I have been extremely blessed to have had my church families welcome my service dogs as eagerly as they welcome me (ok, and I'll admit sometimes maybe even a little more eagerly!) My new church family in Texas has fully made Morey a part of the church and the activities that go on there.
Several years ago I started signing Jessie's name in the attendance registry with a little paw print next to it. My pastor at the time loved that and said since she was a warm breathing body she should be counted. I waited a few weeks to get a feel for the "dog attitude" at my new church, but after finding it an extremely dog friendly place, Morey "signed" his name last week. At the Wednesday night service, I got the comment "I'm glad to see Morey is registering his attendance with us."
One man who also uses a wheelchair likes Morey a lot and has been promising to bring rawhides for him. Today he made good on that and Morey had to lay quietly during worship while the rawhides sat on the seat beside him. He sniffed them, but to his credit, he didn't drool!
An older woman last week came up to me and said she had a poem about a guide dog in church. Today she brought me a copy, which I will post separately.
There was a chili lunch after church today and we stayed for that. One person made Hawaiian chili and had leis to hand out to the kids. One of the kids draped hers around Morey's neck and for the rest of the afternoon he was decked out in Hawaiian leis. At one point I left Morey in a down stay and went across the room and everyone was amazed at how patiently he waited, all the time keeping his eyes on me. He has impressed everyone with his calm, responsive, and attentive nature. I am very proud to the be person on the other end of his leash : )
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