A Bit of Babble from Me

After reading the 17th Weekly Report Card on Musketeer, I didn't know what "proofing his alerts" meant, so I called D.A.D.A. to ask them. It basically means going over what he already knows and making sure it stays with him. A service dog never stops "studying". I'll be going over all of his commands several times every week and working with him to make sure he stays in tip top shape for public access as well as doing his job at alerting me.

I was told that there have been no complaints about Musketeer at all, that he's learning everything so well.

The main office is now saying he'll be going home mid-October. That, of course, isn't set in stone. It depends on when everyone can get together to do the testing and flights and when someone is able to deliver Musketeer and train me and all of that. So, approximately SIX MORE WEEKS!

THE PURPOSE HUNT

Thanks to the kindness of several people, there is a special fund raising hunt on SL, called The Purpose Hunt!  At last notification (and if I'm remembering correctly) there were 23 merchants participating!  Some are inworld stores, some are Marketplace stores.  ALL FUNDS raised goes toward getting Musketeer HOME!

PLEASE HELP by participating in this hunt!!!  PLEASE nudge three others to do this hunt as well.  THE MORE THAT DO THIS HUNT, THE BETTER!

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU!

17th Weekly

Report Card

for

Musketeer the Service Dog

Musketeer has been working on maintaining a down stay with various distractions in the house, waiting patiently after an alert for the handler to go through the motions of checking their glucose level, alerting with one paw, detecting out of range fluctuating glucose levels in public, detecting and alerting from a down position while on a bed, proofing his alerts and simulated night alerts. His training locations have included Home Goods, AJ Fine Foods, Sprouts, Marshalls, Walmart, and Old Navy. 

Next week, Musketeer, will be working on night alerts, alerting by jumping on the bed when handler is not responding to a side alert, waiting patiently after an alert for the handler to go through the motions of checking glucose level, alerting in a car, alerting with one paw, continued practice with proofing alerts, maintaining a down stay in areas with people constantly entering and exiting a location, maintaining a down stay for extended periods of time, heeling through public places in a controlled manner, and maintaining proper behavior/self control and alerting with unknown dogs near.

Thank you for your interest!

Thank you for your support!

Thank you for your prayers!

YOU are appreciated!

GETTING SO

CLOSE!

Musketeer is doing amazing with properly alerting to my low and high blood glucose scents!  

A week from tomorrow, I'll be able to say, "Musketeer will be home either this month or next month!

We're getting closer, but funds are still needed!  HOW to help with funds?

1.  Direct payments to Diabetic Alert Dogs of America using Musketeer Puppy in the payment description box.  Here's the LINK

2.  Donate at any Wells Fargo Bank to Musketeer the Diabetic Alert Dog.

3.  Purchase items or donate towards Musketeer at ~XM~ Designs in SL.

Please remember

YOU are appreciated!

THANK YOU

SO MUCH

FOR HELPING

TO GET

MUSKETEER PUPPY

HOME!

16th Weekly Report Card

for

Service Dog

Musketeer Puppy

Musketeer has been working on maintaining a down stay in areas with people constantly entering and exiting such as coffee shops, smaller stores, etc., walking next to a walker, maintaining a down stay with bikes and skateboards moving around him, simulated night alerts, working on continuous alerting when an out of range glucose scent is detected, alerting in a restaurant environment and alerting with children playing close. His training locations have included the park, Petsmart, Forever 21, H&M, Target, Best China Restaurant and Walmart. 

Next week Musketeer will be working on maintaining a down stay with various distractions in the house, waiting patiently after an alert for the handler to go through the motions of checking their glucose level, alerting with one paw, detecting out of range fluctuating glucose levels in public, detecting and alerting from a down position while on a bed and simulated night alerts.

Thank you

for

looking!

Thank you

for

your support!

15th Weekly Report Card

for

Musketeer Puppy

Musketeer has been practicing maintaining a down stay with people walking by, stay with distance, down stay while the handler is looking at things on a shelf, recall walking past distractions on the floor, leave it with treats in front of him and items dropping in front of him, continued practice with sound sensitivity, walking next to wheel chairs, and alerting to high and low glucose levels in both high and low distraction environments. Right now we have him nudging when an out of range glucose sample is detected, as he is still learning to paw gently to alert his trainer. He is so excited when he detects the scent that he is also learning to contain the excitement. Training locations this week have included Kohl's, Pier One Imports, Tractor Supply Company, Walmart, the library and Costco. 

Next week Musketeer will be working on maintaining a down stay in areas with people constantly entering and exiting such as coffee shops, smaller stores, etc., simulated night alerts, working on continuous alerting when an out of range glucose scent is detected, alerting in a restaurant environment and alerting with children playing close

~~~~~~~~

Wowzers!  He's learning the "tough stuff" so QUICKLY!

I received an item to place inside of Musketeer's vest!

Before I go any further, let me say/type:  Service Dogs do NOT have to wear a Service Dog vest or ANY OTHER markings!  They can be "worked naked".  People who have service dogs are disabled.  Just being alive takes so much energy.  Going out takes extreme effort and energy.  Having to explain why you have a perfectly mannered dog that assists you to manage your disability to every single person is far more than most with disabilities can manage.  Having a service dog wear a vest to tell everyone it is a service dog makes living a bit easier on the disabled.  

IF YOU SEE A SERVICE DOG, DON'T GO UP TO TALK TO THE DISABLED PERSON.  DON'T RUN UP TO PET THE DOG OR ASK WHERE YOU CAN GET A SERVICE DOG VEST FOR YOUR PET.  DON'T MAKE KISSY SOUNDS TO GET THE DOG'S ATTENTION.  JUST LET THE SERVICE DOG TEAM DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO WITHOUT DISTRACTING THEM, WITHOUT TAKING PHOTOS OF THEM, WITHOUT ASKING THEM QUESTIONS.  THEY AREN'T MOVIE STARS OR IN A ROCK BAND.  

Some days are really REALLY difficult.  Please be respectful of those who might be having a very bad day.

Those on SD Teams (Service Dog Teams) are not required to give ANY paperwork, show ID, show documentation that their dog is a Service Dog.  Those things DO NOT EXIST!  Anyone who says, "Well the last person in here with a dog showed me their registration!"...  There is no such thing as Service Dog registration.  They showed you fake stuff that isn't worth the paper it was written on.

THE ADA CARDS... that I got today are NOT required for me to have, BUT may make my life easier if someone is questioning my rights to have Musketeer someplace, I can hand them an ADA card and not say a word.  If they have questions, they can call the number on the card.  ~TADA~

COUNT DOWN!!!  Guessing Musketeer will be HOME in 7 to 8 weeks *IF* more funding is made!

Thank you for reading!

Thank you for your support!

Thank you for being interested!

YOU are appreciated!

FUNDS ARE NEEDED

TO GET THIS

SERVICE DOG

HOME!

Here's how YOU can help!

The very frightening thing is that Diabetic Alert Dogs of America (the company that is training him) will need about $4000 before they deliver him.  I could really use your help!  How?

1.)  DIRECTLY TO D.A.D.A.

1. Go to the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America website HERE.
2. CLICK on "PAYMENTS" at the bottom of the page, 2nd from the right in the blue section.
3. CLICK on "BUY NOW".
4. TYPE IN MUSKETEER PUPPY in the "DESCRIPTION".  WITHOUT TYPING IN "MUSKETEER PUPPY", DONATIONS WILL GET LOST!
5. TYPE IN $3.00 (or amount you wish to donate) in the "PRICE PER ITEM".
6. CLICK "CONTINUE".
7. CLICK "LOG IN" for Pay Pal or CLICK "PAY WITH DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD".
8. Continue onto the secure payment page.

2.)  Real Life Wells Fargo Bank

Donate to Musketeer the Diabetic Alert Dog at any Wells Fargo Bank.

3.)  Second Life

Donate at any Musketeer Donation spot (Marie's store).  750 L approx. equals $3.00 USD

A lot of wallets makes it easier to donate!  

~OR~

Ask your church, your boss, SL stores, SL realtors, RL companies, etc.  It doesn't hurt to ask and it is GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Thank you

for your

prayers,

encouragement,

emotional support,

telling others,

financial assistance,

and for being

so

AMAZING!!!

YOU are appreciated!

First Items Home, Waiting For Musketeer:

I didn't have anything at home for Musketeer because I've been sending funds to Diabetic Alert Dogs of America.  Except today... I spent $1.50 on these two bandannas for the Service Dog Puppy:

Future Service Dog,

Musketeer Puppy's

14th Weekly Report Card

Musketeer has been practicing recall in a high distraction environments, leave it with items dropped in front of him, walking next to an electric wheel chair, sound sensitivity, maintaining a down stay for longer periods of time on a dog bed as a boundary, off leash heeling, and alerting to out of range high glucose levels in a low distraction home environment and in quieter public environments. Training locations this week have included Arrowhead Mall, JCPenny's, Desert Sky Mall, Walgreen's, Target and CVS. 

Next week, Musketeer will continue to practice maintaining a down stay with people walking by, stay with distance, down stay while the handler is looking at things on a shelf, recall walking past distractions on the floor, leave it with treats and items dropping in front of him, continued practice with sound sensitivity and alerting to low glucose levels in high distraction environments.

Skyped With Musketeer Today!

Today I got on Skype with Musketeer Puppy and two of his trainers.  One of the trainers mentioned how much more personal Skyping is than "just" watching videos of Musketeer.  I had to agree!  She turned her phone so Musketeer could SEE me while he HEARD me and while he was smelling a normal blood sugar level scent, all at the same time.  When she turned the phone around so I could see Musketeer, he was wagging his tail a lot!  I'm not sure if he connected all of it or not, but I'm hoping he'll be able to put it all together when we meet.

Musketeer just started scent training a couple weeks ago and has picked it up VERY VERY quickly!  Because he's a larger dog, when he paws to alert, he "PUNCHES" rather hard, so they are accepting nose nudges from him as alerts.  He gets VERY excited when he smells a lower or higher blood sugar level and I'll have to create some distance between the two of us after I'm aware that I'm having higher blood sugar levels because it takes a bit of time for levels to come back down (longer to come down from a high than it takes to come back up from a low).

I was taught how to get Musketeer back on task when he gets excited:  A firm "Uh uh!".  There will be times when he's not comfortable laying down and would rather sit, and if I'm okay with him sitting instead of laying down, let him be the dog and let him sit.  He's a people watcher, which is cool cuz I'm a people watcher as well.  :)

The BIG NEWS is that Musketeer should be ready to come home in 8 to 9 WEEKS!!!!  I'm so thrilled that he'll be starting to care for me MUCH sooner than we had thought, so husband's comments of  "Musketeer should have been here yesterday" when I have serious blood sugar lows, is going to happen fairly soon!  We were hoping he'd be home before Christmas, but he will be home for sure before Halloween!  He'll be home for sure before it SNOWS, so I'll be able to introduce him to snow!

The very frightening thing is that Diabetic Alert Dogs of America (the company that is training him) will need about $4000 before they deliver him.  I could really use your help!  How?

1.)  DIRECTLY TO D.A.D.A.

1. Go to the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America website HERE.
2. CLICK on "PAYMENTS" at the bottom of the page, 2nd from the right in the blue section.
3. CLICK on "BUY NOW".
4. TYPE IN MUSKETEER PUPPY in the "DESCRIPTION".  WITHOUT TYPING IN "MUSKETEER PUPPY", DONATIONS WILL GET LOST!
5. TYPE IN $3.00 (or amount you wish to donate) in the "PRICE PER ITEM".
6. CLICK "CONTINUE".
7. CLICK "LOG IN" for Pay Pal or CLICK "PAY WITH DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD".
8. Continue onto the secure payment page.

2.)  Real Life Wells Fargo Bank

Donate to Musketeer the Diabetic Alert Dog at any Wells Fargo Bank.

3.)  Second Life

Donate at any Musketeer Donation spot (Marie's store).  750 L approx. equals $3.00 USD

A lot of wallets makes it easier to donate!  

~OR~

Ask your church, your boss, SL stores, SL realtors, RL companies, etc.  It doesn't hurt to ask and is GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Thank you

for your

prayers,

encouragement,

emotional support,

telling others,

financial assistance,

and for being

so

AMAZING!!!

YOU are appreciated!