Maudie
Kristi and Maudie
Maudie came to me as my 3rd Guide Dog Puppy when I was in the 4-H Puppy Raising program. My parents were divorced (which in the 60s and 70s made me the neighborhood outcast). My mother was mentally unstable and my horses and dogs were all that kept me sane. I was painfully shy and had zero self esteem! When Maudie came to me my confidence was already bolstered by my previous puppy raising experience, but Maudie was special in a whole different way. Her work ethic and enthusiasm helped win us sevearl ribbons in AKC 4-H obedience classes and Guide Dog Field Days.... and she was my closest and most trusted friend for 9 months! When it came time to send her back to Guide Dogs, it was terribly hard, but I had already learned that it was a sacrifice of the heart and all for a greater good. Raising Guide Dog puppies inspired me to get into animal rescue and also become a professional family dog trainer later in life. They taught me patience and compassion and charity. My GDP's saved my life and my sanity and have had an impact upon me to this day. Maudie ended up helping 3 blind partners during her Guide career, and when she retired she came back into my life at a time I needed her most (my husband had just left me for another woman and I was left in a strange town where I had few friends). I was going through a horrible time and although she passed away a few weeks after she came back to me, I always felt that she came back to me to tell me that she had not forgotten her puppyhood with me and to give me back HER final gift of love.