The Dog Days of Summer

Meet Lucia... the newest member of the Wyatt Family!

(They pronounce it LOO-Sha after the island, but Spencer is calling her Lucy)

I always wondered what the "Dog Days of Summer" really meant. I knew they were associated with the time period during the summer when the weather becomes unbearably hot. I actually looked it up tonight to see what the exact meaning is. Click here if you are interested.


I have decided to rename the next two weeks our "Dog Days of Summer." Not because of the ancient meaning of the term, but because of a newer connotation...being "dog tired" on hot and humid days. I have to tell you that these last three days of dog camp have me and Spencer "dog tired."


I don't think I realized how much work it would be to learn how to live with a service dog. Work that I know will be absolutely worth it, but hard work none the less. It's not like having a pet. It's more like adding another child to your family.Today was the last day we will drive back and forth from the camp. Starting tomorrow morning, we will be there non stop with the dog 24/7 until July 25 when we graduate. Then she will come home with us.


Today we took two quizzes on the information we have learned so far and worked on commands. The dogs already know approximately 90 commands. Now, Spencer and I have to learn the commands and how to get the dog to obey us. She has to learn our voices and intonations.


Spencer did a great job today. He and Lucia are already bonding. This morning when camp started, she sort of got anxious in her kennel when we came in. Greg was with Spencer and she (Lucia) had not met Greg before. The director wanted to see why she was so anxious and let her out of the kennel to see what she would do. When released, she came straight to Spencer (out of a room of about 35 people) and acted as though she wanted to protect him from Greg. Until we let her know that Greg was a person who was "OK" to be with Spencer, she wanted to protect him. Spencer is "her person" and no one else's. It was pretty amazing to watch.
We rotate between lectures and practice sessions with the dogs. Starting tomorrow we will begin "field trips" where we take the dogs to places like Wal-Mart, the movies and restaurants. It ought to be fun, but a little stressful until we get used to it.


I appreciate all the prayers and encouragement that many of you have sent through emails and comments. It means a lot to us and we still need them, so keep em coming. I will post a few more pictures through out the week, but I probably won't have much time to post until TSMS this Saturday.

Hope you are all having a blessed week.
Amy