Take the GDA Train

March 24 -- I attended a GDA outing with puppy raisers from several area groups, from Union Station on the Gold Line to Pasadena, lunch at Cheesecake Factory (and yet, we ate no cheesecake?), then back to Union Station. Pictured at left: Suzanne with Windsor in front of the MTA Gold Line train.

Truman was too young to attend, so the brave young man had his first overnight stay (at my area leaders' house) and I borrowed my favorite cuddler, Little Miss Paige.

All the dogs did very well on the train, and it was nice to meet people from different groups -- one future puppy raising family brought their two little girls. Here's a photo of Paige and...Paige.



Human-Paige's sister Aubrey brought puppies of her own. She made their jackets herself.



I was also happy to see other friends I wasn't expecting.

Joanna & Dash:



Denise & Oceana:



The MTA generously gave each of us a free day pass so we had one less expense. Having the pups ride the train was a great way for them to promote public transportation for people with disabilities.

Guide dog user Agustin, who regularly uses MTA, and his dog Shadow (who has her own MTA pass ID badge -- look closely at her picture) joined us. Also joining us was a news crew from Spanish-language TV station Univision; all day long we were asked to stop so the camera man could catch up and get a dog's eye view of our pups in training as they walked past him.

Paige received many "she's so beautiful" comments, like she always does. It was her first trip on the metro, and aside from pulling a little too enthusiastically and lying down in some gum, she did great.

Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the best part: the looks on people's faces. One woman was unprepared to board a train car where nearly every row contained a floor-riding guest, but it was too late for her to go anywhere once she realized. And there were certainly some surprised restaurant patrons when we all got up to leave and a dozen or so dogs emerged from under the table.