HERE !!!

Hello Everyone,
I am here in Portland Oregon training with my new guide dog. We have been doing great. His name is Ricky he is a 2 year old 67 lbs yellow lab and he is the sweetest thing ever.  Our personalities match perfectly !

It is hard to put into words how happy I am to have him by my side, every time we go out and do a route to practice our skills together I am more and more amazed and in awe. We walk seamlessly down the streets of down town Portland during busy rush hour and don't bump a single thing. Being able to enjoy the walk and not have to find things on the way is amazing and just having to say find the door and taking off like a rocket to find it !!!! instead of fumbling around poking things with my cane trying to find it or relying on my husband or someone else to find it ! The same goes for finding stairs or a chair ! The things these dogs do is more than amazing there are no words that will correctly describe the feeling I get knowing he will be by my side for many years to come. We work as one and I am in awe he is my angel from my dad !

The day the instructor brought Ricky to my room to introduce us I was not sure how it was all going to pan out if we would click or not. That day I was not really sure it was going to work he didn't really pay much attention to me and every time he heard the trainer in the hall he would whine a little, and he laid on the floor away from me facing the door whenever possible. So I was a little discouraged to say the least. We started working right away and I slowly started to win his heart with food ! The trainer told me he could be easily persuaded with food and that we would eventually bond as a team. The next morning when I got up I rolled over to say good morning to Ricky and there he was with his head on the bed beside me and greeted me with a big kiss. Since then we have been working so good together he is a very affectionate fellow. He loves to cuddle and he now gets excited every time he seems me and never leaves my side. When I brush my teeth he is right there behind me when I get up and leave the room there comes Ricky a close step behind me. He is officially one of my kids. I love him to pieces and trust him with my life. I told him to go forward from a curb the other day and a car came whizzing up and he put himself between me and the car and I knew that he felt the same way about me.

I will try to keep you updated on the next week of our training, but so far I am on cloud 9 ! My cheeks hurt from smiling all day for the last 5 days !

Until Next Time
Ashley