[Cagdu] FWD: in tribute

Sat Aug 18 13:50:54 PDT 2007

Ken:

It's a very kind, unselfish & loving person who does what's right for another, and not what they long to do for themselves. That puts you in the hero category; Few people these days show that type of bravery, selflessness. or just plain maturity.

Kudos to you!

Simone Grace

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [Cagdu] Fw: in tribute
> From: "Ken Volonte" <kenvolonte at comcast.net>
> Date: Sat, August 18, 2007 1:18 pm
> To: "Cagdu" <cagdu at nfbcal.org>
>
> Gulliver's in good health now, but he's starting to have trouble with his
> hind quarters.  I just don't want to work him until he's in so much pain
> that he can't work any more.  So he's going to a family friend where I can
> see him every once in a while.  I've seen guides worked literally until they
> die-- and there's that question: "Ken do you think that if I'd given my dog
> this or that supplement, do you think I could have worked her for a couple
> more days"?  I'm really ambivalent about this.  That's why I wrote the
> tribute.  Writing this makes me sad just like I was when I realized that
> Gulliver was ten and not nine. I gotta go.   Ken
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <ecwogan at aol.com>
> To: <cagdu at nfbcal.org>
> Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 12:17 PM
> Subject: Re: [Cagdu] Fw: in tribute
>
>
> > Ken,
> > Why are you retiring  Gulliver?
> > Leaner
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ken Volonte <kenvolonte at comcast.net>
> > To: Cagdu <cagdu at nfbcal.org>
> > Sent: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 8:41 pm
> > Subject: [Cagdu] Fw: in tribute
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Pamela
> > Caryl
> > To: Ken Volonte
> > Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 7:53 AM
> > Subject: Re: in tribute
> >
> > Oh,
> > Ken!!!!!!
> >
> > Volonte <kenvolonte at comcast.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >  It was a fast switch from my old guide Roydy to
> >   Gulliver; just a short Juno walk to determine my pace, and then I was
> > ushered
> >  into the instructors' office where I met Gulliver.
> >
> >  The first thing I noticed
> >  about him was how slim he was. Roydy had weighed 84 pounds.
> >  Gulliver was ten pounds lighter. He was 25 inches at the shoulder.
> >
> >
> >  Then I noticed his head.
> >  It was a great broad head with a huge face. Immediately I started
> >  scratching his ear, he licked me with the tip of his tongue. When I
> >   didn't correct him, he licked me with a long slow stroke that covered
> > half my
> >  face. This was going to be like living with Dino.
> >
> >  As if to emphasize his size,
> >   he gave a raspy snarl and held my hand in his big mouth for just half
> > a
> >  second. My hand was covered with dog slobber.
> >
> >  After that intro, all bets
> >   were off. Gulliver licked me and climbed on me much to the
> > embarrassment
> >  of Kathie Pits my instructor. "He's very friendly", and indeed he
> >  was.
> >
> >  He was also very cautious with
> >   a slower pace than I was used to. He was so cautious that I didn't
> > think
> >   he could take the busy crossing at Pacific and Alpine. This was
> > where
> >  many of my dogs had washed out.
> >
> >  The day before graduation,
> >   Todd and I drove back to Stockton just to see how Gulliver would
> > react.
> >   He paused only a second before crossing without a hitch. He'd work
> > out
> >  just fine.
> >
> >  Gulliver was very forgiving of
> >   my mistakes and hard on himself when he would let his attention
> > wander.
> >   Perhaps it took him a while to realize that I really was blind and
> > not some
> >  impostor wearing sleep shades. Dogs can tell. Soon enough, people
> >  would see me all over town.
> >
> >  It was during this initial
> >   bonding period that I had to relearn something that all guide dog
> > users
> >  need to know. It does not do to believe the yells of a public who
> >   will comment on every street crossing. They will say the most
> > terrible
> >  things in their efforts to be helpful. "That dog's no good. He
> >   needs to be trained", or in the next block, "That dog took you right
> > through
> >  that construction. He's amazing!"
> >
> >  I felt safe with
> >  Gulliver, not only because of his caution, but because of his
> >  protectiveness. I think he saved me from being mugged once or
> >  twice.
> >
> >  We knew Stockton by day and
> >   night. We knew where all the best waitresses were, the ones that
> > would
> >   give Gulliver something special brought from home. They would always
> > say
> >  the same thing: "I know I'm not supposed to, but he's just so
> >  cute".
> >
> >  Cute wasn't the half of
> >  it. In addition to his talents as a guide dog, Gulliver could act.
> >   He had big sad eyes that could pierce even the most resolute heart.
> > He
> >   accentuated his sad look with trembling, slobbering and stomach
> > gurgling
> >   noises. I can't swear to this, but I think he could make himself
> > look
> >  skinnier. He's a yellow Lab. What can I say.
> >
> >  Now it's time for Gulliver to
> >  retire. He's ten and a half and it's getting hard for him to climb
> >  stairs and he doesn't do those dolphin leaps the way he used to.
> >
> >
> >  Through the years, he's guided
> >   me and been in every sort of conveyance you could imagine. We've
> > even
> >  marched with the National Federation of the Blind in Atlanta this
> >  summer. Indeed! We were the first ones back to the hotel. It
> >  makes me wonder why I'm retiring him.
> >
> >  I'll miss him; but he's going
> >  where there is a little Jack Russell Terrier named Bella. She'll
> >   keep him young, and his replacement will keep me young. Maybe that's
> > why
> >  I use a guide dog.
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> > 2:31 PM
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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