Ulrika, my love.

Everyone, please meet Ulrika. Ulrika, please meet everyone.
If you didn't already know, Ulrika (pronounced Ul-Ree-ka) is one of the loves of my life. Who knew that a furry, 60 pound, slobbery little girl would take hold so tightly of my heart and soul?

Rika is a very special canine, not only because she's my "daughter" but because she was born with a special purpose in life. Ulrika was born in The Netherlands to a black lab mom, and a white Swiss shepherd dad (yes, she looks very much like her daddy, but with her mother's eyes). She then traveled to America at twelve weeks old with only one of her brothers. Once in America, they traveled to the Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) facility in New York where they would start their new journey to become a partner for someone who has a visual impairment.

A few days later, Ulrika and I met, and I never have believed in love at first sight--until I met her. I had the honor of caring for, loving, training, and being the person to give Ulrika a start at being the best Guide Dog she could be. I was a volunteer puppy raiser for GEB, and although I never would have thought it at the time, but puppy raising, and Ulrika, had changed my life...forever.

Around the time that Ulrika was a year old, I got a new job and relocated to Tennessee. Unfortunately, GEB doesn't have a puppy raising region in Tennessee, so I no longer could raise puppies for that organization, and therefore Ulrika couldn't come with me. I had to leave her in the care of another puppy raiser (who gave Rika the best care I could have asked for) until it was time for Ulrika to go back to GEB's facilities to finish guide dog training.

Ulrika spent a few months at "school" and was only a few weeks from graduating the program, when I got a call saying that she had suffered a seizure and was being medically released from the program. Then I was asked if I would like to adopt her. Well that was a no-brainer, and later that week I was driving 16 hours one-way from Nashville to Patterson, NY to pick up my little girl--this time, for good. Ulrika was coming home.

That was almost 3 years ago now, and Ulrika will be celebrating her 5th birthday on November 17th. Thankfully, her seizure at school seems to have been a one-time thing, and since she's been back with me, there hasn't been any known seizure activity from her. However, I do still take extra precautions with her (as you can see by her proudly wearing her life-jacket), especially when exercising, just in case she suddenly has one hit.


Ulrika is the best fetcher you'll ever meet! I'm thinking about entering her into competitions actually, as I know that she still has the work ethic in her and would LOVE to be able to be a "professional fetcher." Now that the summer will soon be coming to an end, I've been trying to get her to the lake as much as possible so she can swim...she LOVES the water and has really taken an interest in ducks (go figure, she is part Lab after all).

So that's my girl. I have another at home--her name is Stealer, she's my boyfriend's dog and she's not nearly as much of a ham to the camera as Rika is.
Let this serve as your warning that you will see more of Rika in future posts.