Last Updated 4/23/00

As you may have guessed by now, you have landed on the Joiner's web site, which is a personal site devoted to the most important members of our family, the dogs of course! If you managed to wait while all the graphics loaded (sorry about that), then you can see all of us (even the humans), so allow me to briefly introduce each one.

Darth is a beautiful black male German Shepherd dog that we absolutely adore. He was born and raised to be a guide dog for Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc.(GDB), but was "Career Changed" because of health problems. His new calling seems to be dog agility.

Judah is a very sweet black and cream male German Shepherd dog that was also raised to be a guide dog. He was returned to GDB for formal guide dog training on 9/21/98, and graduated on 6/26/99. Way to go, Judah!

Poco is the third guide dog puppy we raised, and the most active one yet! He kept us very busy, but we enjoyed every minute we got to spend with him. Poco returned for guide dog training on 11/08/99, however after three months of training he decided he wanted to go home, so we have adopted him. He is very glad to be home, and we are glad to have him back.

Brea is our fourth guide dog puppy, and our first female. She is simply adorable. At about six months of age, Brea was sent to the GDB campus in Oregon for evaluation and some special training. A month later she came home, dropped from the Guide Dog program, and is now living a happy life at home with us. It takes a very special kind of dog to become a guide, and not all make it.

John works as a computer programmer/analyst, and is a volunteer puppy raiser for GDB. When the dogs and work get to be too much, he escapes to the tranquility of the ocean and does a little SCUBA diving.

Jackie works in the Human Resources Department of Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., and is also a volunteer puppy raiser. When not working, you can find her shopping at the local craft store, with or without the current puppy.

As I mentioned earlier, this site is devoted to our dogs. To find out more about any of them, or to see assorted pictures of them, click on the appropriate button on the button bar at the top of this and each page. Thanks again for stopping by. I hope you enjoy our dogs as much as we do.

Training Journal from a GDB Graduate
Have you ever wondered just what happens when a guide dog user goes into training to get a new dog? I came across this web site recently, and found it very interesting. I hope you do too.
If you have any comments, please drop us a line by clicking on this image .