Today we worked on more obedience and went over many possible scenarios that might play out when we get home, like meeting other dogs (neighbor’s or friend’s). Then, Jeremy the trainer put the fear of God in us about a condition called  gastric torsion, which can happen if a dog gulps down its food too fast and then runs around playing wildly after a meal. What happens is the food sits like a huge heavy lump in the dog’s stomach, and then when they get running around, the stomach can flip, twisting the tubes where the esophagus and the small intestine connect to it, creating gas build up and bloat. Jeremy lost a beloved German Shepherd to the condition and his main reason in scaring us half to death was to drive home the point, “Listen to your intuition if you think something is wrong with your dog.” His vet blew off his concerns.

Hmm….a doctor blowing off a “parent’s” concerns. Sounds vaguely familiar.

Listen to your Inner Guidance. Got it. Absolutely. Will do.

Tomorrow is the big test. If Jingle passes she is officially our service dog and we can take her home! She’ll be at the mall with Todd, (since between the two of us she loves him best) demonstrating all the commands. She’ll be walking through crowded stores, dealing with strangers, navigating the food court, sitting under a table, heeling, sitting, staying down. She’ll be doing the elevator again I’m sure (please don’t pee Jingle or you won’t pass)! Todd has to demonstrate he can handle her well.

Here we have a pic of Jingle sleeping during training, one paw on Todd.

He calls her Jingle-ingle-ling, with a swaggery southern drawl like that song, “I gotta little change in my pocket going jingle-ingle-ling.”  That’s not going to get old.  Did I mention he’s not southern?

Yes, she loves HT, but she knows who her girl is. Any time Riley comes near her the tail goes wild, and today at training Riley crossed the room on her way to the bathroom and Jingle never took her eyes off of her. She watched the bathroom door until Riley came out and watched her again as she walked all the way back to the play area.

So, if all goes well, tomorrow we head home… and Jingle meets the cats. Insert scary music.

Pray for us.