Proud moments

What a week we've had. Last weekend, Kenny & Tricia traveled to Jefferson City, MO to compete in the show me games in Taekwondo. This was their 1st open competition, meaning a mixture of martial art styles. Tricia competed in the special needs division and took 2nd place in forms & weapons, Kenny competed in regular competition and took 4th in forms. That's Kenny up in the air kicking in the photo! He's got some legs! We were very proud of them, these competitions are very difficult. While in Jeff City, Kenny, mom, Tricia, Aunt Madonna, and Grandma Buescher made it a mini-vacation and celebrated Tricia's birthday. We visited the State Capital and a conservation center. At the center, we seen a relative of Kermit's! A huge green frog! We snapped a photo to show to Kermit when we got home!

Congratulations to Kenny who got his driving permit this week! YIPPEE!!! The test was difficult for Kenny but he finally did it. Now he can practice in his truck he's waited so long to drive. Sorry dad, you'll have to give up Kenny's pick-up now. It was such a proud moment for not only Kenny, but mom & dad too. We can't wait to see the reaction of Danny when Kenny gets behind the wheel!

Another proud moment happened today. Danny had his neurologist appt. We were very upset at the last appointment. The doctor likes to debate about the ability of a dog to detect seizures. I was livid by the time we left the last appt. Today neither Wally nor Kenny could come to help with the appt. Although mom has taken Danny to the doctor's many times by herself, I was really nervous after the last visit and how it all went. I had decided to crate Kermit. I just didn't want to face the doctor's riticule against Kermit. Danny and I got ready to walk out the door and get in the van. Danny walked over to Kermit's crate and placed his hand on the crate and looked at me. I almost cried. I told Danny that he was right, Kermit was here to help us and I shouldn't let people's critisism stand in our way. We took Kermit. It was pouring down rain on the way to the doctor and I was nervous. But I remained confident. Well..........all I can say is that Danny transitioned the best he has in years. There were a lot of distractions and opportunity for meltdowns. Danny had to go potty (I avoid public bathrooms when I'm out by myself with Dan), we got on the wrong elevator and went up instead of down, I actually let a little girl pet Kermit (I avoid this in public because it tends to throw Danny off), and Danny got up fine when the doctor called his name which is usually a struggle. The doctor did not say one thing about Kermit! Even when Kermit started snorring while waiting during the visit! I snapped a quick photo of Kermit lapping Danny in the waiting room. I am so glad that I listened to Danny!

I have never been so proud as I was this week in my 3 boys, Danny, Kenny, and Kermit. It's times like these that really help put life back in perspective.

Tracking and one big, strong dog!

Tonight we went on a much needed track. Danny's really feeling good today so we took the opportunity. We went to Creve Coeur Park and Wally & Dan hid by one of the company pavillions. I hid Kermit behind the van so he couldn't see where they went. He was right on it! He even stopped at the door of the bathroom.....Danny got sidetracked from the hiding and decided to go there 1st! Mom had a difficult time and almost took a face plant a couple of times. Kermit is so big and strong! If Wally's hand doesn't heal soon, and Kenny decides not to go again, I am going to find a big strong guy to help me out here! LOL The track really eased mom & dad's minds. Saturday night while watching the show COPS, there was a man arrested who was being resistive. He either had something wrong with him or was on drugs. Probably the latter of the 2. It took about 8 cops and a tazer gun to restrain the man. It was pretty difficult for us to watch. Because we could see Danny acting in the same manner if he were cornered. We looked at eachother and just said, That's what Kermit's here for. If Danny wanders away he appears like a normal young man. What a blessing to know that Kermit could find his boy in a matter of seconds to keep him safe. It sure makes us rest much easier these days with this added peace of mind.

Kermit goes for tests

Danny recently had a CT scan on his abdomen and pelvis. In the past we have left Kermit behind at home when Danny has tests run. Sometimes it can be difficult to get tests on Danny and it requires both Wally & I to be available to help Danny through it. Well, with the CT scan we decided to bite the bullet and take Kermit. Call it coincidence.....but this is the most cooporation we have ever received from Danny during a test! He was wonderful! The doctor even commented on how Danny must have coorporated because the scan was perfect and he could tell there was very little movement. Drinking the 2 cups of chalkie stuff was not so bad. We bought a plastic syringe and gave it to him like medicine. Danny is a very literal thinker so if he drinks from a cup he thinks it should be something he enjoys, a drink. But with the syringe he relates this to medicine and sort of expects it to taste funky. Other than the fact that it took 80 syringes it wasn't bad at all! Kermit was so wonderful. Everytime Danny would yell or sound uncomfortable Kermit would jump up and try to get to him. You could tell he was not happy with his boy being pulled into that big machine making knocking noises. I'm thankful that Wally & I are becoming more confident in taking Kermit to different places and trusting that he knows what his job is. BTW....Danny's tests came back normal so we are now back to possibly a seizure issue.

The nose knows.......seizure alert

I can't believe I forgot to tell this story when I last posted to the blog. The phone rings at work and it's Danny's sitter, Loretta. She is in absolute panic. Somethings wrong with Kermit! He's going crazy and acting wild. He uprooted a bunch of plants and even ate one right in front of her. Loretta & Danny were getting ready to leave when this all began. She told Danny that they couldn't leave because something was wrong with Kermit. My sister jumped in her truck and headed to the house. Wally was out on a service call so he headed over as well. Loretta feared Kermit had been poisened by the plant. We decided to take Kermit to the animal hospital if we didn't think he would make it to the vet's. When Wally pulled in the driveway and got out of the car, he heard Loretta in the back yard yelling HELP!!!!! Danny had a grand mal seizure. Kermit immediately took his place by Danny and watched over his boy. Kermit was immediately calm. Loretta was amazed that Kermit was trying to stop her from leaving with his boy. He knew what lied ahead. Loretta had experienced her 1st seizure alert. She has gained a new found respect for Kermit and his skilled training. One thing we need to remember is that dogs not only do not speak English, but they also communicate differently than humans.

Last Tuesday Kermit was really out of sorts. He was really anxious. At one point he came up and just sat and starred at me. He kept staying with Danny as if he didn't want to leave him. I told Wally that I thought Kermit was alerting a seizure. Danny was probably going to have one that night or tomorrow (he will sometimes begin alerting a grand mal a day ahead). Wally said that it wasn't seizure alert but a dog that needed to be walked more and got lazy over 4th of July weekend. Wednesday morning Wally recognized that Kermit was definitely alerting. He was pacing, anxious, and was all over Danny sniffing and following him around the house. Wally warned Loretta that Danny was probably going to have a seizure because he was alerting one. Danny did have a seizure at about 3:00 that afternoon. This was the first time we officially picked up on his alert before the seizure in lieu of figuring it out afterwards. We're learning to read Kermit's alert and he's learning to 'fine tune' his communications with us. He did bark this time so he's picking up on that as well. Dogs are definitely sent from heaven to help mankind. Kermit is our angel. BTW.....I told Wally he owes me chinese because I picked up on the alert before he did! LOL

Bonding at it's best

OK, so it's a little over kill with these snapshots. Kermit loves both the boys so much. He brings so much joy to our home. If he hears Danny even getting upset in the least he will come darting across the house to get to him. With him being trained for behavior disruption, it's his job to calm and basically cheer him up. He does it with other's as well. If he hears a baby crying or even if a person makes a funny sound like their crying, Kermit is ready to work! Danny, Kenny, Kermit, and the stuffed Barney doll were all snuggling on the bed. It was definitely a Kodak moment.

Summer healing

As many of you know Danny has been having some health issues for the past year of so. At first doctor's thought it was linked to his seizures. But now it appears to be an internal problem. He's had an endoscopy, ultrasound, and next week a CT scan. While each test does find something, ourselves and the doctor do not feel we've gotten to the root of the problem. Wally had surgery in May to remove a bone in his hand. It was an extensive surgery with a long recovery. He is in physical therapy now and working to gain use of his hand after surgery. We are blessed to have Danny & Kenny to fill in some of the gaps for Wally's limitations. They've been such a big help. Kenny can lift, turn wrenchs, and do a lot of things that Wally can't do right now. Danny opens jars and even opens pill bottles for him. Great therapy for Danny as well! We've all gained a better appreciation for Tricia and countless other's out there will physical limitations. How we take some things for granted. Next time you see Wally, feel free to ask him to tie your shoes! LOL

"Leave it!"

Kermit made his first trip to Costco. I heard from other 4 Paws families that it is a great place to practice the 'leave it' command. This is the command we use whenever Kermit goes for something that we don't want him to have. We use this command a lot with the socks! Kermit did wonderful at Costco. Despite the many free samples being handed out. I only used 'leave it' twice the entire time. Once was at the meat freezer he wanted to lick the metal cooling tube that runs along the bottom of the counter. I never noticed it before Kermit. We also have to watch Kermit when people walk towards him, especially when their not planning to acknowledge him. He's such a social dog that he tends to want to greet people coming directly facing him. He loves people and just can't help himself sometimes. It's really pretty sweet to see how he loves everyone. Tricia had a ball helping with Kermit. She even held his leash for a minute while waiting in line. Kermit is such a good boy. Danny didn't go to Costco with us. He's been so sick lately that on many days he's just not up to outings. Speaking of socks. Kermit LOVES socks! His favorite time is when we mate socks because then there's an entire basket for the taking. We guess he figures we have plenty to spare. At first we couldn't figure out why the 'leave it' command didnt' work with the socks. Until we realized his buddy, Dan, was giving them to him! We had to catch a snapshot of Kermit after Danny gave him quite a few to tide him over.