A while back we lost our alpha male dog at the tender age of 22. Jean Luc was a Service Dog who specialized in helping first responders deal with the tensions and issues that come to those who deal with disaster. He had a special skill in recognizing people who were trying to deal with stress and not having a very easy time of it. He would walk up to an individual and tell them that they needed to give him a hug and tell him what was bothering them and they would always pick him up and talk with him until they felt able to once more to go back out to the field with renewed confidence in their ability to help others.
After losing our friend we have been looking for a replacement service animal knowing full well that whoever tried to fill Jean Luc's paws had a serious goal in mind. We searched a lot of sources, looked at and rejected a number of candidates for a lot of reasons and within a week's period found two dogs that might become the support service dog we have in mind.
JL was a mixed Papillon and Long Hair Chihuahua so we were looking for someone in that breed range. What we found was a pure Papillon who is active, intelligent, eager to learn and protective of his selected handler (who just happens to be My Lady). A few days later we were selected by a Heinz 27 cog who is mostly Long Hair Chihuahua with something else that has resulted in a young lady who is eager, thoughtful, empathetic and eager to be your special friend.
It's early times so we don't know how they are going to turn out, but we have high hopes and grand goals. Between these two dogs and a slightly older dog who currently allows us to feed and honor her we hope to to gain a service support dog who will be available to work with first responders at disasters and (if the training takes) a cadaver dog we can use in support of law enforcement and for search and rescue.
Stayed tuned for I think we are in for interesting times and fascinating stories as we try to create special additions to our family.
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