Tony

This is Tony, my new lunch pal:

Tony is a Lab-Golden cross, 12 weeks old. He’s part of Puppies with Promise, the puppy-raising operation for Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael.

Jenniene, his human, is one of the local fencing moms I regularly have lunch with, and she and her daughter, Emily (now fencing at Ohio State), have been puppy-raisers for years. After Jenniene returned Dexter, Tony’s predecessor, to San Rafael for his guide dog training, she’d planned to take at least a few months off from puppy-raising. But when they asked if she would foster a puppy for a couple of weeks, she said yes, only to discover when she got to San Rafael, that the puppy in question had already been taken care of. But, they said, we really, really, really need someone to raise puppies from this litter we have . .  . and suddenly there she was, driving home with her 11th Guide Dog puppy to raise.

Could you say no to this?

I have to admit I’m happy she’s got him. I mean, I like Jenniene just fine, but it just wasn’t right going to lunch without a puppy along.