1st Month of BFF

What’s it like giving your child a BFF? What difference does it make to the rest of the family? And, what have we learned from William’s BFF?

When a child has special abilities, life tends to revolve around the needs of that child. For some kids that may mean therapy both at home and at a therapy facility (for us, that’s Cincinnati Children’s hospital) - speech and OT. Various medical appointments - William sees his pediatrician (Dr. Debbie, who we love), ENT, & Endocrinology. We’re lucky that William has limited medical involvement.

Kids with special abilities often have difficulties making and keeping friends for whatever reason. Parents may shy away from going to someone else’s home since that home may have breakables and may not be special kid proof. For us that may mean our friend’s home is on a main street or lacks door/window alarms. People - especially kids - love to come up to Pumpkin and ask (ok, most of the time they ask) if they can pet her. We defer the question to William since she is his best friend. It gives us a chance to talk about service dogs and their many abilities and how she serves William.

Since Pumpkin has entered our lives things have changed - for the better. In just the month since we’ve been home from training we’ve been able to go places that were not possible before Pumpkin.

Our stress level has decreased tremendously. When we are out in public, William holds a short leash (1 foot) and is tethered to Pumpkin. Pumpkin is very good at keeping track of “her boy”. If he stops, she will let us (the handler know). If he tries to take off, Pumpkin just keeps encouraging him to stay with her.

Pumpkin has already shown us that she can track William when he decides to “escape” either indoors or outdoors. For her, it’s a game! For William, his best friend has found him! For us, she’s a lifesaver!

William is also learning responsibility. William is the one to let Pumpkin in and out (fenced back yard) to “go potty”. He feeds her and gives her water. William assists in daily grooming. He practices commands with her. It is amazing to see the bond that is developing between these best friends forever.

Service dog and boy - it’s a good thing!

We're Official!

We officially passed our "Public Access Test" on Friday morning. It was as though she knew I was a tad nervous about the test and was on her best 'command obeying' behavior. Pumpkin had to sit, heel, down, come, weave in and out of clothing racks, allow strangers to come & pet her, people stepping over her, not be rattled by carts, strollers, yells of kids, or distracted by various odors. That was just a few of the things Pumpkin had to deal with during the test. At one point while we were "heeling", I had to drop her leash to make sure she would stay with me and not run off. Another time I had to put her in a down, walk away, and call her to come to me. We had to go in and out doors, walk through the parking lot, and load up in the van. Then we had to sit in the food court for at least 20 minutes while she remained in a down position. Pumpkin took it in stride, feel asleep, and entertained everyone around us with her snoring. She is awesome!

After the test, we returned to 4 Paws for Ability to sign the "adoption" papers. We are family!
Legally, we are a 3 unit team: service dog, William, & adult handler. Ashley enjoys walking with us, too!

The extra set of eyes, the super sensitive nose, and her 4 paws are just what we needed to help keep William safe. We are officially official!