Hi ho... Hi ho... It's off to work we go.

Today Owen and I went to work.  I teach Sunday School and today was our holiday party right before the winter break.  It was probably a good week for Owen to come for the first time; we had about a third of the kids we normally do (the roads were really snowy this morning and it's highly likely a lot of families already left for vacation) and we were doing center-based learning so we ended up only getting two groups of students (instead of the usual four).  Owen and I had a lot of downtime at work, and got to do some deep pressure tasks after cleaning up our center before rejoining the rest of the kids.  I also introduced Owen to the kids who were at school today and we went over the rules for Owen (don't talk to him or pet him when his harness is on because that means he is working).

Owen was spectacular, he slept on his mat the whole time I was with kids and tagged along with me when we were done with centers.  I have to admit though; most of the time I prefer having my kids in the classroom to doing center-based learning days.  I am excited to have Owen in my classroom with me at Sunday School where we can take things at our own pace (which is slow because I teach the little ones) and where I can work with Owen to be with me at work and help me, instead of putting him in a down-stay in the corner because I don't trust him not to get trampled - which he almost did until Darcie moved him!  Yikes!

On our way home, Owen and I had to run a quick errand (picking up stamps - which unfortunately, I still need more... but I digress).  He was a rock star in the store, and we were able to accomplish the task quickly without me feeling like it would be quicker without him (which is what I was feeling at the start of the week about some errands).

doing and "over" for me

We got home, and unfortunately I had to get some work done.  I didn't get nearly enough done (there were too many snuggles with Owen), but it was a start.  Owen and I got lots of good snuggles in today; he did an over with me this afternoon and it was fantastic.  I am loving the deep pressure tasks, and I think I will love them even more when this cold goes away and I can actually breathe.  Owen is such a sweetheart, he tries to give lots of kisses during his tasks, but he will always give kisses when you tell him "all done".  He also is the master of the sad-puppy-dog-eyes that he tried to employ last night when he decided he wanted to sleep in bed with me instead of on his own bed.  Whoops!  That was my fault because I let him up on the couch earlier in the day which blurred the lines of where he is and is not allowed.  He is allowed on surfaces, just only when I say so.  Which is not right now.  Our "pack" needs to be more clearly defined before he can do that, and as I discovered last night, Owen can be very stubborn and tenacious when he wants to be.

Toby almost played with Owen today; he was racing back and forth in the apartment and hiding in his cat furniture while Owen looked on.  Then Owen would get up, perk his ears, and trot over to where Toby is.  Toby would stop playing for a while and look unsure.  And then repeat.  They were so close to playing that they both got fired up so Owen started furiously chewing on a bone and Toby came over to attack me.  Oy.  They need to figure out how to play together soon.  Afterwards this is what we did for the rest of the night.

Work.  What work?

My shadow

Owen has turned into my shadow overnight.  Even in my teeny tiny apartment, if I get up and go somewhere, Owen gets up and goes somewhere.  If I go to the bathroom, Owen goes too.  If I go to cook in the kitchen, Owen flops down behind me with a big sigh.  If I go sit on the couch... Owen thinks he should come too. :)  Once he realizes that big sad puppy-dog eyes won't work, he lays down on his bed and falls asleep.  (He did get up on the couch this afternoon when we were napping, but he got down on his own after a while - I guess I wasn't a good napping companion!)  He isn't supposed to be on the couch or bed without me asking him up, and I am being careful to not set a precedent on his first day here that he is always allowed up when I am.

He was pretty convinced that he was allowed in bed last night.  He sat by the side of the bed and rested his head on the mattress and stared at me.  Once he realized it was a "no" and I gave him lots of pets and praise for being on his bed, he settled in for the night.  Poor Toby had this look on his face that said something along the lines of "I thought the dog was just visiting!"  But he seems to be over it today.

Owen is a great sleeping companion, he slept all the way until my alarm went off, and then was perfectly happy to go sleep in the living room while I got ready this morning.  He was also very good at napping this afternoon; we both were.

Today was our day by ourselves and it went really well.  I'm exhausted.  Owen is exhausted.  But it went really well.  First thing this morning, the maintenance guy came to the apartment to fix my washing machine so Owen and I got to practice his down-stay while the guy was working on the machine.  After that we got ready to go.

First, we went to Hobby Lobby (I needed something for holiday gifts).  It was really busy and we pretty much got stared at by everybody we ran into, but Owen was a pro.  He naturally did a "front" for me when I stopped to look at things (front being where he stands in front of me horizontally) and did very good heeling throughout the store.  As we were trying to go to the checkout though, a woman came barreling down an aisle with a cart and didn't see us until she was practically on top of us.  Owen didn't startle or anything, but he did try to sniff her cart while I was trying to keep walking.  I'll talk with Darcie on how best to handle things like that tomorrow.

After Hobby Lobby, we went grocery shopping.  I know that eventually Owen will make errands like this easier, but it was very mentally taxing trying to hold a list, push a cart, and worry about Owen while navigating the store.  Thankfully, there was one of those mini-carts available.  I really don't know how I would have managed a big cart and Owen.  One of those things I'll ask Darcie's opinion on tomorrow.  I think a lot of this will get easier with time though.  Owen did great at the grocery store, he tried to sniff some produce and I think I had him totally confused while shopping because I kept backtracking and turning around (something I do anyway when I shop - I'm just not used to having a dog follow me around while I do it!). 

Owen was fired up when we got home and decided to try and play with Toby again.  Toby was not expecting Owen to chase him (and as much as I love my cat, he isn't very graceful) and somehow they managed to slam an end table into the wall at just the right angle to break an outlet cover.  Luckily my dad is visiting next weekend, I normally leave projects like that for him to worry about when he gets here.  After chasing the cat, Owen and I both settled in for a very long, very much needed, nap.

Eventually though, dinners needed to be eaten, so Owen and I both got up so I could fix both of us food.  After he ate his dinner though, I eventually relegated him to his bed because he kept following me around the apartment, even though I wouldn't stay anywhere more than a few minutes, and I could tell he really just wanted to sleep in his bed.  We did some cuddling in the form of deep pressure, and we are about to go out for the last time tonight before everybody in my apartment turns in for the night.  I have some very tired and over-stimulated animals.

Owen and I have an early morning tomorrow, he and Darcie are coming to work with me.  Should be fun!  I hope...

Sorry for the lack of pictures today, that was too much to worry about while we were out.  I'll try and take more pictures tomorrow.

In which we practice more tasks...

Right now I want to do what Owen is doing (snoring on his bed), so this will be brief.  Today Owen and I started work on his deep pressure tasks.  All I can say is WOW.  The amount of pressure he exudes is unbelievable; it is going to make such a huge difference in staying in control of my body.  I'm making sure to stay very still right now while he gets used to my body and me while doing these tasks, but next week I will start ticcing while he does these tasks.  If I move underneath him, he is supposed to sink in and give more pressure.  He totally loves doing it too; he kept falling asleep on me (we practice each task for a long time so that he knows when I ask him to do a deep pressure task it will be for a long time) and didn't want to get up when I said "all done".  Though he consistently gives kisses when you tell him all done, as if to say "I did a good job!"  It's totally sweet and endearing.

Here's some photos of him doing an "over" in various positions.

Owen, Darcie, and I finished our day by going to Hannukah services at my synagogue.  Owen did SO GOOD.  It's in all caps because I otherwise it wouldn't express how good he did.  There was a music group that I was not anticipating and Owen was mildly interested in their music at first, but after he heard it for a little bit, he didn't care.  There were a lot of different sounds and the whole service was just loud, too loud for me, but he didn't even bat an eye.  He just slept on his mat by my feet the whole time, and had lots of giant twitchy dreams!

He did try to solicit attention from people while we were there, so we will be working on not paying attention to other people when he is working.  So if you see us out and about in Spokane, please don't make goo-goo-eyes at my dog!  Owen tries to make eyes at everyone and wags his tail and looks so handsome that people can't help but talk to him, but it really doesn't help me any.  I'm also not being rude when I don't answer your questions, but if I have to choose between answering a question and focusing on correcting/rewarding my dog, I'm picking my dog.

Here's a picture of super-dog Owen at the synagogue.  He was a rock star.  If you look closely at his harness you can see the doubled-up fleece padding underneath the handle and the fleece strips on the top of it, those are my additions to his harness and they worked really well.  Not so well that I would feel 100% confident relying on it for support if my tics got really bad, but supportive enough to use for balance work and to steady myself when I get dizzy.  It is just tall enough that I can reach down and grab the handle; I have to say I really really like walking around holding onto the handle because it makes me feel much more stable than before. 

Tonight Owen is spending the night for the first time and tomorrow we are on our own all day.  Wish us luck!

Classrooms and shopping and giant dogs, oh my!

Today was another crazy day.  It's starting to wear on me a bit, I had an almost-cold last week and last night I started in with the yucky dry hacking cough.  I don't think I'm contagious or anything...  But it is still not fun.  I'm so so so tired, I guess the plus-side is that I'm sleeping really really well!  My head feels really good though (or as good as it ever does) and I don't feel like I'm going to get a migraine anytime soon (hopefully).  My anxiety is doing really well too, I did get a little over-anxious yesterday morning while I was on campus waiting for Darcie and Owen, but in general it is very mild.

I feel really really good about this.  Darcie keeps checking in on me to make sure I'm feeling okay, but the truth is I really do feel pretty good.  I feel more at peace and I love having snuggle time with Owen.  My tics seem to be diminished when I get to snuggle with him, and I am noticing that out in public I have so much to focus on that my tics have to take a back seat.  All of this and I haven't even had him do any tasks yet!

Tomorrow we will get to do some of his pressure tasks.  Owen really seems to love doing these with Darcie, in fact he tries to do them without her asking a lot of the time.  I haven't gotten to do any of them with me because we were waiting until our "pack" was established.  Having a dog lay on top of you to apply pressure is putting them in a position of dominance, but even though Owen is helping me I am the alpha in the relationship.  Owen is doing really well heeling next to me and listening to me for commands (he even stayed in a down-stay today while Darcie played with the cat toys, Owen's toys, and Toby - he really really wanted to get up, but he didn't), so because he is listening to me and respecting me, we get to start with deep pressure tasks tomorrow.

This morning Darcie and Owen came over to my apartment and we worked on having Owen do more basic obedience tasks for me.  Toby is getting more and more interested in playing with Owen as time goes on, a few times today he almost initiated play with him!  Darcie and I also outlined the next week today; tomorrow night Owen will start staying with me all the time which means anywhere I go, he goes too.  We will get to be on our own from Friday night until Sunday morning, so we will get to do things by ourselves (kind of like a test to flush out any problems we are having).  So far, I think the plan will be to go places I normally go - the grocery store, hobby lobby, and perhaps out to lunch or dinner somewhere - and just take it easy and go at a very slow pace without any expectations or pressure.  We also decided - tentatively - that I am going to take my public access tests a week from tomorrow (scary!).

Snoozing in the computer lab

I had a meeting this afternoon, but afterwards Darcie, Owen, and I met up at Gonzaga to do some work around campus.  We walked around the education building and then went into various classrooms so that I could see where Darcie recommends placing Owen depending on the type of desks in the room.  I got to practice placing Owen in and under under some of the desks and we got lots of good practice heeling.  We also started to practice with the mobility harness which was... very short lived.  I'm about two inches too tall for the height his harness is at, and because it is such an important piece of equipment, it really has to be just right.  So tonight, we measured Owen and I ordered my very own (very very expensive) Bold Lead Designs mobility harness.  It is totally beautiful and is the best harness available right now.  Darcie was telling me that even with the harness that Owen has now (which was the best one available at the time they bought it), dogs can still physically break down using it.  Whereas the BLD harness (while albeit very expensive) is much better because was designed by service dog handlers with veterinarian input to make sure it is as safe as possible for the dog.  They are also custom-made for each dog/handler partnership so it will take approximately four weeks to get it.  In the mean-time I'm going to use my super-crafting skills to jerry-rig a fleece insert of sorts that should raise the handle height enough that I can use the harness to stabilize myself (but not brace or anything heavy-duty) while I wait for my state-of-the-art, did I mention very expensive, harness to arrive.  I will also have Owen's handsome Heeling Allies vest to use if I want to.

(Probably) The biggest dog in the world!

So... in order to get the fleece to jerry-rig the harness we all traipsed to a feed store (there is a thing they use for horses that would have been the perfect size/material, but they didn't have it). On our way into the store we encountered a huge dog.  A giant dog.  Probably the biggest dog Owen had ever seen.  It was the second time I'd heard Owen vocalize (the first being when he tried to get Toby to play with him yesterday).  Once Owen figured out it wasn't anything to worry about, he thought Darcie and I were pretty silly making a big deal out of "What a good boy" he was for going near the big dog without worrying.

From there we went to Walgreens to pick some things up, a super quick in and out trip, and then we went home.  Thankfully.  I think both Owen and I were pretty wiped out by the end of the day.

Sit... No... Sit... Good Sit.

Today we worked a lot on commands.  Or more, how I say commands.  I need to work on being more forceful when I give commands to Owen to make sure I have his attention and I'm not sitting there saying the same thing a few times before I choose to get forceful.  I just did basic obedience commands with Owen today: sit, down, stand, stay, wait, okay, let's go, heel.

I had to get "treats" (really just his kibble) out to get his attention on me initially, but once he was paying attention to me we put them away because he became very distracted (even now he is still licking at my pocket where I stashed his food).  He did all his commands for me, and even did a down-stay while Darcie walked around trying to distract him.  He stayed down while she knocked on the door, left the apartment and came back, played with kitty-cat toys, and rustled the food bag.  He broke his down stay when she started playing with Toby though.  Whoops!  She showed me how to do the appropriate correction and after that he stayed for me the whole time.

Darcie also worked with Owen on some of his tasks and also teaching him the difference between "go to your bed" and "go to your place" now that we have both a bed and his mat for going out places (it's an orthopedic bath mat).  After we did some command work, I learned how to put his harness on and off and Darcie showed me how tightly each of the buckles need to be cinched.

We also ordered a lot of things I will need from Amazon (like joint supplements, fish oil, a new collar, etc.) - but don't tell my parents!

After we gave Owen a break (he napped), Darcie and I went out to lunch again.  But... today I was the one handling Owen in the restaurant.  It wasn't flawless, I didn't choke up on the leash enough when we walked in and he thought about visiting with people who were eating and I got a little flustered so Darcie stepped in and corrected him.  It definitely didn't help that the hostess wanted to chat with us and I was trying to be friendly, but all I wanted to say was, "Can't you see I don't know what I'm doing?  Gah!"  But I didn't.

Owen went under the table perfectly and laid down on my foot where he stayed the whole time.  When it was time to leave I took my time making sure his harness was cinched up right (we loosened it so he could lay down comfortably) and that I had a good grasp on his lead before telling him "OK" and "Let's go".  It worked much better and we walked right out with no problems.  I used my over the shoulder leash today, and I really liked it.  It felt really natural and while I will hold onto it like a normal leash, if I need to I can let go before my tics get out of hand and I know Owen will continue to heel like normal.

Team Training is hard work!

Now Owen and I are back at my apartment for some bonding time by ourselves.  Toby and Owen are doing really well together, Toby is right now sleeping on the couch right next to Owen's bed.  Owen is passed out (snoring) on his bed next to me.  I can tell our bond is starting to develop already, he's sleeping with his paws on my leg and comes over to me for kisses a lot.  This morning I met Darcie and Owen back at the same Starbucks that we did yesterday and she said that when they walked in he was more happy than normal because she thinks he thought I would be there.  He was very happy to see me when I walked in, though I managed to sneak up on him before he turned around and saw me!

Earlier, Owen thought he would play with Toby and it was quite comical.  He looks like a total goof when he plays, I will have to try and get a video of it at some point.  Toby wasn't too sure about the goofball lab running around the apartment, but he didn't hide.  He just jumped up on the bed and meowed at Owen for a while.  I'm really relieved to see them getting along so well, hopefully they do eventually play together but for now, I'm happy that they are peaceful together.

Tomorrow we will do some more work with Owen's words and then in the afternoon Darcie and I are going back to school to go do some training in the classrooms on campus so that I know what to do next semester.

Now the Real Training Begins

Wow.

Today was great.  We did so much and went a lot of different places.

I also got to witness the most anti-climactic meeting between a cat and a dog ever.  But more on that in a minute.

Darcie and I met up at the Starbucks by campus (this morning I had to be on campus working) around 11:00.  I got to see Owen at work for the first time in public.  He was happy to see me and he was generally happy to be out and about working.  His tail wagged almost the whole time we were in Starbucks, and he was very good about navigating the crowds.  With finals week, the Starbucks was very busy!  Darcie and I walked over to the education building where Owen got to meet his adoring fans at school.

After hanging out at school for a little bit, we drove back to my apartment to introduce Owen and Toby.  What follows is the story of the most boring introduction of a dog and a cat.

Curiosity & Intrigue

I opened the door to the apartment, knowing Toby would be on the other side (he likes to greet people at the door).  I scooted him back with my foot and Owen followed me in.  They sniffed.  Toby meowed.  The end.

Seriously.  Toby could not have cared less.  He eventually got off the floor and sat on his perch in the window, but all he did was watch Owen.  He had this funny look the whole time Owen was there, but he wasn't concerned.  It was more a look of intrigue and curiosity.  Owen and I got to hang out in the apartment a bit with Darcie.  Owen found his bed, kennel, and all his toys I had bought him.  He was like a little kid at Christmas with his new toys, we had to get all of them out and he kept trying to see how many he could pick up at once.  He also found the cat toys that I didn't find when I picked them up.  Luckily, he has a very good "drop it" command. :)

Then, we left my apartment to go to my chiropractor appointment.  Darcie and Owen went to both the massage room and the adjustment room to show me where Owen will stay when I am in treatment.  Owen was very happy to be working and had a lot of fans there too.  I was impressed though that nobody asked to pet (unlike Gonzaga!).

Watching the chiropractor do his job

Checking out at Costco

After the chiropractor, we went to Costco.  Yikes!  Costco is basically the antithesis of where I normally go...  The crowds, the lights, the big store where I don't know where everything is, it's a recipe for disaster.  Right away when we approached the store, people were pointing.  It was really strange to be pointed at, but I knew it was because of the beautiful dog next to me, not my disability.  I've been pointed at before, but not in this context.  It was definitely a new experience.  In the store, people basically ignored us, which was nice.  While walking in the store, Owen kept checking to see if I was following, and at one point started heeling next to me even though Darcie was the one holding his leash and giving him the commands.  After we had what we needed (a printer for Darcie and a memory-foam bath mat for Owen to lay down on in public) she asked me if I wanted to walk him.  It was a resounding "Yes!".  I got to handle Owen through the check-out line and out the truck.  He did really well heeling for me and I felt really good getting to walk my dog.  I was in charge of his "heel" and "let's go" commands, the first commands I've gotten to give to Owen out in public.

We left Costco to go to Red Robin for lunch.  Again, we attracted a lot of attention.  Though I'm not sure what the servers really thought of us; they were asking how old Owen was and whether or not he was fully trained.  I don't know whether they put it together and figured out he belonged to us, or what, but he was definitely attracting lots of looks and smiles while we walked to our booth.  When we got to the booth, Darcie put his new mat under the table and told him "under," his command that means go under a surface, lay down, and stay.  He was really good throughout the meal, but I think he may have found some crumbs within reach on the floor!  At one point, Darcie left us alone to go to the bathroom, so I got to hold his leash while he stayed under the table.  Not a huge deal to some of you I'm sure, but I kept thinking, "Oh no!  What if he tests me and tries to leave!  What would I dooooo?"  Luckily, he was a great boy and stayed where he was supposed to.  Two elderly women saw him when they got up to leave and came over to say how pretty he was and ask about him.  I pretended like I knew what I was doing.  :)

After our late lunch, Owen and I went back to my apartment while Darcie went to her hotel.  We had time alone!  Owen and I took a little walk around the apartment complex so I could check my mail (if you were following the medication saga on facebook - my migraine meds have arrived!) and so he could go potty.  Unfortunately, there were too many really interesting smells all around the apartment complex, so while Owen walked really well for me (after the very beginning when he wasn't quite sure if he was going to listen to me), he did not want to potty.  My apartment is situated by a lot of undeveloped land, and we have a lot of marmots and rabbits that live on the property and right next to it, so I'm sure Owen could smell them all!

I gave up trying to get him to potty and we went back to my apartment.  He and Toby got to say "hi" again, and once he settled down a bit we went out to potty again.  Success!

Then Owen and I went back for some quality snuggle time at home before I had to bring him back to Darcie.  He gave me lots and lots of kisses and finally settled down with his head on my leg.  He proceeded to take a very loud nap, complete with lots of snoring.  Apparently I'm not the only one worn out from training!  Toby was extremely interested in Owen again, and this time was pretty happy to stay on the ground and try to figure out what was going on.  There was one hiss when Owen had Toby trapped on a shelf in the bathroom, but nobody actually meant any harm.  When Owen was still up and about, Toby followed him to keep an eye on him everywhere he went.  Once Owen laid down with me, Toby settled himself on the couch (Owen and I were on the floor) and watched us the whole time.  At one point when Owen was up, Toby almost looked like he wanted to play.  I really hope they become good friends, my apartment is too small to have animals at war!

Eventually it was time for me to bring Owen back for the night, so we loaded up in my truck and I drove him back to Darcie.  Darcie and I went over Owen's list of words (he knows about 43!) and talked a little bit about what tomorrow will look like.  We also talked about general handling tips and how to have a good relationship with your dog.  Funny enough, a lot of the tips are similar to what I have to employ in the classroom, so it comes pretty naturally.  Owen napped the whole car ride over and by the time we got there it was a little after his dinner time, and he let us know!  I got to feed him his dinner and had to make him sit and wait (which he tested) until I said "OK".  After the excitement of dinner was over he came and napped on my foot unless Darcie woke him up to show me how a certain task looked.

Reluctantly, I went back to my apartment.  Owen came over to say goodbye to me, and almost followed me out the door!  I can't wait to see him tomorrow to see how much he remembers me.  Tomorrow I have to be on campus in the morning, and Darcie and Owen will meet me at Starbucks again.  We will then go back to my apartment to practice commands.  I have to practice giving them to Darcie first, so she can make sure my tone and inflection is right.  Then I'll watch her ask Owen for the task, and then I'll try it.  We'll start with basic obedience and then maybe start with tasks tomorrow or Thursday.  Tomorrow I will also get some practice taking his harness on and off to start to get a feel for how it is supposed to fit and how it all goes together.   I'll also get to start handling Owen out in public more when it's a situation where Darcie feels comfortable I can handle it.  We are thinking that Saturday I will be on my own with Owen all day.  Apparently I will have "tasks" to complete while we are by ourselves, and I'm sure after that I will have tons and tons of questions!

I'm exhausted like I thought I would be, but surprisingly my anxiety and general health is holding pretty steady.  I really thought that going out this much would be hard and that I would be more emotionally worn down already, but so far I'm holding it together really well.  Owen gives me something to focus on out in public, I have to make sure to give him praise and make sure that he is doing what I ask him to and giving me that extra thing to focus on seems to be keeping my mind off of the anxiety of being out in public.  I feel like we've done so much, and it was only day 1!

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.