It was very interesting. I was fascinated by the therapy dogs - they were better behaved then the service dogs. However, the service dogs were of a younger group of dogs and there were only 4-5 service dogs and clients working tonight. I watched in awe as 5 service dogs and a few therapy dogs were lined up on one side and left in a sit/stay. The handlers walked to the other side of the room and at once called their dogs ---- mass chaos ensued as 7 dogs went in the direction of their handler only to be distracted by other dogs, people or just the sheer enjoyment of moment and 2 actually chased each other right out of the room. And at one point during the session, a cute little Golden Retriever decided she was done and laid out flat on the floor and wouldn't move.
Obviously I need to visit some more, I'm going to at least give my application to my neurologist to complete for submission to the program. I can continue to visit during their training sessions and watch and ask questions until the application process is completed, then provided I'm accepted to the program I can start training with various dogs until the right dogs finds his/her way into my hands.
The downside to this process is it's over 100miles each trip and $4 in tolls, and I will be making a minimum of 24 trips before I can be placed with a specific dog. The dog selected is obviously the one that meets my needs and may not be the one I think is right, and could be male or female (we are VERY partial to male dogs). And there could be a long wait depending on whether or not they have a dog to match my needs.
The upside is the cost (not counting gas/tolls) is very reasonable and I will be working directly with the dog on training that is specific to my needs.
There are still many things to consider and I guess I'm just going to have to sit back and have a little patience... (not my strongest point...)
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