Meet Amber-Liberty’s Handler, Friend, and Roommate!

The questions I get asked most frequently is: “What’s it like being Liberty’s handler?” Honestly, it is extremely rewarding and fun. Most people don’t know that my work with Liberty goes beyond her job in the Historic Area. Liberty not only works by my side, she also lives with me!

I’ve had the pleasure of living with Miss Liberty since she arrived to Virginia in July. When she got off of the plane at Dulles Airport, she and her brother (yes, there are two!) were 12-pound puffs of fur begging to come out and lick everyone in eyesight.

The first night the puppies were with me, they spent most of the night watching baseball on TV—something they were (and still are) absolutely smitten with. It was evident from that first night that these puppies were extremely intelligent and sought to please.

By the end of July, both of the Liberty pups had shot up to 20 pounds and were getting taller day-by-day. Their personalities began to emerge too; one was an action star in the making and the other was happiest cuddling for hours. This was around the time their training started as well. It literally took one training session for the pups to master the ‘sit’ and the ‘down’ command.

Since then, the Miss Liberty and Master Liberty have conquered photo and film shoots and participated in parades (like Dogs of DoG Street below) and other special events.

They also love road trips as we regularly cross the Coleman Bridge and hop on to the Colonial Parkway to head into Historic Area to mingle with guests and coworkers.

The pups stand a little taller and have gained quite a bit of weight, but they’re still the same loving and eager-to-please puppies they were when they first arrived in Virginia.

But what is Miss Liberty up to now? Her day-in-the-life outside of coming to work consists of waking up around 10:30 (she loves to snooze), going for a long walk, playing fetch with her favorite 98¢ wiffle ball, napping, and perfecting her latest commands (Her favorite at the moment is ‘Go To Your Bed’).

Liberty loves watching TV so I try to make sure she gets to watch some of her favorite movie, Air Bud, at the end of each day.

Like any puppy though, working and living with Liberty requires patience. There are times when she doesn’t want to sit still for more than ten seconds. She also has an affinity for stealing her friend Kloe’s toys to rip the stuffing out as fast as she possibly can. But there are moments when a small child approaches her on DoG Street and she lies down patiently to get loved on that I realize all of her hard work has been absolutely worth it.

Liberty has not only been a great addition to my life, but to Colonial Williamsburg as well. She’s become so popular, she even has her own social media channels to follow on Instagram and Facebook. If you ever run into her in the Historic Area, be sure to upload and share your images using #LibertytheBriard #GiveMeLiberty

Lastly, I’ll leave this post with a list of FAQs I get as Liberty’s handler in hopes that it helps everyone to come to know her as well as I have over the past few months. Have another question for me? Please leave it in the comments, and I’ll do my best to get back to you!

Where does Liberty go when she’s not working?

Liberty lives with me in Gloucester. Her brother, Master Liberty, lives with another Colonial Williamsburg employee.

How does Liberty get trained?

Liberty has a trainer who meets with her several times a week. We work using positive reward based training—meaning we want training to be an exciting game for the puppies. They’re rewarded when they perfectly complete a command. Rewards can come in the form of training treats, toys, and even praise.

Where can I meet Liberty?

Because Liberty is still a puppy (only seven months, can you believe it?!) she can’t work more than an hour and a half without tuckering out. Liberty will be making several appearances throughout December near her ice rink, the shops and restaurants of Merchants Square, outside of Chownings, and the Market House as well. Liberty can also occasionally be found playing with her brother in the paddock behind the William Pitt Store.

Does she shed?

Yes she does. It’s a characteristic of Briards. They have lots and lots of hair that has to be brushed out to prevent matting. With their puppy coats—the Liberty pups aren’t shedding too much, but when their adult coat comes in, we’ll definitely have to have our brushes always on standby.

What types of treats does Liberty eat?

We never give Liberty just one treat; she has a variety, that way she’s never tired of eating treats. Some of her favorites include dried beef liver, dried chicken, Zukes peanut butter training treats, and all of the Nutro yogurt treats. During her public appearances, we make sure there are a minimum of 5-6 treats on rotation!

How much food does Liberty eat everyday?

Liberty eats twice a day. She eats as soon as she wakes up and in the evening. During each meal, she eats 4 cups of Purina Pro Plan Kibble mixed in with a few tablespoons of plain yogurt.

What tricks can Liberty do?

We don’t call what Liberty does “tricks” per se, but rather behaviors we want her to be able to do when we need her to. But Liberty knows sit, down, go to your bed, load up, go to your mark, heel, leave it, but she’s continuing her training every day and will know more commands in the future.

Does she like the other animals at Colonial Williamsburg?

Liberty loves the livestock at Colonial Williamsburg. She’s quite fond of the horses, has met the sheep, chickens and oxen. She’s even met Eleanor the Armoury cat.

Where did Liberty come from?

The Liberty puppies came from a breeder in New Mexico. The Briard breed, however, originates in France.

When is Liberty’s birthday?

Liberty was born April 22, 2015.

Why are Liberty’s ears down? Weren’t they up in the photos in the Magazine?

While Liberty was cutting teeth (meaning she was losing her baby teeth and getting her adult teeth), all of the calcium left other parts of her body, including the cartilage in her ears, to go into her mouth while she grew in new chompers. Because she couldn’t support her ears by herself, her ears were glued together using a special glue (this is a process similar to pinning used on breeds like German Shepherds, Great Danes, etc.). Once all of her adult teeth grew in, the cartilage in her ears still wasn’t hardening, so we made the decision to take her ears down.

How big will Liberty be when she’s fully-grown?

Liberty will be around 100-pounds and will stand about 28 inches at her shoulder.

Can Liberty play with my dog?

Sorry, but no. When Liberty is in the Historic Area, she can’t play or meet with other dogs. With dogs that are working (whether that be dogs like Liberty, service or therapy dogs), when they are doing their jobs, it is important that all of their concentration be on their handler to ensure the safety of both Liberty and those around her. This is the same for her oxen pals Pat and Mike whom you may also run into occasionally with their handler, Lisa.

Thank you Shannon Schojan and Dave Doody for contributing images to this post!

Guest Blogger: Amber Phelps

Amber Phelps is a Virginia native who has worked in the museum industry since 2011. Her first job was working with children and their families at Colonial Williamsburg’s Woodlands Hotel and Suites. From there she moved to work at Historic Jamestowne were she joined the education department working side-by-side with the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists. She returns to Colonial Williamsburg to walk Duke of Gloucester Street with her new work companion, Liberty the Briard.

Amber graduated from VCU’s School of Humanities and Sciences in December of 2014 and plans to continue pursuing a career in museum education in the future. Amber enjoys Atlanta Braves baseball (even if they’re one of the worst teams), travelling and listening to anything Gary Clark Jr.