In the “Choosing A PATH” entry I talked about Julian’s person centered plan and the list of things he wants to achieve in the next 3-5 years. While the golf cart and being able to drive is fun and exciting the one item from that list that Julian constantly (and I do mean CONSTANTLY!) reminds me about is getting him a service dog.
Getting a service dog isn’t as simple as going to a breeder or pet store and buying a new puppy. There are different kinds (service dog, guide dog, therapy dog, medical alert dog, psychiatric dogs, autism dogs), there are different breeds, different training programs, waiting lists, and significant costs to be considered and then the specific tasks that you need based on your specific disabilities.
I started researching and found that Guide Dogs For The Blind estimates it costs them $45,000 to train a guide dog. (You read that right… forty-five thousand dollars!) They have a multi-year waiting list and don’t serve people who have additional disabilities. I will spare you from the boring play by-play of how we came to find an amazing service dog training program called 4 Paws For Ability, unless you really really want all the details in that case email me…
Once we found 4 Paws we had to fill out an application, information about Julian and his disabilities, provide references and approval from Julian’s doctor. We mailed the packet. We waited patiently, well, Julian not so patiently… then an email came asking to schedule an interview! Ahh, the excitement of making measurable progress.
The interview gave us the opportunity to talk about what tasks the dogs can do and which ones would be beneficial to Julian. I got to ask the list of questions we had been compiling. And then the great news! Julian’s application has been approved, your “official” packet of information will be coming to you within a week.
To say that Julian is excited with the news is, well, an… UNDERSTATEMENT! He is very happy and can’t wait to get the dog. His first question was can the dog back float? Uh…I don’t know if the dog can swim… but I will be sure to pass that along to the trainers. 
So, what happens next? We have to raise the money for the dog, and once that is done it will take 6-9 months of additional training to customize the dog for Julian and then we will travel to Ohio to spend 10 days in training with the dog before Julian finally gets to bring it home.
How is Julian handling the waiting? I told him that his service dog is in dog school right now and that before Julian gets the dog, Julian will have to go to dog school too. Now every morning he tells me he is ready for dog school too.
