Graduation!

Whew!  We graduated!  On Friday, Feb. 24, Omri, Matthew and I took our Public Access test.  We had to pass it in order for Omri to become a certified service dog.   He did very well until they introduced food.  Oh boy!  He kept lunging toward it trying to get to it.  I kept telling him “NEEEEEOOOOWWWWWWW” just like Jeremy, Jessa, Jenna & Jennifer had taught us.  Finally, he heeled right past it.  Then, we had to put him in a “down” & push the food toward his nose.  He was required to stay in “down” until released.  Other than that small hiccup, we did really well.

This picture was taken after graduation.  It was the coldest day we had the entire time we were there.

 

When we got back to 4 Paws, the kids played while the parents went over paperwork with Alicia.  This included the contract, vet records, instructions on how to contact 4 Paws if needed, etc.  Then, we had a graduation ceremony.

Each child and their service dog was provided with a certificate & their pictures were taken like a jillion times by every parent there and Karen.   

Of course, we all had to get pics of each kid with their dog and the crew at 4 Paws.  The people in the group shots are Jeremy, Karen, Jenna, Jessa and Jennifer.

 

These are just some fun shots of all our friends at 4 Paws.  Todd & John were nuts!  Love all the parents and dogs.  Will miss all of them tremendously!

This sweet lady is Jessa!  She is the dog trainer who trained Omri most of his job.  WE just LOVE all the trainers at 4 Paws!

The kids all got to sign the graduation banner with their names & their dog’s name as well.    After graduation, we left Ohio and headed south that same day.  We saw a sign on the Interstate for the Kentucky Speedway.  With the biggest NASCAR fan ever in the truck, of course we had to stop & take a picture!

 

 

 

These were taken on the LONG ride home.  Omri did SO very well!  As you can see, he slept most of the way home.  The pics of Matthew with the cannon were taken at Parkers’ Crossroads in Tennessee.  It was one of the sites of a battle in that area during the War of Northern Aggression. (That’s the “Civil War” for you Yankees.)  In case you’re wondering, it took us 2 days to get home.  We traveled to Bowling Green, KY on Friday.  On Saturday, we drove from there to Little Rock,AR.  Jason came to Little Rock Saturday night, and he drove us home to Temple, Texas on Sunday.  Matthew & I have ridden over 1100 miles since 4PM Eastern Time Friday.  Needless to say, we’re both a weeeee bit tired!

 

I debated whether or not to put this picture on here, but I try to be open and honest with our life so here it is:

That is what my bedroom looked like when I got home.  Can you say Mama's upset?  Yes, you can!  I’d like to say the rest of the house is clean, but unfortunately, the WHOLE house looks like this!  Since I have to be at work at 8 in the morning, I’m thinking it’s not going to get cleaned up tonight!  It might get cleaned up Friday, but I plan on putting Jason & the boys to work this week after school/work.  I really don’t want to have to clean the whole thing again considering it was clean when Matthew & I left!

 

On a happier note, though, we found out one of the other families there with us also lives in Texas!  This is Jamie!  Her daughter received a service dog, also,  We live about 2 hours apart, and we plan on getting together this spring/summer. 

 

Love,

Dea