Sunday, July 22, 2012
Bipolar Spirit: Rosie: Getting a Psychiatric Service Dog
Bipolar Spirit: Rosie: Getting a Psychiatric Service Dog: A while ago we came across information about Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSD's). You are probably most used to service dogs such as Seeing E...
Sunday morning...
It has been an amazing vacation and a great last weekend. I have learned how amazing spending time with your children is and I am finally learning not to give a darn about anything outside of my realms. Just enjoying the family. If anyone out there ever looked at someone with a service dog and sad "oh how special, that person is so lucky" well you were right. However I can now attest that Faith has her work cut out for her. Even though Cass is as well trained as they come, he is a lot of constant work for Faith. She is constantly thinking of her new friend and planning everything around his needs also now. It is some amazing to watch but yet even more amazing that an eleven year old can be that responsible. I am so proud of her. We could not get through getting her shots for school on Friday. She had a major panic attack right as the nurse was about to put the needle in her. We had to stop but with Cass' help she was able to calm down in just a matter of maybe twenty seconds. Before it would have been minutes. She went out and played without him yesterday for a couple of hours. It went well, I think he enjoyed the rest. I am going out to the field this week for training. It will be her first time with him and without me. I know she will do great. She takes her new responseability serious and has a great outlook on the upcoming school year and her hidden disability. There is not much more a father could ask for. Kris
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Thursday ......
It is amazing how much work Faith and Cass are having to do each day. I have a new found appreciation for service dogs and their owners. We have to constantly review and have goals each day to work on. She is only 11 and her patience are not good anyway, but she is a trooper and pushes through stuff now that she could not before...all for her new best friend Cass. A long lost friend sent me a message today to donate $10. It is so sweet of her. I had to say thank you and like I told her I am not good at asking for things, it is hard as a father knowing that I cannot afford to provide something my child needs. But my ego has never been more important than my kids needs. So it looks like I am going to become a professional fund raiser??? Faith is not going to be the last one to need a dog, so I can go to sleep tonight knowing there is someone out there who could really use some help to get through each day of their lives, and they don't know it but I am going to help them. Thanks everyone and thank you Jennifer!!! Kris
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Met a new friend....
So today was awesome. The family was eating lunch and a gentleman comes over and asks about Cass. To make a long story short our new friend David is medically retired from the Army, he suffers from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. He has been unable to find anyone to provide him with a service dog or train one. Well my wish of "paying forward" is happening sooner than I thought. Once we get done raising the money for Cass we have found the next recipient to raise money for. I wish I could have taken a picture of David with his family as Faith and I talked to him with Cass laying there, it was so amazing to see the smiles on their faces. He walked out to the parking lot to thank us again. I am excited!!!! Kris
Went to the school...
This morning we all went up to Faith and Abbi's school so Faith and Cass could walk around it and start getting use to it. It was one of the few times I have seen Faith not scared to walk into the school!! We were also able to meet her new principal. Renae and I sat down with her and talked about Cass and some things we need to do to prepare for the school year and making sure there are no kids who cannot be around dogs. It was an interesting conversation. I learned a new perspective towards service dogs and schools. Here are some main points of the ADA (Americans with a Disability Act): 1. A service dog is granted legal access to accompany you anywhere that the public is permitted; restaurants, shops, grocery stores, theaters, amusement parks, public transportation, etc.. This law applies to all businesses open to the public. But business owners can't interrogate owners to assure the animal is a legitimate helper. 2. The law states: In situations where it is NOT apparent that the dog is a service animal, a business may ask only two questions: a.) Is the animal required because of a disability? b.) What work or task has the animal been trained to perform? No other inquires about an individual's disability or the dog are permitted. Businesses cannot require proof of certification or medical documentation as a condition for entry. So my question to you is...what about schools? The school asked for certification that he was in fact a service dog. I told the principal I do not have to provide that and she said " I do not have to let him in my school". She said she has 500 other kids to worry about also. Then she finished it up that we would end up in court and it would not go that far but she wants the certificate because she will get bombarded by parents wanting proof. I did not get upset because I understand her situation. These dogs cost so much to train and we have to go out of our way sometimes to prove him and Faith must be together because of all of the selfish people out there who try and get their dogs inside places when they are not actually service dogs. The did not lie when they warned us every day you will get bombarded with crazy questions and ignorant people. This is a great school and we do have the certificate for the school. Funny thing is the principal and I both know that the person asking to see it does not know what one should look like or not. Well we are going to go out and do some shoe shopping and training for Faith and Cass. Kris
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
We are back home....
Ok so I think I let everyone down by not taking my computer to San Diego to give better updates. However this may be I can only say that it was a good thing. Now that I am back home and all of the family is together I can tell you that I had quite possible the best trip ever in my life. Faith and I connected like we never have. Through all of her troubles her mother has been the one there for her all the time. This has caused me to be left out. Well Renae and been nothing short of amazed of the change in her daughter since she has met Cass. I missed my family so much but I really needed this time with Faith. Her and Cass are doing amazing. He is a special gift from above that I think will continue to make great changes for our entire family. Last night me and my three girls played in the field with Cass. It was just some structured fetch as Katie, the trainer, would call it. But it was special and fun and it leaded to all of us, including the dog playing soccer. Then I had to bring Abbie, aka Princess the boxer service dog, inside for a special grooming session in the bathtub to include shaking all the water off when she got out!!!! Cass is asleep upstairs with Faith in her bed as is everyone in the house. We met some amazing new friends in California. I will share those stories as I post the pictures. It was a trip that will continue to make ripples forever from the splash we can call Cass. Kris
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Long days...
Just laying down from ten hours if training and siteseeing with Faith and Cass....sooo tired and even more amazing...it is surprising how many people tell Faith she is doung a great job training Cass????? Really???
Monday, July 9, 2012
Update from San Diego....
Ok everyone...it has been a while since I have updated. The last five days have been the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed. This dog Cass is the most amazing animal and I cannot believe how he is able to help Faith already. I have taken hundreds of pictures but for some reason they keep uploading to the blog sideways. So I am uploading them to my personal facebook page and tonight I will take them all. The training is pretty tough. Faith takes it very seriously and there is a lot to learn in a short amount of time. We both feel that we have to give it everything we have to honor Cass and all his training and Katie and all the people at Little Angels Service Dogs. Cass is a direct representative of that wonderful organization and we do not want to embarrass them. Katie is a special person, as is her husband AJ, and it is evident in how special and comfortable they make Faith. I have never seen her open up and get so comfortable with someone as fast as she did with Katie. And she has a special gift with people and communicating with them. It will take me a few days after this is all done to take it all in and spit it out in words for you. I miss my wife and two other daughters so much but this has been the most amazing trip. For the first time Faith and I have totally clicked. I have never had the opportunity to get this close with her and it has been undescribable to spend this time with her. This dog is going to change her life more than even I thought was possible. I do not want everyone that has been following us to think I have forgotten about the blog, it is quite the opposite. I just do not have the energy or computer access to write everyday. Just follow the pics if you can and I will be home a week early to make sure Faith and Cass transition to Fort Campbell smoothly. At that time I will start typing away about our trip and our new family member. I met numerous other children on our saturday trip to Coronado Island that are trying desperatly to raise money for their dogs. They get to go out once a month and start learning to be a handler, but remember each of these dogs cost $8,000. I am going to need everyone's help still in raising money for Little Angels Service Dogs and these children. This is my mission and goal in life to help other kids like my daughter get a gift of a service dog. Thanks everyone and I hope to hear back from you!!!! Kris
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Amazing..
It has been the most amazing few days. I am witnessing a transformation before my eyes. I am so proud of Faith. I do not have access to a computer but will soon and give everyone an update. Kris
Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
July 4....
Yesterday Faith and I spent the day at Oceanside beach. She loves the beach and playing in the sand. I think a lot of it has to do with the texture of the sand, needless to say she had a wonderful time. She is doing really well being away from Renae and her homesickness really only comes out when she is exhausted. I am so proud of her. Today we will spend the 4th of July with all of Renae's Family and follow her brother back to El Cajon, where we will be staying. We are staying with family, even though Little Angels recommends a hotel, because of money. It is very expensive out here and we did not raise all the funds necessary for this trip and training. We are doing well and tomorrow is the big day. In 27 more hours Faith and Cass will meet. I will take a bunch of pictures for sure and upload them. Keep checking every night and you will see. I am curious to see how Faith does tomorrow. This trip when she is alone and not doing anything she keeps her toes curled and her fists clinched. She does this without thinking about it. It could be stress, I don't know. But I wonder if Cass will help with that. Have a wonderful 4th of July. Please continue to forward this blog as much as possible. The more followings we get then hopefully one day we can sell some advertisement and raise money for other kids to get service dogs. That is what we want from this whole experience. That is why we are opening our lives up to everyone, to raise awareness and money for service dogs. Please do not forget that. We need everyone's help to do this. Thanks, Kris
Monday, July 2, 2012
Monday July 2......
We spent yesterday afternoon at the Mall. Faith did not wake up until late in the morning. She is so homesick and yet she is so happy to be here and just a few days from meeting Cass. I have not seen her set still for more than a few minutes in days now. She goes from super happy and excited to really sad. Being away from her mom has got to be tough, heck I am having a hard time. We have a time and place to meet Cass on thursday morning so that helps a little. Spending all afternoon in the mall helps her, funny thing is she is so much like me, when we go in certain stores with too much noise or things we both get uncomfortable and want to leave. Well not much to update on, just wanted to touch basis. Have a great day everyone. Kris
Sunday, July 1, 2012
A visit to the zoo....
Yesterday we went to the Zoo with some family. It was a long and wonderful day. I posted some pictures of the trip, however I still have to figure out how to get them from being upside down. Faith did really well. But as usual she needs to be on a schedule. With so many people and little children there were lots of stops and unscheduled delays. This eventually took its toll towards the end of the day. Faith was unable to contain her anxiety and was unable to set still. We made it through it but it was just another example of her daily battles. Her fists were clinched tight, she was not able to smile, and I was really concerned. She just told me to leave her alone and that she just does not feel well. Other than the end of the day we really had a great time. I have never been able to spend so much one on one time with her. I am learning her body languages and routines. I am learning how to cope and get through daily obstacles she goes through. This is stuff her mom normally helps her with, but she is trusting me and learning that I can help her also. I really am missing our family back at Fort Campbell, but this is such a great experience I am getting to share with Faith. For the first time in eleven years she is truly opening up to me and trusting me. She always had a little, but this is different and hard to explain. All I am her for is to be with her and take care of her...nothing else. I am so grateful for this. Katie sent us a picture of Cass yesterday, I will post it when I am done with this. Thanks everyone for your support both financially and emotionally to allow me to take this trip with my daughter. Kris
Cass is the dog in the front.
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