Hello everyone and welcome to my web site! I'm Karen Ann and I'm a single mother of 7... DOGS that is! Yes, I'm a dogaholic, totally addicted to my four-legged kids. More about them shortly, but first a little about me.
I'm forty-ish and live in Upstate NY. I am legally blind and have been sight impaired since birth. I have Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH)... which basically means my optic nerves were not fully developed at birth. The condition caused my vision to be very blurry as I was growing up.
Just before I turned 11 I developed diabetes. I was a very bratty kid and didn't follow my doctor's instructions on managing my diabetes. As a result I spent a good deal of time hospitalized as a teenager and young adult. My stupidity led to the development of a number of complications related to diabetes including further vision loss (Diabetic Retinopathy), kidney disease and several forms of neuropathy (nerve damage) throughout my body.
By my late teens I'd lost a considerable amount of my functional vision and that combined with the other health issues sent me into a very deep depression. I felt lost and alone and at age 19 attempted suicide. A Greater Power had other plans for me though! By age 23 I'd begun to settle and with the support of a wonderful physician, friends and family I came to see that life had something to offer.
After stumbling around with a cane as a mobility aid for a few years (and getting it stuck in sidewalk grates umpteen times!) I decided there must be a better way to get around... and at the suggestion of my doctor I applied for my first guide dog at Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Hts. NY.
On Valentine's Day '85 into my life came Audrey, a sweet yellow Labrador Retriever who changed my life. Audrey brought to the surface all the confidence that had been hidden deep inside; she opened doors for me that I never even knew existed. Audrey was the beginning of a new life, and though she has long ago passed to Heaven she will always be my heart.
Since that time I completed a BS in Counseling/Health Ed and partial graduate studies. Ongoing health issues and further vision loss led to my leaving graduate school and moving on to other things. During and after college I held a number of positions in the field of Human Services. I worked for a number of years as a Music Therapist for adults and children with Down Syndrome and Mental Retardation in group residences. In college I interned as a counselor at our area Independent Living Center and after college worked there and co-facilitated a program called CHOICES. I also did patient/family education for our county Nursing Service counseling newly-diagnosed diabetic children and their families.
I developed a program years ago called On Sight With Youth, in which I visit schools and other youth-oriented programs throughout the area to talk about blindness and its variations... and of course, the wonders of guide dogs.
Since my girl Audrey retired and passed away I've worked with three other guide dogs. My second was a magnificent black Lab named Merlin, known by all who knew him as "Mr. Personality". Merlin sadly retired and passed away due to throat cancer in 1998 and I returned to Guiding Eyes in early 1999 and trained with another black Lab, my Gwendy girl. Gwen was my "perfect" girl, always so willing to please and never phased by anything we came across. Gwendy developed a rare neuro-muscular disease at the age of 6 years and I said goodbye to her in August 2003.
Currently I'm working with my 4th guide dog Nolte, a sweet natured Golden Retriever who I met and trained with at The Seeing Eye in Morristown NJ in the fall of 2003. Nolte has added an element of silliness to my life that has endeared him to me. He's a superb worker and a wonderful friend and companion.
All of my guide dogs have been trained by two very special people who've through the years become dear friends. Rick trained my first girl Audrey and Janice trained Merlin, Gwendy & Nolte. There are no finer guide dog trainers then these, in my humble opinion.
Nolte is not only special in that he's a guide dog, but also because he is one of a relatively small number of dogs specially trained to work on the right side. Guide dogs generally are trained to work on a person's left side, but because I've undergone countless surgeries on my left arm, hand and fingers I'm no longer able to handle a dog on the left side. Jan, knowing me well from training my last two guides, chose Nolte as my perfect match. I couldn't have hoped for a more lovely dog who so enjoys to work and to please.
Nolte and I share our lives with a gang of Dachshunds. I became obsessed with Dachshunds at an early age. When I was first diagnosed with Diabetes I was given a book to help me cope with the disease called "Dolly the Diabetic Dachshund". I fell in love with the breed then and knew that one day I'd be owned by one of my own. I brought home my first Dachshund in August 1989, a little red girl named Sassie. She was a darling and set me on the breed hook, line & sinker. Sassie passed away in 2004 and is greatly missed.
In 1995 I got Bennie from the same breeder I got Sassie from. He's a little redhead who is now 13 years old. Bennie never seems to age... he hasn't a grey hair on him and is as active and playful as the youngest of my bunch. He's had 2 bouts with IVDD (Intervertebral Disk Disease) but recovered without surgery, with just crate rest and meds. I have to admit, he's my "special" boy and though I don't tell the others, Bennie is my favorite.
Gunther (red dapple) is 7 years old and came to me as a rescue at age 7 months. Gunther is my little miracle boy, a two-time survivor of IVDD. He underwent surgery December 23, 2004 to repair a ruptured disk, and again in September 2006. He was totally paralyzed prior to each surgery but is now racing about as if nothing ever happened. When Gunnie had his first surgery I was devastated, not knowing how I would ever pay for his surgery which was in excess of $2800. By God's grace I was quickly surrounded by many caring supportive friends from my doxie group Dachshund Daze, and with countless donations on their part to the neurosurgeon who performed the surgery, as well as a substantial $500 donation by Hearts United for Animals, Gunther's surgery was almost entirely covered. I am so very grateful to the countless friends from my group who made it possible for Gunther to have his life-saving surgery. The outpouring of both financial and emotional support brought Gunther and me through a very difficult time. I call these people "Gunther's Angels", and I'll be forever grateful for what they did for this special little dog and for me. Gunther was diagnosed last year with PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) and is now nearly blind, but that hasn't slowed him down either. He's truly a special little miracle Dachshund who blesses my life every day.
Razzberry Pie - "Razzie" - (red piebald) is 7 years old and came to me as a rescue at age 3. He's affectionately called "Mr. Razzitude" and is the little troublemaker of the bunch. Razzie was diagnosed last year with Masticatory Muscle Myositis, a disease in which his own body is attacking the muscles of his face and jaw. There's no cure for MMM, but at the moment my boy is doing fairly well. He has some muscle wasting around his temples and jaw and he eats soft food when his condition "acts up". He's otherwise happy and healthy and living the good life.
Miss Fawnie Marie (red dapple) is 8 yrs old. She is a rescue, surrendered by her previous owner. I've had her for 3 years now and she has established herself as queen of GoldiDox Grove. Fawn is also an IVDD survivor. She went down due to a blown disk in her back in May 2006. She underwent surgery and recovered well. She's had a few setbacks since, but thankfully is doing quite nicely now. Fawn has a few "obsessions", including tennis balls (or any ball, for that matter) and small animals (there was the infamous "parakeet incident"). She keeps me quite entertained. Fawn is an active healthy and happy girl now and enjoying the good life here at GoldiDox Grove.
Then there's my little love, Miss Maizie Moo. Maizie is 2 yrs old and is a chocolate & tan doxie who has truly won my heart. I went to Texas in April 2006 and brought Maizie home from her darling breeder, Neva. Neva and I feel that Maizie was meant to be mine from the get-go. She's a spirited funny little girl who is bringing much joy to my life. Maizie is also my Diabetic Alert dog. She was not trained to detect and alert to my low/high bloodsugars... she came by this amazing ability naturally shortly after I had her home. I contacted Dogs 4 Diabetics to inquire about dogs who naturally alert and was told that only 1 in 1500 dogs do this without any scent training... so Maizie is a keeper for sure!
Georgie (cream longhair) is the latest addition to the mix. Georgie comes from Wide Meadow Dachshunds. I bought Georgie as a show/breeding prospect and am very excited at the thought of having what has been a life long dream to breed these wonderful little hounds finally come to fruition. I fell in love with cream Dachshunds several years ago after visiting the web site of Devoncream in England. I never thought I'd have the opportunity to be owned by a cream! Georgie is a sweet-natured laid back little fella who fits into the family perfectly. He's 9 months old and already an absolute stunning boy. He began his show career June 8th, winning several ribbons in an AKC Santioned Match, and earning his Canine Good Citizen Title!
The last several years I've been working on writing my "great life's work". <smile> I'm working as well on a children's book about one very special little Diabetic Alert Dog, the amazing Maizie! I'm also an artist and sell my artwork... my specialty being dogs, naturally. You can see samples of my work on my Pet Portrait page. I continue to take my On Sight With Youth program to schools and youth-oriented service organizations throughout the year.
And so there's my not-so-brief introduction! Thank you for taking the time to visit GoldiDox Grove and I hope you'll enjoy the pages here. Please come back now and then, as I do update my site as often as I can.... I can't help but show off my gang!
