A boy and his dog...

What a week!

Last week this time, I said to Steve, "I wonder if we put the idea of Max wanting a puppy on his blog, if we could raise the funds we need to get him one.".  It was a thought, something worth putting out there.  Something special for his birthday.

We sat slack-jawed and flabbergasted the first part of the week as the funds rolled in.  What amazing family, friends, and fans Max has.  The fact that people are giving out of the goodness of their hearts makes it all the more special.  There was nothing in return offered.  We didn't even have a puppy secured yet.  It was just an idea.  And you all wanted to make sure Max got his George for his birthday.

We have had donations ranging from $5, to $500.  With each one, we have been truly humbled and appreciative to you stopping in the middle of your busy lives to give to Max.  Every dollar donated goes into a special fund for Max.  That money can only be spent on his needs, and George is part of his needs.  He will be a service dog for Max.

The middle part of the week was filled to the fullest with getting to know George.  Steve wrote about it a bit a couple of days ago, about how we are so impressed with the bond these two already have.  We are continually telling George, Max is your boy, you are his puppy.  He knows what his job is, it's to love Max.  He's caring and affectionate with us all, but there is no mistake who he loves most.  He knows Max is the one who is special, and gets the extra love.

We will take George to our vet on Monday, and will hopefully get training lined up in the next week too.  He's already got a lot of basic training down, and the dude loves treats, so it's easy enough to reward him!  We just want to do it the best way to make sure he's perfectly behaved for Max in public places.

Now for the part you're all waiting for.  Pictures and Videos!  We are definitely not running out of moments to capture with the camera with this guy around!

George playing peek-a-boo with Max.



Boo!



George with his namesake.



George learning his abc's with Elmo.



When I left these two laying by each other to go do the dishes, Max was on the pillow, and George was beside him.  I think George persuaded Max to share more of the pillow.



George is a great help with Max's daily therapy time.  Here they both are zonked after working hard at sitting up.



And helping to calm Max while he lays on his stomach.  At almost 8 years old, Max still is not a fan of "tummy time".



These two tired guys thought they would try to snooze while driving around town today.



And sometimes George had a hard time remembering that we have to sit down while we're on the move.



George insisted that he needed to be the one by Max.  No Momma's needed anymore, George to the rescue.



Tonight, at bedtime, George found his way up to Max's bed, like he does each night, and lay across his legs to calm him.  Who needs a weighted blanket?



This is a video of George being way too smart.  This was his first go at the Kong toy that hides treats inside.  We filled it with a little bit of his food.



This video is a bit longer, and not great camerawork by me, but I had my hands full!  Max has a new page on his Dynavox talker computer, that lets him talk to George.  Max makes the choices with switches that scan through the choices in his computer.



I hope you've enjoyed the first week with George.  This was made possible by all of you.  If you gave financially, or through encouraging words, it has all meant the world.



They've found each other.