Griffin was born out of Aquila and Mercury in December of 2000. He was my first choice out of that litter but my hopes for a strong working dog started to fade when I realized he might be blind. From the start he was always at my side and hated venturing off on his own. At first I thought he was only acting like a dependent puppy but later, when I tested his eyesight, there seemed to be a few problems. I was heartbroken but determined not to give up on this tiny pup.

I began to investigate how this aliment could have come about and at first thought it might have been a genetic defect from his father but looking further into it I realized that it may have been possible that Aquila had not been eating enough while she was pregnant.

My suspicions that Griffin was suffering from a lack of nutrition were confirmed with Aquila's next pregnancy where I made a point to feed her everything I could get my hands on so I was sure she would have enough for herself and all of her babies. In that litter all the pups came out very healthy with no sign of ill effects.

Whether in the kitchen or out in the dog yard, Griffin was always underfoot. He grew very worried if left alone and when catching wind of my scent would come promptly to my side. I was becoming Griffin's 'seeing eye dog' and it was a role I was more than happy to fulfill. I took him everywhere with me.

At one time I took a trip to the grocery store and Griffin was with me, as always. But what to do with a dependent half blind puppy who didn't like being left alone? Supermarkets are not the best places for pups so I wrapped my coat around his little body and laid him in the child seat on the shopping cart. Griffin took it all in stride and enjoyed the experience as long as he could smell that I was around him. As we traveled down the aisle I left my hand close to his body for reassurance and he never once made a sound. In fact no one realized he was there until we left the store!

Before reaching the parking lot I lifted him out of the cart and set him on the ground at my feet. He quickly became distracted and started to wander away but when I called his name every so softly he padded over to my feet waiting for my next move. When I gathered up my groceries and made sure Griffin was ready to go I started walking for the truck. I stopped at the curb to watch for traffic but poor Griffin didn't realize and kept going out into the street! I called to him, he quickly realized his error, and came back to wait at my feet until I moved again.

A man walking by noticed what had happened and said, "That is the most well behaved puppy I have ever seen!" I thanked him and swelled with pride at how special my little pup had already become so early in his life. I had heard that disabilities were a drawback for most people but with Griffin these drawbacks did nothing but add positives to his personality.

James had never experienced life with a special needs pup and was not used to sharing the bed and my attention with Griffin. We were just starting our relationship and I was not about to push Griffin on James when he hadn't even become used to having so many sled dogs in our little backyard but luck was on everyones side as the weather started to get warmer and allow Griffin to start learning how to live outside with the others.

I brought over a chain link kennel to serve as Griffins new home and to keep him out of trouble from our close neighbors. His sister, Iris, was still living at my mothers house waiting for her new home. The poor girl was the runt of the litter and her health was rapidly deteriorating when Griffin came to live with James and I. Seeing her in that condition I couldn't allow her to suffer and brought her over to join her brother.

It was perfect timing because Griffin did not like being outside alone and separated from me. He still needed someone to act as his eyes and Iris caught on right away while the two quickly become inseparable.

Even though he was adapting to the life he was to live as an adult it was still hard for me to leave him alone after all the time we had spent together. Many hours were spent with him on walks and sitting in the kennel. Even though Iris was there with him Griffin would still howl for hours after I left begging me to come back so we could spend some more time together.

The other dogs were not allowed to make such noise and Griffin was no exception. I tried to break him of this noisy habit but punishing him was very hard for me. I sympathized with his feelings, I missed him too...

After a time we all became used to the arrangement, even James! Griffin curbed his loud puppy behavior but never lost it entirely. His intense vocalizations may have been a way to make up for his lack of eyesight. When he was full grown his howls and whines turned to barks in an effort to get my attention.

Early in the morning I could hear him through my sleep, calling me to get up and serve him breakfast. At first this early alarm was a real pain but as he grew older he kept much better time and now I can always rely on him to alert me when my alarm clock fails to go off in the morning!