Umbilical Cording- Day 3. . . .

Could it get any better? After much waiting I finally have the dog of my dreams! Now don't get me wrong-- I do love LANIE dearly, but she is just not the working dog I have always dreamed of. LANIE is the dog who loves to make us laugh and lay around on our leather couches and for that we are grateful for what she contributes to our family, but LILLY is my "working partner" I have wanted for so long! I truly have the best of both worlds.

LILLY had another great day at Teacher of the Year interviews. I never imagined she would do so well with this task. She literally lays under my feet from 8:00-3:15. Most people have no idea she is even under my feet. She seemed to be more at ease with me today too.

After leaving the interviews we had to go visit Ella. Ella is a little girl that I tutor once a week. I had emailed her mom to let her know I would have LILLY with me today so when I arrived Ella was so excited to have a dog come to her tutoring session. She worked so hard for me

today--she got to read to LILLY which she loved! Next we did Math. Ella hates to subtract. I promised her if she got the answer right she could give LILLY that number of treats. I have never seen her get so many problems right!

We then had to run over to Starbucks to meet Karen and Fiona for a little meeting about various paws4people things. LILLY laid under the table just like she should the whole time!

Finally, we made our last stop of the day-- Shakira is a student in my classroom. She had surgery today and is staying in the hospital overnight. I met Flossie, Emily, and Tara over at the hospital to go see her. This was my favorite part of the day with LILLY. As you can see from the picture below she did so well visiting with Shakira. She jumped right up on the bed like it was nothing! She laid up there with her for quite some time. It made my heart so happy. :)

I couldn't have been a prouder mom today!! I must say there is only one thing that drives me a little nuts about LILLY-- I have decided that she is a "picky pottier." So far she only use the bathroom in our back yard at home. I have no idea how she holds it all day!

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings for LILLY and I. . . .have a great night!

Umbilical Cording- Day 2. . . .

LILLY is GREAT!! When I say great I mean great. Today I had to interview lots of people for the new Teacher of the Year for Cabarrus County. LILLY sat under my feet from 8:00-3:15. Several teachers came and had no idea she was even there! She was so quiet and everyone loved having her there. She has two more days of the interviews so I can only hope that Wednesday and Thursday go just as well. After that long day we ran by both the bank and the post office. We had no issues at all. I couldn't be more proud!

Once we got home I decided to attempt to take LANIE and LILLY for their first walk together by myself. For those of you who know our dear sweet LANIE you realize what a challenge this could be--- but it wasn't at all. Super easy. They walked beautifully together around the neighborhood. Of course we couldn't have a normal walk for our first walk together. We ran into several neighbors (including Justin-- those of you that know him will smile at this). I even stopped to talk for about 10 minutes. LILLY just laid down to wait, while LANIE just stood there. Since their behavior was so good-- they got to play ball for a while when they got back.

To top it all off I also decided to work in the yard some. I don't know if you have ever tried to pull weeds with a dog attached to your waist, but it is a challenge! LILLY wanted to eat every weed I pulled! However, I must take a second to brag on LANIE. While I worked in the yard she stayed on the front porch all by herself for over 30 minutes! Another dog even came out across the street and she just barked. Never broke command. This is HUGE for her!

This has been the best day I have had with my "2" dogs in quite some time. I am interested to see what Day 3 of this process holds. . . . . have a great night everyone!

First Day of School. . . . .

LILLY had her first day of school today! Kyria brought her to my classroom around 11:30. Of course when she walks in things couldn't have been any crazier! We had a class full of kindergartners, one student not feeling well, tons of extra adults, and the list continues. I was so impressed with how she handle all the new things and stress of it all. She did great meeting each one of them and really enjoyed it. :)

Well if I have ever wondered if LILLY liked me I sure found out today! She went nuts when I finally came over to say hello. It was actually a little bit too nuts. We will have to work on that some, but it was nice to know I was loved.

About 1:00 Kyria encouraged me to start the "umbilical cord" process. So for the next two weeks LILLY is attached at my hip-- literally. This experience should be interesting to say the least. I never realized just how much I move until I try to do it with a dog attached to my hip!

Well its off to cook dinner with LILLY. . . . wish me luck!

LILLY. . . .

Well-- she is here!! I couldn't be more thrilled. In my opinion the transition between LILLY and LANIE has been really really super smooth. Yesterday LILLY spent most of the day looking at LANIE like "whoa-- what have I gotten myself into??" However, this morning they started playing together and the rest is history! It is like they have lived together forever. Thank goodness BRADIE is here as well. She is the true pack leader of the group. Earlier today LILLY and LANIE were playing hard core for about 10 minutes and then BRADIE walked right up in the middle and made a small groan. Instantly both LILLY and LANIE went and laid down! Now if I could just get Kyria to leave BRADIE here too we would all set. ;) As most of you know that will never happen.

Today we also took LILLY to her first movie at Concord Mills. For those of you that live in the area you know that Concord Mills is super crazy on the weekend. She did great! She did take a step back and stare at the giant train going through the middle of the mall, but who wouldn't stare at something like that?? The highlight of the whole movie was how great LILLY did. It was amazing-- she was so quiet you would have never known she was there. The movie itself was really sad and depressing. So if you want to see a movie that will just put you in a sulky mood go see Remember Me.

I can't wait to see what the next few days is like with LILLY. She is already starting to follow me around a little. We will begin our umbilical cord process on Tuesday so that should really start the "bonding" process for us. I am looking forward to it! I will keep everyone posted on our progress. She will go school on Monday to meet my students for the first time. Exciting times ahead!!

FINALLY. . . . .

After many, many, many, many, many months of waiting I am happy to report that LILLY will be coming home to live with us on March 19!!!! I honestly cannot wait. It seems like we have been waiting FOREVER!! So here is a quick run down on how our little family feels about LILLY coming home:

Candace-- I am thrilled beyond belief. I have waited a long time for her and I to begin working together. I feel certain she and I will be able to touch many, many lives.

Paul-- I think deep down he is excited too. Of course he would never verbally admit this-- if he did we might all know that he truly does love the dogs. :) He is amazing and super supportive of every crazy idea I have!

LANIE-- Well I think she just might be the most excited. She will finally have a sister and playmate. So much of her time is spent trying to get Paul and I to play with her, so we think having a live in playmate will great for her! I must admit she is quite used to dogs coming and going at our house. I wonder how long it will take her to realize that this one is staying. . . . . forever. :)

Can't wait to update you all when LILLY actually arrives!! Oh yeah-- I am pretty excited about Kyria and Jeremy coming too!

Candace

Jack is a Super Star!!!!

Jack made the front page of the Charlotte Observer!! I am so proud of our NC kids. Way to go Jack. Hope you enjoy the article. :)

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/1083920.html

Thankfulness. . .

What an amazing time of year to have a paws4people graduation! It never ceases to amaze me that each visit to the prison renews a new understanding and appreciation for the dogs, inmates, trainers, and clients. It takes all of these things to create paws4people and the legacy it is creating.

Graduation was an emotional (as always) and exciting time. It was especially interesting for me since I actually got to graduate with LILLY! For those of you who don't know LILLY will be working in my classroom early 2010. We are all very excited and have anxiously been awaiting her arrival. The hope is that she will touch as many lives, if not more, than LANIE with a tad bit less enthusiasm. LANIE fully did her job while she worked and I can say I am proud of what she has done. She just needs a replacement with a little less energy. :)

As you can see from the picture LILLY was a little tired after graduation. She got to stay with us at the hotel on Saturday night and I must add that it was super hard to say goodbye on Sunday morning. I can't wait until she is here in NC for good.

I was informed by Kyria that she would like for me to give closing remarks at graduation. Speaking in front of a large group of people is not my thing, but I figured it was the least I could after receiving one of these amazing dogs. Below is a copy of my closing remarks. I think it totally sums up not only graduation, but remembering to be thankful during this week of Thanksgiving.

As I sat in the graduation ceremony at Alderson yesterday the words of SADIE as told by her trainer spoke volumes about what we experienced today.

The words that sum up everyone’s involvement in this process are “you have to understand where I am coming from”. These words apply to the dogs, program inmates, p4p volunteers and staff, the staff here at USP Hazelton and the recipients of the dogs.

The dogs have their own stories, pasts, experiences, and triumphs that have shaped them into the amazing animals that will go on to change the lives of those they come into contact with. When they leave their trainers here they will go to their new families hoping they understand where they have come from.

The p4p volunteers and staff as well as the USP Hazelton staff have also been shaped by experiences throughout their lives that have influenced them to dedicate their lives to promoting positive change in others. The p4p volunteers and staff understand the importance of these dogs and the magnitude of the difference they can make. The staff here at USP Hazelton at some point recognized something within themselves that they knew would be beneficial to the men and women during their incarceration.

I would assume that the program inmates would also like for us all to understand where they are coming from. Many have been victims, some have victimized others, and all have made decisions they would like to change. Their lives have taken a turn that most of them would have never imagined. The dogs these individuals have so selflessly dedicated themselves to understand where they are coming from and accept them for who they are not the choices they have made.

As I stand here today as a recipient of LILLY I want to let you know where I am coming from. I have been an observer, someone moved emotionally by seeing others beam with excitement and shine with the promise of a life made better by a precious dog put on this earth to bring happiness.

Today I am coming from a place of thankfulness. I am thankful that because of everyone here today LILLY will come to Cox Mill Elementary School for a job she is well equipped to do because of the hard work that has been poured into her.

I challenge all of you to leave here today and remember to consider where others are coming from. Consider their experiences, talents, contributions and fears that have shaped them into the people they are. Remember that all of those involved in this training process have their own stories, none more valuable than another, and all vitally important to initiating positive change in another’s life.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!