Farewell

It’s been awhile. I know.

Pixar has really adjusted to being an important part of our family. We love her. (I think the feeling is mutual. )

Pixar is slowly breaking out of her nervous shell as she continues to attend “Doggie School” once a week. She and Christian have come a LONG way working together. They depend on each other. It is a beautiful thing to behold. My heart smiles just thinking about it.

I think that my time here, though, is finished. We have come full-circle. Pixar is here. Our journey to get her is complete, as we continue on our journey with her.

Thanks for all of your support along the way. Our family is forever grateful.

In Her Vest

Pixar is ready to go!

Pixar is now sporting her autism service dog patch on her vest and a new puzzle piece collar. She’s stylin’ even if she doesn’t like to pose for pictures.

October

Pixar has survived going to our local family doctor, three family birthday parties, a short visit to Christian’s school, and a trip to the dentist with Christian so far this month. Things are going well. Christian and Pixar are definitely bonding. (In the middle of Christian’s teeth cleaning (which he was NOT happy about), Christian was trying to look around to make sure that Pixar was OK. So sweet!!!)

Here are some more pictures of Pixar enjoying her time here…

Checking out Christian's catch (i.e. licking the fish)

 

The two "divas"

 

Pure puppy pose

 

Pretty girl with her new favorite outside toy

 

Pixar is HERE!!!

This post is LONG overdue. Pixar has been living with us since September 26th. We were super busy during that last week of September finishing Pixar’s public access training. It was quite the week, but on the 30th Pixar passed her public access test! She is certified! (Training complete, except for the continual training that we do with her at home on a daily basis.)

Christian and Pixar are finally building a bond. I don’t think that was going to happen until Pixar lived with us full-time, but now we can see that bond grow and blossom in different ways every day. It is fantastically heart-warming!

There has been too much going on around here to describe with words, so I thought that I’d let our pictures do the talking. Enjoy…

Snuggling on the couch with Pixar on her first night living with us.

 

Christian learning how to hold Pixar's leash during a walk at the mall for training week.

 

Pixar watching over a sleeping Christian.

 

Pixar "tucking Christian in" for the night. (She doesn't actually sleep with Christian, but loves to jump up on his bed when we pray.)

 

Pixar and Liv love each other, too.

 

Playing in the backyard.

 

Pixar LOVES to play with "Mr. Carrot". (Think Disney's Bolt Movie

 

Pixar LOVES to have her belly scratched.

 

Christian and Pixar watching TV. (Probably "Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman")

 

Christian gives Pixar some lovin'.

 

“Pixar is Coming!”

“Pixar is coming!” A phrase echoed through our home countless times a day. (Now followed by “…on Wednesday.”)

Christian LOVES his weekly visits from Pixar. He doesn’t spend much time next to her (yet), but seems calmed by the fact that she is in the house.

Last week Wednesday, Pixar came nice and early. Early enough that she had to help us take Olivia to school. I was super excited to have an out-of-house adventure with Pixar, yet nervous about how I was going to manage hanging into Christian with one hand, Pixar’s leash in the other, make sure that Liv had everything that she needed for the day (as she was also the “snack helper”), and stay calm simultaneously.

Before Pixar showed up, I said a few extra prayers for wisdom and patience. And as I opened the front door to accept Pixar from B, a quiet confidence swept for me.

Pixar rode so nicely in the car on the floor of the passenger side. She walked nicely on the leash in the parking lot, down the hallways, and into Liv’s classroom. Christian held my hand the whole time without a single escape attempt. (That right there is HUGE!!!) Liv was so helpful and opened all of the doors for us. Pixar laid down by my feet while I reminded Liv to change her shoes and put her folder away. Major success! (for EVERYone involved.)

As we loaded up the car at school, Christian requested that Pixar be in the back with him. Awesome. She rode so nicely. Hooray!

On our way home, we stopped by the farm. Christian happily showed off Pixar to Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle T, and cousin JJ. Pixar wasn’t so sure about the large cows and loud farm machinery, but she was interested in the calves and cats. (However the cats weren’t too sure about her.)

When we got home, Christian took an iPad break while I took Pixar out back. She did her business and then explored. I joined her after a couple of minutes and she ran with me the length of the yard a few times. She went back to sniffing as I stopped to check out my flower garden, but as soon as I called her over, she came. The trust is coming along! Yay!

So, Pixar is indeed coming again tomorrow. We will take her to school again to drop off Liv. I have plans to stop by a coffeehouse on the way home and see a former therapist of Christian’s who manages there(and see how Christian and Pixar do together). And maybe stop by the farm again, before we head home for the morning. I would also like to see if I can get Christian to run with me and Pixar in the backyard. He loves her bunches, but doesn’t seem to know how to show that to her yet.

We also have some “bling” to give her…

A Visit On Her Own

Last Wednesday Pixar had her very first visit to our house without her trainer.  We were SO excited to have that opportunity with her. To work on building trust.

Pixar sniffed around a bit. Then decided to hang out in Christian’s room. Out of all of the places in the house, I was glad that she chose Christian’s room as her “safe” place.

Liv and I took her outside for awhile to explore the backyard. She seemed to enjoy all of the free space to run…

After fun in the backyard, Pixar retreated right back to Christian’s room. Since we hope that she will be willing to sleep on Christian’s bed with him, I helped her up.

Pixar decided life was pretty good up there and didn’t want to get back down.

We can’t wait for her to visit again! Christian’s been asking about her since the day that she left. He loves his dog.

 

Pixar’s Visits – 2 & 3

Pixar had two visits in the last five days.  It is good to see her gaining confidence at our house, and good to see Christian’s confidence grow around her.  When she was here yesterday, she let me take her leash and we went outside by ourselves to explore the backyard (and for her to do her business).  She also transitioned from just wanting to lay in the kitchen, to coming into the living room and on the carpet. (She hadn’t had exposure to carpeting before.)  Eventually, she was invited up to the couch (and after a little bit of prompting for each) sat next ti Christian while he was reading his Fox in Socks book on his iPad. Here’s the great pic…

(They actually started out closer together, but moved when I went to get the camera.)

We are looking forward to many more positive and trust-building visits in the near future.

In the mean time, I’m doing what I can to be prepared by studying up on the art of dog training.  I found some books at the library that are helping me to remember some key points to having a properly trained dog in our care.

Pixar’s First Visit

Pixar came to our house today!   We were all filled with eager anticipation as we waited for our new family member to arrive.

When Pixar arrived, she was extremely nervous — tail between her legs and visibly shaking.  We hoped that she would be a little more relaxed in the backyard.

No such luck.   Pixar was still unsure, but Christian gave her LOTS of love anyway.

Liv was pretty nervous, too, but wanted her picture with Pixar and agreed to pet her once while she was here.

We can’t wait for Pixar to visit with us again.   We hope that she will feel more comfortable each time that she visits.

Pixar’s Visits

Here is some SUPER EXCITING news –

Pixar will be starting to come for weekly visits starting tomorrow! (Can you tell that I am thrilled???)

So, here’s the scoop — Pixar is now permanently in our town.  She will be here until she is placed with us at the end of September.  From now until then, Pixar will be making weekly (at least) visits to our home to get used to our house, our routine, the noises out here, and forging a bond with Christian.  Eventually, Pixar will start spending a day(s) here (without the trainer) and have an overnight (or more) to make sure that we have learned what we need to know and see what else Pixar needs work on yet.

I am fantastically excited!   I think this is exactly the kind of transition process that we need to make this placement successful.

Stay tuned.  I’m hoping to post pictures and continued updates soon.

Favorite Toys

We have found out that Pixar is a pretty easy puppy to please.  She loves durable toys. (Awesome!)  Apparently the original Kong (filled with peanut butter) and a Nylabone are her favorites. :)  Knowing these little snippets about her makes me SO eager to bring her home to us.  (And to nest. )