Don’t be scared, guys!
Next week I will be headed to the midwest part of the US to be partnered with my new medical response assistance dog. I have been waiting on a list for about a year and a half now for a dog trained to help me, and it’s going to be very interesting! The dog was trained both by foster families and inmates at a prison for a service dog program and will be with me almost constantly. I have been experiencing many emotions from super excited to extremely nervous and those feelings have gotten more intense the closer I get to my “Team Training” trip. Not only do I not know anything about my new dog partner (not even gender or breed! Any guesses?), but I have also never traveled to this part of the world and so it is really going to be an adventure for me!
I’ll be updating my twitter with pictures and experiences throughout the week. There won’t be a comic next week since I’ll be away from my work station, but I’ve already got several pages in progress so that I don’t become stuck when I get back home.
Enjoy the page!
You can do it Bali! Be brave! Unless you’re doing something stupid, in which case…well, it’s probably too late.
Good luck on your adventure! I hope you get a cool dog! But maybe not a gigantic one. XD
Bali…is always doing something stupid!
Wow, good luck with the dog!
Oh dear, Bali, what situation will you stumble next into ?
Fingers crossed for the trip and the dog – here in Germany they usually use Retrievers / Labradors / German Shepherds for this type of work, and female dogs, as they are believed to be less territorial and aggressive. Looking forward to seeing your news
Labs and golden retrievers are the most common here as well, and the program I’m going through breeds these dogs. They’ll often get shepherds as donations as well.
That’s really interesting about female dogs! I’ve never heard of that!
I’m not worried about Bali. He’s got his bell —
what could gowhoops, sorry. Almost jinxed him, there.I hope things go well with the dog.
wow congrats! i just got a service dog too, i hope your new partner helps you and that you make an amazing team
You say on your about page that you already have a dog, do they let you have an assistance dog as well as a pet dog? I was told that here in the UK you can’t, as it can distract the assistance dog from its duty… Depends what you need it for I suppose
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Anyway, loving this comic so far, keep it up!
Here in the US it depends on which dog school you choose, or whether you decide to train your own dog, which is also acceptable. Some programs say you have to only have one pet, while others will train their dogs to work around other pet distractions.
Doesn’t matter the breed, these dogs are trained to be relaxed, obedient, reliable, unflappable. Expect the dog to fit in well with Your routine after about a week and a half, or two weeks, but undergo a ‘relaxing’ of attention to stuff outside the home after three months, and yet again after one year. The will be minute changes in offering MORE of her/himself to you as you get to ‘know’ each other,slash, ‘read’ each other. And expect that it will be Your dog in four weeks, but then suddenly feel… MORE of,… Something,… not describable, at twelve months. Perhaps it feels more like the dog is Less of a Dog and More of a Family Member after a year. It is both a subtle and a dramatic shift, then. Believe me, it will make you cry, how much these dogs perceive about you. You have never felt so loved so unconditionally, by anyone, ever. Not even by Mom.
Wow, I found your comic from the comic bracket and it’s gorgeous!
Thank you! I’m glad you like it
Annie, is there something wrong? Since you told you were going to fetch your dog, we haven’t had any news from you…
I’m fine, I’m working on comics as much as I can, I’m just having trouble lately finding time to work on them as we are crunching at the office right now (which means 11 hour days) and I am also moving to a new place and am a rather displaced..AND I also wasn’t prepared for how exhausted I would be working with a new dog partner. I’m told it’s normal, it’s just super tiring. Things should settle down real soon. I am about 70% done with the next page.
BEAUTIFUL WORK!