here and there

Charlie and I have been pretty busy since we've passed our Public Access Test.  We had a big celebration the following Monday evening at the UDS Service Dog Training- 4 dogs had a birthday (one of which was Charlie) and 2 dogs passed the Public Access Test (one of which was also Charlie).  He was given tons of treats and some great toys (one of which was a worm that he loves to squeak and snuggle with).  He also received a ball which I didn't even let him see since we have to wait until we move into our new house and have the fence put up!  Last week we also had a few meetings at work, once of which included the Commissioners... they didn't even notice him til he yawned noisily!  We went to a meeting at church that was for young-adults (there were at least 200 people there) and he did awesomely with the noise and crowd.  We thought it would be difficult to escape because usually people don't see me down in my wheelchair, but with Charlie it was a piece of cake- he made the way for me and parted the seas.
We've been to Central Market many times (where he usually gets some nice goodies) and we finally got to the Bulls Head Pub... a good friend of mine was in town from Albuquerque and we had a sister date there.  He did great, fit right in!  I guess you could call me a Lititz townie, and now Charlie can join me!  We went to Tomato Pie Cafe and he took a nice nap right under the table.  He does really well in restaurants- you wouldn't even know he was there.  Saturday was my niece's 3rd birthday so we took her to the beauty salon for a haircut and her first manicure (which she wanted off by that evening) and Charlie came along and watched...I don't think he was a big fan of the salon- typical male. We also went to the Hershey Bears game (the UDS Service Dog Program has a table set up at each home game) with his brothers (not by blood)-  Pax (3 months old) and Brogan (2 years old), as well as Holly!  We had a blast, as usual!
Friday is supposed to be closing on our new house... can't believe it is almost here!  We are just waiting on the underwriter to finish the mortgage application/approval up- the wait makes me want to poke my eyes out.  We have the floors being refinished this weekend and our fence people came out earlier this week to measure and such!  Some other things that have to get done are the bathroom (not accessible for me as is so we have to fix the tub and vanity), fix the sump pump, replace the attic fan, dig window wells, install a radon mitigation system, and build a ramp off the back deck.  My awesome Uncle is coming in from California to build the ramp with my dad.  I am getting a mini shed to store/charge my power chair.  My mom is accepting volunteers to paint (we are doing the whole house) for next week.  SO, if you know anyone or have recommendations for workers for any of the above, please send them my way!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Today is Charlie's 3rd birthday (or as one kid kept telling me over and over- he's 21)!  Unfortunately, we lost an hour, but we definitely made up for it.  We went to church to take pictures of the WC Kids, sat outside and soaked up some sun, went on a nice long walk to our soon-to-be house, and to top it all off Charlie chowed down on an awesome sweet potato bone thing (which was gone in less than 3 minutes).  He's currently taking a well-deserved nap!

However, the best gift was last night... we went over to Park City and took our Public Access Certification Test (and PASSED).  This is a test that simply demonstrates that the dog and the handler are safe in public together.  We had to accomplish a list of tasks such as walking through the mall with Charlie not soliciting attention from others, I had to drop the leash and he had to stay by my side and then recover the leash for me, and he had to not get distracted by a loud noise (Lorrie, our trainer, dropped her clipboard on the ground).  We had to navigate tight quarters (we simply went into a store), eat a restaurant and be unobtrusive, and I had to hand him off to Kristy (our other trainer) and disappear from his sight.  We also had to be approached by others- we had an adult step over him while laying down and then pet him and then had a child pet him.  He also had to do a controlled entrance and exit to the mall (and vehicle).  While eating, Lorrie dropped some french fries right in front of him and he had to leave them alone (he just looked at me because he knew not to touch them!).  So, tomorrow night at training we will get our ID card that shows we are certified and Charlie gets a brand new vest that no longer has the In-Training patches on!