the oldest and only male, was quite protective.
Notice how much Beulie grew in that first week!
Steve, in the meantime, just kept holding her.
Beulie was just eight weeks old. She was born on December 17, 2006, and now it was the following March. We intended to make the most of the short time we expected to have her.
Here's her very first day with us.... You have to admit they don't come any cuter!
A few days later I took her to our weekly doggie play group where several dogs from CCI played regularly. Beulie jumped right in with her first stick and first group tussle -- and loved it!
Our own dogs were delighted to have a new frisky playmate although Brix, the oldest and only male, was quite protective.
Notice how much Beulie grew in that first week!
Steve, in the meantime, just kept holding her.
Settling in
We enjoyed Beulie so much that I dreaded every phone call figuring CCI would be asking to take Beulie back so she could transfer to her new puppyraiser. But the telephone never rang, at least not for that, and it never rang and it never rang.
Beulie, in the meantime, was getting stronger and developing some muscle. I used to keep her in an exercise pen in the kitchen and she would stand up and watch us. Even when she was still quite young we referred to her as the Vertical Dog because she loved to stand. The day she and the pen came crashing down she had earned her freedom and the pen was put away.
After about a month we knew we could never just hand her over for someone else to do what we were now wanting to do -- raise her! So I called CCI myself and asked if we could be her puppyraisers. CCI agreed.
Our responsibilities were to 1) get her housebroken, 2) have her well socialized and 3) get her some training and 4) maintain her health. The first eventually happened without much effort. The second was the whole point of having her stay with real people instead of growing up in a kennel environment, the third involved our attendance in regular classes at CCI and the last included taking her for routine medical care, keeping her clean and clipping her nails.
I used to love to trim her nails! I always used a Dremel with a sandpaper attachment and would buzz off each nail, all 18 if you count the dew claws, usually once a week (because the trainer would check during class!). Of our four puppies, Beulie was the easiest in nail-trimming. She would see me coming with the Dremel and flop on the floor, flat on her back in a totally submissive posture. We were efficient, she and I, we could start and end within three minutes, all 18 nails neatly smoothed and ready for inspection. Brix, on the other hand, our older dude dog, carries on and makes it two person production number that takes forever. Give me a Beulie-Dog, any day!
Beulie, in the meantime, was getting stronger and developing some muscle. I used to keep her in an exercise pen in the kitchen and she would stand up and watch us. Even when she was still quite young we referred to her as the Vertical Dog because she loved to stand. The day she and the pen came crashing down she had earned her freedom and the pen was put away.
After about a month we knew we could never just hand her over for someone else to do what we were now wanting to do -- raise her! So I called CCI myself and asked if we could be her puppyraisers. CCI agreed.
Our responsibilities were to 1) get her housebroken, 2) have her well socialized and 3) get her some training and 4) maintain her health. The first eventually happened without much effort. The second was the whole point of having her stay with real people instead of growing up in a kennel environment, the third involved our attendance in regular classes at CCI and the last included taking her for routine medical care, keeping her clean and clipping her nails.
I used to love to trim her nails! I always used a Dremel with a sandpaper attachment and would buzz off each nail, all 18 if you count the dew claws, usually once a week (because the trainer would check during class!). Of our four puppies, Beulie was the easiest in nail-trimming. She would see me coming with the Dremel and flop on the floor, flat on her back in a totally submissive posture. We were efficient, she and I, we could start and end within three minutes, all 18 nails neatly smoothed and ready for inspection. Brix, on the other hand, our older dude dog, carries on and makes it two person production number that takes forever. Give me a Beulie-Dog, any day!
The big world out there
We took Beulie everywhere. To begin with, I'm a survivor of metastatic breast cancer and my treatment has involved over six years of regular infusions. I had already raised three puppies in the chemotherapy suite so when I brought in a new puppy that March the nurses were so excited they took a picture of us. We were both always welcome and Beulie was always well behaved. The nurses kept a box of dog biscuits in the kitchen so she was quite the pampered kid whenever we arrived. When this photo was taken I told the nurses we were "just fostering."
I took her to training classes where she learned to stay in a Down position whether she wanted to or not.
Here's Beulie in a basic Sit-Stay.
But one day when I took her to class something really wonderful happened. By coincidence another puppyraiser was taking care of Beulie's mother while her caretakers were on vacation. So here are the photos of Mitzi that I promised to show you ---
-- and don't tell me that mom and daughter didn't know each other!
Later I started taking Beulie with me to my watercolor classes taught at a local senior center.
Beulie was so appealing to me that I really wanted to learn how to draw her. I wasn't very successful but doodling in church helped quiet my mind so I could listen.
By September I was taking an art class at a community college. Beulie was a willing life model.
She posed at home too but getting her to look towards me was sometimes problematic.
I took Beulie to restaurants when I visited with my friends. From her perspective it was the most boring activity I ever came up with.
I took her to training classes where she learned to stay in a Down position whether she wanted to or not.
Here's Beulie in a basic Sit-Stay.
But one day when I took her to class something really wonderful happened. By coincidence another puppyraiser was taking care of Beulie's mother while her caretakers were on vacation. So here are the photos of Mitzi that I promised to show you ---
-- and don't tell me that mom and daughter didn't know each other!
Later I started taking Beulie with me to my watercolor classes taught at a local senior center.
Beulie was so appealing to me that I really wanted to learn how to draw her. I wasn't very successful but doodling in church helped quiet my mind so I could listen.
By September I was taking an art class at a community college. Beulie was a willing life model.
She posed at home too but getting her to look towards me was sometimes problematic.
I took Beulie to restaurants when I visited with my friends. From her perspective it was the most boring activity I ever came up with.
No, Beulie, NO!
Let's just say that raising Beulie also had its other moments. As I acknowledged earlier, Beulie, alas, is imperfect. She apparently began life by digging her way out of the womb, then dug up the foundation of her birthplace and continued her digging career here with us. She got better, I thought, until I'd happen across a new site I'd overlooked. There are ways to train for this, but the method we were taught in puppy class was so disgusting I can't even describe it here.
She was also a massive chewer but here, at least, she was more discriminating. She loved Nylabones, totally legal, and shoes, totally illegal. She never chewed furniture but she did enjoy the occasional stick. That used to scare me because I was afraid she would choke, so I gathered sticks from our yard and pulled them from her clenched teeth.
Another favorite was fabric. For a while our dish towels had telltale holes on the bottom corner until we realized the only solution was to stop hanging them at the edge of the kitchen island and put them much higher. We learned to fold laundry instantly, before it hit the basket, because any lapses meant sudden ripped socks and unmentionables discovered in the back yard. We called her "The Laundress," as in, "Here comes the laundress," when Beulie walked into the living room carrying her newest pair of boxer shorts.
We made one serious training error. Remember how we thought it was so adorable to have her stand, peering out of her exercise pen? Well, it was a huge mistake to encourage that behavior. Standing became dancing cheek to cheek, which was fun and I miss it. Standing also became counter surface so suddenly one half of a newly made sandwich would be missing. Standing developed into overly exuberant front door greetings, otherwise known as jumping or tackling. But the worst was when she would approach from behind me, jump up on my back and let it be known that she, not I, was in control. The trainer was shocked when I reported all this and I worked hard, very hard, to undo all my mistakes.
We also tried to obey all CCI policies. CCI dogs are never allowed on the bed, a strict rule we maintained with Beulie.
Brix and Beulie were often partners in crime. As I mentioned earlier, he was quite protective of Beulie and they spent a lot of down time together.
But nothing galled me more than when Brix and Beulie would grab the car keys, go out for a spin and neglect to fasten their seat belts.
She was also a massive chewer but here, at least, she was more discriminating. She loved Nylabones, totally legal, and shoes, totally illegal. She never chewed furniture but she did enjoy the occasional stick. That used to scare me because I was afraid she would choke, so I gathered sticks from our yard and pulled them from her clenched teeth.
Another favorite was fabric. For a while our dish towels had telltale holes on the bottom corner until we realized the only solution was to stop hanging them at the edge of the kitchen island and put them much higher. We learned to fold laundry instantly, before it hit the basket, because any lapses meant sudden ripped socks and unmentionables discovered in the back yard. We called her "The Laundress," as in, "Here comes the laundress," when Beulie walked into the living room carrying her newest pair of boxer shorts.
We made one serious training error. Remember how we thought it was so adorable to have her stand, peering out of her exercise pen? Well, it was a huge mistake to encourage that behavior. Standing became dancing cheek to cheek, which was fun and I miss it. Standing also became counter surface so suddenly one half of a newly made sandwich would be missing. Standing developed into overly exuberant front door greetings, otherwise known as jumping or tackling. But the worst was when she would approach from behind me, jump up on my back and let it be known that she, not I, was in control. The trainer was shocked when I reported all this and I worked hard, very hard, to undo all my mistakes.
We also tried to obey all CCI policies. CCI dogs are never allowed on the bed, a strict rule we maintained with Beulie.
Brix and Beulie were often partners in crime. As I mentioned earlier, he was quite protective of Beulie and they spent a lot of down time together.
But nothing galled me more than when Brix and Beulie would grab the car keys, go out for a spin and neglect to fasten their seat belts.
Vacations and holidays
I only have a few more things to tell you about Beulie's babyhood. But I don't want to leave out some of the unusual and special times we had with her.
Families with pets have to make decisions about whether to include or exclude their animals when they travel and celebrate holidays. We've done a little of both. Last summer we cruised Alaska and left our dogs, including Beulie, with trusted CCI friends.
But whenever we can, we prefer to have our dogs with us. We discovered a pet-friendly cabin spittin' distance from Yosemite and brought "the baby" along with Brix as her sitter.
Another time we spent the day at the beach and introduced Beulie to the massiveness of the great Pacific Ocean. She and Brix romped a bit but frankly, she was more interested in playing with him -- and he with her -- than the water itself. So much for the reputation of retrievers as great water dogs.
Holidays are always more fun with dogs. Each Halloween we drive out to the same pumpkin patch and take photos of whichever dogs are available. That day there were three -- Parisse on the left, Beulie in Steve's arms (per usual), and Brix on the right. If you click on the photo you'll see Beulie's scrunched up face; this Halloween posing was simply not her best fun thing.
But my personal favorite is the annual picture taking with Santa routine. Spooky Parisse, the strange one, can barely be seen on the left, she was so spooked by the whole scene and hid behind the big guy. Brix had been there, done that, so many times he sat and posed like an old man. It was Beulie who stole the show.
Families with pets have to make decisions about whether to include or exclude their animals when they travel and celebrate holidays. We've done a little of both. Last summer we cruised Alaska and left our dogs, including Beulie, with trusted CCI friends.
But whenever we can, we prefer to have our dogs with us. We discovered a pet-friendly cabin spittin' distance from Yosemite and brought "the baby" along with Brix as her sitter.
Another time we spent the day at the beach and introduced Beulie to the massiveness of the great Pacific Ocean. She and Brix romped a bit but frankly, she was more interested in playing with him -- and he with her -- than the water itself. So much for the reputation of retrievers as great water dogs.
Holidays are always more fun with dogs. Each Halloween we drive out to the same pumpkin patch and take photos of whichever dogs are available. That day there were three -- Parisse on the left, Beulie in Steve's arms (per usual), and Brix on the right. If you click on the photo you'll see Beulie's scrunched up face; this Halloween posing was simply not her best fun thing.
But my personal favorite is the annual picture taking with Santa routine. Spooky Parisse, the strange one, can barely be seen on the left, she was so spooked by the whole scene and hid behind the big guy. Brix had been there, done that, so many times he sat and posed like an old man. It was Beulie who stole the show.
Beulie and Basha
I showed you some photographs of Beulie's parents, Terrell and Mitzi, but she only actually saw them one time each. It's her twin sister that she knew, and half-sister and aunt that she actually lived with.
I mentioned that Aunt Demi was a bona fide service dog until she was released due to a medical problem. When Beulie was seven months old (July, 2007) our family met and picnicked on the CCI campus with Demi's family so aunt and niece had a good romp. Remember, Beulie's father, Terrell, is the son of Bobby, who is Demi's dad. So Terrell and Demi are half-siblings. I should draw a chart, this is so confusing to me! After Demi was diagnosed she was returned to us so she and Beulie spent the last month together when Beulie left the CCI training program.
(Click on the photo for a closer look.)
In the meantime, Parisse, because of her diagnosed "strangeness," was released from training at 10 months. Her father is also Terrell (some of these male dogs are busy guys) so Beulie and Parisse are half-sisters. In this photo they are 4 months and 10-1/2 months (Terrell was VERY busy.)
Basha, Beulie's twin, attended the same training classes so we saw her often. If there are only two puppies in a litter, is the second-born still considered to be the runt? Basha was born with the red collar (CCI's classification for numero uno) and Beulie was second, with a blue collar. Basha was always considerably larger. Here are the twins at 5-1/2 months. Again, I am certain the sibs had some kind of recognition system. Whenever they were in class together they were disruptive and had to be separated.
For the record, I don't know when Beulie's name was changed from Beuli to Beulie. Usually the caretakers get to suggest names and spellings for the puppies and apparently named the blue-collared pup Beuli. But, by the time we received her from the CCI office, a final "e" had been added to her name and it was much later that I even learned that her original name had been different.
I mentioned that Aunt Demi was a bona fide service dog until she was released due to a medical problem. When Beulie was seven months old (July, 2007) our family met and picnicked on the CCI campus with Demi's family so aunt and niece had a good romp. Remember, Beulie's father, Terrell, is the son of Bobby, who is Demi's dad. So Terrell and Demi are half-siblings. I should draw a chart, this is so confusing to me! After Demi was diagnosed she was returned to us so she and Beulie spent the last month together when Beulie left the CCI training program.
(Click on the photo for a closer look.)In the meantime, Parisse, because of her diagnosed "strangeness," was released from training at 10 months. Her father is also Terrell (some of these male dogs are busy guys) so Beulie and Parisse are half-sisters. In this photo they are 4 months and 10-1/2 months (Terrell was VERY busy.)
Basha, Beulie's twin, attended the same training classes so we saw her often. If there are only two puppies in a litter, is the second-born still considered to be the runt? Basha was born with the red collar (CCI's classification for numero uno) and Beulie was second, with a blue collar. Basha was always considerably larger. Here are the twins at 5-1/2 months. Again, I am certain the sibs had some kind of recognition system. Whenever they were in class together they were disruptive and had to be separated.
For the record, I don't know when Beulie's name was changed from Beuli to Beulie. Usually the caretakers get to suggest names and spellings for the puppies and apparently named the blue-collared pup Beuli. But, by the time we received her from the CCI office, a final "e" had been added to her name and it was much later that I even learned that her original name had been different.
Mesmerized by beauty
This will be my last post about Beulie's puppyhood. It has been helpful for me to recall our time together and recognize the richness of all she gave us. Beulie smiles a lot; who can resist a dog who smiles?
I keep remembering the good times, like Beulie's early romps with protective Brix...
or an exhuberant Beulie, tired at last...
and the first shopping trips before I trusted her enough to prance along beside me in stores...
I remember the drizzly day that Heather and I spent in the San Francisco zoo and Beulie proved she had no fear of the wild and no prey drive....
...for bears
...for elephants
...or even for tigers. Brave, brave Beulie!
Whether it was taking Beulie to a local park....
or to Spreckels Lake in Golden Gate Park...
Beulie proved to be an enthusiastic traveler interested in just about everything.
But what kept me so tied to Beulie was her sheer beauty. To me, Beulie was the most attractive dog we'd ever had. Gorgeous as a puppy and simply stunning as she grew, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her!
With scissors and paste I pondered how much it meant to me to have dogs in my life.
But what I really wanted was to learn how to draw her. I showed you my early journal pages of Beulie -- before I could even follow her contour -- but enthralled as I was I drew some more. I didn't care how poor my work was, I was so driven to learn. Most frequently I drew Beulie in church when she was asleep right in front of my eyes. I practiced and practiced.
I kept finding different aspects to focus on.... her rounded shape when sleeping...
her bright brown eyes and relaxed, crossed paws.....
and gradually improved.
This was the last drawing I made of Beulie. The date is wrong -- it was really Sunday, August 3rd -- but it's definitely Beulie once again at my feet. More than anything, I will miss that, drawing and redrawing Beautiful Beulie.
THE END
I keep remembering the good times, like Beulie's early romps with protective Brix...
or an exhuberant Beulie, tired at last...
and the first shopping trips before I trusted her enough to prance along beside me in stores...
I remember the drizzly day that Heather and I spent in the San Francisco zoo and Beulie proved she had no fear of the wild and no prey drive....
...for bears
...for elephants
...or even for tigers. Brave, brave Beulie!
Whether it was taking Beulie to a local park....
or to Spreckels Lake in Golden Gate Park...
Beulie proved to be an enthusiastic traveler interested in just about everything.
But what kept me so tied to Beulie was her sheer beauty. To me, Beulie was the most attractive dog we'd ever had. Gorgeous as a puppy and simply stunning as she grew, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her!
With scissors and paste I pondered how much it meant to me to have dogs in my life.
But what I really wanted was to learn how to draw her. I showed you my early journal pages of Beulie -- before I could even follow her contour -- but enthralled as I was I drew some more. I didn't care how poor my work was, I was so driven to learn. Most frequently I drew Beulie in church when she was asleep right in front of my eyes. I practiced and practiced.
I kept finding different aspects to focus on.... her rounded shape when sleeping...
her bright brown eyes and relaxed, crossed paws.....
and gradually improved.
This was the last drawing I made of Beulie. The date is wrong -- it was really Sunday, August 3rd -- but it's definitely Beulie once again at my feet. More than anything, I will miss that, drawing and redrawing Beautiful Beulie.
THE END
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