October Newsletter Masthead
UPCOMING EVENTS

To Benefit

gddweblogo

 

October 23, 2011

OCTOBER GRADUATION

2:00pm

1:00pm refreshments 

Guide Dogs of the Desert 

Whitewater Auditorium

_______________

 

October 28, 29, 30, 2011

Jensen's Lobster Fest!

2465 E. Palm Canyon, 
Palm Springs
  

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November 5, 2011

WineWomen 

 An Afternoon of Fabulous Wine,
Food and Furry Friends,
  
 

The Westin Mission
Hills Resort & Spa

1:00pm to 4:00pm
________________

 

November 6, 2011

BUNCO!

1:30pm

Grand Terrace, CA

_________________

 

December 10, 2011

5th Annual Heroes Brunch

10:30am to 1:30pm

Agua Caliente
Casino-Resort-Spa

 

visit our website or call  

760-329-6257 for more details 

Volunteer Puppy Raisers needed
 
Visit our Photo Gallery
Photo Gallery Link
New Board Members

We would like to welcome our
newest board members:

Fred Bell
Randall Browning MD
John Gunby 
Lori Serfling
Leonard Sigdestad, DVM

Patrick
Congratulations to the newly-elected Chair of our Board of Directors,
Patrick Mundt!
    
Guide Dogs of the Desert would like to thank
our  sponsors for
their support

NaturalBalance

petco

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Join Our Mailing List

Visit us on Facebook

 
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P.O. Box 1692
Palm Springs, CA 92263
 
Guide Dogs of the Desert
Training Facility
60-735 Dillon Road,
Whitewater, CA 92282
Monday - Thursday:
8:30am - 4:30pm
Phone: 760-329-6257  
Fax: 760-329-2866
Toll free: 888-883-0022
www.gddca.org

 
depot

Guide Dog Depot
Now Open!
New Hours
Tuesday-Saturday
8:00am - 4:00pm
125 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way
Palm Springs CA
760-327-5920

2012 Calendars 
A Letter from our Executive Director

Roccie and Sophie
Roccie and Sophie

  

For the blind, a guide dog means increased freedom, companionship and safety. Since 1972, Guide Dogs of the Desert has worked to connect people in need with the tools they require for success.  From a simple ranch house in the desert, where originally one client and one dog were trained together, Guide Dogs of the Desert has grown to house and train up to 30 clients and specially trained guide dogs each year at our campus outside Palm Springs, California. We've graduated more than 1,200 client/dog teams in our forty years of service.
 
This school was built on the premise that every legally blind person should have the opportunity to have a guide dog, even if they have multiple disabilities. Because of this commitment to our special clients, we keep our class sizes small and focus on the individual needs of our clients.
 
Guide Dogs of the Desert's program includes breeding, puppy raising, formal training for the dogs, on-campus training for our clients and their dogs, and post graduate support. All of our services are provided free of charge to our blind clients; we would not be able to continue providing the unique gifts that a trained guide dog brings to the blind without the support of our many friends and donors around the world like you.
 
As we enter our fourth decade of service, Guide Dogs of the Desert continues to seek new ways to help those without sight: we are planning a mother and baby class so new moms can learn to work with their guide dog and their child together, and we work with veterans to increase their mobility and independence after they have served our country. Our desert campus has expanded to include a Health and Wellness Center for our dogs in the kennel and puppies in training, and we opened the Guide Dog Depot in downtown Palm Springs, where visitors can shop and learn about our programs.
 
Celebrate forty years of service with us! As we grow to serve more people, we hope you will join our family and share in the life-changing work we do for the blind. Call us to arrange a tour of our campus, sign up for our newsletter -- join us as we continue our legacy of commitment to the partnership between guide dogs and the blind.   
Trina's Tip of the Month
 photo of sad dog
Separation Anxiety

September is the beginning of the school year for many households, or back to work for others, possibly causing anxiety in our four legged friends who were used to having us around them all the time. Please see the ASPCA's link for how to cope with separation Anxiety.  

 

If your dog uses his time alone in the house to bark endlessly, pee on the carpet, or tear up the sofa-and those behaviors are accompanied by depression or stress-your pooch may be suffering from separation anxiety, a very common doggy behavior problem.  

 

Overcoming disorders like separation anxiety takes time, patience and consistency, but it can be done! Just take the following steps, and you're already on your way. ASPCA-separation anxiety page.

Halloween tips for our animal friends

princess rose
Attention, animal lovers, it's almost the spookiest night of the year! The ASPCA recommends taking some common sense precautions this Halloween to keep you and your pet saying "trick or treat!" all the way to November 1.    


1. No tricks, no treats: That bowl of candy is for trick-or-treaters, not for Scruffy and Fluffy. Chocolate in all forms-especially dark or baking chocolate-can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can also cause problems. If you do suspect your pet has ingested something toxic, please call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

2. Popular Halloween plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are considered to be relatively nontoxic, but they can produce stomach upset in pets who nibble on them.


Please click on the attached link to see the rest of the 10 things to do or not to do, to keep your pets safe.
Puppy Raiser Corner

puppies corner

With a little help from some flamingo friends (a youth group fund raiser for the United Methodist Church of Yucaipa) the flock of flamingos descended upon our yard to provide distractions for the twenty-two puppies that came to learn and play. 

 

What the puppies did not realize was that the flamingos helped them get used to walking around strange and new things. It also helped to polish up the puppies heeling skills and leash walking abilities as they navigated around the brilliant pink birds. 

puppies


This is just one of the many fun experiences provided by Guide Dogs of the Desert for the pu
ppies and puppy raisers.

 

Puppy Raising is a unique and fun way to do something life-changing for another person. Guide Dogs of the Desert provides guide dogs and training, free of charge to the visually impaired.

 

The puppy raiser is a volunteer who takes the puppy into their home at twelve weeks of age and loves and socializes the puppy until 14 - 16 months later, when the puppy (now a dog) is called back to the Guide Dog of the Desert campus to begin formal guide dog training. Puppy raising is a very important part of the successful training of a guide dog. Guide Dogs of the Desert is always looking for puppy raisers.

 

Puppy raising is an integral part in the process of the puppy becoming a fully trained guide dog, and this is why we are proud to be area leaders for the Inland Empire.  

 

Jack and Ruth Carey