Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Monday, June 13, 2011

20 days to go!

We are rapidly preparing for Montreal! June is passing in the blink of an eye and we are making our list, checking it twice and I (Keisha) am trying not to panic from the idea of being gone for so long!! There have been a few common questions that friends have asked in regard to our new family member that I thought I would address:
 "What kind of dog will it be?" Ryan's dog is a lab and Burnese mountain dog mix. They refer to it as a "Labernese".
"How old is the dog?" The dogs are three years old and can be either male or female. The females are usually smarter, however. (Just kidding...I just made that up!)
"Why Montreal?" The organization that is providing Ryan with the dog is Mira. Mira is the only organization in the world that provides guide dogs to children younger than 16 and they are located outside of Montreal. They have, in the last three years, started the organization in the U.S. in Pinehurst, NC but they do not yet have a training facility there.
"How long will Ryan have the dog?" We hope Ryan will have this dog during high school and in to college. The working life of a guide dog is 8-10 years.

Please post any questions you have concerning Ryan or this dog. We are incredibly proud of Ryan and this very special dog that will bring so much to his life! 

Sunday, June 5, 2011

1st Post

Welcome to our blog! The purpose of this blog is to update our friends and family as Ryan and Keisha head to Montreal to get our newest family member; Ryan's guide dog!! We are thrilled to be selected for this experience and we look forward to the opportunites this dog will bring to Ryan. We will update regularly as we approach our July 2nd departure!