1st day of class

Yesterday was our first official day of class. We got a chance to meet all of the staff and be taught by the founder of the school and of the whole Assistance Dog movement, Bonnie Bergin. She's a great instructor although I had to admit to her that Heidi had given Kyria and I an unfair advantage on her material! (For my family, Heidi is the trainer at Hazleton who attended this school for a year before beginning the paws4people assistance dog program. She bases her training on this university's curriculum). Thank you to Heidi, because when every other student was completely overwhelmed with the amount of material and dog commands we were covering, Kyria and I could sit back, smile and relax (for now). I'm sure the relaxing bit won't last for long!
We also got to meet the dogs-they are all wonderful of course. There's a mixture of golden retrievers and labs. I worked a lovely little black lab named Naomi that I fell in love with. The day was structured well with an hour of lecture followed by an hour of practical-this routine was kept up through the day and really helped to keep the mind engaged and give breaks when needed. My favorite part of the day was the wheelchair training. Since most of the clients receiving service dogs are in wheelchairs, we are being taught how to maneuver and work in a wheelchair so we experience a bit of what they experience. The wheelchair training also gives a lot of insight into how to train a dog to work around a wheelchair. Let me tell you, it is not easy to handle a dog and a wheelchair at the same time!! The instructors gave us several practice sessions learning how to move and turn the wheelchair-when we seemed competent with that, they gave us dogs and we practiced commands and handling. In the coming weeks we will be taking numerous field trips with our dogs and wheelchairs. We will be expected to handle the wheelchair and dog in many different settings. I think this is totally fantastic-it has given me a real sensitivity for moving in a wheelchair (without flipping myself over) WHILE handling a dog.
In the evening we had a welcome dinner with all staff, students and several Bergin University volunteers (Margaret sends a big hello to Heidi). We had a great time eating with and getting know everyone. After that, it was time to head back to the dorms, make a quick visit to Starbucks with Kyria and then --let the studying begin!



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