Thursday, July 9, 2009

Summer days with Mia...


Mia is growing up and learning new things very fast. She still has a bit of mischief in her as you can see by these photos. They will make you smile. Really they are the exception, and most of the time she is just great. We are practicing more while sitting in a wheelchair, and both George and Bonnie are getting better at wheeling around the cul de sac. More than one neighbor has asked what happened to one of us when they see us in the wheelchair.

Mia is learning to hold and pull on a strap that attaches to the doorknob or handle. She has learned that very quickly. She is retrieving objects by name, when given two to choose from. We add one object per week and so far she has learned: remote, phone, glasses, keys an
d cellphone. This week she went to Target for the first time and did a great job both with and without a cart. She waited at the checkout and when I was looking at items. Afterward we walked to Wendy's and just practiced "under" the table, and "leave it" when she wanted to lick the floor.

Last week we had an woman with a physical disability tell us what it is like for her to have a service dog. We were able to ask a lot of questions, and since it is our first time doing this it was really helpful to get a picture of the goal for Mia. All this great summer weather is perfect for dog walks, so we enjoy every day and hope you do, too!