Have Paws Will Travel

Guide Dog Puppy Raising Club

Arapahoe County, Colorado

A TRIBUTE TO ABOLENE

The voice and inspiration of Ask Abbie

January 15, 1991-January 10, 2006

Ask Abbie

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Abolene Grows Up - and Grows Old

Abolene at three months old--
a fuzz ball with wise, ancient eyes.
Andrea received Abolene as her first Guide Puppy
on March 21, 1991.

Isn't baby Abolene cute in her little puppy coat?

By five months, the fuzz is nearly gone.

Christmas 1991. Abolene is all grown up and nearly ready for harness training.

Abolene went to Guide Dogs for harness training, but was dropped for flea allergy dermatitis. Luckily, there are no fleas in Colorado, so Abolene was free of the problem once she got home. At two years old, Abolene had grown into a beautiful adult dog. Bouncy and full of life, Abolene loved her walks, playing with the puppies, chasing squirrels, and doing tricks for treats, especially her "Victory Roll," a kind of leap with a circle and twist added.

By six years old, Abolene is getting some white on her muzzle,
but she is in her prime. She's young enough to participate
in puppy club events when career change dogs are welcome
and to take on the young puppies in an active way.

At age eleven, her face is white,
but Abolene is still going strong, ruling the house,
her people, and the puppies like an old queen bee.
She continues to enjoy looking for kitty cats on walks,
and begging for treats. She wakes us up for breakfast and
barks when she needs in or out of the house. She's even
known to do a Victory Roll at times, when she thinks her food is coming.
She loves being part of all the goings on when we work in the yard, too.

Abolene at age fourteen. Her wise old face finally matches those ancient,
wise eyes, now clouded over with age.
The years are taking their toll.
Stiff from arthritis, her pleasures are reduced to begging for
cookies, lying in the warm sunshine (unmolested by young puppies),
and being with her people, especially her dad.
Her body is starting to give out from liver and kidney failure.
When she refused her dog treats, we knew it was time.
We sent Abolene gently to her rest just five days before her fifteenth birthday.

Abolene Helped Raise Thirteen Puppies

Puppy #1 - Salsa - 1992

Salsa had taken Abolene's place while Abolene was in harness training at Guide Dogs--including her crate, her bed, and her food bowl. Abolene seemed really depressed about being displaced, but perked up when she was allowed to attend puppy club meetings and
started her own obedience classes with her mom.
Eventually, Salsa and Abolene became best friends

Beginning with Salsa, Abolene taught each new puppy
how to play tug with a long rope bone.
That was back in the early 1990's, before tug between dogs
and balls to play with were off-limits for Guide Puppies.

Puppy #2 - Tandy - 1993

Abolene & Tandy were pals, too.

Tandy graduated as a guide and retired to friends who lived nearby.
Abolene and Tandy liked to pal around together whenever we dog-sat for Tandy--
no rough and tumble play--strictly two dignified old ladies enjoying each other's company.

Puppy # 3 - Prosper - 1994
Abolene & Prosper

Prosper was a spit-fire, but she and Abolene got along just fine, enjoying long walks and romps in the yard.
When play was over, Propser liked to cuddle on her older friend's shoulder.

Puppy #4 - Berra - 1995
Abolene & Berra

Berra was a challenging puppy for Abolene to befriend.
As a shepherd, Berra tried to herd Abolene, an activity
the golden retriever found perplexing.

Abolene's fifth puppy arrived before Berra returned for harness training,
so she had two puppies to train at once for about a month.

Puppy #5 - Jethro - 1996

By her fifth puppy, Abolene is staring to get that "Oh, no, here we go again!" look in her eyes when a new puppy comes home.

As golden retrievers, Jethro and Abolene understood each other perfectly.
The only drawback was Jethro's baggy lips which caused him to drool constantly.
Poor Abolene was always wet from her friend's attentions--as you can see around
her head and neck in this photo.

Puppy #6 - Brando - 1997
Abolene & Brando

Brando was a great friend to Abolene. The two especially loved playing in the deep snow,
and were often found cuddling on the dog bed together.
During the year Brando was raised, Abolene's mom got married.
Abolene adored her new dad, and played a pivotal role in teaching him the joys of living with dogs.
Meanwhile, Brando was "Best Dog" at the wedding.

Puppy #7 - Gaston - 1998
abolene & Gaston

Gaston started out little and cute......but he quickly grew to a 90 lb monster
who could quite easily overwhelm little 55 lb Abolene in play,
even without meaning to. Still, with a little supervision,
the two dogs seemed to get on all right.
In August of 1998, Andrea took over as editor of the Puppy Pipeline
and Abolene began writing her "Ask Abbie" column.

That's not a puppy! - 1999 Abolene & the baby

Abolene's mom and dad took a year off of puppy raising
to try their hand at raising a two-legged child!

Abolene and her new "Young Mistress"
turned out to be wonderful together.

Abolene gets a hug from her three-year-old young mistress

Abolene was ever patient with her young mistress,
while the little girl learned to be gentle and appropriate with dogs.

Puppy #8 - Twister - 2000
Abolene & Twister

By the time Twister joined the family,
Abolene was old enough not to put up with
"puppy jinx" anymore. She often would refuse
to go out in the yard with Twister to avoid
unsupervised interaction with her.

Puppies #9 & #10 - Jasper and Texan - 2001 & 2002
Abolene, Texan & Jasper

Jasper and Texan were both golden retrievers, and both found a natural bond
with Abolene. Jasper graduated as a guide, but retired and came home several months later. Having a young dog in residence worked to Abolene's advantage.
She was free to ignore the puppies while Jasper took up the slack.

Puppy #11 - Emmett - 2003
Abolene & Emmett

Emmett liked to play rough with Jasper, and could
not be left in the yard alone with him. But somehow he understood
that Abolene was not to be bothered. He never jumped on her
or tried to play with her in any way.

Even though Abolene was getting too old to interact much with the
young puppies, she still enjoyed cuddling with them.
Emmett thinks Abolene is a great pillow.
Jasper returns the favor to the old girl.

Puppy #12 - Sherwood - 2004
Abolene & Sherwood

Sherwood always wanted to play too roughly
for aging Abolene's safety. But in the evenings,
when everyone was relaxing,
the two dogs enjoyed each other's company.

Puppy #13 - Clemens - 2005
Abolene & Clemens

Abolene's health was beginning to fail when
Clemens joined the family. One can see from
her face that she's really had enough of puppy raising.
Although Clemens wanted to cuddle and play with Abolene,
we seldom allowed the puppy access to the arthritic old lady.

Abolene's Other Friends

$Abolene, Jasper & Texan with puppy raiser Andrea Loughry$

Abolene and her puppy raiser, Andrea Loughry, with Jasper and Texan.
Abolene was perhaps most attached to her "Dad," Joe, who always made sure he had a cookie in his pocket for her. Unfortunately, Joe is camera shy, so we have no pictures of the two of them together.

Abolene and Kisse Cat were soul mates.
We know the two are reunited now, at the "rainbow bridge."

When she was still a Guide Puppy being raised, Abolene enjoyed the company of her friends
Millie and Heidie.

Abolene Loved to Dress Up!

Halloween 2001. Abolene as "Bub" the Jester from a children's picture book.

Halloween 1996.
Abolene is a monarch butterfly while Jethro is a dandelion.
She loved to leap into the air, making the wings flap like a real butterfly.
She wore her wings for several halloween parties.

Halloween 1998 - The X-Files
Abolene makes a perfect red-headed "Scully"
While Gaston impersonates "Fox Mulder".
Their X-Files outfits are complete with I.D. badges,
cell phone, and flash lights.

Yankee-doodle Tandy & Abolene as Betsy Ross

Halloween 1993.
Tandy portrays Uncle Sam as "Yankee Doodle Tandy"
Abolene is more feminine in her Betsy Ross outfit.

Halloween 1997 - Abolene is the Sheriff to Brando's "Bandito"

Abolene in her Parade of Lights puppy coat & Santa Hat

Christmas Cheer
Abolene truly loved to dress up and march in the
Parade of Lights. She would get excited and leap into the air
whenever she saw the coat. She loved the jingle bells, too.
Every year we took "jingle walks" around the neighborhood

with her wearing the bells. Abolene simply loved to show off!

Ask Abbie's Readers

Abolene "wrote" 77 columns in her tenure as the Ask Abbie columnust.
Depicted are just a few of the puppies who read her column and wrote in their questions over the years.
Jasper, one of the puppies she raised, will carry on the column, preserving the Ask Abbie name in Abolene's honor.
(Special thanks to Jane Smoak & the puppies of Denver Eye Paws for these lovely photos)

abolene in puppy coat, looking at her reflection in the mirror

Good bye, dear friend.