On Sunday, Blaze will be home for three weeks. As we all know, time moves so fast...so fast that one day I will be writing that Blaze has been home for a year. I can't wait to see what I will be writing then!
During Good Dogs! Team Training we talked about the child and dog bonding. They shared stories on how some kids bonded right away and some take months to form the bond. They encourage that the bond organically be formed, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
Wyatt has a trend of taking a long time to warm up to new people and things. My goal is to have Blaze be part of Wyatt's world. Blaze isn't going to therapy or school yet with Wyatt; however, we have been making visits. When Wyatt sees Blaze walk through the door he smiles from ear to ear, runs over to Blaze, and jumps up and down. When Blaze is with Wyatt in public settings, including therapy he is constantly touching Blaze. It's crazy how Blaze brings a sense of calm with Wyatt. Yes, this is my child sitting to do a puzzle!! This doesn't happen....
This past weekend I took Wyatt and Blaze to Gap to buy Wyatt uniform shorts for school. As we are checking out, Blaze was in the down position.I turned around to be sure Wyatt wasn't unfolding the clothes on the rack behind us, when I discovered him sitting on the ground beside Blaze. What?! Wyatt's OT said it best, it's like Blaze helps Wyatt determine his space. Usually when checking out at a store, I pretty much am holding Wyatt down, fumbling for my wallet, and feeling super overwhelmed. Thank you, Blaze!!!
Blaze was born on Christmas Day 2014. He was born the Christmas that I took the trip to California to visit my sister and had that horrible lady make a comment about not wanting to sit by my family on the plane. The trip that made me decide that yes I wanted to add a service dog to our family. I love that his birthday is on Christmas Day, because he is for sure the best present ever! Already in three weeks, I see Wyatt more independent and confident in public outings, more calm during stressful moments like checking out at the store. In these three weeks, I have had more people stop and speak to Wyatt...this never happened before. It awesome because it gives Wyatt the opportunity to practice his social skills.
Blaze is a loving, sweet, silly boy. He started sleeping with Wyatt, this week. Wyatt climbs all over him and he just lays there loving the touch. Blaze is always ready to go. We run or walk every evening for at least 2 miles. When we walk in the door, he runs and finds his ball and looks at me like lets play. His face is the sweetest ever, he has a forever puppy face. To say I'm obsessed with him, might be an understatement.
I can't wait to share more...I can't wait to tell more stories...I can't wait to see what three more months or one more year look like. I'm forever grateful to have this opportunity for Wyatt. I'm amazed at how awesome Wyatt's therapist have worked with us on getting Blaze integrated into Wyatt's routine. We have an awesome team.
Tell next time...
