Wow it\u2019s amazing how time flies. Here it is the last week in-July already. It seems so long ago that Doug graduated. No, sadly he still has not found a \u201ccall\u201d. He is still working for the school while he waits.This has been stressful for all of us. My son included. My daughter not so much, after all when you go to college you move away from home anyway. Her life continues to move forward. As for the rest of us, well, we are in a holding pattern. I suppose you can say our life does move on; after all I just expressed how shocked I was that this was July already.<\/p>\n
Recently, Doug, my son and I went to visit some friends in Bayfield Wisconsin, over the 4th of July weekend. We thought about camping at our campsite, but we decided, since it was the holiday weekend the campground would be too crowded. We also knew many are still trying to clean up what the tornado a few weeks ago left behind. So off to Bayfield we went.<\/p>\n
What a relaxing, great time we had, in such a beautiful area. Bayfield is small town located along Lake Superior. There is a little island you can ferry across too called Madeline Island. It\u2019s a small Island that can only be reached by ferry within 25 minutes during the warm months; then on the \u201cice roads\u201d across Lake Superior during the \u201cfreezing\u201d months. I cannot even imagine living on island like that isolated from so many things including hospitals. If I understood correctly, there are some children who come across the ferry to go to school too. Our friends treated us to a ride across the lake to see the island and the 4th of July parade. What a fun and interesting parade it was.<\/p>\n
Later in the evening we watched fireworks explode above us. I couldn\u2019t believe it was July 4th and I was wearing a sweatshirt to stay warm as we sat along the lake shore to watch the sky light up. <\/p>\n
The other parts of the day were filled with shopping in the quaint stores, a little hiking path and enjoying peaceful time at our friend\u2019s home. We were also able to hang out with their Australian Cattle Dogs (ACD), aka: red\/blue heelers, or Queensland heelers. <\/p>\n
The best part of this trip was to see the joy on my son\u2019s face the entire weekend and his willingness to rise early and walk the shops, watch the parade, go for the hike, and play with the dogs. You see in the past, this would have been a challenge. He may tag along, but never really participate in anything. This was huge for me! My son actually enjoyed the time he had with us and the dogs.<\/p>\n
He played fetch with the dogs, and walked them on a leash on at least two occasions. Where he slept, they slept. Where he sat and ate, they would sit nearby. Of course the dogs placed themselves around those who were eating and those who were likely to feed them some \u201cpeople\u201d food!<\/p>\n
This weekend brought on the conversation of what we were all really missing from our family. Now, of course we do miss our daughter away at school, but something else was missing. We all really missed our dog.<\/p>\n
As you know we lost our little Snickers at the old age of 14. Due to a back injury, and vision trouble, he was laid to rest on 11\/11\/2014. Being on campus the policy states you cannot replace an animal once the animal has passed. You are welcome to bring one on campus when you first arrive, or after internship, but not after one passes. To me this is not right. After all as long as you are in a pet unit what\u2019s the problem?<\/p>\n
Well needless to say we didn\u2019t replace Snickers. We talked about and agreed it\u2019s pretty stressful to move, and when you add pets to that, it can add a little more stress. We also kept justifying it with, campus won\u2019t allow one anyway.<\/p>\n
Well in the course of returning to my therapist, due to my stress, anxiety and depression during this transition time, my psychologist agreed, pet therapy would be beneficial for me. Now mind you he isn\u2019t saying a service dog. Service dogs are trained to help with a disabling condition and can be allowed anywhere the person is. But a therapy\/companion animal provides emotional and mental support. They are not able to go into restaurants etc. After watching my son with the dogs, he too needs that emotional and mental support; I just didn\u2019t realize it until then.<\/p>\n
So I requested a letter from my psychologist advising of the need to have a dog during this time. He was in complete agreement that this would certainly help with my own dealing\/healing process. So began our search for a new four legged family member, a fur-baby. Much conversation went in to what type we would get and all 4 of us (including the one away at school) agreed ACD was the way to go. So began the exhausting search. After being referred to a Facebook site, I asked for help in finding a puppy or rescued dog. Through that site, I was referred to a rescue group that they would have a dog for our family.<\/p>\n
We adopted a 2 year old red heeler (ACD). He came with the name Houdini on 7\/11. I have begun traing him with a trainer. Once we are done, he should be a certified therapy dog. If Doug’s church is okay with it, Houdini will go with him to visit those who are sick or shut in. I’m so looking forward to the great joy Houdini will bring to our lives.<\/p>\n
Follow Houdinis page on Facebook, Houdini’s Adventures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wow it\u2019s amazing how time flies. Here it is the last week in-July already. It seems so long ago that Doug graduated. No, sadly he still has not found a \u201ccall\u201d. He is still working for the school while he … Continue reading