First Post

I have decided to start a blog about our experience of training a service dog.

I became aware a few weeks ago of a Kentucky organization that needed puppy raisers for future services dogs. It is called Blessings Unleashed Foundation (BUF). You can learn more at http://www.blessingsunleashed.org/. The goal is that these dogs will one day be a companion for a child with Autism. We will train intensively with her and bring her where ever we go once she earns her service dog vest.

After talking with Todd, I contacted the director, Dana, for BUF and was surprised at how fast I was able to get a puppy. Within a week and a half Dana was driving to our house with our new 14 week old yellow lab puppy. Her name was originally Lexie but since we already had a dog named Lexus, we had to change her name. She is now named Kaiya (pronounced Ky-ya). We will have Kaiya in our home for the next 12-18 months.

After only being at our house for a little while, we had a Sunday school picnic to go to. We decided to bring Kaiya to meet everyone. She was a hit! All the kids loved her and they played all evening. She was so tired by the end of the night.

Kaiya is a great puppy and a fast learner. She gets along great with our dog Lexus.

I have already fallen in love with her and I know it will be very hard to say goodbye to her one day, but I am so happy to be in this part of her life. She is going to be with a great child someday who really needs her.