My name is Meghan. On November 10, 2004, I am two years old, and I am a Seeing Eye dog. I met my person in October, 2001. I want to tell you a little bit about what my life is like.

One of the things my person was excited about was the letter my puppy raiser wrote about me. She was a teacher, and I got to go to school every day and do things with first-graders. Sarah (my person) was very happy about this because she works part-time taking care of little kids. She was glad that I knew how fun kids are and how to behave around them.

When Sarah works in the nursery at church, I have a special corner where I lie down and rest. Sometimes the children are allowed to pet me. Getting petted is a special treat for me. I know that I must still listen to Sarah's commands and obey and that if I don't obey the petting stops. I am always very gentle with the children. I love to give kisses, and I enjoy having my head and belly rubbed.

Until recently, Sarah lived in an apartment with a balcony. I loved to go out on the balcony with her and look around while she watered her flowers. That was our morning routine. Sarah wasn't quite sure what we would do for a routine when the balcony is covered with snow. We didn't get any snow last year.

Now we live with Sarah's friends, Christy and Deedra, and all their animals.

In July, 2002, I went with Sarah to a big convention in Houston. Sarah says one of the neat things about me is that the harder the work is, the more I seem to like it. She says I'm a very good worker in crowded places. I'm always very careful not to let her bump into things or other people.

There were a lot of other dogs at the convention, and I tried hard not to pay attention to them when I was working. When Sarah was in the hotel room with her friends, I was allowed to play with her friends' dogs. We had a lot of fun. Sarah's friend, Christy, was there with her dog, Viola, and they stayed in a room with us. Viola went to school with me, and Sarah and Christy came to school to meet us at the same time. Now we live at Christy's house with Deedra, her dog, and a bunch of cats.

I love to swim. The above pictures were taken at Sarah's niece's birthday party. I was allowed in the pool, and I had a big time! Now I like to go swimming any chance I get! Sarah hopes one day I'll learn that sometimes I need to take a break from swimming and rest.

Sarah had other dogs before me. They worked very hard, and she is as proud of them as she is of me. Elli lived with Sarah's parents after she retired, and Dori lives with some of Sarah's friends. I enjoy playing with them. Sarah wrote some stories about them, and I hope you'll read them too.

I'm glad that my puppy raiser taught me how to behave and pay attention to important things like what Sarah is saying. I'm also glad that my trainer helped me to become such a good worker. Those things make Sarah very happy, and when Sarah is happy I am happy.

I thought I might tell you about some of Sarah's favorite places to shop for me. Well, she also shops for herself at some of these places. If you have a dog, you might like some of these places, too.

Dog Bone Ice Cube Trays The perfect item for your ice chest, a summer evening on the porch and outdoor dog events. Ice cubes in the shape of Dog Bones. I think they're a cool treat, too, and they have no calories!

Dog Related Cookie Cutters These solid copper cookie cutters are useful and beautiful. Use them to create cookies for yourself or your dogs. They can be used to cut sheet cakes too. Or just display them! Each cookie cutter is made by hand (usually by stay-at-home moms) using 1 inch wide copper strips. No two are exactly alike. Available in Dog Bones, Fire Hydrant, Dog House and a Pawprint. (Never mind what I just said about calories.)

Well, if you don't want to make treats, you can also buy them from Dixie Pet Treats. She also sells Baggies On Board, in case you're like Sarah and have a hard time finding good clean-up bags. I got to meet Dixie at the airport on the way home from Houston. She was very nice, and wanted to know all about dog guides.

Sarah gets my harnesses, leashes, collars, and feed pans from the Seeing Eye. We brought most of these things home from training. The Seeing Eye also has lots of cool things like T-shirts, fanny packs, mugs, and even some books. They even have Christmas cards with different puppies on them each year.

Rios' is a little shop in Morristown, where the Seeing Eye is. Sarah and I went there while she was training with me, and she bought a statue of a Labrador retriever and had it engraved with my name and class date. She also has one for Elli and one for Dori. Rio's also has charms, and Sarah would really like to have one of those. The address and phone number are:

Guide Dog Users, Inc. (GDUI) is a group that is affiliated with the American Council of the Blind. GDUI provides information about the rights of people who use dog guides and also helps to protect those rights. GDUI also has special things for sale for people and their dogs. To see their catalog, you can visit the GDUI Website.

LDS Leather Company makes collars, leashes, harnesses, and other neat things. Sarah bought me a harness duffle from there so I could carry my own things when we travel. They also have rain gear for dogs. To see their catalog, visit LDS Leather Company.

Sarah loves stuffed animals, especially if she can find Labs. If you're like Sarah, you'll want to visit Becca's Workshop. This link takes you to the page where all the stuffed Labs are.