Training, Day 10

Wow, we've really come a long way. This was our last day of training! Tomorrow we will take a pretty intensive test to show we can do everything we need to do as a service dog team. If all goes well it will be the last day Mindy wears her "in training" card!

This morning I took Evan to see an orthopedist about his finger. They were pretty insistent in the ER about following up as soon as possible and not waiting until we got home. The doctor looked at it, verified the fracture, re-splinted it and off we went. He said it should heal completely in two weeks and said Evan can swim as long as he wears the splint. This was the best thing he could have said!

There was a news crew at 4 Paws for Ability doing a story about a little Papillion with one eye who will be a service dog one day. He is appropriately named Pirate and is so sweet! Here is the link to the story...all 5 of my family are in the video but some are more stealth appearances than others!

Channel 2 News: Pirate the Papillion Ready for Service

While Evan and I spent most if the morning in the doctor's office, Rob, Aria and Mindy were at 4 Paws for Ability. Rob and Mindy went over what we've learned. We also talked about life in general with a service dog, how long dogs will work and when to retire them. We learned about how to introduce Mindy to Dinky and what to expect when we get home.

It's been a lot of information to absorb in 10 days of training and everyone is tired! Evan and Mindy are all tucked in -- she is a bit of a pampered dog already and likes her pillow and blankets!