Trip from Hell

[Dave Haddon]

OMG.. Baby Warlock and his humans drove to Denver CO. from Saskatoon SK. to pick up a couple of Service Dog Pups we will be training. A basic 3200 Km round trip drive. But we had to do it in under 72 hrs because of Covid testing. We left Saskatoon at 5 AM the first day and within 30 minutes were engulfed in the worst Winter Blizzard i have ever driven. Driving behind a great Semi trlr at less that 20 mph, 10 ft visibility sometimes less, my wife holding on to the "The Oh Jesus handle" watching to see the ditch line and me watching for the other side for 6 hrs we endured this. WE get to Hardin Mt...overnight ..next am seems clear for about 1 hour then in the mountains towards Sheridan Tractor trailers were stuck on hills..chaining up sliding..all this in the dead dark of winter morning..then the icy roads until Denver where we hit rush hour and the craziest roadway with cement borders....Anyway got the pups and made it home under blue skies..Mileage 4300 KM..36 hrs of driving..Huge thanks to all those truckers out there...and my Baby Warlock for keeping us safe!

 

[Flip-er]

WOW
Did you get home with same hair color, or were there some grey ones there
Sorry had to ask, as I know I would have added to my grey count

 

[Dave Haddon]

Actually not much hair left these days. However the white knuckling made my hands permanently deformed and my sphincter muscles are beyond repair....lol

 

[jejb]

That is a trip from hell. I lived in MN for 35 years, and drove in my fair share of weather like that, but nothing as long as that. Great job!

What kind of training do you do? We train seeing eye puppies for Leader Dogs for the Blind. It's about 14 hours one-way for us on the pickups and drop offs, but never had to do it in a blizzard.

 

[huntergreen]

How did the truck handle the storm ?

Kudos for training the pup. I could do the training, but wouldn’t be able to give them up after the training.

 

[jejb]

Kudos for training the pup. I could do the training, but wouldn’t be able to give them up after the training.

Yeah, that's not easy after you have them for a year. We get them at 7 weeks old. But we feel good about helping out a visually impaired person. Leader Dogs is a great organization. Client pays nothing for the dog or the 4 weeks of in house training with the dog. We are unpaid volunteers as well. All expenses are out of pocket for us, but we're happy to do it.

 

[SYKRAMMAN]

Yeah, that's not easy after you have them for a year. We get them at 7 weeks old. But we feel good about helping out a visually impaired person. Leader Dogs is a great organization. Client pays nothing for the dog or the 4 weeks of in house training with the dog. We are unpaid volunteers as well. All expenses are out of pocket for us, but we're happy to do it.

That's just plain AWESOME of you folks, kudos to you all.

 

[Dave Haddon]

The "Baby Warlock" did Ram proud. Handled like a dream even thoiugh we had all season tires which i was led to believe "will be just fine"..yeah right ! Next year winters go on in November. None the less he kept us on the road black ice and all. Love the 4x4 !
Been training for over 50m years. Targa my Border Collie is the Top Obedience Border Collie and herdinmg Dog in Canada 2 years straight. I decided to try something different so I am now training Service Mobility Dogs. The BC'd pick it up real quick..now for the Old English Sheepdog pups..ahh there is a different kettle of fish. But with what I have learned these little 10 week olds will be a blank slate that i can mold....Yep tough after 18 mos to let them go but for a greater life for the dog and person.

 

[Dave Haddon]

We are fortuneate up here that there are a couple of organizations run by some pretty awesome folks that offet some of the expenses for us. Nice when things are "paid forward"..a little gesture here and there goes a long way to keep the ball rolling and making the world a better place for those in need.

 

[LeeD]

Love the OES. We have had many over the years. They are great dogs but they can get stubborn sometimes. Lol

 

[LugsLeadOut84]

I was involved for many years with a prominent guide dog foundation. Same thing - they would provide the dogs, travel and recipient training for free. The hardest thing in doing it was giving them up after a year. They used Labs. When I was training for the FD, I would run a lot and happened to do a 5K run where proceeds went to the foundation. All the runners were greeted at the finish line by some of the dogs. I was hooked from that time on.

If we weren't raising a pup, I would go to the kennels on a Sunday and run the dogs. The trainers would encourage me not to train them but to let them run, play and "be dogs" because the minute the training harness went on them from Monday to Friday they were working. They compared it to giving recess to little kids - it allows them to burn off steam.
Every few months I would use their specially equipped van to take assigned dogs to LaGuardia airport for their final destinations. They shipped certified Guide Dogs all over the country and even internationally.
I had the opportunity to adopt a black lab that couldn't certify. And although we would jokingly refer to him as a "flunky", the ones that failed were still intelligent, had great temperaments and lineage. Sometimes small issues would be identified early on and not allow them to be guide dogs but he was a great pet.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Nothing like mountain roads, cold temps, snow and traffic! Wears ya out mentally driving under those conditions for so long, doesn't it? Glad you made it there & back safely.

 

[Dave Haddon]

Thanks J..you nailed it! Worn out but safe at home with the wee 4 leggers.