Day 12

Well today was the day Panga and I had been training for.  The Public Access Test.  This consisted of a trainer observing us doing a variety of tasks with the service dogs to make sure they were safe and appropriate to be certified to work in public.  Everything from making sure I had control of Panga at all times, corrected her when needed and her respond appropriately after correction, etc.  She did awesome.  I was a nervous wreck.  We also had to sit in the food court for 30 minutes with her in a "down" and make sure she didn't make any attempts to bother anyone around us who was eating.  She was awesome once again.  She just napped the whole time.  I was then told by Jeremy to go to 4 Paws to fill out the paperwork which was code for "you passed". 
I filled out paperwork, got Panga's new collar, tags, medical history and certification card showing she is a service dog.

After the paperwork, Panga and I ran to the hotel to get Chris and the boys for graduation.  Graduation consisted of introduction of the 4 Paws staff, volunteers and families.  Once that was done, each family was called up one at a time for pictures.  Then it was time for cake and saying goodbye.  Panga's college student who fostered her was not able to make graduation as she is in Georgia now.  We understand why she couldn't make it, but wish we could have met her and she could have seen Panga with the boys.  Luckily, her and I are connected on Facebook and she's been able to follow our journey and see the pictures.

After graduation, I brought Panga and the boys back to the hotel and Chris and I started packing things up.  We got the carrier on top of the van loaded. It's not as good as my Dad had packed it when we left Terre Haute, but I think it will get us home.  I hope so anyway. :)  We don't have as much to bring back, but we do have Miss Panga and she will take up the room we had on the way to Ohio.  We will just stuff things where we can and head out by 11am.  It still seems surreal that we are done with the two weeks.  I keep thinking we have tracking or something tomorrow, but we are done.  She is certified to work with both boys in public.  Kasen has an EEG we will be scheduling and Panga will be able to go with him and help calm him as I know his anxiety will be through the roof.  This is why I hadn't scheduled it yet, I knew Panga would be beneficial for that appointment.

The next post I write will be how our return home went and what Panga thinks of her new home.

During the food court part of the test

No test anxiety for this girl

During graduation, Kasen was struggling with the noise and amount of people.  Panga helped him through it.

After graduation.  She is growing on Levi.

This is where Panga has slept most of the time with us.  In front of her is Kasen asleep in the living room. Behind her (to the right) is Levi asleep in the bedroom.  She knows she is watching out for both boys.

Day 11

Today we tracked in the morning and Panga did awesome finding her boys!
I then took the boys back to the hotel and I went back to 4 Paws for training.  We worked on everything that will be on our Public Access Test tomorrow and then Jeremy and Jennifer talked to us about the paperwork we will be doing after the test as well as what to expect when going home.  We will have graduation tomorrow afternoon where the foster parents of the dogs get to come celebrate with us and say goodbye to the dogs.  I was also able to give Panga a bath today before we left 4 Paws.  She wasn't overly thrilled with it, but did well.

Panga and I will have our test at 10am at the mall and, assuming we pass, we will go back to 4 Paws to fill out our paperwork at 11:30am. 

Here's hoping she's a rock star again and we are able to pass.

Day 10

The day started off with tracking . Chris and the boys hid and Panga was a rock star at finding them.  Very little distraction.  So proud of her!  It is absolutely amazing to watch her head snaps now and being able to tell when she's got the boys scent and when she doesn't.

After tracking, I took the boys back to the hotel and went to 4 Paws with Panga and we worked on behavior disruption, "back" and "stand" Once we got through that, we broke for lunch and then were to meet at the mall.  I went and picked up Chris and the boys and headed to the mall.  I had Kasen tethered and walked with Jeremy for our obedience part.  He was able to give me some tips to help keep Panga focused on me and not so much on Kasen.  We then waited for our turn to track.  We ran 3 tracks.  One in the store and two in the mall itself.  She did great finding her boys each time.  Her and Kasen then were able to ride the train.

Of course, when it was time to leave, Kasen again struggled.  He wanted me to leave him at the mall.
After dropping them off at the hotel, I ran to pick up supper.   We were under a tornado warning so it was suppose to be a very quick trip. Less then 5 minutes from the hotel.  I ended up locking the keys in my van.  I was able to get help from another family.  They let me hang out in their hotel room, helped me locate a locksmith and drove me back to the van and sat with me until I was safely back inside it.  All of this in pouring down rain, some hail and a tornado warning.  Luckily, once the locksmith arrived, it was unlocked quickly.

Tonight is the last time Levi will be 8 years old.  Tomorrow I have a 9 year old. :)

Kasen pretending to be a dog at the mall

Levi and Panga

Levi and Panga playing