Kindle's Kingdom: Inside and Out

Kindle giving Emma a hug!

Kindle, Emma, and Keith waiting for Gwen to finish up an eye doctor appointment.  Most people there didn't even know she was there!  Good girl, Kindle!

Don't they say after awhile pets and their owners start to look and act alike??  It may be starting!! :))

Kindle has lots of space in our yard to run and play.  We have invisible fencing and she is doing great!

           This is one of her crazy, running spells.  She especially does it right after I brush her!

 This is as  close to the ball as she lets us get.  When you try to get it to throw it for her, she picks it up and runs away.  She is so playful!

 Ahhh, the queen of her backyard kingdom!  Sometimes she just sits and peruses all that is hers!  :)

 But she always comes back to her girl!  It was VERY cold out as you can tell by the way Emma's bundled up.  She wasn't too bundled to laugh while Kindle ran around the yard going crazy.  This was even after our walk. :))

Kindle and Emma are in Emma's bed now.  They are doing great!  Kindle can get in and out on this side when the side rail is down like this.  

                       She will go to bed on her own if we don't go early enough to suit her. :))

This is the platform and steps that Keith built so that she get in and out of Emma's bed as she pleases when the side rail is up.  We will be carpeting it eventually.

                  She does a great job using the platform to get in and out of the bed.  Smart girl!  It also makes a great spot to look out the window!

Becoming Best Friends

Emma has subtle ways of showing emotion at times.  When you get to know Emma really well, you see them immediately.  We know over time that Kindle will learn these subtleties as well.  She hasn't been overly touching Kindle with her hands.  When she does, it's very gently and lovingly.  This weekend when they were relaxing, Emma spent several minutes playing gently with Kindle's ears and mouth.  Kindle slept and didn't mind a bit. :)  Very sweet!

…until she finally joined Kindle in a nap! :)  She has never had a problem using Kindle as a pillow!

We have been very blessed with family support and love since Emma was born.  Keith's parents come up to our house every Wednesday evening since Emma was a baby.  The first Wednesday they came when Kindle was here, Kindle left the room and went to her crate in another room until they left.  The 2nd time they came, she decided she wasn't going to completely give Emma up, but share her.  I think she realized that this is going to happen a lot and she better adapt if she doesn't want to give her girl up every Wednesday night!  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!! :))

Emma discovered that Kindle makes a great footrest!  Nice and warm on the piggies too!

This Sunday was Kindle's first time at church with us.  She was GREAT!!!  We continue to be so proud of her focus on Emma.  Even though Keith and I give all of the verbal cues, she has learned that Emma is the person that she looks to.  She still occasionally looks at us, we then click and treat for looking at Emma and she is right back on track. 

Kindle was very patient and focused for a half hour after church while we chatted with people at church about her.  You could tell people just enjoy watching them together.  It's so precious!!

Getting back to routine

Hello!  We are back to a normal routine now.  Well, a new normal!  We now have a new four-legged, furry family member to add to that routine.  It is going great at school!  Kindle went to work with Keith on Emma's first two days back after our last day of team training.  Her first day of school with Emma was last Monday.  She did great!  She starts her day in her crate at U-gro daycare.  After the first half hour, she is out with Emma until the bus comes.  We have the sweetest bus drivers ever!  They bought her a special bed just for her so she isn't cold on the floor of the bus!  She is with Emma at school most of the day.  She only goes in her crate during Emma's specials and lunch.  This is a good break time for her.  Once they are back at U-gro in the afternoon, Kindle stays in the crate until I get there.  She needs this downtime after a long day at school until she adjusts.  These first two weeks, Kindle takes Wednesday off and goes to work with Keith.  This is to make sure we aren't overdoing it.  Everyone that has been dealing with Kindle LOVES her already and all said how sweet she is!  She is well-behaved and all business when the vest is on.
We have had some special events since team training:  Halloween, Casino night (a fundraiser for Susquehanna Service Dogs),  and Keystone Human Services Annual Board Meeting as special guests. We had a wonderful opportunity to represent SSD at the board meeting.  We spoke to the entire group about our experience with SSD and had our picture taken.  It was a great night and we learned a lot about SSD's parent organization.  At Casino night, we met ABC27 News Anchor, Alicia Richards, who was the guest host for the evening.  She asked me to tell our story briefly for her as she recorded it to post on her Facebook page.  What an honor!!!

Casino Night for SSD!  We had a great time!  We also helped planned it, we joined the committee last spring.

                             Meeting Alicia Richards was a definite highlight of the night!

Emma and Kindle are still very close at night.  They are still in our bed.  We will soon put them in Em's room.

Emma and Kindle on Halloween night.  We spent the evening at my parents' house in Lititz handing out candy.  Kindle is possessive of her girl.

She made a great witch!  We just couldn't figure out how to keep the hat on for more than the picture!

                                                         Hanging out on a Saturday!

                                                                         
                                                                    Casino Night

                    Riding home from U-gro after the first day of school together!  Pooped out!

Last Day - We passed!

Well, today was our final day of team training in the Harrisburg Mall / Bass Pro Shops.  We definitely took the longest to test today, with Kindle and Emma going through the test three times.  Each time it took 30-45 minutes.  Way to go Kindle!  Most dogs only take it once.  She did great!  She was so good and focused.  The only area we had a little trouble with was the "leave it" cue.  The tester put treats pretty much right under her nose and we have to say "leave it" and hope she does.  She did eat some of them, but when tested more on it later, she did great!  Otherwise, she was flawless!  We all did great on the elevator.  We are very proud of her!  We are now an official service dog team.  We got our id badges and all of her records.  We can now begin taking her in public ourselves.  She won't go to school with Emma until Monday.  She will go with Keith to work.  For the first two weeks, instead of half days, she will take Wednesdays off.  This will be a long day for her and she needs to adjust.  Thank you for your support and loyal following on the blog.  We will definitely keep posting regular updates on their progress, but it won't be daily.  I, too, have to go back to work! :)  Please keep checking in.  My goal is to post weekly.  Congratulations Team Emma - we did it!! :)
Okay 1st grade!!!  I will see you TOMORROW!  I am very proud of you.  Two and a half weeks is a long time to be away from your teacher and I am so excited to get back to you and our routine.  Love, Mrs. Wenger :))


Thank you to our awesome SSD training team:  Ryan, Kendra, and Amanda!!!  You guys are the best and we wouldn't have Kindle without you!!!!  Thanks also, to the entire SSD staff and volunteers!!

Our celebratory lunch at Ruby Tuesday with 13 others.  All the teams passed!  Kindle isn't shown because she is being a good doggy, under the table in a down-stay. :)

 A nice spa treatment for Kindle after a long, hard morning!  Congratulations Emma and Kindle!!!

Day 12 - Field Trip Day!

Well, if you guessed our trip was to Hershey, you are right!  We started at Zoo America this morning and ended up at Chocolate World.  What a great day!!!  It was very interesting being at a zoo with a dog.  We got to see more animals than usual.  The scent must alert them to the dogs and some of them become very active and visible, especially the wolves.  We couldn't even stay near their pen, they got very excited and started alerting the dogs.  We left there.  The only thing that made Kindle bark was a magpie.  Yes, all those animals, including cats and she got worked up at the birds.  :)  Both dogs did a great job.  They were in an environment that really challenged their instincts.
Chocolate World was the environment that challenged mine!  Ha!  We couldn't believe it, but the entire group, including both dogs, fit into one ride car.  What a great picture!  The dogs did great!  The challenge was getting them on and off with the floor moving.  They did fine.  I think I found the moving floor more of a challenge. Kindle did leash today a few times and was excellent with lots of greetings.  We had a lot of fun.  We are feeling much more confident about handling her and Emma in the stroller in public.  Although I haven't tried the bathroom again.  That won't be on the test tomorrow, so I'll practice that more later.  :)  Well, tomorrow is the big day!  The public access test.  Kindle has to take the test three times.  It's a good thing that we are staying home and relaxing tonight.  It was a big day for Kindle.  Tune in tomorrow night and we'll let you know if we passed - 3 times!!!
Hello children!  Well, when we got to the Hershey Zoo, 2 buses pulled up with several classes of first graders.  I felt right at home!  It made me think of my class and how I'll be very glad to get back to school on Thursday.  I saw lots of really cool animals!  I actually got to see lots of vampire bats in the "creatures of the dark" building.  My favorite animal was the ocelot.  If you don't know what that is, ask me on Thursday, I'll show you what they look like.  My least favorite was the tarantula.  Yikes, he wasn't very big, but he was hairy and gave me a case of the "creepies."  I'm sure some of you would LOVE to hold a tarantula, but NOT me!  :)  One more day with Mrs. Fulginiti.  Please have her last day be a good memory for her.  I know that you will!  See you soon!  Love, Mrs. Wenger :)

              Kindle and Grace taking a little break at the zoo.  The comfort trainers helped.

The best laugh of the day was when Kindle kept sitting in Emma's carseat when we put her in the car.  Totally on her own!  Kindle!  Silly girl!

                        This was the scene after we got home.  Both girls totally wiped out!

Day 11 - Final week

Today we were back at the Colonial Park Mall for our practice access test.  We had a bit of a rough start.  Kindle was pulling a bit on the leash which is not allowed.  They must walk nicely with a "loose leash."  We put her comfort trainer on to help her focus and then she refused to do the cue "leash."  This is when she picks up the dropped leash from the floor and hands it to us.  We all tried over and over at different times throughout the morning and she wouldn't do it.  Even the head trainer worked with her.  She did everything else, just not "leash."  Hmmmm, even dogs can have their moments of rebellion.  She did finally do it for Keith before we left the mall and then each time after.  Who knows.  That one cue, however, would not fail us on the access test, luckily.  Hopefully, by Wednesday she is over it.  We all did great on the elevator, did some shopping, and she had some great "unders" with very low benches.  We had lunch in the food court and she slept soundly at our feet.  After lunch, we went to a Giant nearby to practice grocery shopping.  She did great without the comfort trainer and ignored lots of smells and things on the floor.  She also did great with lots of greetings with strangers, two of them kids.
Tonight we are taking her to a Halloween parade and we think she will do a great job.  Tomorrow is a fun field trip.  Tune in tomorrow night and we'll tell you where. :)  Think chocolate! :)
Hello 1st grade!  I hope you all had another great weekend!  Well, only two more days until I come back.  Do a great job for the last 2 days!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DYLAN FROM YESTERDAY!!!  I hope you had a great birthday!!!  Have fun if you are going to the Lititz Halloween Parade.  I miss you very much!  Love, Mrs. Wenger :)


                        Where's Kindle????  Check under the bench.  Good "under" Kindle!!! 

The trainer was working with Kindle when she wouldn't do "leash."  She never did until hours later.  

                             Shopping is the best way to practice shopping, don't you think?? :)

                              We couldn't resist the Hello Kitty Balloon.  Okay, I couldn't!  :))

Day 10 - School and Home Visit Day

We had a great end to our second week.  2 of the SSD trainers came to Emma's school and we all spent 2 hours helping Kindle fit into her day.  She did great!  She was in a quiet down-stay during work times.  She helped Emma walk in her gait trainer by motivating her to move toward her and jumping up and giving her kisses to stay awake and focused.  We set up her crate in a quiet corner of the classroom where Kindle will spend parts of the school day for breaks and down time, like when Emma is eating lunch in the cafeteria.  We are so blessed that the school district and the IU have been amazingly supportive!  After a quick lunch, we went to Emma's daycare for on-site training with the staff there.  Her van drivers also came for training.  Kindle will never go on the bus lift.  She will enter the van through the door and meet her inside.  She will be on the floor at the aide's feet right next to Emma.  We also set up a crate at the daycare.  Emma is there before and after school.  Kindle will spend as much time in the crate there as the staff feels is necessary.  This is down time for Kindle and they can judge when it is a good idea for Kindle to be out and when it isn't.
Emma was glad to see all of her friends and teachers who she has missed over the last two weeks.  We also saw how the dog attracted lots of positive attention from children at both locations.  This is a wonderful opportunity not only for Emma to connect with other children, but for the other children to really learn more about service dogs and people with disabilities.  A win-win!
Our day ended with a home visit.  We were able to show the trainers how things work at home, where we want to put the invisible fence, and how Kindle will get in and out of Emma's bed using the platform and steps that Keith built.  Kindle and Emma have been in our bed until we can get hers all set up.  Plus, I want to be certain that Kindle and Emma will be able to sleep safely together alone.   All in all, a great day!
We want to thank everyone at Emma's school, in transportation, and daycare who have been so supportive and helpful to make this work for our family.  It was great to see the looks on the faces of everyone who cares about Emma as they watched Emma and her dog together today.  THANK YOU!!!  We couldn't do it without you!
Hello 1st grade!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KATHERINE FROM YESTERDAY AND ANNA TODAY!!!   I hope you both had a wonderful birthday and enjoyed having Mr. Birthday Bear for the day.  I'm so sorry I couldn't be with you for your birthday, but I will be back soon and I want to hear all about your special days.  I hope all of you enjoyed the Harvest Party today and had a good first day with Mrs. Fulginiti!  Have a great weekend!  There are only 3 days of team training left and then I will be back!  Love, Mrs. Wenger :)