Service Dog

I've raised eight service dogs and Teddy, our current service pup in progress, makes number nine. I can't imagine not raising – even after the heart ache and grief I'm experiencing after Talos' departure. I find the experience of raising a pup rewarding. It's a demanding job, but you reap the rewards tenfold. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing the dog you helped raise change someone's life. There's nothing like it.

This week is National Assistance Dog Week! I believe this is the first annual celebration of all things related to assistance dogs. There's a website to explain the official designation, what service dogs do, and why we're celebrating. From their website:

"Assistance Dogs transform the lives of their human partners with physical and mental disabilities by serving as their companion, helper, best friend and close member of their family. They are specifically trained to perform many tasks for their partners, and are generally classified as:

Guide Dogs – Assist people with vision loss, leading these individuals around physical obstacles and to destinations such as seating, crossing streets, entering or exiting doorways, elevators and stairways.

Service Dogs – Assist people with disabilities with walking, balance, dressing, transferring from place to place, retrieving and carrying items, opening doors and drawers, pushing buttons, pulling wheelchairs and aiding with household chores, such as putting in and removing clothes from the washer and dryer.

Hearing Alert Dogs – Alert people with a hearing loss to the presence of specific sounds such as doorbells, telephones, crying babies, sirens, another person, buzzing timers or sensors, knocks at the door or smoke, fire and clock alarms.

Seizure and Medical Alert/Seizure Response Dogs – Alert to medical conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, diabetes, epilepsy, panic attack, anxiety attack, post-traumatic stress and seizures.

All of these types of assistance dogs are dedicated to their humans, who rely on them to achieve and exceed their daily function. Please celebrate the selfless love and devotion these dogs so humbly provide by participating in National Assistance Dog Week."

There's light at the end of the tunnel! I got an email last night from Peggy about Talos. It was such good news I had a hard time falling asleep:

He is one of the gang now. He met all the puppies today, played with Gryphon [his brother], and went to the lake in the evening. He even took a drink. Big brother Arrow was there and he played with everyone. We took a few pix with an iphone. One is a blur with him in the left corner of the frame. He's a blur because he was playing!

At the training center he spent some down time in Amber's office and she said he was not gassy. He did talk to her quite a bit though. He went out to lunch with me and was a pro- slept on his mat and was perfect. He is doing great, making lots of new friends, 2 footed and 4. He is getting tons of love and attention. He really loves it too. 

I slept much better last night and today's outlook is much sunnier now. Go get 'em T!

I knew I'd cry, I knew I'd miss Talos. I was completely unprepared for how much and for how long. For me, turn-in's are never easy, but with Talos, the dream Great Dane, it was unbearable. It all started out fine enough…

We were headed to Chris Greene Lake in Charlottesville, VA, where there's a terrific dog park. In hindsight, I think T knew something was up. Normally, he stands in the Element, watching out the back window. For this trip, he had his head right between the two front seats.

When we got to the dog park we let him go off and explore – which he wasn't so keen on doing. He stuck with us for the most part, wandering off a little now and then.

It was ridiculously hot – triple digits – but Talos wouldn't get into the lake to cool off. I tried my best to show him the water wasn't deep, and it was safe to go in, but he was too keyed up. 

His brother, Gryphon, another service dog in training arrived with some Labradors from Service Dogs of Virginia. 

Talos liked them just fine, but wasn't in the playing kind of mood. He wandered, then he'd hang close. Wander and cling, wander and cling. I don't know what I was hoping for, but it wasn't this. He was quite stressed: panting a lot more than normal (even for the heat), his pupils were huge, and he pooped twice. That's a stressed dog. 

We hung out with Peggy, the Training Director, and the Service Dogs of Virginia dogs until dark. Finally when we couldn't see the lake anymore, we headed for the cars. This was the moment of truth for me.

I vowed not to cry in front of Talos. If he wasn't nervous enough already, that might put him right over the edge. I was pretty pleased with myself thus far – I'd managed to stay tear-free (no small feat, I might add). 

We called Talos and showed him the correct vehicle to get into and he said emphatically: NO WAY. Not going. You can't make me. Which is all true, of course. He's 160 pounds – you can't move him if he doesn't want to move! We tried everything, but it was very clear that the more we tried to convince him, the harder he was fighting it. His stress level was rising – not good for any of us. 

I now had to do the thing I so desperately didn't want to do. I had to take Talos to Peggy's house and leave him there. The best laid plans… It would have been so much better (for me) to put Talos into Peggy's vehicle, wave goodbye, and we'd both go our separate ways. I never — ever — want to leave a dog and walk out the door with them on the other side.

But guess what I had to do. And let me tell you how hard it was. I thought I wasn't going to be able to leave. I thought my feet wouldn't carry me out the door. And if I did make it out the door, I was certain I wouldn't make it to the car. Not with Talos on the other side of that door, wondering why on earth we'd forgotten to take him with us.

Before I had to do the unthinkable, though, we were able to spend about 30 minutes at Peggy's house with her, Talos, and the dogs (Gryphon and the two Labradors). Talos was more certain than ever that something was up. He was clingy and still panting despite the cooler temperatures after dark.

It felt like a dream to me. Or more accurately, a nightmare. I was sure I was going to wake up and be so relieved that I'd dreamed the whole thing. I kept waiting for that wake-up. And it never happened.

Obviously, I WAS able to walk out the door and leave him behind. I did do it. I managed to get to the car before the torrent of tears started. I cried the entire trip home. I cried that night. I cried the next night, and the next. 

I have vowed to never raise a Dane again. I don't think my heart can take it. It's too painful when I have to let go. The next Dane will be a keeper. I can't go through the misery. Heck, I'm STILL IN the misery!

But each day is a new one. And Talos is adjusting (after a really rocky first night). He'll get into the groove of things and he'll be a superstar service dog. And I'll forever be attached to him no matter what. The pain is excruciating, but I have no choice but to accept it. It's what I signed up for when I brought him home on my lap 14 months ago. 

Stay tuned, there will be more Talos posts – I've got a great Talos tribute video I'm working on. It's going slowly right now because turn-in is still a little raw for me. But give me a month or so, and everyone (including me) will be smiling when they see the video.

There'll be another post later today about turn-in. I got pictures and video of the event. Why I want to remember it is beyond me, but I figure in time (a long time), I might be able to look back on this and smile. A little.

I'm trying to ease myself into this life-without-Talos thing. I tried to blog about turn-in yesterday, but found it impossible. Too many tears, too much heartache. So maybe if I go slowly I'll do better.

Life is much less interesting without Talos here. Even the dogs are different. We sat outside last night, enjoying the cooler weather and all the dogs just laid with us.

When Talos was here, he was the ringleader of all things playful. He'd have Nemo up and running all evening. And when those two were running, Tango was retrieving his tennis ball. And when all three dogs got really going, even laid-back Lily would join the melee – and that's something to see! Lily rarely lets her hair down, but Talos' antics could kick her into high gear.

It's amazing all the little things you miss. At every turn this weekend, I'd notice his absence and memories would pluck at my emotions, my heart. I'd occasionally smile, though, which is a good sign. There are still more tears than smiles, but I'm hoping over the next few months, I can at least equalize them.

Hopefully Talos will have his first day at Service Dogs of Virginia. I say hopefully because at turn-in we couldn't get Talos into the vehicle. I'll tell you all about it in another post, but let's just say it was a less-than-ideal turn-in for me. But here's hoping Talos does get in the vehicle and that he has a good first day at school.