CONGRATULATIONS to Wounded Warrior Christopher and his wife Megan, who just had a baby girl – Piper Tensley Willis!!! Christopher and his wonderful SD Maggie were apart for the first two days while in the hospital – humble Christopher didn‘t want the attention to be on, in his words, “the guy with the dog” instead of his wife! How sweet! But it was difficult for him being in a small room with tons of activity and overwhelming amounts of people, trying to get some sleep with an unlocked door – totally understandable with someone with PTSD. He didn’t sleep for 36-37 hours after he took an Ambien after the nurses tried to reassure him everything will be okay. He even woke up several times to change his daughter.
He then decided to go home and get Maggie. When he was walking back into the hospital, he was stopped by Security. The officer wanted to know if I had Maggie’s “papers” with him. He told him no and that ADA states that he didn’t need to have paperwork. He informed me Security at the New Braunfels hospital has had to call the police a few times to confront people with fake service dogs. Maggie had her vest on and she was being her normal laid back self. We (the officer and I) went around a few times and I assured him my SD wasn’t a fake.
Christopher then talked to the nurses on the floor and they stated that they had already talked to their head nurse and she was aware of Maggie and was okay with her! Yay! The nurses on the floor said that they would talk to the officer if he comes to the floor. I reassured him that if he had any other problems, he could call me asap on my personal cell phone.
Christopher wrote that he was not upset nor mad at security here. He said that security had seen a pattern of events and was just acting accordingly (in security’s eyes). Christopher knows about fake service dogs in the news and also believes they are on the rise. But he didn’t feel that an officer confronting him in the dark in front of the hospital requesting papers was the right approach. I agreed. And, of course, SDs are allowed in any hospital except in certain areas where patients are immunosuppressed or there is radiation.
I will contact the hospital to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. BUT, in the meantime, the great news is that everyone is back home, healthy, and happy!!! I asked how is Maggie responding to the baby, and reminded Christopher to let the bonding between Maggie and Piper start as soon as possible. Christopher said that Maggie was doing great! Maggie is great. He was holding Piper trying to calm her, and Maggie laid her head on Christopher’s lap, saying that Maggie’s mothering nature has shined through again!
WE ARE SO, SO HAPPY FOR YOU CHRISTOPHER, MEGAN, PIPER, AND MAGGIE!!!!!!!
A posting from our trainer Michelle, in New Mexico!
When I first entered, Osito was a little nervous of the “new person in the house”, but soon warmed up to me. He is so sweet and gentle, yet he the Alpha of the pack! He is 1 of 6 dogs in the home, and seems to rule the roost! Once he finally warmed up to me, 
he allowed me to handle him, and assess his temperament. He then laid on the floor next to me, very comfortable. Upon visiting with Beto, and finding out how Osito will be assisting him, I had a tour of a very dog-friendly home with beautiful yard for them to roam, including a dog run from the back yard to the front fence.
Beto will have Osito trained for Diabetic alert purposes and medication reminders. Upon assessing this team, I feel that the bond is very strong and breaking Osito of a few bad habits will be rather easy. Getting him used to certain commands might be the trick. 🙂
Viva and Kimberly took to each other immediately. Kimberly suffers with seizures and anxiety, and needs a dog to help her cope with every day life as well have Viva trained to detect and alert if Kimberly will have or has a seizure.
Viva looked at Kimberly directly in her eyes and smiled and was happy to lay down by her side while we chatted about the entire process and our journey together. Kimberly has the wonderful support of her family, who were there at the meeting and were equally thrilled at the instant connection that Viva and Kimberly had.
Kimberly’s mom, Tonya, said that she could see that Viva was going to change Kimberly’s life. I agree, and I am so pleased that they have invited me along on their journey.
I had another great session with Lucia and Lily. We met at a Petco for this session to work on basic heeling and training with distractions. Lucia worked hard this week on progres
but no worries, I have full faith that Lily will overcome and be able to have self control as Lucia continues to work on “Leave it” with her!
First, we started at Target. Lexie unloaded from the car on Claudine’s command, waiting with the door wide open. Walking across the car lot with moving traffic was not a problem for Lexie, who stayed close to Claudine and walked steadily beside her in a perfect heel.
Then, after a well-controlled load back into the car, we drove to Petsmart where Claudine and Lexie were asked to walk by pets and birds. Lexie went by completely ignoring them, and at one point, Claudine sat her down right by some cats, but Lexie paid no heed.
But its not over for these two! Claudine now wants to perfect her three tasks and has asked me how to teach Lexie how to retrieve things, which of course is one of my specialties so will be happy to oblige!!”