The journey to find a new Service Dog was difficult, with many fits and starts along the way. I was determined to find a Standard Poodle that was a different color than Bo, but with the same personality/qualities that you would look for in an Seizure Alert/General Service Dog. I contacted several agencies, all of which had placed their dogs with partners leaving me with a 6 month to 1 year gap between placement. I managed to find one possible placement, but the logistics didn't work out. Finally, I began to look at hunting poodles, and was directed to Jac Harbour. She trains both hunting poodles and Service dogs. Jac has started several Service Dog agencies in both Canada and the US, and does temperament testing on puppies for likely candidates to various agencies. She has also trained seizure alert dogs, which will be the new puppy's main job. Jac has a sterling reputation, as do her dogs so I contacted her. She happened to have just had a litter become available. We discussed my needs and she was able to suggest a puppy to me. What color do you think the little guy was? You guessed it...black. He looked as if he could have been my Bonar as a puppy. Pedigrees were brought to Dr. Dee, and much discussion/agonizing ensued. We finally decided to go ahead with the puppy and sent an email off to that effect. Jac agreed to train him for several months, as a Service Dog-in-Training. He would cover most of the commands that he would need before coming home to me. I would receive him close to Christmas, at the age of almost 5 months. Such a Christmas present I would be receiving. It was almost as if my Bo was guiding us towards this little boy. (The acceptance email was sent 4 hours before my Bonar passed away)
