Why the Long Face?

Written by Michelle O'Neil on November 11th, 2009

Seriously. It’s long.

Do you see the cute little pink area just above her nose? I love that part. Riley loves her black mustache.

What about the hair behind her ears. It looks like she’s had a ”body wave,” in that section. Remember body waves? I can’t believe I ever permed my hair. Thought it was a necessity. Oh 80’s. I sure don’t miss you.

Jingle has been kicking butt in the “don’t chase squirrels” game. When we first got her, she would tug on the leash to try to go after a squirrel. Now, she sees a squirrel, and she looks up at me (or Todd) for a treat. She wants the squirrel. You can feel the tension in her body through the leash. She is a bit overzealous taking the treat, but she is trying so hard to be good, and not chase the squirrel, even though she would soooo love to. And the squirrels are nervy little creatures. They mess with her on purpose, sticking their squirrel tongues out at her, shaking their little squirrel hips. Go hibernate already squirrels.

But St. Jingle refrains. She is a quick study. Such a smart girl.

The head of special ed for the district wants to come to our house one day soon to see Jingle and Riley in action. The Riley/Jingle team is not ready for school yet, but we are getting the ball rolling. There are a lot of details to be hammered out and there has been some resistance among certain staff, but this is the first service dog the school has had to deal with. Some people find new things difficult. Some people are afraid of dogs. Some are allergic. We have to do our best to put policies in place to make everyone as comfortable as possible, particularly other students who may be fearful. I spent last week making myself sick with worry over it all, but I’ve worked very hard and have reached a state of peace around it. If Jingle is meant to be in school with Riley, it will happen. Everything about this dog has been so easy. It all fell into place. There was no  pressure. There was no pushing. I have to allow the energy that brought us the dog to work its magic. I’ve let go of my white knuckle grip. Worst case scenario, Jingle doesn’t go to school, and we have her at home to help with homework, cello practice, and your everyday run of the mill meltdowns. Riley still benefits.  

In the meantime, Riley and Jingle continue to bond. cello practice

Jingle cried her eyes out at martial arts the other night when Riley and Seth left the room to get a drink.

She sleeps on Riley’s bed.

She wags her tail furiously when Riley comes out of the building at the end of the school day. 

She hangs with Riley in her room while she reads her books.

It is going very well.

 

5 Comments so far ↓

  1. Jerri says:

    I TOTALLY love that she hangs close while Riley practices the cello.

    I see Jingle going all the way to school. Some day. Some way. Some where.

    It will happen when and if the time is right.

  2. Lolly says:

    There is letting things happen in their own time, and then there is active participation in making sure that what Riley needs happens.

    Active participation doesn’t mean that it isn’t spirit lead.

    In fact, active participation is what the spirit asks of us in this life.

    There are ways to work out situations with people who have allergies, ways to work out people who are unsure about having a service dog in school, (lots of folks have come before you,) and ways to work with Principals.

    You’re a great communicator! Don’t under esitmate yourself!

    And–get help from Gingle’s school. You aren’t the first to experience these challenges.

    The law is on your side.

    Full Soul Ahead!

  3. Good Jingle, she looks so big next to Riley and the cello.. How amazing. You are so blessed your girl can do so much.

  4. Carrie Link says:

    I was wondering about that school piece, I cannot imagine our school being okay with it for all the reasons you listed (and of course I’m making those “reasons” “excuses”). I know it will work out perfectly to Plan!

  5. fullsoul says:

    Carrie,your school is privately funded, so they might be able to keep the dog out.

    Riley’s school is public,and Jingle is protected under federal law. If a child had a phobia of wheel chairs, they wouldn’t ban wheel chairs from being in school. They’d have to figure it out. It’s not a peanut free school, and there are kids with peanut allergies attending. They’ve figured it out.

    It’s just a new thing. As the commenter above said, the law is on our side, but I don’t know that a legal battle is in Riley’s best interest. The dog draws enough attention as it is. Throw on top of that MORE attention and it might defeat the purpose. Plus, we love the school. We’ll see how it all plays out. We have faith in the progressive staff there, and we have lots of community support.