Puppyhood

Last winter, Sara began therapuetic horseback riding.  Much to our worry, we thought that it was going to take a lot to get her to even touch the horse, let alone get on it,  and to agree to wearing pants which is part of the barn's dress code when you are riding.  At this point in Sara's life she had probably braved pants twice in her life, both times being with force due to cold weather.  We went first for a "meet and greet" with the staff and the horses.  They asked Sara to touch the horse and she stuck out one finger and quickly poked the side of the horse, and that was it.  I went home, said some extra prayers, thought some good vibes, in hopes that she would open up to the experiance.  Low and behold, she was sold the first time her three year old self in a tutu with pants underneath got on.  We are touched week in and week out by the volunteers who make the program happen, and moved spiritually by her connection with her beloved Thoka (the horse!). 

In May the barn was doing a special event at a fair.  We went out to see the older children ride, to pass a nice spring day, and enjoy as a family.  We saw the kids ride, and then we walked around the fair and off in the distance I saw a therapy dog booth.  I told Miguel...lets go over and see the dogs.  At this point, Sara was overheated, as she doesn't do extreme climates well, scared and mad because we were at a falconery booth that had the birds, and at the mention of the dogs she firmly said she wasn't going to pet any dogs.  We went to the booth much to her anger, and in two minutes she was on the ground laying on the therapy dogs, petting, face to face...and beyond any of my expectations, becuase this is a child who is TERRIFIED of animals.  It was a beautiful organization called Canine Companions for Independence, and they said that they gave dogs to individuals with all different sorts of disabilities.  We got in the car (as I was secretly loving the dogs to and with a purpose I felt that even I who is also afraid of animals could handle it...) and I told Miguel...hmm...I wonder how Sara would do with a dog. 

We got home and I said well maybe I should fill out the initial application, becuase there are two more applications after that and I thought we might never get past the first application and then there was nothing to think about.  We applied, and shortly after our vacation to Michigan we heard that they do not give companion dogs to children under 5 years old, and if we were still interested to reapply then.  So that ended the puppy hood thoughts.  Until...I told Miguel lets just go to a pet store and see how Sara does with a puppy as the therapy dogs are already older then 2 and very calm, which is much different then a puppy.  Much to our suprise she was wonderful with the puppies at the pet store, very confident, very in charge (bossy:)), and just fine...so our quest continued. 

With no intention of buying we found a breeder who is wonderful, bought the puppy on the spot, and we have the reciept prooving after about 15 days of waiting...tommorrow Pongo will be ours.  I have to say, I am not sure if we are crazy.  We put a lot of thought into this, I did a lot of soul searching, we took the girls begging and pleading in mind, and there is no turning back.  I couldn't help but think outside the box on how special the connection between human and animal can be as we have seen in Sara's therapuetic horseback riding and love for Thoka.  I see her tiny little voice grow in strength and confidence each week.  I see no can nots, for 45 minutes each week there is nothing that she can not do identically to other children.  It is not about how high her arm can reach, about how much it rotates inward, or about how far it can or can not go behind her back...actually it is just pure bliss for her.  And true or not true, I feel that Thoka is probably just as excited to see Sara as she is to see her.  Wouldn't this be wonderful, if this same amazing connection can happen for both girls in our home.  So crazy or not...here we go.  Miguel is anxiously awaiting a buddy to pal around with in the yard while he makes his kayaks and other things.  Sara is hoping to be able to put Pongo in a basket on her bike, regardless of the fact that she is terrified to ride a bike (even with training wheels) and her bike has no basket, and Pongo is going to be a very big dog for a toddler bike basket.  Paula is absolutely in love with animals and can not wait for his tail to wake her up in the mornings hitting the side of her bed.  And me....I am awaiting a transformation for us all as we welcome Pongito into our heart and our home, and I will take loosing a few pounds from the countless walks that we are about to take together as well!

We will keep you posted on our baby boy, our puppy training, and our sanity:)) 

~Betsy