Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Come To Our Holiday Open House

Kick off December by bringing the family to hang out with guide dogs this weekend!

Southeastern Guide Dogs opens its campus five days a week for puppy huggers and dog walkers, but Saturday is a great opportunity to learn all about Southeastern and our superb dogs because it is Open House! You may be asking how is Open House different from any other time you can come to the Palmetto campus. Well, there are a number of activities going on Dec. 8 that don’t normally occur.  Volunteers will be leading guided tours, filling guests in on the history and inner workings of Southeastern.  While readers of this column have gotten an inside look at what Southeastern does, the tour will give you a chance to put it all together and see the training grounds and kennels for yourself. You’ll also get the chance to interact with the …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Holiday Gift Giving Has Gone to the Dogs

The holidays are upon us! Have you done your shopping yet? If not, here are some gift ideas that may not have crossed your mind.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday now faint memories, we bet there are still people on your list that you haven’t checked off.  Whether it is that uncle who has everything or your boss, shopping can be difficult.  So why not avoid the lines and mayhem and do something for the greater good instead? Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Palmetto campus has a fabulous Gift Shop!  Visitors can shop in a homey atmosphere for a wide variety of pet-centered gifts, but the best thing…all proceeds go toward funding Southeastern’s mission. For those of you to our south, the unique pet boutique in our Main Street location in downtown Sarasota is chock-full of goodies for the four-legged family members and those who love them.  You are sure to find a great gift …

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How Charitable Are Sarasota Residents?

As government entitlement programs are cut, Americans will rely on local charities for help. How generous is your community?

How generous is your community? The answer to that question may determine in part how cities and towns pull through tough economic times, as government cut welfare and Americans are hit hard by unemployment, foreclosure and other financial problems. “There’s a storm coming,” says Bruce Katz, vice president at the Brookings Institution, and an expert on the nation’s cities. “Which places are prepared?” Katz says local governments should be thinking hard about how to encourage giving because “we don’t have the welfare programs that we have had in the past. The need for individual giving is greater than it has been in modern memory.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy offers an easy-to-use interactive map based on ZIP code that shows just how …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Southeastern Graduate Profile: Lunar Explorer Frank Obremski & Berniece

This week saw another group of students graduate from Southeastern Guide Dogs’ program with their new guide dogs. Here is the profile of just one of those inspiring people.

Frank Obremski, born with congenital retinitis pigmentosa, has been legally blind since birth and ten years ago became totally blind.  But that didn’t stop him from making a lasting impression on the moon.  You see, Frank was a vendor at the Kennedy Space Center for 42 years and while there, he was able to “have a look” at the lunar space rover by giving it a once-over with his hands before it was sent up to check out the moon. Frank came to Southeastern Guide Dogs for his third guide.  Upon arriving, he was paired with a petite black Labrador named Berniece, but lovingly called Niecey with whom he bonded instantly. Niecey won’t have to make her way around the Kennedy Space Center and its enormous buildings, but she will have plenty of …

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Charles Schelle

8:45 am on Friday, March 23, 2012

That's great to hear Frank has a great companion in Berniece or I guess now it's Niecey! Does Kennedy Space Center do that regularly for its vendors? Pretty cool they allow an up-close feel and inspection of space craft for folks who work on the property.   more ›

Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Spring Break is a Family Affair at This Campus

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ campus has been abuzz all week with Spring Break visitors. Here’s how you can bring the Spring Break fun home all year.

With Spring Break come big crowds for Puppy Hugging and Dog Walking on Southeastern Guide Dogs’ campus. Southeastern is the only guide dog school that opens its campus five days a week to the general public to enlist their help in socializing the puppies and exercising the dogs-in-training and people come in carloads to the picturesque campus. While this socialization and exercise is very important, there are also other ways the whole family can get involved with Southeastern Guide Dogs. One major way would be to become puppy raisers.  These selfless folks bring a cuddly bundle of puppy energy into their homes, love it, teach it basic obedience and expose it to the wide world. Then once the pup has become a well-behaved dog, they return it…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Good News From Southeastern's Walkathon Wrap-Up

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon was last weekend. In case you didn’t make it to Vinoy Park, here’s a wrap-up of the day’s events.

It was a gorgeous day March 3 down by the waterfront in St. Petersburg when people gathered for the 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon. The site was laid out with a variety of activities for the whole family – there were three giant bounce houses/slides for the kids, food trucks with delicious fare, dog massage, and a giant tent that housed both of Southeastern’s gift shops. By dinner the day got even better with volunteer awards and a big surprise for Southeastern Guide Dogs. The walk was led by Petey, the First Pup of St. Petersburg, and Miss St. Pete.  The line of walkers seemed never-ending as they made their way along the 3K walk. Many different breeds of dog were in attendance from Great Pyrenees to teacup Pomeranians, all…

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Come Join the Guide Dog Family

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon is not only a great fundraiser, but a terrific way to be a part of a fantastic community.

The 26th Annual Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon is set for March 3. Walkathon is Southeastern’s biggest fundraiser and this year looks like it will surpass all the previous years with record attendance expected.  “We outgrew our previous locations, so this year we are moving the walk to St. Pete’s Vinoy Park,” said Stacey Price, Special Events Manager, “and the city of St. Petersburg has welcomed us with open arms.”  The new location has allowed Southeastern to expand the activities of the day to include something for the whole family. This year’s Walkathon is shaping up to be a fun-filled morning for everyone, two-legged and four-legged alike.  Obviously, dogs are more than welcome at the walk and there will even be a dog masseuse on …

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Puppy Hugs Available for Valentine’s Day

Looking for a unique gift for Valentine’s Day? How about independence and freedom?

It is estimated that Americans will spend approximately $13 billion, that’s BILLION, with a B, on Valentine’s Day this year.  While I admit it is really nice to receive a beautiful bouquet of flowers, box of chocolates, and enjoy a nice night out, let’s see just what could be done if that $13 billion were used a different way.  With $13 billion, Southeastern Guide Dogs could breed, raise, train, place and provide follow-up care for more than 216,000 guide dog teams.  Or we could feed more than 35,700,000 dogs-in-training for a year.  Or $3,700,000+ people could have puppies-in-training named after them.  Or we could purchase more than 43,000,000 guide dog harnesses and leashes. Wow! To bring those numbers down to more feasible terms, the …

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Weekly Tails From Southeastern Guide Dogs

Get Ready to Walk!

Southeastern Guide Dogs’ biggest fundraiser of the year is set for March 3, but people are getting ready for it now, here’s why.

Every year Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Walkathon draws supporters from all over the country.  Some are volunteers, some graduates, some sponsors and others just want to get out and walk with their best friend. This year’s Walkathon looks to bring the biggest crowd yet with the location being shifted to St. Petersburg’s Vinoy Park.  The gorgeous location along with a street fair vibe complete with food vendors and fun things for the whole family are sure to bring crowds in droves. What makes Walkathon different from all other charity walks?  It’s dog-friendly, of course!  Not only are dogs welcome, but expected to join in on the fun – and with the dog’s registration fee comes a dog bandana.  You’re likely to be walking alongside dogs from …

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Next Year We Resolve To…

Every year New Year’s brings about vows to lose weight, eat better, stop bad habits and all those other things we should be doing throughout the year anyway. Here are the resolutions of some of the staff at Southeastern Guide Dogs.

I am tempted not to make any resolutions this year because I never keep them. If I were to make one and I really should, it would be to try and reach more people to let them know about our wonderful program so they too can become part of the 'Southeastern Family' through volunteering, donating or spreading the word to those who can benefit from our assistance. – Helen, Development To spend more time with my beautiful wife, Melanie! – David, Training I resolve to start moving my tail as much as our dogs do. – Miranda, Communications My New Year’s Resolution is to buy and eat fewer sweets, so I can afford to buy more shoes. – Tara, Puppy Raising Services I resolve not to have any New Year’s resolutions. – Toni, Volunteer Services Spiritual…

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