Einstein at 18 Months – 2 Weeks Left In Our Journey To Raise a Service Dog

In June of last year (2010) Jim and I drove to Milwaukee and picked up a little 10 week old puppy, delivered to us special delivery, from Canine Companions for Independence.

We had no idea what in the world we were in for with this little guy.  All we knew was that we (I) needed a dog to make my life busy again with regular walks, meeting new people, and a sense of purpose…in a restless kind of way.

It’s hard to believe that our journey together is almost over, well…that is if he doesn’t get kicked out for some silly reason and comes back home for more lounging!  If everything goes as planned, Einstein will go to a Regional Training Facility two weeks from today and in six months pass some mighty big tests, and God willing will become a match for someone with a disability who’ll need him far more than we ever will.

I’ll let you in on a little secret though.  Just between you and me (in a Connie Chung kinda way) there have been days when we think Einstein is awesome.  He’s calm, smart and will do everything you ask him to do.  He’s going to be a genius when he goes through school!  Then there’s been days when we think there’s just no way this dog has got a chance!  His antics are notorious around here…jumping on us, acting like a fool, or body slamming into me, Jim, friends, old ladies, you know how that would go over! NOT!!!!  What service dog do you know does that?  Oh, and not to mention the jumping on the counter, digging trash, digging in the yard or eating poop.  Yes..yuck…he’s in love with turds.  Totally gross!

In his defense I have had other puppy raisers tell me plain and simple that he is most likely bored.  His bad behavior is a clue that he’s ready.  He’s ready to have something more challenging.  His brain needs the stimulation of doing complex tasks.  I suppose in a way they are right!  I hadn’t thought about that.  He is the happiest when he’s on the move doing stuff, or showing off his skills!!!!  Just ask him to do any of his commands and he’ll spend an hour going through his drills, wagging his tail the whole time.

Just two weeks!  I can’t believe it.  Friends, if you ever find yourself in the position to be involved in raising a service dog DO IT!  It is an amazing journey!