Following Jesus | Fighting Cystic Fibrosis | Telling our Story
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How Oliver Joined Our Family
Our journey with getting my service dog goes something like this...
My health began to decline faster soon after we got married in 2011. We started talking about what a good plan of action is for taking care of me, and we started talking about the possibility of getting a service dog. Fast forward to 2012 and we began applying to service dog organizations and talking with directors about my health and if a service dog would be beneficial for me and my health. We had confirmation from a few different organizations, and continued to process our applications. Soon, we were told that the waiting period for a mobility assistance dog in a breed that does not shed, would be close to 5 years wait. A director of an organization in our area suggested we find a candidate and begin the training and then we can have a trainer finish the dog's advanced training. And so the search for Oliver began. We drove to Rhode island to meet Oliver after talking with his breeder and finding out that he had qualities to consider him a good service dog candidate. We met Oliver on Good Friday and went home and thought and prayed for a few days. We drove back on Monday after Easter to pick up Oliver James. It was April first of 2013 that we began his puppy raising. He was all puppy but enjoyed wearing his "In Training" vest and we began exposing him to all sorts of things he might encounter in this world as a working dog.
In August of 2014 Oliver flew from Maryland to Chicago to continue his training. He stayed with my good friend who is a dog trainer and lived life with them as they finished his advanced public access training and task training. He passed his Canine Good Citizen and Public Access Tests in March of 2015. Oliver now walks beside me each day I'm in the hospital, at a doctor's visit, sick in bed, or having a fun day shopping. He has grown to become an amazing CF service dog, and I am so grateful to call him my teammate and helper.
There it is...the story of Oliver James :)
Here are some of Oliver's tasks - His title is a Mobility Assistance Dog, but more specifically, he is a CF Service Dog
My health began to decline faster soon after we got married in 2011. We started talking about what a good plan of action is for taking care of me, and we started talking about the possibility of getting a service dog. Fast forward to 2012 and we began applying to service dog organizations and talking with directors about my health and if a service dog would be beneficial for me and my health. We had confirmation from a few different organizations, and continued to process our applications. Soon, we were told that the waiting period for a mobility assistance dog in a breed that does not shed, would be close to 5 years wait. A director of an organization in our area suggested we find a candidate and begin the training and then we can have a trainer finish the dog's advanced training. And so the search for Oliver began. We drove to Rhode island to meet Oliver after talking with his breeder and finding out that he had qualities to consider him a good service dog candidate. We met Oliver on Good Friday and went home and thought and prayed for a few days. We drove back on Monday after Easter to pick up Oliver James. It was April first of 2013 that we began his puppy raising. He was all puppy but enjoyed wearing his "In Training" vest and we began exposing him to all sorts of things he might encounter in this world as a working dog.
In August of 2014 Oliver flew from Maryland to Chicago to continue his training. He stayed with my good friend who is a dog trainer and lived life with them as they finished his advanced public access training and task training. He passed his Canine Good Citizen and Public Access Tests in March of 2015. Oliver now walks beside me each day I'm in the hospital, at a doctor's visit, sick in bed, or having a fun day shopping. He has grown to become an amazing CF service dog, and I am so grateful to call him my teammate and helper.
There it is...the story of Oliver James :)
Here are some of Oliver's tasks - His title is a Mobility Assistance Dog, but more specifically, he is a CF Service Dog
- Forward momentum when going upstairs or walking
- Counter balance when I am dealing with side effects of medication
- Carrying things for me (in a basket or in his backpack)
- Bracing for me to hold on to in a coughing fit
- Bringing my medication to me (especially when I'm hooked up to my therapy machine or an IV pole and I can't move)
- He is hypoglycemia Alert trained (my blood sugar drops at random times)
- When swimming, if I'm in a coughing fit he can pull me to a safe place (we discovered this one summer- this was not a specifically trained task, he just picked it up one day :)
- Going to get help if I need someone
- He alerts me to sounds like someone at the door when I'm hooked up to my therapy machines and I'm not able to hear
