Back to School

Training has officially begun! I started the sessions at Kids and Canines on Monday, and I realized it is going to be a much different experience than I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure where I got the idea we would just be working on commands and seeing what the dogs could do for the two weeks I'm scheduled to be there, but I was obviously wrong. While we do a lot of that, of course, there is so much more. We have lectures ranging from how the dogs learn to how we teach them, and we as handlers are actually the ones being trained when we go over the commands. If nothing else, I've learned that the dogs we are working with are much, much smarter than I gave them credit for, and their devotion to their jobs is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

The first day was pretty amazing, but yesterday was really something. We are at the stage where the dog is now basically attached to us during the day, and as we were wrapping up yesterday's lectures, Nick was laying under the table napping on my feet. The door to the room opened, and the family that's been raising him walked in to pick him up for the last time. The two staff members who run the program wanted to see what would happen, so we all sat back and waited to see what Nick would do.

At first he didn't even lift his head, but after a moment he looked to see who had come in. The raisers started talking, and at the sound of their voices Nick looked up at me, then lay his head back down on my feet. We waited a bit longer, and then the staff told them to call him over. He wagged his tail, looked at me, and then put his head back down until I told him to go ahead. At that he looked at me again, stood up, gave me another look, and then trotted over to the little girl in the family. However, once he gave her a kiss, he turned around without a word from me and made his way back to lay under the table again!

I can't even explain to you what that felt like. It was as if this wonderful creature was telling me that he knows how much we need him, and he is willing to let go of everything he has ever known and loved in order to do his job. He is trusting that I will provide him with what he needs, and in return he is going to do whatever it is we need him to. This amazing dog is going to change our lives, and I have to keep reminding myself that it is real.

The bond is there. It's happening.