Coddington Place Mall Gets the Gold!

Well greetings from CA! I apologize for the delay in posting but as you can imagine, things have been a bit busy during this umbilical stage, and will continue to be until Thursday when we finally cut ourselves loose. What a weekend of "togetherness!" The trip to the mall went really well for almost everyone. As you can see from the picture, the dogs were all smiles as we prepared for the venture into the stores. It was amazing to finally get to see the dogs in action; they honestly assume an air of dignity and responsibility once dressed in their packs. Kate did exceptionally well, always very gingerly at my side, never sniffing nor allowing herself to become distracted. Now I may have mentioned before that Kate, though the eldest of the group, is by far the smallest. One of our activities for the morning was to practice our "pull" commands. "Pull" is typically used when one needs assistance with actually moving the wheelchair forward and the dog allows you to grasp the handle of their pack as they pull you along. Well I certainly had my doubts with my petite partner; good food and good wine haven't done wonders for me in Sonoma and the wheelchair alone was substantially heavy. Our trainers had us form two lines of six and conducted the practice almost like a race, giving us a start command and then announcing it was time to "Pull!" Can you imagine my surprise when out of nowhere, my little Kate breaks free from the pack and smokes everyone! This gal should do some freelance sled work! She was absolutely delighted with her performance and I must say that I felt such pride! My teacher did later tell me that Kate's brother, Kruise, back in the day was known throughout the school as 'dragracer' so I guess it is a family thing. Too funny.
Sunday was all about rest and bonding which was great until about 2pm when I caught a nasty case of cabin (hotel) fever. Kate and I decided to sneak over to Jack London State Park for a little afternoon hike and it was wonderful to get out and stretch our legs. It was such a different experience to be on the trail with a service dog. With no vest, no commands given, no responsibilities whatsoever, she was still diligently performing. Some one's life is truly going to changed dramatically by her assistance and I can't wait to see who it will be!
This week is all about field trips. Yesterday the class hit an outdoor shopping center, eating lunch at Applebee's and then practicing our heels all through Target and Best Buy. Target was a cinch, but Best Buy was overwhelming for the dogs (actually a little overwhelming for me as well.) We worked our way around the store absorbing all of the loud, strange sounds and even saved a little time at the end for the appliance department so that Kate could practice her "Push" commands and close all of the refrigerator doors. Amazing stuff.
More pictures to come from this week's outings! Hope that you all are well.
~Sarah