School!

Tuesday was Ty's first experience at school. She came with me to my first period class, then we did a small presentation second period, then my mom came to pick her up. Overall, she did VERY well! She was a little restless during class, but I later found out that she really had to go to the bathroom, so I understand why...no accidents though!! The students were also really good about the whole petting thing, so that was a relief! Hopefully she will be coming back soon! The school loved her!

Hmm..blogger is not behaving and won't let me upload any pictures! I will get them up asap!

We're here, and we have an update!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have had a horribly busy week. Sunday night my aunt passed, so we sent Ty to the kennel from Tuesday-Friday so we wouldn't have to worry about her while doing all of the funeral "stuff". I haven't taken many pictures recently, so I pulled up a few old ones to share. They are all from the past few months.

Recently I have started to take Ty with me to Church. She has done extremely well, and has gotten plenty of compliments! Right now we are sticking to the less-crowded masses until she figures out the routine. She mostly just sleeps for the hour, but will wake up when we sit/stand...whenever I stand up she looks at me like she's asking "Where are we going? Should I get up to?!" We also have to work out a few kinks the in the getting Communion aspect..she always seems to like to stretch in the aisle....we will work on that!



We have also just received permission for her to start coming to school with me! My social justice teacher invited her to our class to show an example for the other students about volunteerism and "making a difference". So for now she is only going to be coming to 1 class with me, then going home with my mom. But I have a feeling that after the teachers get to know her they will want her too :).



Today we went to a crew regatta. I was the varsity coxswain on my high school's rowing team for the past three years, but this year I decided not to take part because of my surgeries and raising Ty. Today there was a regatta not too far from my house (they are usually in other states) so we went and hung out there for about 4 hours. It was really fun and a great socialization opportunity. LOTS of dogs, and LOTS of people! Overall she did pretty well, she wasn't the best walker, but she did better than most the other dogs that were there! The team fell in love with her, and I got some of the parents interested in puppy raising, so that's always great!



Okay, for the last part of my update I have a cute story. After Church last weekend I was about to walk out the door when a little girl stopped me to pet Ty. There weren't many people around, and Tyanna was behaving, so I let the girl pet her. She asked me where I got her from, and I explained to her that she came from "special people who use these dogs to help people"...but she insisted on knowing exactly WHERE I got her from. After a bit, she finally stood up and said: "Well, I got mine from Canine Assitance, and I just want to know where you got yours!". Her dad came over and told me that she has an assistance dog to help her with her epilepsy. I'm not sure why they didn't have the dog with them, but they said that he has public access and goes everywhere! Maybe I will run into them another time! Moreover, I was super impressed with Ty because the girl was sticking her fingers in her mouth and pulling her ears, and my puppy did wonderfully!!

Sorry for the long update!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TYANNA!!

MOM, no more pictures!

Beach Recall

Today Ty and I ventured to the beach to practice some recalls. She did pretty well, the hardest part was getting her to hear me over the loud waves. After she heard me she would come running, but it took a pretty loud voice :). Once we got away from the crashing waves it was much better, and she responded well!

Therapy dog for a weekend (well, kinda)

My aunt is very sick with a rare form of cancer so we went down to visit her in Michigan this past weekend. I was a bit nervous brining Tyanna into the hospital (I knew we would be in the room for a long time), but she did fabulous! All of the nurses loved her, and she took a few long snoozes under my chair. She went Saturday and Sunday and did great both days. It was nice to not have to worry about her while everything else was going on.

The staff absolutely adored her. Many of them asked me if she was the "house therapy dog". I'm glad that they thought she was well behaved enough to be certified :). I couldn't be more proud of my girl. She did such a great job and I never doubted her performance. It was SO nice to have her with me during this hard time, and did a great job bringing smiles to many sad faces.

What puppy?

It seems that I no longer have a puppy on the end of my leash....I have a mature, well-mannered DOG! When did this happen?







Needless to say, Ty will be ONE (!) in 17 days, and I couldn't be more proud of her. She has learned SO much, including 29 of the 30 required commands, and is well on her way towards her turn-in date. As I am making all of my college plans, I cannot help but think of Tyanna's next journey to CCI college and what the future holds for her. There is no doubt in my mind that she will make somebody very happy, whether she graduates or not. I am so lucky to have her in my life.