I am so bad at blogging and journaling. I think I will remember things and then I remember nothing. So let me catch you up. At the end of August I went camping with Shepards for Lost Sheep. This is a family that obtains and trains dogs for veterans. I wanted to learn more about training service dogs and they were gracious enough to include me in their family. I didn't know how bad it sounded until I said it out loud--"I went camping with a bunch of people I met on Facebook." Haha. Luckily they are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They had with them a dog that has been a service dog for 3 years and a dog that has been a service dog for about 3 months, a dog that was just beginning her training and a dog that was to meet her vet for the first time and finish up her training. I took Emma with me hoping they could show me what I needed to do to meet the requirements for her becoming a service dog. Tim said she was very well trained and went through her Public Access Test and she qualified to become a service dog. She is now my registered service dog. Emma learned a lot about being a service dog from the dogs she went camping with. She was off leash for 2 days in the woods and never left me. She laid at my feet whenever I sat down. Now that we are at home, she makes sure she is where she can see me. I need Emma with me because I have back problems that cause my legs to give out and she prevents me from falling and helps me on stairs which are scary for me. I am getting grief from some factions of the public about having my service dog with me at all times, they don't understand. Some are willing to be educated and some are very closed minded and unwilling to learn about how my dog and I are a team. Right now, there are certain places that will not allow my dog access. If my dog can't go there, neither can I.
Yesterday I had a young lady call me to ask if I knew anything about training service dogs. Now I know why I went camping when I did. This young lady needs a psychiatric service dog to help her function normally in life. What a blessing it is to be able to help her and her dog. I contacted SFLS to see if they had any tips on helping with the psyche end of it and they emailed me 3 pages of information that is very helpful. I am looking forward to working with this young lady and her dog. She has a young family and will be able to do things with her family that she would not be able to do without a service dog.
This is a picture of Jason meeting Harley for the first time. Jason had a service dog that died and Harley is going to be helping him out with things that he can no longer do for himself. Thank you for your service Jason.
