Shortly after we got back from service dog school in May we found out that Julian was selected for the Magcial Mix Kids Disney trip sponsored in part by the radio station Mix 93.6!

The trip was the first week of October and both Julian and Clover loved Disney Land!

A photo sample of Julian & Clover’s summer. This little pool is Clover’s. The big pool is Julian’s

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Julian and Clover

We didn’t have as much access to the hotel computer as I thought we would to keep in touch with everyone during training. I will continue to add photos from the two weeks but it might take a couple of days to get it all done.

Friday we had our public access test in the mall, of course Clover passed she is a smart dog! Then we went back to the 4 Paws training center for paper work and GRADUATION!

Julian had a great time during dog school and made alot of new friends, for him coming home was biter sweet. He was ready to see people back home but didn’t want to leave the new friends. Aside from the magic of the 4 Paws dogs, just being at 4 Paws where what ever your disability is.. is accepted unconditionally… where having a disability of some sort is actually the norm.. all the kids, Julian included are free to just be themselves. They feel such love and acceptance that it quickly starts to feel like home.

I want to thank everyone who took part in making this dream a reality for Julian. When Julian told us in his PATH meeting while setting up his microboard that he wanted “a dog like telly” (a.k.a Rielly) he set in motion an amazing journey. What an awesome way for him to learn about self-determination! With Clover by his side, Julian is ready for a whole new chapter.

It happens so fast if it weren’t for the flash of a dog running by you might miss it! Ok, maybe not that fast but it only took minutes for the dogs to take off and locate. It was interesting to watch Clover problem solve when she located Julian and Kayla but needed to figure out how to get into the brush where they were waiting. Aside from the amazing work the dogs did, I was also blown away by the fact that Julian was actually QUIET while hiding.

The afternoon was fun working on behavior interruption commands, (lap, kisses, over) plus under and heel from different positions.

Part of my Julian’s disability includes a vision loss, and one of the skills we thought would be helpful for him would be if the dog could pick up things that he drops…. OMG! If you want to see a happy dog ask Clover to retrieve some thing. She was like a kid at Christmas!!

Karen Shirk made Julian’s day when she found him some busy work to do. He loves to work and a task of unfolding papers kept him happy as a clam all afternoon.

I was too tired to write a thoughtful note of how our second day went last night. This morning the sun is shining for what feels like the first time since we got here. The never ending rains will probably make tracking extra fun this morning.

So day two… Was better than the first day in terms of feeling less overwhelmed and the dogs responding better to us. Julian is more… Comfortable with Clover and his interactions with her are more spontanegous.

So far we have learned sit, down, heel, place, high five, give me five, shake (hand shake). Doesn’t look like a long list but there is so much learning going into why we do what they are asking us to do.

I very much appreciate the depth of instruction we are getting, as my husband put it last night some things are just common sense that you should know but you don’t.

The kids and other families are wonderful. Its true what you read on the family list that during your 4 paws time that your child is the norm… There is comotion going on all the time and the staff, dogs and families are completely unphased. Its the strangest – in a wonderful way – feeling.

More on Homewood, last night the person serving the evening meal was greeting each family and encouraging each of us. I heard her say more than once that in her 5 years at Homewood she has seen A LOT of dogs and families go through training and that it gets even better. She didn’t say it the way we do in the group, but she was talking about the magic of 4 paws.

It’s real!!

Well, I better get into the shower day three is calling my name.

Each family met their dog after some general orientation with the staff. It was great to put faces with the names of all the people we have been talking to for months both with the families and the staff.

I am a tad bit brain fried, which I hear is normal for the first day… Actually I have heard that about the whole training! I can totally see that.

Homewood is every thing everyone says it is. Nice people, nice property. It was nice not to have to deal with breakfast or the evening meal. That’s a bonus any day of the week.

We did not take the dogs back to the hotel with us tonight like I thought we would. But you know we are so exhausted from getting here that we didn’t really mind.

Tomorrow is another new and exciting day.