The "Dream Team" Starring Evan and Vida

By Allison Heber   

When Evan and Vida were matched up last November, it was a dream come true! Sending her back to Grants Pass in January for advanced training was hard for Evan (and the rest of our family too). During the six or so weeks that Vida spent back at Canine Angels, we gained a whole new appreciation for the impact she had on daily life in our household.  

Without Vida, Evan went back to his old pattern of 2-3 hours of sleep. Evan deeply missed her calming presence and having Vida there to curl up with him on challenging days and regressed back to an old pattern of wanting to be at home (not wanting to go places) most of the time.

Reuniting with Vida at the March Team Training was a much anticipated event. Evan had been counting the days, hours, and minutes. 

Over the weeks that Vida was away for training, Evan's anxiety level increased and the consequences of his lack of sleep really started to show. Team training is challenging to begin with (there is so much to learn!). Training with a physically and emotionally exhausted kid was, at times, downright frustrating! Sandy and Sheila were sooooo amazingly supportive, patient, kind, and appropriately firm with Evan. Evan worked hard. Vida worked hard. Sandy and Sheila worked REALLY hard... and we left Grants Pass as an Assisted Service Dog Team!

Back at home, I was quickly reminded of the amazing role Vida plays in Evan's life. She went right back to sleeping under the covers with him, and he went back to sleeping 6-8 hours per night! Now, not only did he have the responsibility of walking Vida every day to get him to venture out, but as an Assisted Service Team we had public access and a new goal of introducing Vida to as many new places as possible.

At the beginning of April, Evan did something very brave and new (for him). I had a meeting in downtown Redmond and Evan wanted to go to the library. We printed out a map of Redmond and after the three of us visited the library together, I left Evan and Vida at the library and went to my meeting at Starbucks. When they were done at the library, Evan took the map and walked with Vida to meet me at Starbucks. Vida did her job perfectly, curling up under the table while Evan enjoyed his steamed milk and worked on homework and I finished my meeting. It's probably one of the most independent things he has EVER done. Oh, and it was drizzling lightly which would normally really bother Evan and deter him from wanting to be outside, but he didn't even mention the rain! A real live example of the Canine Angels "Helping Kids Achieve Independence" motto!

A local group of 23 people and 6 dogs recently visited the Aquarium of the Pacific's 9th annual Festival of Human Abilities in Long Beach, CA. The event included art demonstrations, wheelchair dancing, live music, signing choirs, storytelling, accessible SCUBA diving demonstrations, and other performances featuring the creative talents of people who have disabilities.  

In attendance were current and future graduates, puppy raisers, staff and board members, and family members, along with 6 dogs. Everyone had a great experience and we will surely be back next year!

The "Day for the Dogs" Event at the Bear Hotel in Grants Pass was a huge success! Attendance exceeded our expectations, with 460 people and 316 dogs, an amazing turn-out for a first time event!

The photo opportunity was a crowd favorite. Check out our Canine Angels Ambassador Dogs, Skylar (pictures #167, 557, 470-472) and Snoopy, (pictures #88-98 and #381-399). You can see all of the portrait pictures from a link on our website at www.canine-angels.org or you can go directly to: http://pix.kg/g/G713905055215:836358365215/scl.

There were other activities including "Ask the Trainer", "Ask the Vet", a doggie fortune teller, and getting a caricature sketch of you and your dog. There were unusual dog-related gift items featured in the dog mall and artwork in the museum room.

CAST did brief presentations and live demonstrations throughout the day to inform people of our mission. Many attendees were grateful and surprised to learn about such a wonderful non-profit organization based in Grants Pass.

Volunteers from multiple Grants Pass organizations lent a hand. Special thanks go to the local 4H club for doing the "Dog Doody Patrol", and the Rogue Valley Kennel Club for "Doggie Crowd Control" (there were no incidents reported all day).

You can see the unique Bear Hotel collection (it houses large Bear sculptures & other artwork that is placed downtown in the spring, plus much more) and a few of the activities in the candid shots we collected. They are available for viewing at: http://pix.kg/p/998185465215%3A306568392/scl.

Thank You,

Cindy Colman

Windermere/Grants Pass Broker

Canine Angels Board Chair 

From a letter Cindy Colman wrote to volunteers and supporters of "The Day for Dogs" event at the Bear Hotel.