BEST. DAY. EVER!

I had multiple titles for this post. I can't remember any of them because...

Handsome boy!

Bomber just completed a blind track here at the hotel!

Corey and I set up a practice track. Due to miscommunication between us, I had no idea where Corey was hiding with Rosalie. At first I went out with Bomber and I tried to direct him in the direction I thought he would go. (Right now in practice, we know where the kids are hiding so we can better learn our dogs' cues when they're tracking.) He took off away from where I thought Rosalie was. I even lost hold of his leash. I got him back with no problem and kept trying. The poor guy was so confused.

At this point, I was totally ticked off. I was so mad that Corey wasn't where I expected him to be. Bomber was confused so he both peed and pooped on the track. Again! I wanted to cry. I was so frustrated. I even thought that we are never going to get this down. I called out to Corey saying I had no clue where he was. He didn't hear me.

After Bomber pooped, I took him back to the room, went back out, and picked up his poop. I looked for Corey a bit and still couldn't find him. Then I tried to call Corey and his dang phone rang from inside the room! What a mixture of high emotions! Anger, frustration, despair.

With nothing else to do, I took Bomber back out. I got him amped up and sent him to "track." He went back towards where he was looking before. At this point, I just figured I better follow him even though I had given up inside.

Bomber finally went around a corner and I started to think maybe Corey and Rosalie were back there. They were!!!!! I burst into tears. I still am tearing up writing this.

My foot after stepping in mud during the nighttime track.

This has so many ramifications for our life! Never again will I not be able to find Rosalie. Never again will I have that heart drop when Rosalie is brought back to me by another person. Never again will I have to have someone say, "Is Rosalie supposed to be over there?"

I do know she will still take off. I do know that reality is I will have those things in the last paragraph happen. I also know I have an answer to those things. When Rosalie takes off, I will send Bomber. When someone asks about her location, I will send Bomber.

This brings me to the next exciting new task in our training. Tethering!

Bomber practicing tethering by being pulled on by another mom.

Bomber has been trained to allow a tether to be attached to him with the other end attached to Rosalie. I can put him in a "down," Rosalie can pull on him, and he won't move! I can have them tethered together when we are in a store and she can't bolt off.

Corey rewarding Bomber for doing a great job with tethering.

Another great thing. Rosalie can have a new sense of independence. She will be able to hold on to a short leash while she is tethered. She won't have me holding her hand in a death grip to keep her from running off or pulling away from me.

We have learned so many things the past six days. We are half way done!!!!! I am soooo thankful to be here. I may sound like a broken record but this is the best thing we have ever done for Rosalie! I keep saying to Corey, "Corey, we are here, getting Rosalie's service dog." It seems so surreal.

We started learning behavior disruptions commands today. We started with "lap" and "kisses." With lap, Bomber will come over to where you gesture and lay his head down. The dogs were trained to have their head on your legs but eventually will put their head anywhere you point. This can be used for comfort in a meltdown or after a seizure.

Corey and Bomber practicing "lap."

Tonight Corey and I took Bomber shopping. We went to Meijer and PetSmart. I was totally exhausted when we went out. Interestingly, I was energized after our outing. It is so fun to take Bomber out. I have never encountered such an awesome dog until this past week. (And I had a VERY good, well-trained dog as a kid.)

We looked at kennels today. Before we went shopping, we talked to Jeremy today about whether or not Bomber really needs a kennel since we don't plan on kenneling him long term. He really thinks Bomber does need a kennel for a while because he is so young. He did say we can get an XL one instead of the giant size, though.

We found a kennel at PetSmart on clearance because it is an older model. It was marked at $96 and was regularly $129. That is a really good price for this size kennel so we decided to buy it. At the register it rang up for $75. Such a good deal!

I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff, but the bed calls. Thanks for following along with us!

Lunch time fun with Clank.