New Orleans HERE THEY COME

Riley cannot believe that Ryan is packed and leaving already. Riley will really miss Ryan.

Today is the day Ryan leaves to go to New Orleans with the Bonner students to help out in the rebuilding. Of course this morning it is snowing!!!. The plan for the students was to meet at school by 9 am then head to Philly where they were going to spend the day filling requirements for the grant received to help fund the trip. Well Mother Nature had a different plan in mind. Ryan left here about 7:45 and arrived at school around 10 am which should normally only take about 1 hr 15 minutes, but he arrived safely! I have been sitting on pins and needles until I heard from him. I think this was his first real experience driving in the snow. H just texted and said that they have canceled the Philly excursion and are heading out on their way to New Orleans. The plan now is to drive to NC , stay over night, let everyone get some rest, get up early tomorrow and drive the rest of the way to New Orleans. They expect to arrive there late tomorrow night. So I of course will not be able to function until I know they are safe and sound in New Orleans. Ryan is going as a chaperon again this year and is one of the primary drivers. There are 3 vans going with about 30 kids in all.

Please keep them all in your prayers for a safe trip down, a great experience there, and a safe trip back to school next weekend.

My new Partner Konar

This beautiful big black lab is Konar. He is my new partner for Pet therapy. We were certified a few weeks ago and did our first visit yesterday. We went to Greystone where Konar was the hit of the day for the patients and staff alike. Konar was originally trained to be a service dog for disabled people so he knows quite a few commands or "tricks" as the patients call them. One of my most favorite things is when you say the word "visit" Konar will lay his head in the patients lap. Yesterday each patient was able to have their own time with Konar which was so awesome. Konar is a big boy, but so gentle, loving and mellow. While Konar was visiting one patient, he is big enough where 2 or 3 other patients sitting in the circle could still pet him and have contact with him. We had more people yesterday for Pet Therapy than I can ever remember, all thanks to Konar. I am looking forward to being able to take him on many more visits. My thanks to Joan and Sandy for allowing me to take their "baby" and do this work. I have to admit, I did miss having Riley with me and many of the patients asked for him but Konar made it a very special visit for me.