Darcie and Owen are here!

Oh my gosh.  What a crazy whirlwind day.  In keeping with the tradition of this crazy adventure I am on, Darcie's drive was complicated by lots of really bad fog, so she got here about two-hours later than anticipated.  Then, we miscommunicated about which hotel she was staying at, so I was at one hotel while she was at the other.  By the time I got to the right hotel, I was so exhausted from the anxiety up and downs all day and so relieved to have finally gotten to where they were, that there were no tears!  No panic attacks!  I acted like a totally normal person who was in control of their emotions.

I know.  You're all shocked.

Because they got in later than anticipated and because I think it was pretty clear from my facial expressions that I had no interest in going out, Darcie and I decided to just stay in the hotel instead of going out to dinner to talk about things.  Which was great for me!  I got to pet and love on Owen all I wanted, something I couldn't have done if we had gone out in public.  I'll get to see him working tomorrow, so I wasn't sad about this decision at all.

Darcie and Owen walked out into the hotel parking lot to meet me, and right away Owen started giving me kisses and nibbles (Darcie calls it "corn-on-the-cobbing").  He was all tail-waggy and smiley and I fell in love immediately.  We talked a lot about team training, expectations, fears and worries, and maybe most importantly, what I anticipate getting from our new partnership.

Owen was a total character, he was happy the whole time I was there and was more than happy to hang out next to me and get pets.  I got lots of kisses the whole time I was there, and Darcie warned me that he gets a little out of hand with all of his affection. :)

I got to see Owen do some of his tasks for Darcie which was really cool.  I watched him do an "over" while she was sitting down and laying down, as well as a "paws up".  The whole time he was wagging his tail, it makes me really happy to know that he loves doing these tasks and is happy to do them.  I also got to see Darcie put his mobility harness on and we sized it against me to see if it is the right height/size.  Darcie said it looked right and it didn't feel too funny, so I guess it's good?  All I know is I can't wait to be able to reach out and have something right there that is stable to hold onto when I get dizzy.

We also talked about what the next few days will look like.  Initially, we are just going to spend some time getting Owen and I acquainted.  Tomorrow I have to be on campus in the morning, but Darcie will meet me there with Owen when I am done.  Darcie is going to be handling Owen in the beginning, and while she is doing that he can visit and say "hi" to people, so we will go into the education building so I can show him off to a few people.

After that, we are planning to go back to my apartment to introduce Owen to Toby (yikes!).  Darcie also said she would probably leave Owen with me for a little while tomorrow, not to go anywhere, but to get to know each other on our own.  I have a chiropractor appointment in the afternoon (thank goodness), but Owen won't be coming to that.  There wouldn't really be a point because I am definitely going to have another one before team training is over, and it will be more beneficial to have Darcie go with me when I know what I'm doing with Owen, as opposed to tomorrow when I have yet to handle him at all.  Other than that, I don't know.  We'll just have to see how the rest of the day goes.





And on that note, good night!  I haven't slept right in over a week and I'm exhausted!

Oh, did anybody see the top of my page where I have the countdown.  It says: "Today is the day!".  I may have cried a little bit when I saw it.