Day 2: We have a match!!!

I can't really think of a good way to describe today. Unorganized, hectic, inspiring, nerve-wracking, fabulous...they all are accurate.

We have a daily schedule in our education book they gave us. (It contains all of the lectures and other valuable information in a 2" binder.) There are 4 current or former military members in our group and we all came to the conclusion that the schedule really wasn't going to be followed. It was more to give us a vague idea of what to expect. Yesterday they said they did more of the lectures so today we could spend most of the day with the dogs and we would be matched at the end of the day. When they started the morning with a 45 minute lecture, it was hard for everyone to focus because we knew it was time to spend time with the dogs.


Last night Mika was discouraged and a little hurt that all the dogs we met were so obviously not good matches. At the end of the day, they warned us that not all of the dogs we handled were dogs on the short list for us, some were just fillers. I can guarantee the last 3 we had were fillers. They were absolutely wrong. I kept reminding her that the dogs were all so overwhelmed that everyone was having a hard time, not just her. Still, it made me a little nervous that everyone kept asking us what dog we liked and we very honestly had to say "None of the ones we worked with."


When we finally spread out for the 1st 'practice session' of the day, Kim (our favorite volunteer) went straight to a cage and made a beeline to us with the dog. She was obviously excited when she introduced us to Fern, a golden/lab mix. It very apparent when you see Fern with her litter mates that she is by far the smallest one. She's still a lab mix, so it's not like she's 5 pounds. Still, she's much more delicately built than any of the other 20 dogs. In fact, I had several people point out who Mika and Fern matched because they were the most delicately built people in the room. So yes, the two skinny ones hung out together. :-)


We spent more than an hour with Fern in the morning and it was wonderful. She was a little nervous at first but within 5 minutes she was sprawled on the floor in front of us, demanding we rub her belly. She was making brief eye contact with Mika, which they told us was a huge sign of trust. We watched as other people changed dogs, but the trainers didn't even stop at us. It was obvious that we were doing fine, considering my kid and the dog were sprawled on the floor together.


The dogs were put in the kennels for a badly needed break while we all had lunch. After lunch, the dogs came back out again and we got to have Fern back right away. It was immediately apparent that Fern was not interested in us at all. She was staring out the window, moving toward the other dogs, staring at her kennel, anything but enjoying her time with us. We even tried treats and she started ignoring them, too. I grabbed a trainer as she walked by and told her what was going on. She was surprised that there was such an obvious change, so she returned Fern to her kennel and she went and talked to the other trainers. They consulted the list and Kim brought out Horten, her litter mate. We went back to our area in the room, but Horten was so nervous that he put his head on Mika's shoulder and just shook like a leaf. The trainer saw this and moved our little party out to a small spot in the backyard. It was amazing how all it took was a red rubber ball and Horton ignored everyone else but Mikaela. When we went back into the main room, Horton was distracted, but he could focus back on Mika if she called him. When the trainer came by to ask how it was going again, Mika said she really liked Horten, but Fern was staring at her from her kennel and she was starting to feel guilty. Of course the trainers immediately reassured her that there was nothing to feel guilty about, but they put Horten away and we went back out to the yard with Fern.


It was amazing how the minute we walked out the door, Mika was the center of Fern's universe. She wanted to toss a stuffed animal to her and she would bounce back to give it back to her. Fern, bless her heart, hasn't quite mastered the concept of holding the animal and wagging her tail at the same time. It was so cute! After 5 minutes of outside time we headed back inside and found all the other dogs put away. Kim was worried because we hadn't had a chance to meet with Jennifer, the founder. Jennifer and Kim came over and quietly asked what dog we liked. I didn't say a word, because I feel strongly that both dogs will be completely safe for Mika's physical safety. I have no concerns that they would jump on her or rough house and accidentally break her bones. This dog is going to be for her, not me, so she needs to make that final choice. Mika visibly struggled with her decision and with prompting admitted that she like both dogs, but maybe Fern a little more. Kim and Jennifer immediately nodded and said that they liked Fern, too. Mika was so openly uncomfortable deciding between them, that Jennifer reminded her that she wasn't stuck with Fern whether they loved each other or hated each other. As people work with their matched dog during the first few days, there are times it becomes obvious that it isn't a good match after all, and dogs can be changed. If someone thought it wasn't going to work out with Fern, for whatever reason, she would be given a chance with Horten. That reassured Mika greatly and she beamed when it was officially announced that she was paired with Fern.

On a personal note: I'm not used to this much down time. There is so much time spent sitting or just waiting and it's about killing me! I have an unfortunate amount of energy (I'm slightly better than your average 2 year old) and I do much better when I'm busy. I'm hoping that there will be more activity in the coming days or I'm just going to have to pace in the back of the training room. The good news is that one of the dads (ex-marine) is already doing that, so we can make it a team sport. :-)