“Angela” Kennedy

April 28, 2006 – June 27, 2020

“Hello, I’m here!”    Angela wouldn’t just walk into a room, she pranced into a room, and she expected attention, which she most certainly always got!  She had a cute sassy gait, and her tail curved straight up,  wagging like a metronome   She had a way of getting your attention by staring into your eyes.   Angela’s personality was larger than life.  She was exuberant and irrepressible.  My princess made friends wherever we went.  She was tiny, weighing in at 50lbs.  She had the nickname “da Peanut.”    A real mighty might, she was!

Angela was a beautiful yellow Lab, who was puppy raised by the dynamic Mother Daughter duo, Gayle and Jenna Bittner, from Danville, CA.  Angela was their first puppy.  They always said that though she was very small, she was a handful.  We never doubted it!   Angela was always such a happy dog, always having a wide smile on her face.  Her “joie de vivre” attitude was with her till the very end.  Clearly Angela had assimilated the funny, super energetic personality of Gayle.  Just adorable!  God bless them both!  :o)

Angela was my great second guide, and she was a wonderful companion.  We traveled quite a bit for my board meetings at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael. She had two speeds.  She had her regular guide pace, but whenever we were at airports she went to warp speed.  We flew through the airports without bumping into people or tripping over baggage …. she meant business and wanted everyone to know that we were coming through!  Often, airport assists had to ask us to slow down!  LOL

Da Peanut guided me for just short of 10 years.  Then it was time to let her enjoy retirement.   In February of 2017, she reluctantly accepted my third guide, Buddy.  She and Buddy got along fine, but she was not as close to him as she was to my first guide, Freida.  Those two were especially close.  When Freida passed away, Angela mourned her passing for almost 3 months.

When she retired, she became “Daddy’s Dog,” but she still was quite velcroid to me.  Whenever I worked in the kitchen or on my computer, she was always there, watching me.

Her presence is still here, in our hearts.   Jim and I miss her so very much.  Buddy mourned for weeks after she passed, wandering about the house looking for her so he could go play with her.

Thank you, my dear Angela, for being my guide and keeping me safe, while at the same time making so many new friends along the way.   Peanut, you are so missed by all of us.  We smile, thinking of you romping in the lavender fields in heaven with Freida.

Love you, Peanut, and a hui hou! (until we meet again.)

Your mommy, Vickie, and Buddy

"Freida" Kennedy

 “Freida” Kennedy

November 10, 1988 – June 16, 2011

Today marks the 10 anniversary of when my precious Freida crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Freida was a wonderful guide, my first guide, who knew exactly what to do.  She was a miracle given to me by Guide Dogs for the Blind on June 5, 2000..  You taught her once, and she never forgot.

I truly believe that “things really happen for a reason.”  I was originally partnered with Nettles for 5 days, but she did not work out and was “career changed.”  So, Charles introduced me to Freida.  She was so very sweet, came up to me and licked the tears from my cheeks.  Although I was to lose total vision a few days later, I was so grateful to able to see her beautiful eyes.  She and I became inseparable.  Freida was an extraordinary guide, knowing exactly what to do, with hardly a command.  I think she could read my mind.  Really.  She was quite the elegant lady too, always crossing her dainty paws whenever she laid down.

Freida was raised by the amazing Sandy Thomas in Mesa, AZ, the third of 17 puppies she raised.  Sandy says that Freida was the easiest puppy she raised.

We had a real scare in 2006 when dear Freida was diagnosed with what turned out to be a very large mass cell tumor.  I could have lost her, if it wasn’t for GDB’s Dr. Craig Dietrich’s awesome skills as a surgeon.  God bless him, he gave us 5 more years with precious Freida.   Love you, Doc!

Thank you, dear Freida, for your almost 8 years of impeccable guide work.  You guided me so beautifully and always watched out for the little holes on the sidewalks, guiding me around dangerous obstacles.  I always felt like a passenger in your limo.

You are now my angel on my shoulder, together with Angela, watching Buddy and me.  You set the bar high for Angela, and now Buddy.   You were the next best thing to having my sight back.

Aloha dear Freida and a hui hou (until we meet again).  You are in a very special place in my heart, together with Angela,

Your mommie, Vickie