One of the highlights of Morey's Christmas trip was getting to see 2 very special people from his puppyhood. Sally is the director of ICAN and helped raise Morey during his furloughs from prison. Morey is named after Sally's dog Maury. We met for dinner and decided to have the initial reunion outside which was a good idea. Morey was quite excited and greeted Sally very enthusiastically.
Another person Morey got to see was Jamie Young, the woman who whelps and raises the pups and mom in her home until they are 8 weeks old. During their first few weeks of life she goes the extra mile to give pups a great start by introducing them to a variety of sights, sounds, textures, smells, etc. that will help them to grow into confident and responsive assistance dogs. She had seen Morey at various times throughout his training and he obviously remembered her. Even with all the excitement of seeing some of his favorite people, Morey was able to transition back into his working mode and act like a respectable assistance dog while we had dinner.
Morey is my dog now, but he has a special place in the hearts of many people. He never would have become an assistance dog without the time, attention, effort, and expense of a lot of people. It truly does take a village to raise an assistance dog and I am grateful for everyone who plays a part in making that a reality for me and many other assistance dog partners.
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