Introducing Henry!

 

Placement Day. 17th of May 2021.

Placement day is a day that we had all been eagerly waiting for, especially L. And the day was definitely worth the wait. We were given the news in April that Henry was due to be placed in mid May, so L had been literally counting down the days on his Smart Pups calendar!

I met Henry and our Trainer Patricia, who just happens to be the founder of Smart Pups, at our place. I spent the day learning how to handle Henry, practicing all of his commands and the do and don'ts of owning an assistance dog.

We went to a shopping centre where we practiced every element of the public access test that every potential assistance dog and their handler must pass before being certified to operate without a trainer.

Prior to the end of the school day, we collected L early from school so that he could meet his pup without the busyness of school ending for the day.

I'm pretty sure that as soon as L laid eyes on Henry, it was love at first sight. Lots of puppy cuddles and kisses 

Henry is a beautiful, gentle soul, who turned one during placement week As Patricia said, Henry is one of the few Smart Pups who has passed every element of the Assistance Dogs training and placement before they turned 1.

And L is in love with his pup

Thank you to every person who has helped us on this journey, we are so very appreciative of your assistance