We had a quick but fun trip to Wilmington this weekend. Jack was "master of ceremonies" for the start of the race and did a great job saying "ready...set...go!". There was a great turnout and hopefully a lot of money raised for the paws4people organization.
One humorous note...awareness of the existence and purpose of service dogs continues to be a challenge for all of us. We stopped at a McDonalds (where else?) in Wadesboro in Anson County on the way Saturday. Lisa said when she walked in with CAYLIE, someone asked her "Is that thar one of them seein' eye dawgs?". We just have to keep plugging away folks. Right?
We were very blessed to get to spend some time with Susan and Dan Ivancevich. We were so excited to finally meet Amanda and ELLIE. ELLIE was one of the first service dogs provided by the paws4people organization. Susan wanted to see the type of harness that CAYLIE uses with Jack. Amanda practiced walking around with CAYLIE which was pretty awesome. Amanda is doing amazingly well.
It was so helpful for us to spend time talking with Susan about their experiences as Amanda had the same surgery Jack is about to have. Although they have completely different diagnoses, it is helpful to talk to someone who had to go through what you are about to have to go through.
Susan invited us to visit their horses before heading home and Jack got to do some riding and see some of the animals. See the pictures below.
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Spent a little time at the beach Saturday afternoon. It was so windy that Jack couldn't tolerate it but it was nice to see the ocean again.
Katelyn, CAYLIE, Jack, Kyria and WYATT
Jack and Amanda meet for the first time
CAYLIE putting on her best pose
Jack announces the start of the 5K race
Jack, CAYLIE and Kyria
Amanda practices with CAYLIE and her harness
Amanda doing very well standing with CAYLIE's help
Jack and Katie each hold one of the newborn goats
Jack loved getting to ride!
