Day 1

I'm honestly not sure what the best way to summarize today without boring you to tears. Given my almost obsessive need to have things organized, I'm going to try to mimic the schedule we were given for the day.

0610 EST, 0510 CST- I had a nightmare that we overslept and missed the bus to camp, so we couldn't get a dog. I came flying out of my bed, rushed in the bathroom and started the morning routine. By the time I realized I woke up an hour early, I was too awake to go back to sleep. I hate waking up early by accident.

0845- Breakfast at the Hilton was absolutely amazing. I was full until lunch. Seriously.

0930- 1200- We all arrive at camp and get to know each other. Then Jennifer (the founder) and Kevin (the intern) gave some basic lectures on what to expect with a dog, the camp in general, etc. They also said that the trainers had a 'short list' of dogs that they thought would be good matches for us. I was actually relieved to hear that because the odds of Mika picking the worst possible match for her are always high. Worst, of course, is relative, but a high energy dog who loves to roughhouse is a guaranteed broken bone for my kid.

1200 They brought us Dominos! They weren't kidding when they said we would all gain 5 pounds.

1300-1345 We finally got to meet the dogs! The dogs sat in kennels along the walls all morning and there were times of complete silence and times of deafening barks. They warned us the dogs would be really excited to be out of the kennel and to not be surprised if all the dogs were energetic. They had us scatter around the room and the trainers brought us a dog and left us to "love on the dog". All the dogs were barking, running, sniffing and doing anything except paying attention to the people the may be matched with. Everyone had the same problems at once and a couple of times it nearly became dangerous. One woman in a wheelchair was nearly pulled over the side of her chair when her dog lunged. I had taken the leash for the dog Praline from Mikaela and she unexpectedly bolted. She was strong enough that she pulled me out of my chair and I skid several feet before I could brace myself. The dad across from me had the same experience and he was stronger than me (like that's hard). The dogs did settle down after a while, but by that time our time to meet specific dogs was over.

I thought I was being unreasonably harsh, but all of the other adults have said the same thing. It wasn't helpful that they had the dogs caged up all day and then hand them off to us. The dogs didn't like being caged and were all overwhelmed with the new experience, new dogs, new smells and new people, so it was no surprise that they were wild. This wasn't fair to the humans because we couldn't get a fair assessment of the dogs. Some of the people (my daughter included) were overwhelmed by all the noise and frantic activity happening around them.

Poor Mika was really disillusioned after meeting the dogs. Even though the trainers and volunteers said that this wouldn't be the only chance to spend time with the dogs and not to expect to find a bond right away, she still hoped. It was hard to watch sometimes because Mika was so earnest in following all the advice they gave. She petted and sweet talked them and tried to meet their eyes and a couple of the dogs couldn't have cared less. Undoubtedly some of it was the shear chaos of the room, but these dogs are not matches anyways. Even though it wasn't in any way personal, it was obvious it really hurt her feelings to have dogs actively walk away from her when she was trying to be so attentive.

1400-1500- A couple of short lectures and we were done!

1530-now- A dad and I made an impromptu trip to find the nearest alcohol store and gave the directions to all the other adults who asked. We had supper, which is made by a volunteer. Each volunteer signs up to make an ENTIRE meal for 30 people!!! Mikaela and I walked the three blocks to CVS to get rid of some energy and get the toothpaste that SOMEONE forgot to pack.

I can't say enough about how nice the people are. The CA volunteers really think that they are so lucky that we came to them to get dogs. There hasn't been one person who hasn't said how excited they were that we were here. The other families/recipients are amazing. There is a wide range of disabilities, both visible and hidden. I haven't heard anyone say "What's wrong with you?" or "Why do you need a dog?" Instead, they share their story with you and listen if you want to talk. If you don't, no one pries. It's amazing. Oh, and I want to give credit to the Hilton staff. One of the staff members went through all of the desks in the offices to find a pencil and pencil sharpener for my daughter so she could draw.

Okay, I'm tired. (This is what happens when you accidentally wake yourself up at 0510 CST like an idiot.) I apologize if I've rambled or made grammar mistakes, but I'm not proof-reading. We're both really excited to see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully by the end of the day we will know who Mika's match will be!

PS. I'll try to get pics and videos posted as soon as I can.