Liam is Going Away – Off to College

Liam is Heading to College

Liam’s last day in class with be this Tuesday (Nov 1, 2016) as he heads up to NY on Nov 3  for “college”, i.e. service dog advanced training…

After completing his weekly tour of yoga classes this week, here we find Liam engaged in a little “R & R” as he gears up to go to college next week. As you can see, he is soaking up the sunshine with his favorite companion – Luna. The two are inseparable and spend their days playing, lying around, and discussing the finer aspects of 4-legged life. (Read below about Liam’s upcoming adventures.)

Tina will be driving Liam to Canine Companions (Long Island, NY) where he will stay for around six months. There Liam will engage in an intensive training program – along with an incoming class of dogs – to become a full-fledged service dog. They all begin together and actually on day 1 Liam will be reunited with his brother Lincoln. (No, they will probably not recognize each other.) All the dogs begin the program at the same time – they will train, study, play, and live together. Ultimately, approximately 40% will successfully pass the program and gain placement with a person in need. We have full confidence Liam will join the ranks. If any dog does not pass, then the person who raised the dog gets the first option to have the dog back. Beyond that, many other prospective owners are keen to have these “failed” dogs as they are absolutely ideal pets.

Those who have been around know well that Tina did an incredible job readying Liam for the next step of the journey. From the outset, this was a vision and service that Tina wished to actualize. She got Liam, and once old enough, at around 5 months, Liam came to his first yoga class. That was last October. Then at 8 months or so, Liam began coming on a regular basis – and he quickly progressed. At the beginning, he was on a short leash tied to a table in the back, but pretty quickly – perhaps after a few weeks or so – he was able to come and remain untethered. We never really had any issues at all – only joys. Liam’s a fast learner and he quickly understood he was to remain on his bed etc, until the class was over in which case he was free to go visit with everyone, play ball or frisbee, and mosey around.

But not only that, he interacted with so many children – from toddlers to elementary schoolers etc, and he had an intuitive knack for how to handle each one – or the entire group in some cases! Of note is that at one point 2 different 3-year-olds were meeting Liam at yoga. One of them had a dog at home and one did not. From the outset, Liam interacted completely differently (and appropriately) with each child. Indeed there are many tales to tell, such as the time Liam and Luna both came to yoga. The last several months Liam has been attending 3 classes a week. He has it down to a science. If his future has him attending yoga classes, he will be in his element.

So now this stage of Liam’s development is over – he is 18 months old and ready for bigger things. While we will all certainly miss him, it seems no one will miss him as much as Luna will. So off he goes, and we all wish Liam well, knowing he will impact someone’s life in a positive and beautiful way…

Note: For those interested in perhaps raising a service dog, just write in and we will put you in touch with Tina for more info.