The green jackets are hard to miss. Durango loves its dogs, but the puppies wearing the green jackets are just passing through on their way to becoming guides for blind people.
It’s a work of love – and a little heartbreak – for several area residents who spend about a year training them from 8-weeks-old puppies to 14- to 18-month-old “teenagers,” when they go on to graduate school to learn how to be working dogs.
(I’m not the only one who wonders how they can fall in love with them, raise them, then send them on their way. It’s not always easy, but they always remember they’re doing it for a higher purpose.)
Working with Guide Dogs for the Blind, they welcome yellow and black Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and Lab/golden crosses. Not only do they do the basics, such as housebreaking, but they teach them to be good canine citizens and introduce them to new experiences, so when they’re with their ultimate human, they are not distracted by anything other than keeping their person safe.
That’s why you’ll see the puppies with the green coats at concerts, meetings, in stores and along the Animas River Trail. Wherever we go, they go.
On March 3, even the Durango City Council was honored by a visit from the canine contingent. Council proclaimed the day Guide Dog Day in our community, honoring the group with a proclamation. (Whereas, these puppies are as cute as can be, perhaps?) Puppy raisers Jim and Sue Mooney, Nancy Peake and Sue and Wayne Caplan were there, as was Southwest Brighteyes longtime leader, Darla Welty. Other members of the club who puppysit were there, including Patricia and Patrick McIvor and Bobbi and Dave Rakita. Byard Peake, whose wife is usually the person I see out and about with a puppy, was there, too.
This seems like a good place to mention you should never pet one of these puppies without asking permission first. (As a matter of fact, you should probably never pet a dog without asking permission, but we’re talking about dogs-in-training here.)
Anyway, when the dogs leave here, they go to Guide Dogs for formal guidework training, and then they are matched with students who have been through some training of their own. The new team then complete an intensive in-residence course together, ending with a graduation ceremony when the raiser formally presents the dog to the new partner.
This spring, two dogs who grew up among us graduated. Apache, a black Lab, who was raised by the Caplans, is now with Elizabeth Roff. Sue Caplan attended the ceremony at the beginning of March.
Delilah, a golden Lab, is helping Jenniffier Kerr. She grew up with Jim and Sue Mooney, who attended the graduation in Boring, Ore., at the beginning of February.
The local small club has been raising puppies for more than 20 years. Council also took note of the fact that Chiffon, who was raised in Durango, is a partner with Tracy Boyd in Portland, Ore. Boyd and her group, Mommies with Guides, were recently featured in the magazine Real Simple, so Chiffon is a star.
Visit www.guidedogs.com to learn more about the program. And the next time you see one of the puppies in the green jacket, take a moment to thank their trainer (and the dog) for making a profound difference in someone’s life by giving them independence.
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Holding on to their birthday cakes for dear life as gusts try to blow them away are Derman McShan, Jennifer McLaughlin, Kip Stransky, Holly Chavez, Mark Donahue, Larry House, John Lavengood, Anne Hani, Sandy Max, Ed Cash, Wayne Hose, Dennis Polsfut, Chad Tidwell, Jake Whirry, Vance Bulen, Juliana McKown, Marilyn Folk, Fred Gale, Alan Bohachevski, Marcia Heidenreich, John Clewe, Don Baker, Jim Edmanson, Ron Williams, Anne Battani and Mary Kay Steadman.
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On March 22, Howard “Bud” Poe and I were honored by the Durango Chapter of the American Association of University Women by being selected as the featured authors for our book, Trail Canyon: 6 Miles Long, 10,000 Years Deep.
The luncheon was organized by Chairwoman Megan McGrath, Lou Falkenstein, Teresa Jordan, K Redford, Grace Deltscheff and Donna Nelson with assistance by chapter President Katherine Burgess and Barbara Shore. Thanks go to my colleague Judith Reynolds, who got into the spirit of the West for introducing us.
And while that was great fun, the best part was knowing the money raised was going toward scholarships. Most of it was designated for the Cheryl Jackson scholarship, and it was wonderful to have her there to enjoy the festivities.
Lifetime member Sandy Brown, who is the longtime chairwoman of the chapter’s scholarship program, introduced Sarah Sanchez Armstrong, this year’s recipient of the Virginia Shoser Scholarship.
She gave perhaps the best quote ever – “The shortest path between two points is a straight line, but the most beautiful path is a spiral.”
That reflects the path her life has taken, from her graduation from Bayfield High School in 2001 through serving as a river guide, snowboarding instructor, marriage and motherhood, but the trip always included teaching. So now she is working toward becoming a teacher by studying at Fort Lewis College, and AAUW’s scholarship for nontraditional students is helping her reach her goal. Her entire family, including her 3-year-old daughter, was on hand to cheer Armstrong on.
The group’s second scholarship, created in honor of lifetime member Janet Watson, is now fully endowed and was granted for the first time this year. Unfortunately, the recipient had to withdraw because of a family emergency.
My kudos go to Poe, who has made the book sales a force for good. He has donated profits to a variety of nonprofits, and in this case, to the scholarship funds. (Some goes to national AAUW for grants to women pursuing graduate degrees.) He also donated a personal tour through Trail Canyon for four lucky winners of a drawing that raised another almost $700 for the scholarships.
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If there was ever anything worth celebrating with the pop of a cork, it’s the repeal of Prohibition. The repeal marked its 80th anniversary in December, and to remember the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, El Moro Spirits and Tavern will hold a Spring Tonic Release and Repeal of Prohibition Party starting at 6 p.m. Monday.
The event is a benefit for the La Plata County Historical Society, which is perfect on so many levels – a historical landmark celebrated in a historical landmark for a society that works to preserve history. In other words, history lovers should be in heaven.
Durango’s own gregarious historian Duane Smith will be on hand to speak about Prohibition, its repeal – and how that played out in our fair community. Guests are encouraged to dress “speakeasy” style (flapper dresses, anyone?), with prizes to be awarded for the best costumes.
The evening is hosted by the Durango Bootleggers Society, which is made up of our craft breweries, Carver, Durango, Ska and Steamworks brewing companies, with Brew joining in 2013.
The Spring Tonic elixir was co-brewed by the members (at Carver’s this year), and it will be tapped that evening. It’s from a pre-Prohibition lager recipe thought to be from the 1880s. The tonic will be served in a commemorative jar that beer fans get to keep.
A portion of all beverage sales and additional donations may be made to the Bootleggers Society Fund for the historical society.
The invitation includes a great quote from W.C. Fields to illustrate the occasion: “Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.”
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Popping the cork on some champagne for their anniversaries are Mike and Paula Kirchner, Guy and Bev Tomberlin (64!) and Tom and Elaine Hartnett.
