Getting Maui

We did something that I have been wanting to do for years. It was yet another thing that I figured we wouldn't be able to do until the kids got older. I had a friend who back in January started talking about being a puppy raiser for service dogs.  She actually talked about how great the need was for raisers and so I started looking into it. We still had a 3 month old who wasn't sleeping great and were still in the stage of really trying to adjust to kids, so beyond submitting an initial application, it kind of went on the back burner.  Then around March, when our friend got her placement we began to look into it more.  At that point in time we decided it would make more sense for Peter to apply to be the primary puppy raiser and I would help out as I could since my plate is more full with the kids needs.

So Peter went through all the orientation and training classes and then we awaited our placement!  We knew he would be traveling at the end of June to get our puppy! We knew we would be getting a puppy from the "Hawaii litter" but we anxiously waited for the email to tell us exactly who would be coming to live with us for the next 10 months! Finally it arrived and we discovered that a little girl named Maui would be joining the family! 

So off Peter traveled to Colorado to do a final training session and bring her home! It was a whirlwind trip and quite the journey.  She is 4 months old and while she was bred for this and has been through all of her initial training, our job is to socialize her and help her grow through her puppy phase!  The socialization started right away as Peter had to put her right in the car, on a little train, and through the airport and airplane and then home to our big ole family waiting for her! It was quite the journey and overwhelming for both Peter and Maui as they had just met and were getting to know each other. 

Fortunately the journey is going pretty well so far.  She is settling into the family routines and is doing great with her training. She is still a puppy so that was something we had to adjust to. She still has a lot of playfulness and energy but is way more obedient and well behaved than our foster puppies that we are used to :) 

First introduction, she was ready!

 

Airport journey within hours of meeting!

 

Home! She took to all the kids right away! 

She has been adjusting great and we are happy to host her and work with her for the next 10 months! After she leaves our home, she will enter her formal training for several months! We are so hopeful that she will get to change someone's life someday!