Day 6 - A New Week!

We had an amazing first weekend with Kindle!  She and Emma continued to bond as they spent time at home on Saturday ( a sleepy day for both) and we took a wonderful fall walk.  Kindle reminded me that she is just a dog (as opposed to the superhero that we are certain she is) when she saw or heard something in our woods and took off toward it, taking my hand and almost me over the stroller (she was on leash of course)!  Luckily I was able to stop her and get everything under control.  Pfew!  Emma loved it! :)  Sunday we went to my sister's house for the day so Kindle could meet my whole family.  We were SO impressed with her amazing focus and work ethic even in a relaxed, home-like setting.  My nephews were so good about leaving her alone until their designated time to play with her.  They had 15 minutes without her harness on to run around the house and play with her and her tennis ball.   She went crazy with them, but as soon as her harness was back on, she was all business, calm as could be, and ready to work.  It was very impressive!  What a SWEETHEART she is.  Even when running around the house with the boys, she kept zipping by Emma to check on her! :)
Team Training went great today!  We went over all things public.  We learned about the laws, our rights, other's rights, and how to handle any situations that we are denied access to a public place when it is our right to be there.  Very unlikely, but it is important to be prepared.  We were stunned to find out that a business and/or the manager can be fined $100,000 for denying anyone with a service dog access if the dog is behaving appropriately in the state of Pennsylvania.  Wow!  It's great to have that much support from the laws!  The challenging activity today was learning how to safely get on and off of an elevator with a service dog.  With just the dog, it's not that hard.  Throw Emma's stroller into the mix, and now we have a challenge!  The elevator can be a very serious danger to a dog.  We will have lots of chances to practice in public starting tomorrow.  This will be on the access test and must be done correctly to pass.  We also found out that Kindle will have to take 3 access tests.  One for each handler: myself, my husband, and Emma's amazing personal care assistant at school (PCA), who has been attending training with us.  Only people that attend training and take the test are allowed to handle Kindle in public.  
My favorite part of the day was when Emma and Kindle pushed a ball back and forth.  This is one thing they worked on with Kindle in advanced training.  They bought a big, pink princess ball.  Kindle was in a down-stay facing Emma.  Emma would push the ball to Kindle and Kindle would push it back with her nose!  They were a little off center the first few tries, but practice made perfect.  Adorable!!!  Then, the other thing they worked on in advanced training was Kindle retrieving Emma's sippy cup when she drops it on the floor (which is every time she is done drinking).  Kindle picks it up and brings it back to Emma.  When Emma doesn't take it in her hands, Kindle picks it up from her lap and keeps trying to put it in her hands.  So cute!! Thanks, Kindle!  That will be a big help!  No more strangers running up behind us asking if we dropped a cup!!! :)
Hello to my first graders!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying this beautiful fall weather.  Another great week is planned for you with Mrs. McCarthy.  Mrs Fulginiti will be with you on Friday.  Some special things are coming up this week:  you will see a 2nd grade class perform a play tomorrow morning and the Harvest Party is on Friday.  Tomorrow is our first day of training in public.  We are going to Bass Pro Shops and the Harrisburg Mall for the morning.  No shopping for us!  All work and practice!  Please continue to be on your best behavior!  I'll be back with you tomorrow night! Miss you!  Love, Mrs. Wenger :)