July 16

Bon Jour! Today was a fabulous day in St. Madaleine because I was able to spend some time with Ryan!! The kids worked in St. Hyacinthe this morning and after lunch we were "unleashed" to go see the kids! ;) We were warned not to pet the dogs while we were visiting with our children, so while I wanted to wrap my arms around Ryan's dog and give him a big hug, I refrained from doing so.... This was NOT easy!
Ryan, dog and I spent the afternoon walking the campus, sitting on the picnic table in the garden, hanging out in his room and spending time with his friends. They are all very proud of their dogs and they are constantly hugging and petting them. It is very touching to watch. Here are some of the MANY pictures I took today:

Darcie and her dog. I took this one for you, Jamie!

Ryan, Darcie, and Meredith with their dogs.

Meredith and her dog.

Ryan and Michael loving on their dogs.

Finally relaxing after a hard days work!!

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!

July 14

Hello everyone! It was another beautiful day here in St. Madaleine! Ryan and friends worked around campus this morning. I watched them briefly from my patio and I could see that Karen was speaking to them on a walkie talkie as they walked their dogs through grassy areas and around trees and bushes. When I talked with Ryan after lunch he said they were working on correcting their dogs if they stop to sniff. Dogs do like to do that, afterall!
This afternoon, they were back in St. Hyacinthe walking around city blocks. That was pretty much their day.
I get to visit Ryan and his dog on Saturday and Sunday. I am very excited to see Ryan and to PET HIS DOG!! I can't wait!
I thought I would share some pictures of the Mira campus. You might be able to see how clean they keep this place. There are people here working on the grounds constantly.

This is the Eukanuba building. It is where they train the wheelchair bound students.

And one from the front.

The garden area. You can't tell from the picture, but there is a  gravel track that goes around the garden that is about 1/4 mile long. There are some beautiful views from here.

This is one of those views...

And here is another.

Ryan walking with his dog around the kennel. You might notice the track that is running above Ryan's head. To train the dogs to avoid moving objects, they hang dummies and other things from the track and the track moves the objects around the perimeter of the kennel. You can see that the track is not straight; it zig zags and waves. Pretty smart, huh?

That is all for tonight. Au voir!

July 13

Sorry about missing yesterday! As Mike said in yesterday's post, a storm came through and knocked out our power and consequently, our internet was out. It probably was a very easy fix for someone who knows their way around a computer, but that person is NOT me! :)
Ryan and the other students were in St. Hyacinthe when the storm came through so I was concerned that they were soaked to the bone, but when I spoke with Ryan last night he said that they got back into the vans to head back to Mira just in time.
Ryan did mention that his dog was a little sluggish and seemed to be bothered by his hot spot yesterday. After dinner last night, Pierre, the on duty trainer, told Ryan to try to let his dog rest as much as possible so Ryan and dog retired earlier than usual. I spoke with him today after lunch and Ryan said that his dog seemed much better today.
There was an event going on in St Hyacinthe this morning so the kids trained here on campus. I watched them for a short time (and snapped a few pictures) and they seemed to be doing very well with the dogs. This afternoon, they were back in St Hyacinthe.
I asked Ryan last night if he was missing his family at all or if he was just too busy to think alot about home. He said that he was so busy, that he didn't really have time to miss everyone but that he was thinking alot about Beau. Beau is our dog whom Ryan adores. I knew he was feeling guilty about having this new dog and  feeling bad that it is going to change things with Beau. I just told him that Beau is going to know that this dog has a very different role in our family than Beau. He will see that this dog's job is to help Ryan and he will soon learn that we have more than enough love for both of them. Beau's job will continue to be living the life of leisure he always has; chasing squirrels, escaping from the back yard, eating scraps under the table, getting rubs behind the ears and sleeping on our beds when we aren't at home. What more could a dog ask for?
Here are the picture from today. More tomorrow. Au voir!!

July 12

Sorry to disappoint everyone, but this is Mike. A storm came through Saint Madeleine, Quebec today and took away Internet access. Ryan and the other kids worked with their dogs today in town.

Ryan's dog still has a "hot spot" on his neck that Ryan is treating, but it is making his dog a little uncomfortable. Keisha didn't get to see Ryan today as the kids were busy working and bonding. Ryan's dog has a favorite toy (a tug-of-war rope with two knots and frayed ends). We look forward to hearing from Keisha tomorrow!

July 11 picture

This is "Challenger". He belongs to one of the trainers for the wheelchair program and is my newest buddy! I snapped his picture tonight and thought I would share.

July 11

The kids were back at work this morning and happy to do so! They worked with their dogs here at Mira until lunch and then after lunch they took their dogs to St. Hyacinthe, a neighboring city about the size of Aiken. Ryan said his dog did "awesome" and so did the others, although Darcie's dog tried to take her into a bar. :) The kids got a kick out of that. It rained here quite a bit but it apparently just missed the kids and rained pretty hard on their commute back to Mira. Ryan says that he believes they will work there again tomorrow.
Ryan told me that his dog has a "hot spot" on his neck and he has to give him medicine and spray it everyday. He also asked me to buy him some rubbing alcohol because he wants to clean his collar of any bacteria. I think it is wonderful how he has completely taken on the role of this dog's caregiver!! Obviously, this is the way it should be; I am just pleased that my boy has it in him. Not that I ever would have doubted it; it just makes me proud to see it.
One thing I was concerned about with Ryan's stay while he was here, was whether or not he would eat. I know some of the other parents thought about the same thing. Of course, he is used to my cooking and I wasn't so sure the food at Mira would meet his standards (not that my cooking is "all that"!) Well, Jean, Giselle and Danielle feed these kids incredibly well and every time I ask Ryan how lunch or dinner was he replies "awesome!". They have home-made desserts constantly and the chefs are always asking the kids if there is anything they would like. They really take care of these kids! My concern now is whether Ryan will eat when he gets home!!
More tomorrow! Au Voir!!