Approved!!

Well, after a long process, I have finally qualified to adopt a dog from The All Shepherd Rescue group. WOO HOO!  This rescue group has foster homes throughout Maryland taking in German Shepherd dogs and place them up for adoption to pre-approved homes.  I am very proud to have successfully been approved to adopt from this group.

With winter coming, we have decided to go in the direction of adopting a dog and working directly with a trainer, training the dog to be my service dog.  The option of driving to Laurel, to Fido's for Freedom, multiple times a week was going to prove difficult with my schedule (or should I say my son's Scout schedule, cross country schedule, college search schedule..... sheesh) - and winter weather adding to the long drive.

Having a dog here at home, leaves me to work one on one with the dog more regularly, but on my own schedule.  Aja Harris, the trainer from Mutt Magic Training Services, is extremely experienced with obedience training, agility training and competitive training, and has a strong backing with many of the vets and local shelters in the area.  Not to mention she is just the friendliest person!!

So, despite a long lull in my blog posting, I hope to now maintain a regular dialog as we visit new dogs, get  some preliminary pointers from Aja about the traits to look for in a potential service dog.  I hope I can figure out how to post pictures to the blog, so I can share in the fun that is surely coming my way in this endeavor.

First up is a meeting with Rufus -- and boy does his name fit him!!  He is a large shepherd mix (probably mixed with Rottweiler).  He is a big goofy guy!  The pictures show him with partially floppy ears, a big grin and a lolling tongue.  We have to drive to West Virginia to get our first look at him, but I can't resist those big eyes - so we are going to make a mini-vacation out of the trip.

Waiting in the wings is another large German Shepherd (most likely all Shepherd) named Murphy.  The Representative from All Shepherd Rescue is very favorable about him being a perfect match for my needs except he has one small little problem.  Or technically he has a problem with small things... notably cats.  They need to evaluate him and his apparent 'taste' for the feline critters to see if this is something we can overcome with training.  I am hoping to keep my current number of cats at 3, and I wasn't planning on using them as reward treats -- :) -- so we'll see how that one pans out.

An update on the fundraising, I have gobs of ink cartridges and plan on making my first shipment to the recycling place next week.  Please keep saving them, as well as used cell phones - as we will be needing the funds earned from the recycling project.  Fido's for Freedom will be getting a donation from the first batch (and funds collected after the adoption fee and some of the training is paid for) - because they have been a huge help in setting me on the right track.  If it weren't for the 100 mile round trip, I would have applied to them to get a service dog.  And either way, they provide a much needed service and are worthy of any financial help we can provide.

More news coming soon - so check back often!