July 31st 2003	Yesterday we drove to Auckland to collect our new Guide Dog puppy. She is delightful and thus far has made no mistakes in the house, has met and is loved by almost every family member, and is still busy winning hearts! We will keep you posted.
August 27th 2003	Wisha is growing and getting into more and more mischief. She and Crinkle (our growing up stud cat) have a very fun relationship. We are trying to teach her than there are a limited number of legal chew items, these do not include, floors, furniture, children's clothing on and off the child, etc. She is learning and is starting to get her legal toys and take them to her bed. She had met her first escalator and was not at all worried. She is in her element at basketball and hockey games with piles of children loving her. We are looking forward to Wisha being able to walk when we are outside in public places, 2 weeks to go, she is 11 kg and heavy to carry! She is struggling but still manages to get in and out the cat door!
September 20th 2003	Yeah, freedom on the ground outside!! Wisha has been to the beach and loved it, chasing the waves and digging in the sand as you can see October 17th 2004 Wisha has been on a four day camp with her year 6 class from Te Akau Ki Papamoa School. She was almost as well behaved as the children, and that is pretty amazing. Except for overdosing on sand and sea water she had a great time, behaved well in the museum and where she had to. Here she is keeping Jessica company while weaving flax on the Strand at Whakatane. . Wisha enjoyed stretching out at the chemist and watching Jessica get her ears pierced for her 11th birthday.
October 5th 2003	Wisha has just been for a big trip down to Wairoa, where she learned how to be a farm dog. She had four wheel drive motorbike rides and played with real farm dogs and hunting hounds. Not mandatory guide dog training, but fun none the less!
October 17th 2004	Wisha has been on a four day camp with her year 6 class from Te Akau Ki Papamoa School. She was almost as well behaved as the children, and that is pretty amazing. Except for overdosing on sand and sea water she had a great time, behaved well in the museum and where she had to. Here she is keeping Jessica company while weaving flax on the Strand at Whakatane.
December 29th 2004	Wisha is getting big and going through her teenage six foot tall and bullet proof stage! She visited her sponsors at the Westpac Bank and has her photo in every one in the country. She had a lovely Christmas and has enjoyed Christmas shopping. She had a weeks camping by a river which she enjoyed with her children
Jan 27th 2004	Wisha has grown up so much and is improving by the day. She is getting very brave with escalators. She thoroughly enjoyed a week at Ngatahoa Lodge, where she absieled and kayaked with confidence! February 11th 2004 Wisha has come into season and has made the trip to the Guide Dog Center where she will stay for the next three weeks. This keeps her safe and also gives the staff an opportunity to work with her and do any health checks necessary. It is a good dummy run for us, as we have to give Wisha up for good in May. It was very difficult saying good-bye, and we are missing her badly.
July 4th 2004	Wisha has left us to start her training. She has passed her twenty walk assessment and now after a month's respite boarding back home with us she is seriously into her guide dog training. Although it was very emotional parting from her, she and her new trainer are made for each other! We should know by October whether Wisha will be graduating as a guide dog. She is so extra wonderful that she is being considered for breeding. We will keep you posted on her progress!
October 2nd 2004	We have survived our trip to see Wisha. It was heart wrenching but also very filled with pride and joy. She knew us, no doubt about that. We walked in the rain with her trainer to the mall. Wisha then proceeded to walk both Jessica and Chloe in turn blindfolded. This was an amazing experience, she is going to be a super star! Already Wisha can find the stairs, escalator, door, bank and book shop. She is learning to take care with overhead objects as well. Wisha should be matched to her final owner in October, we hope to meet with them and attend her graduation, another tear jerking experience!
	Wisha's new owner Christine is going to continue Wisha's diary from here on. We are totally thrilled that we can have ongoing contact and hope to meet and get to know Christine.
18 January 2005	Wisha was brought to our home in Manurewa all lively and rearing to go. We set off on our first walk both unsure of each other. Now two months later Wisha is guiding me around most trees and bushes and avoiding poles. She is also going at a more comfortable speed instead of pulling me down the street. She seems to be bonding with me as she likes to be near me most of the time. She loves to say hello to people and other dogs. She steals socks, underwear and other things and takes them outside or to her bed. We have a cat called Zoey who hisses at her but otherwise they get on all right. Wisha has so far been to Sky City where we had dinner and a gamble in the casino. She lay quietly beside me all night. I have taken her to three blind lawn bowling tournaments where she gets tethered up and is made a fuss of by people walking past while I am bowling. I took her to a meeting of blind people where there were a few other guide dogs and a puppy walker with a six month old puppy. Wisha thought it was play time with the dogs and ran away from me twice
March 11 2005	Wisha and I graduated which means we are now an official guide dog team who can walk to our local shopping center and for a 35 minute walk along some streets in our area. We still have some training to do with my guide dog instructor as we need to show Wisha how to take me to some more places and another walking route.
12 June 2005	Wisha had her second birthday on Tuesday June 7th. She was given a rubber bone from me and a giggle ball from my sister. My volunteer home help took Wisha and I for a walk in the park and left a muffin on my house bench for my lunch but it was not there when I went to get it. Wisha thought it was her birthday cake and stole it. Wisha is guiding me reasonably well most days. She gets excited when she knows I'm going out and is willing to work for me so walks fast for me sometimes. I have taken her into Newmarket on the train a few times and she loves it. It takes me 25 minutes to walk to the Manurewa railway station from my home and one day Wisha guided me most of the way to the railway station carrying a pair of socks in her mouth. We daren’t leave any socks around or Wisha will take them. She likes to chew up paper, cardboard and a mat. She has put on a little weight and is still lively as a puppy.
9 September 2005	Wisha is settling into her role as a guide dog guiding me along my walking routes, to the Manurewa shopping center and to the Manurewa railway station and from the Newmarket railway station to the head office of the royal New Zealand Foundation of the blind. She loves going for a free run in parks and reserves especially if there is a stream or pond to jump in for a swim. She also loves playing with other dogs that are out for a free run to. A week ago Wisha had her teeth cleaned and scaled under general anaesthetic which kept her quiet for a couple of days then she was full of life again. Wisha now gets all excited when we walked past the vets on our way to the shops. My Guide Dog Services Instructor took a video of Wisha and me walking to Manurewa and doing some shopping. The video was for a thank you for Wisha's puppy walkers who did a wonderful job preparing Wisha for training to be a guide dog. The video was shown at a function for puppy walkers in Tauranga on Tuesday. The puppy walkers were also presented with a portrait photograph of Wisha and me as well.
May 2008	Wisha has been pushing her boundaries with Christine for some time, and recently her dog distraction allowed her to cross roads against the light to get to puppies in red jackets! Wisha was sent back to the guide dog center and has been rematched with a lovely man in Tokoroa, also happy to keep in touch with us. It has been very hard for Christine, as Wisha developed a tumor as a young dog and was out of action for some months as well. As you can imagine the bond between a guide dog and their handler is very strong. Christine now has a new guide dog as well, so all going well, happy endings all round!
June 2008	Wisha is now living and working in Tokoroa, with a retired guide dog. She has a male handler and his wife to indulge her, and she goes for long walks. I hope to get their permission to share her ongoing progress with you