Baldwin

Last Sunday we got a phone call from Guiding Eyes saying that a 14 week old yellow male lab was available immediately if we wanted him.  He had been sick with a urinary tract infection when the rest of his litter was tested and kind of forgotten after that.  After learning some more about him we decided that an older puppy would mean less housebreaking and he would have had all of his shots so he could be taken anywhere, including to work with me, which was a bonus.  Tuesday night we met the van and got our sweet Baldwin.  We knew he was a bit "soft" which meant that he was more of a cuddler and less hard headed than some of the puppies which sounds great, and it is for a pet, but guide dogs need to be super confident and even a bit stubborn.  But he was good enough to pass his initial tests so he has the potential, we just need to work extra hard to pull that out of him by building his confidence.  He slept great that first night but was having accidents all over the place the next day.  For a moment Jeremy and I asked what we had gotten ourselves into, but lo and behold Baldwin started to feel more at home and didn't have any accidents yesterday or today.  He is super gentle with the kids, in fact, the dog he watched a few weeks ago was much more active and playful and the kids were almost disappointed that Baldwin wasn't as much.  He will lay next to Gavin while he reads to him, Mason isn't afraid he will jump up on him, and Cameron could throw a ball for him all day long.  Jeremy loves to play hide and seek with him and I just just love to snuggle him.  He fell asleep when I held him like a baby yesterday and I was in heaven.  He is learning commands so quickly and you can tell he really wants to please you.  We love him!