Welcome to Ryan and Sky's Blog!

Welcome to our blog. This blog was setup to follow our son's, Ryan, journey to receiving a service dog.



Ryan is 10 years old and has cerebral palsy which makes his leg muscles very tight and difficult to walk. He uses forearm crutches for short distances and an electric wheelchair for longer distances.



Tasks that are easy for a typical child such as opening a door or picking up an item off the floor can be very difficult for Ryan.



We applied for a service dog for Ryan in April 2008. He was partnered with a female black lab named Sky in August of 2011.



Please join us in our journey with Ryan and Sky!



















Wednesday, September 14, 2011

They are getting better every day!

We have been working on a few different cues with Sky.  Ryan "parks" his wheelchair outside of the classroom and then he walks into the classroom with his crutches.  He is not able to carry his backpack with him so he relies on others to do it for him.  We have been working with Sky to drag his backpack.  It's a work in progress, but she will drag it all around our house to him.  We are planning on doing a practice session at school soon.  I have tried to capture a few pictures, but the dark back pack and the black dog do not make for real great photos!  I also can not figure out how to make them look "nice' in the blog, but you get the idea!







This is why I can never find my running shoes!



Snuggling on the couch



She is super at picking things up for Ryan.  Most times as soon as something drops she will pick it up for him before  Ryan gives her a the cue.  Sometimes she gets over zealous and will start picking things up that are scattered all over our floor (usually Mark's socks or shoes!).

The other thing we have been working on is her carrying things to other people.  She will carry a paper to me that Ryan gives her and vice versa.  We hope to eventually incorporate this into the school setting.  We have also used it when Ryan wants something. I will give it to Sky and she takes it to him. 

One of the next things we want to work on is how to have her get his library books up to the check out counter.  We haven't figured out exactly how we are going to do it yet.  We have toyed around with her carrying them in her mouth (she is not real slobbery, but probably not the greatest idea!),putting them in his backpack and having her drag the backpack up to the checkout or even carrying a small tote. 

Ryan is very much looking forward to bringing her to school.  He is getting very impatient.  If all goes well, we hope to have the meeting with the kids in the class next Thursday.  We will slowly bring her in a little bit at a time & increase it as they tolerate it.  He is so much looking forward to it!
 

My Life: Changed

This is Ryan. I have a few words to say: This dog has changed my life. Taking care of and handling a Service Dog is a big responsibility. But, I have to say Sky is a big help!!