Letter from Amber Zests owner

HI Robben,

   Let me start by introducing myself, My name is Amber McLain. I am the lucky one to have been placed with one of your pups that was  donated to   Guide dogs of america. I have  Zest who was raised By Ann.  I thaught you may like to no how she is doing and no that she is a well loved girl who loves her work.  She is one of the best guides I have ever worked. She takes her work really really to heart and would love to work all day long every day if I let her. She has such a loving personalaty mixed with spunk and a real Zest for life.  Her and I live in California  in a city called Van Nuys.  Zest loves loves loves to swim and keeping her out of our pool is one of the hardest tasks.  One really fun storry  I love to tell is of her in the pool.  She learned that when a toy or boan is at the bottem of the pool that she has to dive under to get it. So she will stick her head totally under and dive down to the bottem and retreave  the toy from the bottem. Its so amazing to see. Her other fun pass times include running with my boyfriends GSD Emmy, barking  at me, roling  on the ground with all fors in the air making fun noises,  and she also loves to just lye with me on the bed cuddeling like a big huge baby! We have three cats who all love Zest. However when I first braught her home she thaught it was her job to chace them around. Now you can find her and the  smallest cat sleeping together where ever they are! I was amazed to find that  such a high energy fighsty  girl could bee so lovy and sweet. It looks like you picked some wonderful breeding  stock and created an awsom dog! Let me tell you a little of her working life. She is trained as all Dogs from GDA. They are taught to guide safely around any obsticul, stop at up and down curbs, find doars, staires, elavaters,  escolaters, busses, seats, and a few other odd and end things. SHe is also taught to bee mindful of trafic and in some cases even refuse a command  if she feels it is not safe for us to cross.  They teach them dorectional  commands such as right left forward back so on. It is truly amazing to bee guided by a Guide who loves you and who you trust. I watched zest being raised when she was a little puppy. I always commented  on how wonderful she was and how I would love to have her as a guide. Never did  I no that two years later I would bee matched with her. It has been a truely  wonderful experience working with her. It has not been easy at times because Zest is a strong willed  dog. We have had our battels at first but they are becoming less and less. I have been asked sence I have gotten Zest if she is the same dog I first was placed with. That is because we have become such a strong team that we just flow together  naturally now. I like to explain it like dancing. When you are first starting with a partener  you and the partener  step on one anothers feet and stumble but then after practis  and getting  to no one another you just glide along with no problems. Guide work is the same way and in many ways it is like learning to dance with your dog.  I hope this letter finds you well. Sorry it was so long.

 Amber and Zest