I think he likes her

I haven't updated at all lately, which means I really haven't updated on how things are going with Wisdom the Dog. Since he arrived, almost a year ago already, he has incorporated himself into the family very nicely. He knows he is here to serve but he is certainly more of a "normal dog" than the day we brought him home.

Abby and Wisdom have bonded nicely. Initially it looked like he was going to bond to Grace more but that has changed. He definitely has more of an affinity towards Abby. She isn't as warm and fuzzy as we had hoped she would be. We had hoped having a companion dog would help with some of her aversions but that hasn't occurred yet. I'm still hopeful. But he is a constant companion for her when she wants him.

Posted by Kristen Fescoe

She got her dog!

After a very lousy first experience we have finally been matched with a dog for Abby. 

He is a two year old Golden Lab and his name is Wisdom. 

He is a very sweet dog and a great listener. Abby has been somewhat apprehensive about him but it will take time to bond. 

He adores the kids so he's a keeper. 

Posted by Kristen Fescoe

Or not

We got Fulton home and the whole house was abuzz. People were coming and going in the excitement of meeting him. We were surprise how energetic he was. We were told he would be a little more laid back than he turned out to be. But the kids were loving it and we reminded ourselves how big an adjustment this was for him.

We tried to settle into a routine but it was a little rocky. The first day he was up at 4am to go out. He barely had to go but obviously he was an earlier riser than we were. Unfortunately once the girls were up they had a hard time settling back to sleep amidst the excitement. (Companion dogs must sleep in the room of their companion so he was in with the girls.)

The first full day the girls headed off to school. They were sad to leave their new friend but off they went. I had to help with a party at school so my Mom came to sit with doggie and baby. My Mom had no problems with either but did mention that when Jack fell on the dog he snapped at him. No teeth or anything but just something to be aware of.

The next day or so was a bit of a whirwind. With the holiday, a new dog and the kids being off things were nuts. We had expected a super well trained dog and got a much more normal dog than we expected. On day two or three he just about pulled my arm out of socket running after a cat. We expressed our concerns to the organization but they reminded us that it was an adjustment.

We went about our holiday and tried to get the dog as acclimated as possible. I decided to do some early Christmas shopping with my Mom and headed out by myself (I usually have a kid or two with me).  After about ten minutes in a very crowded Target I got a text that read "the dog bit Jack". My mind went into a blur. I couldn't get service to call and I couldn't figure out whether it was a joke or not.  I finally got ahold of Brian and he told me that Jack was sitting beside the dog and leaned over him. The dog snapped at his face and bit right beside his eye. We had to determine if he needed stitches right away. I hurried home and thankfully no stitches.

 Unfortunately that is when I had to give the girls the bad news that the dog could not stay in our house. The next 12 hours were a blur of sobs. After such a long wait the dog had to go back. There is no way a dog that bit my child could live in my house. The people at the organization were very apologetic but how could this happen.

So, here we are. Back on the waiting list with the fear of God about next time. We now have our eyes wide open but don't quite know what to think. We are mostly thankful our boy is okay and the tears have started to dry up. 

It's been a long couple of days...

** I wrote this on our families blog and got some nasty, undeserved comments so I may close the comments section here. People can be so mean sometimes.

Posted by Kristen Fescoe

The dog that wasn't meant to be.

As many of you know years ago we got Abby on the waiting list to be placed with a very special dog.


After two and a half years of the idea of adopting a companion dog for Abby we FINALLY got the call. When I heard the words "we have a dog for you" I was shocked at just how excited I was. I am not a huge dog person (don't burn me for this one), I really never have been. But the thought of having a (well-trained) dog that would help make my girls life easier made it all sound worthwhile.

After several impatient hours I got ahold of our contact and she told me about our match. He was a black lab mix who was two and a half. We "flunked out" of the full service dog program for being too lazy. A dog that was too lazy sounded like a dog that would fit in well around here. After two more days of waiting we got the paperwork in the mail including the "shopping list" of items we needed before the dog could come home. THAT NIGHT we got everything off the list. The next day we called and had a date to pick him up.

 *The girls tried out every dog bed in the store

The excitement in our house was palpable. We had waited so long and spent so much time planning and talking about it that when it finally was happening it seemed surreal. The girls were ecstatic. I can still see their little faces when we told them they were getting a dog.

The day finally came and last week we went to meet Fulton, our dog. It was a long drive but we got there on time and met our new furry friend.



 I haven't seen the girls that happy since we went to Disney World. He was a ginormous 71 lb beast of a dog. The girls were instantly in love. He seemed like a total sweetie.

We got to take him for a walk by ourselves to get to know him better. The weather was miserable and rainy but we went anyway. I had hoped to let the girls walk him but he was a little more skittish on the leash than expected. Brian did most of the walking.



The next hour was spent going over paperwork, his commands, vet records and details. The girls did their best to sit still but they were itching for more doggie time. We finally got to go into the training center and learn the hands on commands. He did well for Brian and I but not quite as well as I had hoped. He also didn't listen to the girls at all. We were told (over and over) that it would be a 3-4 week adjustment period and we would have to be patient.

After a few hours of prep we were on the road with our new family member.

This got longer than expected so let's call it a cliff hanger. The rest of the story tomorrow...

Dog on hold

I am not sure if I posted about this since I have been pregnant but we have been waiting for the past couple of months for a companion dog for Abby. We went through the application and interview process and she was accepted into an amazing program which places highly trained dogs with children like Abby who have social, motor and other developmental issues. When we were accpeted into the program they told us it could be 6 to 18 months before we were matched with the perfect dog.

We recently decided that with a new baby coming soon we would need to try to postpone the arrival of our canine friend until after Baby is here and settled. Thankfully the wonderful people at Canine Partners understood and placed our application on hold until July. This will give us time to have the baby and get adjusted to life before adding another member to our family.

We're still anxious to meet our puppy but it will just take a little bit longer.

On the waiting list

Today was our family interview with the wonderful place we will be adopting a Home Companion Dog from. It was about a two hour drive and we had to be there at 10 am so it was a very early morning. The girls did surprisingly well though.

The interview lasted about an hour and they asked Abby a lot of questions. It was cute watching her try to answer the more grown up questions. They explained the remainder of the process so we know what to expect. The hardest part is that from here it will take between 6 and 18 months to be matched with a dog. It will most likely be a lab (I wanted a poodle because of the less shedding but I was outvoted). Once we are matched they will call us, we'll set up a meeting where we will meet our dog and have a training session to learn all of the commands.

It is very exciting to be getting a dog that will be well trained, will fit well in our family AND will be an amazing support for Abby. It's so cool.

So now we wait... which we're all very okay with. We're just excited to formally be on the list!

A little closer to pet ownership

I spoke a while back about submitting an application for a companion dog for Abby. It took us some time to get our paperwork, letters of reference, etc in order. We finally sent in our completed application about a month ago. I was a little disappointed to have heard nothing for so long so I sent an e-mail yesterday morning. It must have been fate because before the person could have possibly read my e-mail she had left me a message.

Our application has been reviewed and we have been asked to come for an interview as a family. They will meet us, talk to Abby and from there we hope to be put on the list for a dog. It can take as little as 6 months and as long as 18 months to be matched with an appropriate dog. We're really looking forward to it and hoping at our interview we might get to meet some of the dogs.

So it looks like we're a little bit closer!

Dog Update

Another option has arisen! I was doing some more digging and found something really cool. One of the problems we were going to run into with a service dog is Abby's age. Many agencies require children to be 8 and older before they will place a dog. While I am happy to wait I hate the idea of not moving forward with something that could be so awesome for her.

Well, one of the agencies I contacted e-mailed me back with a suggestion. They have something they call a Home Companion Dog that they offer for children younger than the required age of 8. Here is how it works. To train a service dog the agencies train twice as many dogs as they require. For a year to eighteen months a dog spend their time with either a trained inmate (through a special program) or a family who trains the dog to be housebroken, command trained and socialized. They also begin laying the groundwork for the training the dog will later received. After that first year or year and a half the agency assesses each dog and they "retire" any dog who has a medical or behavioral problem. The remaining dogs go through testing and the "cream of the crop" goes on for training as a full service dog. The remaining dogs are highly trained, well socialized dogs who are turned into Home Companion Dogs for children with disabilities but do not meet the age requirement. The best part is that Abby is eligible.

You must live within a specific distance of the facility (which we do) and you must go through an application and interview process. Because these dogs are trained to be companions for kids with medical, physical, emotional or sensory issues this sounds like such a fantastic opportunity for Abby. So we have made the decision to start the process. It takes between 6 months to 18 months from the time you submit your paperwork (which will take a couple of months) to be matched with a dog. Then you meet the dog, make sure it is a good fit, make a donation (less than $1,000) and adopt the dog.

So it will take a while but hopefully in the next year or so we will have a dog for Abby and for the rest of the family. I will make sure to post as we move though the process.

A dog for Abs?

Last year during one of the monthly meetings with Abby's social worker (who I miss SO MUCH! she was so helpful) she mentioned the idea of Abby someday having a service dog. I filed it in the back of my brain... largely because I remembered reading an article about a little girls with developmental delays and motor issues like Abby who had her life changed by a service dog. I hadn't thought much about it until about two months ago when I read another article about service dogs being such a huge help for so many different kinds of people. (People think they are for blind people or those wheelchair bound, but they do so much more.)

I decided recently to start poking around and I was quickly shut down when I read that they cost minimally $5,000 to adopt. I could never justify that kind of cost unless it was a MUST.

My sister told me about two months ago that she knows a woman who adopted a dog who was trained to be a service dog but was unable to pass the certification test for small reasons. It got me thinking that maybe adopting a dog who couldn't pass because it didn't go under an airplane seat or something minor might be a good way to go. I sent a couple of e-mails to inquire but didn't hear anything.

After we lost Rex I felt like I needed to let it go for a while so I put it back on the back burner. Then, out of nowhere, I got TWO responses to my e-mails. Both e-mails (from two different organizations) told me that adopting a "career change" or retiree would be difficult since the lists are so long. BUT they explained that the cost of adopting the dogs is usually covered through fundraising, contributions, company matching and sponsorship. I was a little thrown aback. It might actually be a possibility.

So I am doing a little looking into it. There are age requirements so I am not sure what the timeline would be. I just love the idea that when she is 10 and she wants to walk around the corner to my Moms house she could go "by herself" (instead of me walking her) with her dog and I wouldn't have to worry about her falling and hitting her head or breaking anything. It would be such an amazing thing for her.

I think it will be a long process but it looks like it might be one worth starting.