Oct
25
In the last two week ends, I have taken Sophia to a movie, hosted a baby shower at my house and taken her to Chuck E. Cheese. This seems surreal. There is an interesting thing that happens when you get your service dog. Before getting the service dog, we very rarely took Sophia into public …
Oct
25
The idea of hosting any type of get together, let alone a baby shower for 30 people, was not something I would even consider before getting Sophia’s Autism Service Dog. When Sophia was first learning to talk, I remember her crying “I want to go home” when people would come to our house. She never …
Oct
12
Okay, this takes serious time and engagement! The best way I heard this explained in the service dog training class is that Truman needs to have the MOST fun with Sophia. In the early stages, every time he is around her he should be getting a treat, attention or praise. If you have other kids, you have the added …
Oct
09
I apologize for the delay in posting but it should be an indication that life at home right now seems a bit more complicated than life before Truman! We brought Sophia’s autism service dog home in the middle of August. Two weeks later all of our kids started school. For Sophia, it was her first …
Aug
15
Today is Sunday and it is our second day home with Truman. He did great sleeping with Sophia last night which wasn’t a surprise because he played a lot yesterday and was very tired. This morning we left for church and Truman stayed behind in his crate. Sophia’s granny came over for lunch to meet …
Aug
03
Today was the big day we had been waiting for. The day Sophia met Truman in person! It was a long day yesterday, getting packed, dropping off my 7 year old daughter Cece at her Aunt’s and listening to Sophia ask “Are we there yet?” every 20 minutes for 5 hours. That was nothing compared …
Aug
03
Whew! Today was much better on many levels. First of all, let me thank God for Claritin D Non-Drowsy so my eyes can stop itching without the sugar and caffeine kick of Mt. Dew. This made a huge difference and gave me a lot more patience. No one else seems to be having any allergy …
Aug
03
Each day seems to get better and better. I don’t think Sophia agrees as she is getting very tired of this new routine. This organization is absolutely great and the trainers and dogs are wonderful but the stress of this schedule and lack of coping mechanisms for our autistic kids is already overwhelming. All of …
Aug
03
Okay. Maybe I’m a wuss, but I feel like I’ve been entered into a reality TV show called Amazing Race Autism Service Dog Edition. Every day brings a new challenge. I’m tired, a little frustrated, now have hives, and really wish I could fast forward through this and get home with our new dog, back …
Aug
03
Day 5 had a bumpy start. We have quite the checklist of items now when we leave to go anywhere that we are bound to forget something. Kids…check, dog…check, leash…check, lunches…check, meds…check, backpacks…oops! we missed those and they had the treats, special leashes and chew toys. My husband had to drop us off, turn around …
