GDTX COO Gretchen Garceau-Kragh (top left) visits with (L-R) Venturity Financial Partners’ Deanna Walker, vice-president business development; Sarah Miller, business development director; and Dina McIlhenny, business development and GDTX boarder volunteer, as guide dog Blitz is happy to pose for the camera.

Guide Dogs of Texas (GDTX) is always is need of in-kind donations, such as towels, hand tools, puppy treats, trash bags and more. So we are grateful to Venturity Financial Services and their Venturity Cares Program for gifting us with a number of much needed items recently.

The Venturity Cares Program is an employee, community service initiative of Dallas-based Venturity Financial Partners that assists corporations and nonprofits like us with accounting and bookkeeping services.

“One of the things we have started doing this year is assisting our clients. It just makes sense,” said Tarrah Adam, chairperson of the Venturity Cares Program.

Venturity employees recently held a two-week supply drive to collect items that GDTX has on its wish list. On June 12, Deanna Walker, partner and VP Business Development for Venturity, came to San Antonio to deliver boxes of towels, doggie treats, trash bags, rope toys, food containers and dog biscuits.

“We are so grateful to Venturity Cares for taking the time and effort to secure these much needed supplies,” said Susana Dias, GDTX volunteer coordinator. “Every donation of treats, toys and towels is put to good use working with our advanced training team and new puppies.”

Captain loves his work as a guide dog in training.

Captain, My Captain! What a fun name for this intelligent, willing guide dog in training. Captain fully lives up to his name. He is a fast learner and a fast walker. He loves to use his confidence to sort out complicated situations while training. When he has sorted out one such puzzle, he looks back at his instructor with a big grin as if to say, “See what I did? Aren’t I something?!”

One of his favorite games is to “find” things. Guide dogs are taught to locate objects in their environment, such as trash cans, elevators, crosswalk buttons, seats, restrooms and more.  Captain loves to find such objects and is always rewarded with a “Well done!”  Captain’s ability to find things will be very useful for his future client.

Captain was born March 20, 2012 and is part of our third litter born to Guide Dogs of Texas brood Aspen and California-based Guide Dogs of America stud Astro. He grew up with puppy raiser, Tawnya McClure, and her family in Floresville, Texas, where belly rubs from Mama were one of his favorite things.

As Captain continues to learn his guiding skills, he is well on his way to being what he is meant to be – a guide dog, a Captain – for a visually impaired Texan.

Denise Higginbotham (right) presents a check to GDTX client Lou Ann Williams with her guide dog Atlas.

Two years ago, Denise Higginbotham learned about Guide Dogs of Texas through an alumni sorority Delta Gamma. So she started volunteering for GDTX by collecting money from coin banks around San Antonio as well as assisting at special events.

“I like knowing that what I do, however small, is helping someone else,” she said of her volunteer service.

Thanks to Higginbotham, SeaWorld recently donated $500 to GDTX after she recommended to a board member of the theme park’s charitable entity, SeaWorld Cares, that they consider giving to the organization.

It probably helped that Higginbotham, who is the entertainment supervisor at SeaWorld, works there.  She’s responsible for overseeing the show operators, such as audio technicians, light board operators and stage hands for SeaWorld’s eight shows. “It’s always something new and different to do every day,” she said of her job.

Higginbotham also enjoys her volunteer work with GDTX. “Everyone there really cares about what they do on behalf of visually impaired people,” she said. “Plus, the dogs are just amazing.”

Puppy raiser Tracy Schagen Lane and Caleb walk through downtown Austin.

At 63 pounds and 24 inches at the shoulder and dark black fur paired with a rakish grin, Caleb loves the City of Austin. His puppy raiser, Tracy Schagen Lane, who is the owner/director of a pre-school, has trained many successful guide dog puppies for Guide Dogs of Texas over the years, and every day she takes Caleb to work with her. Caleb also spends time with his puppy sitter, Kyle Wesson, and accompanied him to the University of Texas at Austin where Wesson is working on his Ph.D.

Caleb possesses the ability to calmly walk through the echoing halls of the Capitol building, while navigating metal detectors, grand staircases and throngs of touring high school students.

During a break from work, both this guide dog puppy and his raiser thoughtfully ponder over a latte: If I ran for office, who would run my campaign?

And then it’s back to the real world full of bus rides and business errands. You have to love Austin, Guide Dogs of Texas and a puppy that is such great company. You feel you can do anything.

A growing puppy needs a little down time, too, such as riding in a canoe (while wearing a life jacket, of course), romping with children or taking a nice long, relaxing stroll in one of Austin’s beautiful dog parks. His puppy raiser is training Caleb to become a future guide dog by exposing him to different sights and sounds of a busy metropolis.

Caleb, who is 14-months-old, will be evaluated for advanced guide dog training from June 17-28. If accepted, he will begin advanced training at 16 months.

Bruce and Judy Hooper

San Antonio native Bruce Hooper was a successful, 52-year-old, traveling salesman for Spalding Sports Worldwide, selling golf equipment throughout Texas when one day while driving through Corpus Christi his eyesight drastically changed.

“All of a sudden I couldn’t read the street signs and got lost,” he said.

Hooper was diagnosed with macular degeneration, which left the former salesman with no central vision and only limited peripheral vision. “I spent the next year feeling sorry for myself,” he said, but he continued to work for the sports company by hiring people to drive him to business meetings and appointments.

Hooper retired after 35 years with the golf industry, when it became too difficult to continue working. Moreover, he feared that after being declared legally blind in 2002, he would have to put his golf clubs away for good. “When I could see, it was most enjoyable to see the ball in the air,” he said. “So I thought if I couldn’t see the ball I couldn’t enjoy golf.”

Since then, however, Hooper – with help from his wife, Judy – has proved himself wrong, and hasn’t let his blindness interfere with his winning game of golf. Today, Hooper is the current and seven-time American Blind Golf National Champion and a three-time Canadian Blind Open Champion. In 2006, he won the World Blind Golf Championship in Japan, defeating 54 players from nine countries.

Hooper, 66, will participate in the 11^th annual Guide Dogs of Texas Charity Golf Tournament on May 16 at The Quarry Golf Club in San Antonio. For details and to register, visit http://guidedogsoftexas.org/golf-tournament.

So how exactly is Hooper able to play golf? First of all, he credits Judy, a retired math and science teacher who serves as his coach and caddie, for helping him garner all those national and international titles.

“Judy tells me about the hole I’m playing and uses devices that give me distances,” Hooper said. “I pick the club, she positions me behind the ball, and then I make the swing.”

Hooper said he practices about two to three times a week at golf courses throughout San Antonio. He is looking forward to playing in the GDTX tournament, and believes he has one thing that can help his four-person team on the green. “I probably know my distances better than sighted people because I’ve had to depend on it since being blind,” he said.

When they’re not playing golf, Hooper and his wife serve on the board of the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind.

Guide Dogs of Texas pups begin their initial training as early as 1 week old.

People are often amazed at the things our guide dogs can do to provide freedom, mobility and independence to our clients. Maneuvering their owners through bustling crowds, finding bathrooms and bus stops, and leading them safely across busy intersections are just some of a guide dog’s responsibilities.

But what a lot of people don’t realize is the enormous amount of preparation and intense training it takes to develop a certified guide dog. To give you an overview of the training involved we checked in with Sandy Merrill, our director of guide dog mobility training, who works with our dogs every day.

Merrill says that from the time the dogs are 1-day-old to 3-weeks-old, development skills are introduced to stimulate their eyes, ears and noses. From 4 weeks to 8-weeks-old, puppy development volunteers interact with the puppies. “They need different sounds, smells and people around them, so that they can get used to people and things in their environment,” Merrill adds.

From 8 weeks to 16 months, the curious canines learn obedience skills and house behavior, or rather the do’s and don’ts of being inside a home. They also begin to wear their tiny, blue Guide Dogs of Texas jackets and are introduced to the world around them, such as being carried on and off buses because one day they will be leading their owners on and off a bus, too.

“Around this time we have what is called ‘in-for-training,’ where we bring all the pups that are old enough into our kennel to determine if they will be suitable to be guide dogs,” Merrill says. “The ones selected will go into advanced training.”

When the dogs start their advanced training, they undergo a guided learning process and wear the body piece of the harness. “The dogs can’t make mistakes when they are in the guided learning stage – but the handlers can,” Merrill says. “The responsibility to get the work correctly at this stage is 100 percent on the handler. If a dog misses a step, for instance, then the handler probably didn’t time their instructions correctly, or they failed to keep the dogs’ interest.”

The development stage is where clues to the dog are reduced, and the dog begins to take responsibility for making decisions. You can actually see their understanding of their job begin to grow.

At this point, the dogs start to make decisions without being told all the time. For example, when a dog encounters an obstacle, the dog is encouraged to decide a course is action. If it makes the right decision, praise is given. If the dog doesn’t make the right decision, the dog still learns from the experience.

Consolidation stage is where we test the dogs’ decisions, and work the dog in blindfold. This allows us to know what it feels like to work with and communicate with each dog in the same way that their visually impaired owner will communicate with their dog.

Traffic is introduced at all stages, but in the final stages of formal training we do “traffic work,” which means the dogs learn intelligent disobedience, and will refuse a dangerous command (such as a car coming at them when the owner says “forward.”)

After months of work, staff begins to match dogs with clients. When a match is made, certified guide dog mobility instructors visit the client at his or her home. If all goes well, the team “graduates” and begins a new life together.

Tee It Up
Registration begins at 11 a.m. The fun begins with a four-person Texas scramble with a shot-gun start at 1:30 p.m.

Tournament Information
Team prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams. Individual prizes will also be awarded for the longest drive, straightest drive and closest-to-the-pin.

Download the PDF

Barbara Alexander (center) is recognized by the La Prensa Foundation for her community service efforts.

From Scout Pack Committee chairman to high school volunteer PTA chairman and from serving as a St. Louis County citizen zoning commission community member and Presbyterian Church USA elder, life has not been dull for Barbara Alexander.

Now after all these years of helping make life a little brighter for people in the communities in which she has lived, Alexander’s volunteer services have been rewarded.

Alexander, who is on the board of Guide Dogs of Texas, was honored with the Community Award by the La Prensa Foundation during the 17^th Annual Diamonds Award Gala on April 11 at the Omni hotel.

“I volunteer because I believe in doing my best to try to support the organizations and causes that make things better and fit my interests and abilities,” she said.

Alexander was one of nine women recognized for their outstanding commitment, dedication and hard work that have enhanced the community.

The La Prensa Foundation, which has awarded more than $2.1 million in college scholarships, is headed by founder and president Amelia Duran, who with her husband, Tino, own and operate La Prensa, San Antonio’s first bilingual newspaper. It has been in publication since 1989.

Blitz is making great progress in her training to become a guide dog.

Blitz is a happy, yellow Labrador that is part of Guide Dogs of Texas’ second litter. She was born on March 3, 2012, and her mom is our very own brood dog, Poppy. Her dad, Fire, is from Susquehanna Service Dogs in Pennsylvania.

Blitz was raised by a participant in the Guide Dogs of Texas’ PAWsitive Approach Program at the Dominguez State Jail. Blitz enjoyed her training walks and getting belly rubs before bed time.  On weekends, when Blitz was not training, she spent time with Mary Miller, a volunteer puppy sitter. Blitz liked going to the Farmers’ Market and church on weekends.

On Feb. 4, Blitz entered advanced training and now lives at the kennel where our kennel manager, Alex Brown, keeps up the tradition of belly rubs. Blitz is responding well to her training with apprentice instructor Edward Garcia and instructor Sarah Mumme. She is very clever and loves the new challenges and adventures of advanced training.

Blitz is a gentle and willing dog. She loves to be close at all times to the person who takes care of her. Whether her trainer is working outside, playing the piano or watching a movie, Blitz wants to be involved. She also gets along with her kennel mates Blossom, Cody and Captain. Blitz’s favorite song is “Itzy Bitzy Blitzy” sung to the tune of “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Blitz is well on her way to fulfilling her destiny as a guide dog for a visually impaired Texan, thanks to all the help from her friends at Guide Dogs of Texas.

Instead of  poring through books of baby names, we would really appreciate your help in naming Ava’s pups. Since this is the “E” litter, we hope you will recommend names beginning with an “E.” Easton, Earl, or Einstein? We’ll leave it up to you.

To suggest a name(s), please fill out the form below.  You better hurry, though, because the deadline is at noon Friday, April 5th . Names that are selected will be announced on our website and on our Facebook fan page.

Now get those thinking caps on and send us your ideas for the names of our “E” litter.