A Chai Latte with Skim, Please!

Wearing my PSDiT vest (In Training patches + tags not pictured; In Training bandana coming soon)

I have some very exciting news!  Today I made my debut in public while wearing my PSDiT vest!  Mom had an appointment to go to this morning, and since I had been given permission to come along, she strapped on my vest and took me with her.

We stopped for breakfast at Starbucks, which was very busy and very overwhelming for a pup who had never been to a place like that before.  But I’m so proud of myself: instead of crouching on the floor and not creeping along (like I normally do when I’m fearful of a new situation), I trotted in right by Mom’s side.  I had to wait in a long line for Mom to order her food, but the waiting was easier than I expected—I just stood right next to Mom and looked up at her every so often to make sure she was doing okay.  As we maneuvered through the store to find a table, I stayed right by Mom’s side and didn’t even mind walking beside her through narrow passages.  Most of the time, I have some difficulty refraining from greeting everyone I see—I love people!—but this morning, I didn’t even glance at all the people in the store because I could sense that I needed to stay focused on Mom.  I'm already beginning to learn the difference in behavior between "on duty" and "playtime," and it's only the first day!

Waiting patiently in line at Starbucks!

After Starbucks, we went to Mom’s appointment, where I was a really good girl but in a slightly different way.  Because Mom was going to be sitting for an hour, I needed to lie at her feet, which might have been difficult since I had only had a fifteen minute walk beforehand—as a Border Collie mix, I usually need a little more exercise than that in the morning to settle down!  However, it was such a soothing environment and I was so “in the zone” from Starbucks that I settled down right by her feet and didn’t move (except to shift positions slightly) for the entire hour.  I even made sure to keep part of myself touching Mom to help with her anxiety—she didn’t even have to train me to do that.

After today, I really feel like I can handle being a Service Dog.  I know I will probably make some mistakes along the way—especially because of my past as a rescue—but I think I’ve shown over the past few days that I am capable of being trained and of handling the situations that will come up in my work as a Service Dog.  I still have a long road ahead of me—two tests, 120+ hours/6 months of training, and deepening my connexion with Mom—but I feel like I can do this, one step and one command at a time. 

Thanks to everyone who shared in my success today!  It’s amazing to have so many people rooting for me to succeed in this.

All my love and puppy kisses,

Kelsie Iris