House of Krause

Everyone warned me not to see Marley and me.  We were going to take the kids at Christmas time but my Mom called and said “Please don’t go. It’s just too sad, at the end your 65 year old father was even blubbering and crying his eyes out!” They all knew how I felt about the greatest dog in my life- Daisy, yep a yellow lab! Well, Preston and Lily started a read-a-thon at school. They told me the parents were allowed to compete also. I got a crazy competitive streak to read the most of any parents (like I have the time with 3 kids and all Luke’s appointments to sit around and read all day). But anyhow, I decided to read Marley and me. Really how sad could it be? I already knew what happens in the end, it happens to all old dogs.  I could handle reading it by now. I cruised through the book racking up the minutes all along for the read-a-thon, which my kids tell me I’m not even close to being top parent reader, oh darn! So last night I get to the last three chapters.  I should have just gone to the movie! Reading it was even worse. I could only get through one paragraph at a time, then I would be crying so hard that I couldn’t see the book.  My snot was flying all over the pages. I would stop and get tissues only to get through one more paragraph. The kids were playing superheroes at the time and driving off the couch in our bedroom, I was completely oblivious.  Lily noticed I was a mess so she came over to comfort me. How silly I felt.  I was laughing and crying at the same time as we watched Luke jump off the couch into a pile of pillows, and then roll a couple times in sheer delight! I’m now convinced, I should have just gone to the movie, and least I could have just did all my crying at once, while the film still rolled. This one paragraph at a time nearly killed me! All the characteristics of the Marley dog were so much like my old girl Daisy!  Well anyhow what does this have to do with Apraxia?? I ran into the most wonderful programs! They are now training service dogs for children with special needs. Service dogs are no longer just for the blind. These are dogs that service children with Autism, seizures, hearing problems, ADHD, Downs syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, and Yes even listed Apraxia. Dogs provide a way of bridging gaps for children when they go into new situations. Other kids may not be able to understand an Apraxic child but everyone can understand the language of a dog! These dogs stay close to the Autistic child that may be prone to wandering off. Able to alert the parents! Some dogs may even gain the instinct to warn parents of an upcoming seizure in an epileptic child. I think this is just so awesome! Check out Man’s best friend.  And if your a dog lover like me don’t read the book, just see the movie!

http://www.4pawsforability.org/assistancedogs.html

Luke's excitement, shortly before he got knocked to the ground and licked to death!