Alyson’s Journey

After the small disaster that was Mauja, I decided to take another route on the Service Dog. Am I crazy for still wanting to add another four-footed roommate to our home? Perhaps. But even my Mother thinks it’s a good idea to have a helper for Alyson. (And this from the woman who thought I was nutz to add in a third dog this past Spring. Love you Mom!)

Again, there is a pointed deficit of Service Dogs. Someone remind me in a few years that I PROMISE to start training dogs for entry into this needed area.

Fortunately, John remembered that a woman from the Colorado Correctional Industries returned my phone call while we were in the hospital at the end of August. (Whoops. I’m certain other husbands never forget to relay messages.) I called the main office number and spoke with Ellen. Thankfully, she was the person who had returned my call. She was happy that I had finally called back and thought she had a number of awesome prospects for Alyson. We scheduled an appointment for this past Thursday to do a Meet N Greet with Colonel, Fannie and Petie.

First up was Colonel. He’s one mellow dude. He knew Sit, Down, Stay and a pretty good Heel. We swapped out for a very excited Petie, who would take a lot of training to really be the right dog for Alyson. Fannie was also interested in everyone and everything and a gorgeous bundle of energy.

Alyson fell in love with Colonel. He lay down next to her stroller and she was climbing all over him. He had no problem with me poking him, looking in his ears, belly rubs and toe tickles. We walked him over to our vehicle and let him meet our Girls one at a time.

A public Way-To-Go Bradyn for hanging on to Colonel while I did the doggie shuffle at the back of the truck.

Everyone did the Butt-Sniff and Tail-Wag. It was a good meeting.

I filled out our paperwork, paid a deposit and was able to fill out a Doggie Profile sheet. No kidding. I could specify that we need Colonel to brace for Alyson to be able to stand up. He’s also going to be trained to retrieve items that she requests.

Thank you to the powers that be for making this happen. I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed that it all works out to Alyson’s benefit.