The trainers and Amazing Tails community have been filling me in about Max's puppyhood and personality. He's going to be a fantastic match for me!
Having Max with me is going to change my daily life. I will be able to get more things accomplished that I have been unable to do for awhile now. I am very excited! However, having Max with me is going to be difficult too because not everyone is familiar with how to approach a disabled person and a service dog when they are out in public. Max is adorable (I am already in love!), but he and the trainers are spending hours and hours learning how he can best help me. He is also learning how to ignore distractions when out in public, but why make his job harder? If you see us around, please DO come up and say hi, but please don't distract Max from his job of keeping me safe!
Moving went very well. We had a lot of help, which was wonderful! Still in the process of unpacking, but it's definitely coming along.
Now for some FANTASTIC news! Thanks to a super generous donation from Fisher's Friends Dog Daycare, I have hit the $5,000 mark! This means all of the training expenses and vet care for dog's life at Amazing Tails are entirely paid for now! The trainers have encouraged me to continue fundraising in order to set up an Emergency Vet Fund for the dog. Emergency care can be difficult for anyone to cover, but it can be especially difficult for those who live on fixed incomes due to disability.
I will continue to collect cans and bottles to return to add to the funds.
Thank you to everyone who has helped to support me by sending letters of support and encouragement and by donating funds and cans and bottles! I am so very grateful to all of you!!
I am in the process of attempting to pack everything up and MOVE on August 1st. Not exactly a fun time...
Fundraising is going VERY well! I am certain that I will be able to reach the $5,000.00 mark very soon. The agency has suggested fundraising beyond that goal and setting up an emergency vet fund for the dog. This is a great idea since people with disabilities live on very fixed incomes.
I am so grateful for everyone's help and support! I came home to find 3 large garbage bags of cans and bottles in front of my door the other day. Thank you to whomever left them there. :-)
There have been some minor medical complications recently that have popped up, but nothing too serious (I hope), and nothing that is unexpected.
I am so grateful for the donations of cans and bottles and for the generosity of my local community. I feel so privileged to be a part of this "amazing" experience! Everyone's willingness to work together to help is so encouraging.
We collected and returned over 900 cans and bottles in the past 2 days. I have also received very generous donations from several people.
I will post more pictures of our can and bottle excursions soon!
We picked up a donation of 694 cans/bottles today from a very nice man! You can see a picture below. In the end, we ran 7 full shopping carts for return. We've raised almost $50 from cans/bottles so far! Thank you to everyone for their generosity and support!
This past weekend I visited Amazing Tails for a picnic and re-evaluation for my service dog. Part of my re-evaluation was working with a dog for the duration of the picnic. He was such a sweetheart and we got along very well ! This particular dog will be working as a diabetic alert dog, and he spent a good portion of the afternoon alerting me. :-)
I am currently at the top of the list for a dog now and the trainers will be selecting and training my dog during the next 4-6 months. This means I have to work extra hard at fundraising and I am asking for your help. Please pass this website around and consider donating if you can!
It has been a while since I updated this blog! Unfortunately, I spent way too much of April in and out of the hospital and ER.
I found out that Amazing Tails plans to begin training my dog this summer. Hopefully, all goes as planned! I will be moving in August and will need all the help I can get, so if you'd like some free pizza, please come help!
I will be seeing my new PCP on Friday, so hopefully, I will finally be in good hands again. I finally got in to see a rheumatologist and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. We are running some more blood work to check for a few other rheumatic/autoimmune disorders, so I will know more in a few weeks.
I hope everyone is enjoying the fabulous weather...hopefully it stays!
I am still working on catching up in some schoolwork...long process! Hopefully this weekend will be uneventful.
I have been keep up on some service dog forums and reading some pretty interesting stories (ie: the one woman who was told her bloodwork was going to have to be drawn in the car because the dog wasn't allowed in the clinic!).
I recently discovered how much I really enjoyed the show "7th Heaven". So entertaining...lol
We are $30 away from reaching 25% of the goal. That is amazing! Don't forget to visit www.beadlavada.com to register to win a bracelet. I will be donating an item to a local shelter for a fundraising event in September. :-)
Preparing and waiting for my new service dog from Amazing Tails.
