Detroit's Place on the Web

Detroit, born February 13th, 1996

Detroit is a male German Shepherd Dog. He was born February 13th in San Rafael, CA, at the campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. His mother was named Misha and his father is a stud from Utah, named Indy.

Detroit arrived at the Salt Lake City International airport at 7:11 pm on Tuesday, April 16th. Travelling with him was his brother Dash (the quieter of the two!), who will be raised in Rupert, Idaho. Detroit is a mostly black GSD, with tan face markings and legs. His is pictured here with me standing outside the terminal in the wind. :-)

With me at the airport to greet Detroit were two friends, Annie Petty and Maren Watkins (holding Detroit). After we left the airport, we went back to Annie's house, where Detroit got to meet Kicker (white) and Cheater (merle). Cheater is Annie's signal dog.

The next stop on the way home was at my sister's house, so that her family could meet the new baby. Here we have a picture of Jessica, Alberta the golden retriever (my current GDB puppy who returns to San Rafael on May 4th, 1996), Jordan (holding Detroit) and Joshua.

So far, Detroit is not very happy being in his kennel, and tells the world about it! He is not too touch sensitive, and accepts the required handling exercises well. He has a great appetite, and is very happy to attempt to take leftover food from my other dogs, Chynna and Alberta, although Chynna is not overly excited about his trying it.

Six months old already!

Detroit grew very fast, and before I knew it I had an almost full grown puppy on my hands! Some of the fun things he got to do included visiting with his half brother, Kyro, when Kyro's puppy raiser was at home in Idaho visiting relatives. A picture of Kyro and Detroit together when Kyro was 9 months and Detroit was 3 1/2 months old shows how very similar they look. Here is a picture of Rita, Detroit, and Kyro, and another of Nancy, Detroit and Kyro. [ Another picture of Kyro at about age 6 is located here.]

In June of 1996, my friend Annie traveled to Utah to participate in a Schutzhund event with her GSD, Bavo. The event was held in Salt Lake City, and while there, I got to meet Linda and Indy her German Shepherd Dog. Indy, as mentioned above, is Detroit's father. A second picture showsDetroit, Linda, and Indy.

I also got to meet Darla Welty from Colorado and her puppy Mel who is a half brother to Detroit through his mother, Misha. Another picture shows (from left to right) me, Detroit, Linda (Indy's owner), Darla, and Mel.

In August of 1996, I traveled to Portland, Oregon, and visited the new campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind, in Boring, Oregon. I stayed in Gresham with Rita (Kyro's raiser), and attended the first annual 4-H Puppy Raiser's Fun Day at the Boring Campus. The theme for the fun day was western, and this picture shows Detroit sitting in front of the Covered Wagon banner they had. Detroit is 6 months old in this photo.

One Year Old

A photo of Detroit (at 11 months) shows that his coloring has changed quite a bit over the months, he is now much lighter, with his hips and shoulders almost completely tan. He stands 26 inches at the whithers and weighs 80 pounds. He was neutered at 7 months, so I don't expect that he will get much bigger than this. His father is 25 inches and 95 pounds, and his half brother Kyro is 25 inches and 89 pounds. Here is a picture of Detroit at a 4-H meeting all decked out in his jacket and looking pretty.

Detroit did not "make it" as a guide dog. He was released from the program for being overly environmentally aware, in other words, he keyed on people and items. After my initial disappointment, I was thrilled to have Detroit back as a pet, and we've been living "happily ever after" since then.

Four Years Old

At four years old, Detroit just keeps getting better and better. Detroit was diagnosed with two major eye diseases in 1999, both Corneal Stromal Dystrophy and Pannus. Luckily, the Pannus was caught in its very early stages, so no permanent damage to his eyes resulted. The CSD is a bit tougher to treat, so the amount of damage it might eventually do to Detroit's sight is still unknown. At the moment he has a large opaque spot in the center of each eye. The spots don't seem to be interferring with his vision much, for which I'm greatful. It appears that the eye diseases were passed on to him via his mother's lines, as his half brother Mel (pictured above) through his mom has also developed Pannus as an adult.

A picture of Detroit at 3.5 years.

Detroit loves to carry rocks around, everywhere we go. On hikes, on walks, in the back yard, if there is a rock, he'll try to carry it, no matter how big. His teeth were getting really worn down, so I started letting him take his kong-bone (a Kong toy with a Nylabone stuck in the end) out in the yard to play with instead of the rocks. Pictured directly in front of Detroit is a piece of brick he liked to carry around the yard--you can see why he needs the kong-bone to chew on!

Five Years Old

Detroit is doing great, his eye diseases are under control, and he's been having fun with agility and playing with the guide dog pups at our house. Here is a picture of Nancy, Chynna and Detroit taken in July 2001, when Detroit was 5.5 years old. Another picture of the entire family, Gustine, Anchorage, Nancy, Chynna and Detroit all looking at the camera and smiling.

Almost 9 years old

Detroit's page is woefully out of date, he will be 9 years old in February, 2005. He's a little bit more grey, and one ear developed a hematoma a few months ago and the tip doesn't stand up quite straight any more. He has yet another eye condition that is causing his retinas to deteriorate and he may someday be completely blind. BUT he is still the best dog ever, my heart and my soul, and I am thankful for every day I have with him and counting on having many more years to spoil him rotten.

Detroit's great niece, Gustine was one of my guide dog puppies in training for a while.

SitStay GoOut Store
Rewards! Visit SitStay.com to buy all your doggy treats and help Cache County "Paws for a Cause" Guide Dog puppy raising club. A percentage of your purchase price will be donated to our puppyraising club. Sitstay.com has LAKSE KRONCH back in stock!!
This link goes directly to the edibles page at SitStay GoOut Store, to find that yummy Lakse Kronch! Your dogs will love it!

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Nancy Roberts
email: nancyr@cc.usu.edu
September 13, 1995