JJ’s Tails – Service Dog Files – School Auditoriums

You guys remember Grady the Great, right? Of course you do! Because he’s awesome ❤️

Last week was full of high school Christmas concerts – Choirs and Bands. We took Grady with us – because that’s his job 🙂 Even just sitting and holding the leash, JJ does better. It seems to be decreasing the anxiety and the anxiety is what really ramps up the repetitive hand movements (he scrapes skin off his thumbs or cracks his knuckles – incessantly. I’ve had to wipe skin off his laptop during school in the past). We’re also teaching him to be mindful of the dog and where he is and what he’s doing.

If you remember from a previous post, Grady is training us. And Tuesday night, I got to learn some things.

If you’ve ever sat in a high school auditorium as an adult, you know there’s not a lot of space between the rows of seats once you add people. I was trying to figure out where to put Grady. I thought I had something figured out, but Grady wouldn’t lay down. I even tried to encourage him to lay down by offering treats. It still didn’t work. He just stood there. He wouldn’t even sit. Then, he started whining. After the selection of songs was over I got up, to see if maybe he wanted to go outside. Instead, he found a spot on the floor and laid down.

I’d left an empty seat so there was floor space for him to lay down, but I guess it wasn’t in the right spot, lol. When I got up, he saw the space he needed.

So, Thursday, when we had ANOTHER opportunity to go sit in the high school auditorium, it went much smoother, because Grady trained me. He let me know the first night what he needed. I realized that night that if Grady isn’t doing what he’s supposed to, it’s probably because I’m doing something wrong.

And while I’m learning to trust him, he’s learning to trust me. It’s my job to make sure he’s safe so he can do his job. That’s the night it dawned on me how much trust this journey is going to take.

And I need to trust the pups because eventually,  I’ll be entrusting one of my most precious things to him; my son.

Thanks for stopping by! As always, I’m including the link directly to JJ’s Paws 4 Autism fundraising page. And sharing the blog and JJ’s fundraising page is strongly encouraged ❤️

SERVICE DOG FUNDRAISER OPPORTUNITIES! DON’T MISS OUT!

Exciting news for my local people!

First, you should head on over to the Paws 4 Autism FB page if you, or someone you know, really wants a massage! We have a Massage Envy gift card up for grabs! First person who donates $75 or more (it’s a $95 value) to JJ’s fundraising page (starting 12/12/19) gets the card! Here’s the link to the fundraising page (Make Magic for JJ,  is at the bottom) if you’re interested in claiming that gift card! You can get to his page from here or from the Paws FB page!

Next – ARE YOU HUNGRY?! DO YOU LIKE TO EAT? Then we’ve got a deal for you!

Head to the Granite City Food and Brewery in Zona Rosa on 12/19/19 (that’s coming up quick!) and enjoy some great food! While you’re there, if you mention Paws 4 Autism, they’ll donate 20% back from your sales to Paws 4 Autism! We’re so grateful for this chance to work with others in the community to raise awareness and money for the Paws organization which is a completely volunteer run organization.

Again, it’s only at the Zona Rosa location, and you need to mention Paws 4 Autism 🙂

Also, my birthday is the following day, so feel free to have some dessert after your meal to help me celebrate 😉

Thanks for stopping by! As always, sharing is encouraged!

XOXOXO

JJ’S TAILS – SERVICE DOG FILES

Who’s a good boy? Grady’s a good boy!

Part of fostering and training the service dogs with Paws 4 Autism is getting them out and about and experiencing new things, people, and places. Admittedly, Grady is training me – and that’s a good thing 🙂

Recently, we took a trip to physical therapy. Grady’s a good boy, so it was easy to work. He knew what he was supposed to do. And now I have a better idea of what it needs to look like when we’re working with a less experienced dog. Things like where he needs to be when I’m on the elliptical. Or on the table. Or working with the weights. But he’s a pro at this, so I tried to take my cues from him.

He was such a good boy. Once we found a good spot, where he’d be out of the way, he just laid down and waited.

Thanks for being such a good trainer Grady 🙂

As you know, we’re fundraising for a service dog of our own for my 8yo son so he can feel safe going back to school and just navigate his world easier. If you feel you can give something, here’s his DONATION PAGE. Thank you ❤️

Big Service Dog News!

I wish I could tell you we’ve already met our fundraising goal – we haven’t. BUT, there’s still some really cool news in this part of our lives!

Everyone, meet Grady!

Grady is 10 and as far as we know, he was the FIRST Autism Service Dog in the Kansas City area!

As part of our journey, we’re helping foster and train the dogs in the Paws 4 Autism program. But we’re new, so Grady, the veteran of the dogs, is training us 🙂 He’s semi-retired and is switching into this new role of training people 😀

Already, we’ve seen good changes for JJ. Some repetitive motions are being interrupted as he takes on some responsibilities of caring for Grady, and he’s providing a WEALTH of positive interactions with people.

One of the other things that sets Grady apart from the rest of the pack, is that he’s the ONLY lab in the program. The rest of the boys are poodles 🙂

Grady joined us about five days ago. We’re still learning each other, but it’s getting smoother. I’m so excited to be working with such a great dog ❤️

As always, here’s JJ’s Donation page, if you can give a little, it will be appreciated a lot.

Thank you!

 

Giving Tuesday and Service Dogs

You know we’re fundraising for an autism service dog for my 8yo son so he can feel safe going back to school.

On this Giving Tuesday, I just wanted to remind people that his fundraising campaign is an option. The organization we’re using is a charitable organization so any donations to my son’s page on their site are tax deductible. You can read more about them on their website: paws4autism.org

The money we need to raise will to train future dogs so our family and others will have hope on some of those hard autism days. We’re paying it forward. Can you help us by donating on his page and sharing his story?

Thank you.