July 15

Bon Jour! Today was more of the same for Ryan and friends; they spent their morning and afternoon in St. Hyacinthe and as of this moment they are still there. I am looking forward to seeing Ryan and his dog tomorrow and now the count down begins for Mike, Natalie and Jared's arrival!! They will arrive on the 24th and I can not wait!!
A friend of mine left me a message on Facebook that I thought I would address here. She wanted to know why Ryan had to come all the way to Canada to train for his dog when Mira USA is in North Carolina. Great question! While Mira Canada was established 30 years ago, Mira USA was established by Bob Bailey in 2008. Because the foundation is so new, they do not yet have the funding to build the training facilities required to train the students. So we go to where the training is. So, the next logical question would be "Why didn't you just go to one of these other organizations that give people guide dogs"? The answer is what sets Mira apart from these other organizations; Mira is the only organization in the world that provides guide dogs to children younger than 18. Ryan certainly could have have gone to one of the other organizations but he was ready and responsible enough to have one now. Mira USA hopes to start a training facility in Aberdeen, North Carolina within the next 5 years but until the funding is there, the kids will go to Canada. If you haven't already, check out the Mira USA website, http://www.mirausa.org/ . To read about Bob's amazing story and what led him to bring Mira to the U.S., click on "About Mira".
On a completely different note, I have more pictures. Enjoy!

The view from the garden.

A passing train.

The puppy kennel!