Before Franny, the last time I raised a puppy for myself was when Bean entered the fold in the fall of 2003. In the nearly dozen years he’s been with me, Bean has been instrumental in helping raise/train/nurture/& socialize oodles of doodles, gaggles of goldens, legions of labs and hundreds of humans. Bean has helped me stay grounded and focused. But the years have added up. Bean was deserving of at least semi retirement. Franny is his protege. I couldn’t be prouder of them both.
Franny will be 1 at the end of June. The next service dog puppy I raise will be her protege out and about. Bean (along with Trip and Tommy as well as the cats) will continue in his curmudgeonly way to help at home.
In this slideshow you’ll see a sampling of what goes into the first nearly 9 months of helping guide a dog into taking over his duties to help other dogs become better pets and service dogs. And you’ll meet many of her friends. Enjoy.