Many years ago, I babysat for a neighbor who grew up to train service dogs as a homeschooled high school student. Caelan loves training animals and is pretty natural at it. I figured this would be something she would really enjoy and would be a great experience for her. Of course, Caelan agreed :)
First I checked on this (now) young lady's facebook page to discover which organization she volunteered with/supported. Since she's been involved for a decade, we figured this was a good place to start :) Caelan emailed that group and they responded fairly quickly. They said their training opportunities would be pretty far away for frequent visits (opposite side of the state), but that they would help put her in touch with organizations closer to where we are. We looked through the list until we found one that matched our intentions and situation. Caelan emailed this group, filled out the application, jumped through the friendly communication hoops, and was told, "No puppies right now, but we'll let you know."
Buck said, "You better get ready."
I said, "They have no puppies!"
The email came in a week later, "Puppies are ready!" Ha! Buck was right :)
So this organization, which seems to have at least a foot in the door of faith, takes both donated pups and have a few breeders that they work with to keep waves of service dogs rolling. At eight weeks, the puppies go to a detention center where inmates take them through puppy kindergarten.
On weekends, the puppies go to homes and play group at the center to make sure they're used to different people and situations when they "get out." :) At six months old (the age of our puppy), the pups have learned all the basic commands and are housebroken (woohoo!!). They've also learned some advanced commands (like more advanced than Chauncey, who apparently needs to work on his manners :) These dogs are ready to be in a family home full time for about a year. All these commands will be reinforced while the dogs get loads of practice being in public places with their temporary families.
Of course, before they're ready to go public, they have to pass a couple of tests with their new trainer to make sure everyone is safe, capable, and ready for the world. Once these challenges are complete, the dog earns its official service dog in training vest.
In the meantime, his kennel, all his food, his leash, his preventative medicines, his vet costs, his nail trims, and his grooming . . . are all covered by the organization. The only thing Caelan has purchased is a toy or two and some training treats (they said she could use his food, but she wanted to be fancy :) Chauncey doesn't really play with toys (or play at all) so he doesn't have much to offer his new brother--of whom he's thrilled to get to know (if dogs could roll their eyes, insert that action here :)
After his year with us, little pup will return to the training facility (a.k.a. jail) for intensive and specific training for about two years (maybe less, I can't quite remember that detail). Depending on who needs his services, he'll be trained in mobility/wheelchair support, diabetes alert assistance or, most commonly, seizure aid. The trainer lady was saying the service dogs do everything from detecting a seizure to ringing a bell to alert the household to rolling the seizing person off his or her face and on to his or her side sometimes putting a paw beneath their chin and holding his or her face in place to breathe until the seizure passes. Then the dog can bring water, medicine, a cell phone, or other help until the person is ready to get up. THEN the dog can brace and provide a solid, unmovable support for the now weakened person to get to a chair or wherever they need to be next. Pretty amazing! They place pups with kids as young as five and clear up through adulthood. Right now there are 35 dogs in various stages of training; the newest class of seven-week-old puppies are headed to kindergarten later this week :)
Our first trip to pick up our pup showed us just how long our drives will still be--each weekend for the next six and then once a month after that (to get food, grooming, training, and preventatives). However, there is a young lady who works about 45 minutes closer to us, so we can meet half way and send our dog with her for things like getting neutered (that's next week). Otherwise, he's all ours til next June (if all goes well).
When we arrived home that afternoon, the neighbor kids were all out playing. Of course a beautiful English Cream Golden Retriever jumping from the van is going to cause a commotion. Soon, a swarm of nearly a dozen (since two of our kids hadn't met him yet either) kids were all up that puppy's grill. He decided he wasn't quite ready for that much attention, so he hid behind me. I used this training opportunity to teach him about selfies, ha!
Then of course, he had to meet the chickens! So far, he just seems really fascinated with them--no barking and no attempts at noshing :)
Later that same day, we had small group at our friends' home (Gabby has been babysitting for their three kiddos, one of which I had in VBS last year, oh and they're the ones who came to see the chickens!) Being in the medical service industry themselves, they were fine with our furry baby coming to their house. So, with upwards of 40 new faces ranging from a year old to early-40s (that's us, we're the old ones, ha!) the puppy got an immersive experience in Bible study fun. He did amazingly well, especially for just meeting his new trainer and the rest of us hours before. He and Caelan did bond quickly.
We thought maybe he'd be a good homeschool dog, just relaxing while the kids did their studies . . . but then he sat ON Graysen's math book (to Graysen's delight), so maybe he's not quite ready for middle school yet :)
His kennel is HUGE, so we'll have to work on that addition to our floor plan. It's in the classroom for now, and he's really good about being in it without fussing--even if the rest of us are buzzing around the house and Caelan is at work. Someday he'll be able to go with her :)
The trainer said it is really, REALLY hard to let the puppies go after a year, but there's always another waiting to be trained, and that helps :) Plus, getting to see the recipients meet their dogs for the first time--seeing a child in a wheelchair stand because her service dog is supporting her for the first time--I guess that's a pretty awesome moment! I was in tears just hearing about it. Caelan has a lot of early mornings, teaching, and work ahead of her, but she's got the patience to pull it off. This will be a HUGE growing experience for her, and her already high level of responsibility will soon likely be off the charts. She's already got others asking how they can become trainers; look out service dog world, here we come :)
As usual, we're crazy busy around here! However, we can pack a lot into one day and still be okay (for awhile). It turns out my friend with the little boy who loves chickens is an absolute math genius AND she loves to teach Algebra--go figure! B and I were at point where I couldn't explain concepts to him in a way he'd understand and he was just on the verge of understanding what I was trying to explain. He gladly accepted the idea of Mrs. H coming over to give him a quick lesson. It was awesome! I checked my stack of school work, he said "Ohhhhh!" a bunch of times (light bulbs turning on above his head, throwing light all over the room), G$ played with my friend's little ones (who of course also took a trip to see the outdoor and indoor chickens), while the girls worked on prepping for their afternoon of testing. Hooray for smart friends! I sent her home with dozens of fresh chicken eggs, she promised me a loaf of her freshly baked bread--love this community!!
