It's been awhile since I have shared our adventures!!
I'm excited to share that we have officially named Wyatt's service dog, Blaze!! I am pretty sure naming the dog was equivalent to naming one of my children. I wanted a name that seemed fitting of the dog, went well with Wyatt's name, and something that was still cool when Wyatt was 15! I thought that Wyatt, River (Wyatt's brother), and Blaze all went well together. Wyatt's amazing therapist did a speech drill with him to see if he could/would say the name Blaze and he did!
Something else super exciting happened too...we got to have Blaze for a weekend!! His trainer came to New Orleans for jazz fest, which meant we had time to get to know Blaze. We had a few rules - no treats, no walks, just lots of love and attention. We feel so fortunate that we got this time with Blaze, as this is something that doesn't typically happen during the process.
Needless to say, we fell in love with him! He might be the sweetest, most loving dog I have ever met. He loves to snuggle and give kisses.He has a ton of energy, which if anyone knows Wyatt knows that is necessary. He loves to play and has such a fun, silly side to him. One night Wyatt was getting a bath. Blaze was in the bathroom with us. He had his head hanging over the tub watching Wyatt. Then it was like a light bulb went off, he went got his ball and dropped it in the tub for Wyatt... like play with me. Of course, Wyatt picks up the ball and puts it right in his own mouth. Blaze stood waiting like come on, throw it to me now, throw it, throw it! Was so awesome to watch them engage with each other.
There isn't a day that goes by that I think if we had Blaze would this situation been easier or different? We took the boys to the aquarium this past weekend. Wyatt LOVES the aquarium!! He stands as close to the glass as he can get, he flaps his little hands with delight, and squeals as loud as he can. As his mom, I love watching the pure delight in his face. In Wyatt's excitement he ran up to a lady and with both hands and played the drums on her booty (individuals with autism often do not understand personal boundaries)! I looked at the lady and said "oh goodness, I'm so sorry" with a smile on my face, as I am holding Wyatt's hand. The lady glares at me...not for one second, not for two seconds, but several seconds. My blood starts to boil, I glare back and say "try to have a little patience, he has special needs, his just excited". Of course it isn't appropriate for him to play drums on anyone's booty, I acknowledge that. However he is 1) a six-year-old kid 2) he often doesn't understand what is appropriate and unappropriated. For the next 30 minutes I was so frustrated, telling myself to shake it off. Then of course I think, if Blaze was with us, she would understand by sight Wyatt has needs. Would that help?
Tomorrow we get to meet Blaze and his trainer to practice tethering. We are so excited!! Stay tuned for more...
