Morey
Morey, My 2nd Service Dog
Friday, May 20, 2016
ICAN Give Back
I have been connected with ICAN in a variety of ways- first as a furlougher, then as an assistant trainer, then as a staff member and finally as a client. I started volunteering with ICAN when I was 18 and my experiences have definitely shaped me personally and professionally. Training a service dog takes so many people helping in so many ways and every dog that graduates is a product of a lot of people who gave their time, energy, money and emotion.
Since I live in Texas now it is hard to stay connected with ICAN as much as I would like. Morey and I still have a lot of friends with ICAN and whenever we come back home for a visit I like to try to connect and see if there is an opportunity for me to see familiar ICAN faces and meet new ones.
This summer while I was home I was fortunate to have two opportunities to share my experiences as a service dog partner. ICAN is training a new class of furlough volunteers (folks who take the dogs out of the prison to practice their skills in real world settings) and I was invited to give them some perspective on how the work they are doing will help the dogs work with their future clients. I had Morey demonstrate some of the tasks he does for me and emphasized the importance of the "boring" skills, like walking on a loose leash, "leave it", "stay" and "come". I also answered questions about the matching process, the follow up, and the retirement process. It was great to see the new volunteers so eager to learn and hopefully hearing about my experiences helped them realize how valuable they are to a service dog's success!
Team Training (the time when new clients learn to work with their new dogs) also took place while I was home so I got to speak to these new clients about public access and going out and about with their new service dog. Taking a dog out in public can be intimidating at first and I hope I was able to give the clients some idea about what to expect and how to respond when people ask to pet their dog (or when they don't ask and do it anyway!), what to say if they are questioned about their dog and how to set themselves and their dog up for success.
Life with a service dog is an incredible journey! I am thankful to have the opportunity to share my experiences with Morey and help give people a better understanding of what it is like to live and work with such a special creature!
Since I live in Texas now it is hard to stay connected with ICAN as much as I would like. Morey and I still have a lot of friends with ICAN and whenever we come back home for a visit I like to try to connect and see if there is an opportunity for me to see familiar ICAN faces and meet new ones.
This summer while I was home I was fortunate to have two opportunities to share my experiences as a service dog partner. ICAN is training a new class of furlough volunteers (folks who take the dogs out of the prison to practice their skills in real world settings) and I was invited to give them some perspective on how the work they are doing will help the dogs work with their future clients. I had Morey demonstrate some of the tasks he does for me and emphasized the importance of the "boring" skills, like walking on a loose leash, "leave it", "stay" and "come". I also answered questions about the matching process, the follow up, and the retirement process. It was great to see the new volunteers so eager to learn and hopefully hearing about my experiences helped them realize how valuable they are to a service dog's success!
Team Training (the time when new clients learn to work with their new dogs) also took place while I was home so I got to speak to these new clients about public access and going out and about with their new service dog. Taking a dog out in public can be intimidating at first and I hope I was able to give the clients some idea about what to expect and how to respond when people ask to pet their dog (or when they don't ask and do it anyway!), what to say if they are questioned about their dog and how to set themselves and their dog up for success.
Life with a service dog is an incredible journey! I am thankful to have the opportunity to share my experiences with Morey and help give people a better understanding of what it is like to live and work with such a special creature!
To Grandmother's House We Go!
I was invited to go to Russia for ten days as part of a sports diplomacy program. The only way I felt comfortable going was because my mom agreed to watch Morey while I was gone. So, we both packed our bags and headed to Indiana so I could drop Morey off before heading to Russia.
At first, Morey wasn't thrilled because we were packed in my car pretty tightly on the way to the airport. Traveling with my rugby gear and luggage isn't easy and when you add a dog to the mix I must look like a traveling circus (or the "dog and pony show" as my sister calls it).
I travel a lot with Morey and he doesn't usually know where we are going. But when I tell him "we are going to see grandma" he gets excited. He can recognize the Indianapolis airport and once we get up the jet bridge I tell him to go find grandma and he starts running! It's kind of fun to have him pull me through the airport but I actually have to be careful because he gets going so fast! This time I was able to capture his enthusiasm on video. Enjoy!
At first, Morey wasn't thrilled because we were packed in my car pretty tightly on the way to the airport. Traveling with my rugby gear and luggage isn't easy and when you add a dog to the mix I must look like a traveling circus (or the "dog and pony show" as my sister calls it).
I travel a lot with Morey and he doesn't usually know where we are going. But when I tell him "we are going to see grandma" he gets excited. He can recognize the Indianapolis airport and once we get up the jet bridge I tell him to go find grandma and he starts running! It's kind of fun to have him pull me through the airport but I actually have to be careful because he gets going so fast! This time I was able to capture his enthusiasm on video. Enjoy!Eye Exam
Every year Morey participates in the ACVO Stokes RX Service Animal Eye Exam. We are thankful to have a vet near us who offers the free exams during the month of May. Morey was a brave boy during his eye exam and I am happy to report his eyes are just fine!
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