I started to write my blog for today earlier, but had to stop.  Boy am I glad I stopped!  Today was much like the last few days of training- obedience work, tracking and a group discussion with Dr Suzanne the 4 Paws vet.  We had a good day, all us Mowers.  During class today Johnna would come over to us for food or if she needed us for something, like she usually does.  However, for the last week she has really wanted nothing to do with Punky.  This has been hard for me, but I had figured as much from Johnna. She has always done things on her own terms, why should this be any different?  Well today we would ask Johnna to kiss Punky when she would come over and she would.  She would get right down by Punky and give her a kiss.  It was great!  I thought, we are definitely making progress!

After training today, we came back to the hotel and I started to make dinner.  While I was making dinner I grabbed the Kong tennis balls we purchased for Punky.  Punky loved them!  A few times I saw Johnna throwing the ball for Punky or going over to her. 

After dinner, Johnna went over to the table we keep all our gear on and grabbed Punky's harness!  She wanted to go for a walk!  I put Punky's harness on and grabbed Johnna's tethering vest and atteached her to Punky.  Rob grabbed a bag of treats and off they went.  I was so excited about the progress Johnna was making. 

After the walk, as we were getting ready for bath time I heard Johnna was up to something.  I grabbed the video camera and went to investigate.  I could not believe what I saw!!!  Johnna had grabbed Punk's tennis ball and was playing with her!!  She was petting Punky, laying on her, letting Punky kiss her- it was amazing! :)  We were able to get some good footage of it and thought I'd share!  We still have a ways to go, but Johnna is "feeling" this more!

Better get that video uploaded and hit the hay, another day of training awaits us tomorrow! 
 
 
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Last night Rob pulled out the sofa bed for Johnna and Punky and they both slept there for quite some time.  Johnna did come in our room, but Punky followed too.  Their bonding process will be very slow, Johnna does not like anything forced on her, so we'll just keep at it.  It will happen, just may take longer than most.

Today was the 7th day of training and we started the morning off with working on behavior disruption commands.  These commands are Kiss, Nuzzle, Touch, Lap and Over.  Head trainer Jennifer broke out the peanut butter and showed us the command.  Using your pointer finger, you point to where you want the SD to Kiss the child.  We also worked on Lap.  This is where Punky puts her head on our lap.  She was good at that one!  The next command was over.  Over is when the dog lays with at least half of his body on the child for a deep pressure feeling.  This was tricky for me because Punky kept walking over me, but after the third time we got it.  We discussed how we could use these commands to stop or redirect behaviors of our kids that make them stand out so to speak.  Rob and I thought of Johnna's undressing and her self-stimulation right away.  We will work on usingPunky to disrupt Johnna's behaviors as their bond increases.

After the obedience session we headed to the park to track.  Today I took the leash and led the track.  Punky did well for me, I learned I just needed to relax and trust her nose and watch her body language.  When she finally got Johnna's scent she put that nose down and boogied.  At least I was able to keep up! ;)  After my track Rob wanted to give it another go.  We were waiting when he noticed Punky wasn't quite right, it seemed she was "leaking" urine.  So we quickly headed back to the center to see the onsight vet Dr Suzanne.  They took a urine sample from Punky and we loaded up and headed to the mall.

At the mall we practiced indoor tracking on our 6 ft leash.  I lead the first track and Punky went along pretty well through the aisles of JCPenny.  We found Johnna and Rob, it was then Johnna bolted and had a major, shoe throwing tantrum.  We wanted to try a track with Rob leading so I scooped up Johnna and headed throughthe store.  Punky very quickly found us and I praised her.  At that point Johnna was spiraling down quickly.  This has been a long week for her, us too.  We were going to do some moer obedience work in the mall until Dr Suzanne called to tell us Punky did in fact have a UTI.  Poor girl!  Rob took her out to "go potty"  and he couldn't get her to stand back up for over 5 minutes.  She was tired and didn't feel good.  We talked to Jeremy and called it a day- Johnna and Punky were done.

When we got back to the room today, I had Johnna sit with me and had Punky come over.  Johnna kind of pulled her ears, pushed her away, but I told Punky to give "kisses".  Johnna started to laugh and giggle, and even petted Punky a little.  Like I said, it will be a slow bonding process, but it will be worth the wait!

I have some video of Rob working on "kisses".  After being a little unsure of an Autism SD at first, Rob has now been convinced by our own "PUNKY POWER"!  
 
 
 
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Johnna's Autism SD Punky hard at work!
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Punky
Even though today was Sunday we were all still training.  I can't believe the trainers do this every month!  What an amazing group of people here at 4 Paws, everyone is so knowledgable and friendly.  As I was thinking about what I would write tonight, the faces of all the other families here popped into my head.  There are 2 families from California, and 2 from Illinois, 2 from Ohio, one from Florida, one from Alaska, Oregon, Maine, North Carolina and then us from NY.  From all over the country families have traveled to 4 Paws.  I hope I am able to stay in contact with everyone.  I feel like we are all a really big family now.  It's always comforting for me to meet other families in the same boat.  I love all of my friends, but until you have a child with Autism or special needs you just can't fully comprehend was day to day life can be like.  The families here are amazing and I feel priviledged to have gotten to know them and boy do they all have some really great kids!!

I posted early yesterday and did not mention how the night ended.  Johnna showed her true colors yesterday and really melted down at the mall, but Punky was amazing and really helped me keep my cool.  She was great!  After the mall we came back to the hotel and had a little break and decided to try a visit to Petsmart.  Punky was AWESOME!  I was able to practice heeling with a shopping cart and having her change positions to get out of other shoppers way.  Last night there was obedience classes going on, puppy adoptions, you name it it was going on last night.  Punky was so good that Rob took her a cruised the aisles with her.  It was a good ending to a tough day.

This morning we worked on obedience commands again and discussed how to handle the public.  I hope to never be challenged, but I know at some point I will be. After that we practiced petting each other's dogs and the proper way to the people do it.  We wrapped up the morning with the come command and then headed to the park for tracking.

Today Rob ran the track on his own!  I took off with Johnna through a field over a small hill and down a road.  At first Punky couldn't quite get the scent.  She had to track after 7 other families had gone with the trainers. A lot of scents to distract her.  Rob was learning to read Punky's body language and head positions.  When he realized she probably wasn't on Johnna's scent, he had her circle and then she hit it!  Rob said once she hit it she took off!  From afar I could see them and watched as Punky and Rob traveled pretty much step for step where Johnna and I had walked.  It was pretty cool to see.  Once Punky got a visual she really hauled over to us and I whipped out her hotdog treat and began praising her like crazy!!  Rob was so proud, it was his first track without Jeremy and it went well.  We broke for lunch after that and then headed back for a discussion on proper dog toys, care, etc.  When we ended for the day Rob said lets go do a track, so off we headed to a park.  I took Johnna down a road and then took her on a nature trail.  we probably went about 150 yards+.  Rob got Punky psyched up with the "Where's she at? Are you ready? Let's go...Track" chant that Jeremy uses and off they went.  Rob said Punky IMMEDIATELY had Johnna's sent and was off.  There was no mistaking Punky's tracking ability today.  We celebrated as a family and then headed out for some ice cream! 

People will probably look at Punky and think- she's a little girl, how can she handle all that will be thrown at her?  Well I have learned this week that our girl Punky was chosen for Johnna specifically because she is one tough, smart cookie!  She is a dominate dog that can take the challeges of a child with Autism.  All the dogs chosen for this class are simply amazing!  I don't know how they do it at 4 Paws, they are truly amazing!

Well off to bed for this mom, another busy day tomorrow.  Obedience, tracking and more mall work await us tomorrow.  Now I have no excuse not to go shopping!!! ;)
 
 
Today was another busy day!  Rob and I don't know how all the trainers do it!  Although training runs daily from 9:30-4, you are constantly working on things at the hotel, as well as, trying to keep your family unit working!  It seems as if we have already been here for 2 weeks and we have 6 more days of training.  I must say that up until today the girls have been handling all of this very well.  Today we saw our "typical" Johnna- biting, scratching, screaming and tantruming.  Honestly I'm suprised that she has behaved so well for so long- as the saying goes-All good things must come to an end.

We began our day at 4 Paws with obedience work.  We all worked on "come" and how important it is to make the dog associate something really good is waiting for them when they do come to us.  We also worked on getting the dogs to come to a proper heeling position when they are not already right next to us.  Rob had that down pretty well, but I had a little more difficulty getting Punky to obey.  She really wanted to just sack out and rest! 

After the obedience session we heading the the Rotary Park to work on tracking.  Today's track was a little different.  Johnna was walked away with another mom so that Punky was tracking only Johnna's scent today, not the scent of Kristi the trainer.  Punky is ALL business when it comes time to work.  I can't properly put it into words, it's like she flips a switch and is in the zone.  She's simply amazing!  Jeremy got her ready while Rob and I watched.  Then he got her fired up to track.  Every tracking dog gets fired up the same way-  the flexi-leash is attached to their work harness first.  Then Jeremy gets them psyched up to track by saying "Where's she at?  Where's she at? Where's she at?  Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready?  Let's go, Let's go, let's go...TRACK!"  Jeremy said that to us yesterday at the center and at that very moment EVERY DOG'S HEAD SNAPPED UP!  No exaggeration here!  They knew those words and what they meant!  Punky quickly got Johnna's scent and started to boogie after her.  Rob and I follwed behind them, while Tessa filmed it for us.  Punky has a great nose and found Johnna very quickly.  After we celebrated and praised Punky, Rob and I did another track.  Johnna and I hid and within just a few minutes Punky came around the corner!  Rob is so impressed with Punky, with each day that passes he is seeing why I have wanted an Autism SD for so long for Johnna. 

After the park, we went back to the hotel for lunch and to get ready for our first foray to the local mall.   Once we got to the mall the entire class met at the food court.  Quite a sight!  A busy Saturday at the mall and here comes 14 families with children with special needs of some sort with their SD's.  I was nervous, but once Punky and I started walking through the parking lot, I felt her "I'm working" attitude and it made me relax.  Jeremy, the director of training, told us we could tether our kids, so we busted out Johnna's vest and tether strap and hooked her up.  By now Johnna had really had it and put us through it!  I hate being out when she melts, but it gave us the practice we needed.  Johnna pulled on the tether, tried to go the opposite way, stopped completely.  Everything we had discussed yesterday at class, Johnna did it today and we were able to practice.  When Johnna stopped I had Punky pull her ahead to get by my side to heel.  When Johnna really tried to get away, Punky went into a down.  Punky heeled like a champ.  And did an "under" in the very crowded food court.  Rob and I were so impressed!  Punky is one smart and tough girl.  Eventually we had to untether Johnna because she went off the deep end.  This has been a long week for her.  You know it's a bad meltdown when Jeremy and head trainer Jennifer can hear Johnna screaming from across a huge mall.  Jeremy rescued Johnna and I and helped us find where we entered (that's how big the mall was)!  Although we were stressed out and spent from Johnna's meltdown, we were so happy with Punky and our ability to work with her as a team!

Tonight we will try a track here at the hotel and see how we do.  Hopefully to bed early tonight too, we have to be back at 4 paws at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Oh I forgot to mention, Johnna slept in her bed ALL NIGHT and Punky stayed right with her up there!  When the alarm went off this morning I couldn't believe it!

I have some video from tracking today.  It's hard to film and run so sorry it's so bumpy!
 
 
I said I would post some videos and here they are.  I wish I had more photos too, but I never seem to have the camera.  Quite a few families are taping everything, but I haven't done that. 

We had another very good day!  Our first training session was spent on more obedience.  We started by putting Punky in a down across the room and walking back to our seats.  From there, we learned the proper correction as SD's got up from their downs- all the dogs except for Punky!  She stayed in her down away from us for over 40 minutes.  She does very well with that even with all sorts of distractions around her.  We worked more on heeling and learned what the dogs have already been trained to do.  I learned how to heel with Punky while pushing a shopping cart too!  Target here we come!!!!  The topic of changing our dogs name came up this morning, but Rob and I like Punky, so we are going to keep it.

After the morning obedience session we all hit the road to a big soccer fiels complex.  Punky was already harnessed and knew where we were when we got there.  Johnna went up first for the track today.  Kristi, one of the trainers, Johnna and I set out to "hide".  Rob stayed with head trainer Jeremy to run the track with him.  Johnna and I kept quiet and within about 5 minutes or so I saw our Punky come bolting over.  She found us!!!  Rob was really impressed with our girl and we all praised her like crazy!!  I still cannot emphasize what this means for our family, the piece of mind Punky brings.  WE HAVE A SEARCH DOG!!  Rob is already thinking about the practice tracks we are going to run at home.  :)

After lunch we met to discuss more in depth tracking and then got into tethering.  Johnna will be wearing a vest or harness with a tether attached to Punky's harness.  If she bolts Punky is trained to act like an anchor.  Everyone practiced putting their dogs in a down and then having someone else pull on the tether strap, trying to get the dog to move or break the down.  Again, Punky didn't flinch.  This tethering will work well for us. After the pulling on the tether we upped the anty for the dogs (and us too) and walked with the dogs in a heel while we took turns stopping while holding on to the tether.  We had to coax the dogs to step it up with a treat to get the "child" moving.  After practicing that we were done for the day.  After the training area cleared out we put Johnna's tethering vest on and attached her to Punky.  It was great!  Johnna was not only attached, but also had her leash to hold onto.  We practiced getting Punky to get Johnna moving and worked on going in different directions.  The tethering will really open up a whole new world for me.  I will be able to take the girls out and not have to have an iron grip on Johnna.  Tethering will be invaulable to our family, not to mention Johnna liked it!  Woo Hoo!

I believe we will head out to the local mall this weekend and work on all the commands we've learned in a real world situation, I can't wait!

Again I am totally exhausted, so I had better wrap this up!  Good night all!! :)
 
 
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Day three of training began this morning talking about how our first night with the dogs went.  I felt like a mother bringing home a newborn!  With Punky's tummy still a little upset I worried she might have an accident, but she didn't.  I woke up at 12:45 because I thought I had heard her whine and took her out.  She did her business and we went back to bed.  We had Punky sleep with Johnna on the bed and she was quite happy up there until Johnna thrashed around a bit and hogged the bed.  So Punky just curled up on the floor next to the bed.  I think the whole sleeping with Johnna will work!

This morning as I brushed Johnna's hair, Punky came from across the room and began to lick her.  Brushing Johnna's hair is an absolute nightmare- she screams and thrashes.  It sounds like we are either really hurtung her or killing her.  Punky was right there, doing her best to redirect Johnna!  That set the tone for the day.  If Johnna was upset Punky would watch her.  A few times at the hotel Johnna would bolt up to the second floor and Punky would not listen to my commands- she was watching Johnna trying to figure out, I think, why she was not with her.  Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I just felt that Punky was concerned for Johnna.  I praised her and stopped to let Punky know Rob had Johnna and she was OK.

So much went on today!  What else?  We worked on more obedience and began dropping the SD's leashes and everone hopping and walking around each others dogs.  Punky was great and just stayed in her down!  I was so proud of her and myself :)  After morning obedience work we headed to a local park to do our first track.  Jeremy, the director of training, explained that the dogs use a flexi-leash for this and how we get them hyped up.  One of the trainers, Kristi, took Johnna away while Punky was harnessed up.  Once Punky had the flexi-leash attached to her she was ready.  Jeremy led the track, explaining when Punky caught the scent and what her body language meant.  The wind was whipping, but Punky found Johnna and Kristi!  It was great!  I was so proud!  And then it hit me- next time Johnna gets out I'll grab the leash, talk up Punky to get excited and find my girl!  It was a little overwhelming at that moment, we now have a search dog, Johnna will always be found!!!

After tracking we headed back to 4 Paws for more obedience and learned and practiced the under command.  This command is used to put the dog under a table when you are eating or at a restaurant. Punky and I did well with this one.  It's coming more easily for us both!  Our day at 4 Paws ended with Punky getting her working harness!!  It was great to see her "dressed"!  I could sense her attitude change.  I am working now, she was all business.

Tonight we decided to have dinner in the hotel dining room.  ALL of us!  I was so excited as I "dressed" Punky!  We went in and found a table and I gave Punky the under command.  It was a little tricky because of the table base, but Punky found a spot and laid down.  I was nervous, but Punky just laid there and fell asleep.  Even Johnna stepping on her and occassionally kicking her didn't phase her!  It was an awesome feeling!  When we left I gave Punky the heel command, placed my hand gently on her and said "no shake".  As we left I noticed a couple point and look over at Punky.  They didn't know she was even there!

Our evening ended with a family walk.  Today when we got our harnesses we were also given leashed for the kids for when they are tethered.  We walked all over!  It was great to work on heel and Johnna held the leash for almost all of the walk!  Punky would look for Johnna and I would praise her!  Punky will open up so many doors for our family!  What a blessing she is!!!

Today was such a great day!!  Oh I forgot to mention this-  I heard Johnna laughing and Punky got up to check it out.  I praised her like crazy and told her to get up on the bed with Johnna.  Punky began to kiss her and Johnna laughed even more.  Their bond is slowly growing!  The power of a dog!!!

Tomorrow we will be tracking and working on tethering.  Better get to bed, this Mommy is one tired lady!!
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Today was the first real day of training so we headed over to 4 Paws early to see Punky and get settled for the day.  When we entered the training center we went over to get Punky and realized she had had a small accident in her crate from the total overload of treats.  I quickly put her training collar and leash on and we dashed out to the door and quickly ran to the dog play/run area.  Poor Punky's tummy :(  She took care of her business almost immediately and we went back in to get her a bath.  Deb, one of the 4 Paws staff, and I brought Punky in for a quick bath and blow dry and then back out to start training.

The bath kind of set the tone for our day.  Punky was full of it and at times was pretty excitable.  She really made me work for every down and sit today!  She was checking to make sure I was a suitable pack leader, after all she is already trained and I am the one who is learning.  I had some good success with putting her in a down and then walking around her, jumping over her and keeping her attention on me when the head trainer threw treats at her and balls, really trying to distract her.  I thought I had it down, but Punky wanted me to earn it and in the afternoon, she really made me work!!!  Funny huh?!  She's the working dog, but I'm the one really working at this point.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated and everything went as I had hoped, but all things take time and by this evening Punky and I were definitely on the right track!  She and I walked the hotel grounds practicing heel while I would randomly put in either a down or a sit and try to distract her.  She did very well and I felt like I had her respect.  It was a great feeling!

Johnna had still not shown much enthusiasm towards Punky, but that changed a little in the car on the way back to the hotel.  We had Punky sit with Johnna.  Johnna did not mind and began to play with her tail and pull on her fur a little.  We praised Punky like crazy!  The more we praise her when Johnna shows any interest the better.  I kept looking back and the next thing I knew Johnna had her elbow resting on her and then a few minutes later she had her hand on the middle of Punky's back.   No screams, no hitting- Johnna just sat there nicely with her girl.  At that moment I realized this was a process and would take time, but Johnna and Punky were on the right track!!!

I have video I'll post tomorrow of the car ride.  I am wiped out tonight and don't want to frog around with the video camera and YouTube.

Tomorrow brings our first day of tracking!  Rob has been waiting for this!  He's been waiting to see me run and have a heart attack!  :)  He knows how much I love to run- yah right!  The morning will bring more obedience training and then we'll head out in the afternoon for tracking.  Let the games begin- tracking games that is!!! ;) 
 
 
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I woke up this morning not knowing how the day would go.  Would Johnna love Punky and immediately begin to bond with her, or ignore her and do her own thing? 

Well...I would LOVE to say Johnna took to Punky right away, but that was not the case.  Johnna looked at her, dropped some food in front of her, but showed little to no interest.  Johnna did however go over to every other yellow lab or labradoodle in the room.  Figures doesn't it?!  The bond will take some time to form and with patience and persistence I know Johnna will start to interact with Punky.  All in good time, Johnna time so to speak.  :)

 Johnna may not have been totally interested in Punky, but Rob and I are completely in love with Johnna's girl!!!  She is just the most sweet, lovable dog!  After the introductions and a quick lunch we began with training- the human training that is!  These dogs have been training since they were just a few weeks old, it was us handlers that needed to be trained.  We worked on getting our dogs attention, sit and down.  I basically learned that a lot of what I thought I knew about working a dog was not correct.  Punky was a quick study and I got the hang of using proper tone when giving a command and the timing of the all important treat!  By the end of the afternoon I had Punky in a down and was able to walk a few circles around her while still holding her leash.  She did great!  The whole sit and walk the circles was a little more difficult because of a combination of "slippy" paws and a very laid back black lab.  Just before it was time to wrap it up for the day I had Rob come in and work the commands with Punky.  Of course he had it right away with no problems, it took his wife a little longer!

We did not get to bring Punky home with us this evening because we were unable to work on the heel command.  To be honest I was a little relieved!  I think with another day at the training center under my belt I will have more of the confidence I need to be our Pack leader.

Better go, I'm tired and smell like Pupperoni, Beggin Strips and dog food.  Can you say shower??!!  Yes please!!  :)
 
 
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The Mowers rolled into Ohio late last night and spent today getting the lay of the land and meeting all of the extraordinary families we will be training with here at 4 Paws.  I convinced Rob to drive out to the 4 Paws facility so we knew exactly where it was and would not have any problems tomorrow.  After all, tomorrow is a very big and important day!!! ;)  A lot of the families are staying at the same hotel, so we have been able to chat and get to know each other.  It's always great to meet people in the same boat, you don't feel like a freak when you mention a quirk of one of your kids. 

Rob met some fabulous people from Alaska, who after receiving SD's for the children have fostered puppies for 4 Paws.  They are here this week to return Dublin and Abraham.  Peg and Shelby came over to our room for a visit and brought the pups with them.  Dublin and Abraham are beautiful black labs, who just chilled with us.  Peg and Shelby encouraged all of the girls to touch them, lay on them, hold the leashes all while we talked in depth about the training these amazing animals go through.  From a room full of paper airplanes flying around to simulate flying birds in a house, to trainers pretending to have a seizure, to shrieking like one of the children who will be receiving a 4Paws SD.  What a great night!  What AMAZING people!

So for this stay at home Mom of 3, tonight is my Christmas eve!  Tomorrow is the day I have waited so very long for!  It is my Christmas and my present this year is a beautiful girl named Punky!  I must have been very good this year because Santa is bringing me the only thing I have asked for, months before December!!!!

Better go get some rest, we have somewhere very special to be tomorrow morning!
 
 
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Johnna and Marci the therapy dog
Yesterday while out running last minute errands for our trip to Ohio, I ran into Beth, Marci the therapy dog's Mom.  Beth and I started talking about the summer camp that Johnna and Michaela had just attended, Camp Under the Woods.  Last year at camp Johnna relied VERY heavily on Marci to get through the morning Beth told me.  Johnna needed to hold Marci's leash at all times, looked for Marci the minute she would get to camp and basically would not cooperate unless Marci was involved.  This year at camp Johnna waited each day for her girl, and again Marci helped her cope. 

Beth told me about the first day of camp.  Johnna was completely melting down.  She was on the floor, kicking and screaming, eyes closed, lashing out with rage and aggression at anyone who came near her.  Beth, knowing Johnna and how she interacts with Marci, told Marci to go over and give Johnna a kiss..  What she told me next brought tears to both our eyes!  Johnna, still being "kissed" by Marci, immediately opened her eyes, stopped screaming and raging and calmed down.  Beth then told Johnna to grab Marci's leash because it was time to go to yoga.  And to the amazement of everyone,  Johnna got up and walked with Marci to yoga.  For the rest of the week, anytime Johnna started screaming or to get aggressive, Beth would put Marci in between Johnna and the person who was on the "receiving" end.  Just putting Marci next to Johnna helped to redirect Johnna and she would calm down!  Marci was an integral part of Johnna's camp week, making transitions go smoothly and redirecting her when she would start to lash out! 

After listening to Beth I was speechless!!!  All that kept running through my mind was that now Johnna would have a dog trained specifically for her to do the things that Marci did!  The difference was, that Johnna's girl Punky would be with her ALL THE TIME!!!  Punky will sleep with Johnna, ride the bus with Johnna, go to school with Johnna, go to doctors appointments with Johnna.  ANYWHERE Johnna goes, Punky will be right there with her-  Redirecting her, helping to stop meltdowns or avoid them all together, making transitions go smoothly, helping Johnna cope with her anxiety and day to day struggles. 

I've ALWAYS known in my heart that an Autism Service Dog would help Johnna, but now I had the proof!!! 

Here we come Punky!  Here we come!