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@sdstephen
Stephen reached his fourth goal!! (And then some) Stephen is looking forward to going swimming. :) Thank you all for your support! If you would like to donate towards Stephen's Day Off please visit http://dogsdayoff.blueskysweet.com/Stephen
Stephen reached his third goal, Yayyyyy! He gets to go to a pet supply store and pick out whatever toys and treats he wants (for$25). Thanks for helping him reach this goal! If you would like to donate towards Stephen's Day Off please visit http://dogsdayoff.blueskysweet.com/Stephen
Stephen reached his second goal, Woohoo! He now has earned a cake from Giggy Bites on his day off... He's very excited. Thank you for all your support! If you would like to donate towards Stephen's Day Off please visit http://dogsdayoff.blueskysweet.com/Stephen
In just one day Stephen reached his first goal! Thank you guys so much! Stephen said he can almost taste that frozen Kong. :)
If you would like to donate towards Stephen’s Day Off please visit http://dogsdayoff.blueskysweet.com/Stephen
Help Stephen earn a day off!
Stephen is taking part in a fundraiser for Canine Partners for Life where if he raises enough money he gets a whole day off! To find out more and donate please visit ~ http://dogsdayoff.blueskysweet.com/Stephen
It's been a boring few days here with both dogs hurting themselves. Blake has a probable ACL tear and Stephen hurt his back back (pulled a muscle probably) so there's been no playing. Trying to keep Stephen busy has been a little challenging. We can't really work on skills that require him to do any jumping or being up on his back feet. So I decided to try playing with the Hide-A-Squirrel.
Ivy loved this toy and would pull the squirrels out a few times before wanting to switch to a different activity. I pulled it out for Stephen a few weeks ago and I started slowly with only have one squirrel that was easy to pull out... He wasn’t impressed at all. He would just carry the whole tree around not wanting anything to do with the squirrels. Yesterday we pulled it out again and he actually was somewhat interested in it! Of course he still just wants to play with the squirrel he gets it out but once that squirrel “disappears” he will pull out the next one from the tree.
We enjoyed the warmer weather we had for a few days last week. We worked on teaching him to shut the front door when we go for a walk. It's something that has been in progress for awhile but we can only be worked on when the heat/air conditioning isn't on (which is kinda rare anymore, thanks global warming! *sarcasm*). He did really well and hopefully we can put the task to regular use this year. We also worked on obedience that has gotten a little rusty over the winter. It's not awful but it's not where I know it can be.
Stephen had a fun time at Graduate Support Class. We tend to not go out as much in the winter so it’s nice to go to a class and brush up on things.
Win some ‘moo’-lah!
It’s that time again- Canine Partners for Life’s annual Open House and Cow Bingo on Saturday,September 17 from 1-5pm at CPL’s campus in Cochranville, PA. This free day of family fun includes opportunities to learn about raising, training, and living with service and companio ndogs, a puppy kissing booth, kennel tours, live music, kids’ games and face painting, shopping galore from over 25 local vendors, a BBQ lunch, and the ever-popular Cow Bingo!
Do you want to be the proud winner of $5,000? Buy your Cow Bingo Ticket today! Cow Bingo is a game of chance that pits your luck against the Cow “doo”ing her thing. If the cow heeds the call of nature on your square, you are the lucky winner of $5,000! Tickets are $10 each and chances are 1 in 3,000. Winner need not be present to win. Purchase your tickets at here.(http://bit.ly/29Z0Fx1) All proceeds benefit Canine Partners for Life mission to raise and train service and companion dogs for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities. Canine Partners for Life trained both Ivy and Stephen, by buying a ticket you are helping someone gain newfound independence!
We lost Stephen's "sister" Ivy (my first service dog) on June 13th, she was 14. She's been having trouble with her backend for awhile and had laryngeal paralysis. She started having grand mal seizures and started having more trouble walking after the second seizure. She went peacefully in my arms at the vet. She was a momma's girl, my divachild, a princess. Wherever I was, thats where she wanted to be. She loved to work, especially retrieving, and learn, and loved an adventure. She was with me for my college graduation, my first hospitalisation in 10 years, last year of MDA camp, and many concerts and hockey games.
The puppy I will be raising for Canine Partners for Life has not been born yet but I heard that @mexicanine was looking for puppy pictures so here is one of the last puppies that were born to CPL last year- Journey’s babies which may or may not end up being half siblings to my future pup.
*vibrates* I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL FALL
Stephen’s nieces and nephews. (Journey is Stephen’s full sister)
"":http://sdstephen.rocks At the age of one, I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). SMA is a progressive neuromuscular disorder that affects how the nerves communicate with muscles that control moving and breathing. I use a power w...
Stephen and I are involved in a fundraiser for his alma mater, Canine Partners for Life. Please help if you can.
This summer has been kind of slow for us. It’s been very hot and humid, which has limited us from getting out in public since I don’t do well in that kind of weather. Stephen also injured his dew claw in early July. We think jammed it outside, cracking the nail underneath the skin. Within a day it became very swollen and red.After a few trips to the vet, we were able to get the pain, swelling, and redness under control. The down side was, because Stephen is a bit obsessive with injuries/ his body, we had to keep the cone on him for a few weeks. It’s definitely improved, the swelling has gone down although it’s still fatter than the other toe, and the crack has started to grow out. We had our recert with our program. We did well and will be good for 2 years. We also visited during the summer team training, which was fun.
Training wise I have been teaching him some of Ivy's tasks. We started again teaching him carrying the shower caddy again. We added a target in the bathroom for Stephen to put the shower caddy on. So far we're about 75% complete, we're still increasing the distance. He has been getting my cover before I eat great these past few weeks. A few times he even got it before I even asked for it. Ivy hasn't been staying with me when I’m taking a bath so I have been getting Stephen to get my towel for me. I’ve only started this this week so he’s still relatively unsure of what I want but with a few hints he’s been doing pretty well.
While the ADA states that certification is not required many service dog programs have their teams regularly run through a certification test every so many years. This is so they can be sure the team meets that program standards for public access. Stephen and I take our recertification test tomorrow.
I have a lot a catching up to do on here since we’ve had a few cool outings in the past few weeks.
The Abilities Expo In the beginning of May we went to the New York Abilities Expo. Stephen did pretty well, a little more on the excited side. He got somewhat distracted with the other dogs in the beginning. I had to explain to him that the overweight yellow Labrador service dog did not want to play after work. :-P He did settle down and actually did a great go pay. He was very much a tired pup that evening!
Comic Con The following week we went to Wizard World Comic Con. It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to and practicing with Stephen for awhile. He was such a good boy! We were the only service dog dressed, Stephen channeled his inner LabraThor:
We couldn’t get the helmet to fit right so he ended up not wearing it. And the hammer is all foam. He was definitely a hit, even got a few “the dog is worthy” comments from other Thors (good I guess?!).
After lunch Stephen had a little costume change for a photo op with Stephen Amell. I wasn’t comfortable with him wearing his Green Arrow costume the whole day so we just had him wear it for the photo op. I really wanted him to wear it because I jokingly refer to my Stephen as Stephen Amells inadvertent namesake. Stephen's costume seemed to be a big hit with everyone, Stephen Amell even came out of the photo booth to see him. When it was our turn I gave Stephen Amell a few pictures of my Stephen in the Green Arrow costume from Halloween and the fundraising shirt I designed for our team training. Overall we had a very fun time!
Eye exam The following week we traveled down to Veterinary Specialty Center of Delaware for Stephen’s ACVO National Service Animal Eye Exam. He did fantastic and his eye are looking good!
Geek pups
Rockin their Star Wars collars
“This is the story of Amelia Pond.”
I still can’t really wrap my head around how much this dog changed my life. She has been the reason I’ve formed so many of my solid friendships (including an amazing friendship I’ve formed with her handler, Kolby). She was the first dog I’ve ever really had in my life and taught me more than I ever taught her.
When I turned Amelia in for formal training, I cried. I cried a lot and my heart broke into a million pieces. Amelia stormed into my life like a tornado and I fell head over heels for her. She was a special dog and I always knew she’d be amazing, glorious Pond.
When I turned Amelia in for training, I thought I would never see her again. Boy was I wrong. I visited her once in training. She was sent to GA to finish her training and she stayed with me on weekends when she wasn’t training. And then she was placed with an amazing young woman who I visited back in October and who spent the past weekend with me. I got so incredibly lucky. Kolby and I regularly text and Skype and I know everything that is going on with this ridiculous pup.
I could not be prouder of wonderful Guide Dog.
(Black and white photo of Amelia resting on her side in harness with her head on the edge on a step)
