July 19

Bienvenue!! :) Sorry I missed yesterday! The kids had a somewhat normal day, working in St. Hyacinthe. They did receive a visit from Bob Baillie, founder of Mira USA, so I know they were happy to share some of their experiences with him. Bob also brought his daughter, Tracy. Tracy is a professional photographer and they had a photo shoot with the kids. Naturally, Ryan was wearing his orange Clemson baseball cap with a red Penn shirt at the time, but that's OK! Leave it to a mother to notice that!
This morning, the parents were permitted to go into St Hyacinthe and follow our children as they walked a route. Eric explained to us that it was very important that the kids not know we were there for fear that they would be distrtacted or nervous by our presence. We followed from a distance and were very quiet.One of the perks of having a blind kid is that they are pretty easy to spy on, as long as you stay down-wind; they do have a rather keen sense of smell!
The kids are divided into two groups; one half of the group waited at a corner coffee shop, while the other half walked a route independently through the town, followed by one of the trainers and sneaky parent. Ryan's route lasted about 45 minutes and my stomach was in my throat for most of that time! Ryan and dog did beautifully and made it back to the coffee shop fully in-tact and with a huge smile on his face. These accomplishments are HUGE for their confidence in themselves as well as their dog and facilitate the bonding process with their dogs. And as for what it does to their parents to see it, words cannot explain....
The kids finshed their routes just before noon, so they piled back into the vans and headed back to campus for lunch.
Tomorrow the kids will go back into St. Hyacinthe and they will not be stalked by their parents. :) Instead, Bob is taking us into Montreal to do some sight seeing! I will post some pictures.Here are some pictures from today:

Unloading from the van.

Waiting their turn in the coffee house. Look at Ryan's dog! He watches me all the time!

Eric and trainers Giles, Karen and Elan getting ready to go.

Stephanie completing her route. Look at the smile!

Sammie waiting to cross.

Michael crossing as Karen watches.

Ryan getting ready to start his route.

Giles, warning Ryan's dog about sniffing!

Ryan and Elan sharing a laugh about something. He loves her!

And he's off!

"Hmmmm, I think I smell my mom....."

Treats for a job well done.

Karen and Meredith after her route.

All done and waiting on the others.

Meredith and her dog waiting in one of the vans.