So Proud of all of our achievements these last two weeks.

Sometimes I find it hard to balance everything going on between being a mom, wife and training Luke it seems like there is never enough time some days. I have made a new schedule and so far it has really helped with that balance. As you will see below we are asking more of Luke and Ara. I am so proud of how well they work together and of the effort that Ara puts in to help with his training.


Skills (At Home Training):

Open/Close Fridge - Ok this has to be his favorite fun thing to do. I learned quickly to only treat him after he closes the fridge door, because he was randomly opening the door through out the day and I would walk into the kitchen finding it wide open...lol.

Harness Conditioning - putting on his new working gear, making sure it fits and he is comfortable. He seems to really like the new gear. Luke does wear the new harness on outings now, but is not doing any weight bearing, Ara is using it just like she did his vest. He will not start any weight bearing training until he is two years old.

Nose Touch - Clik Stik and hand. With the clik stik I am now using it to get better range of motion and build up his confidence in going under things and also standing on his hind legs to reach higher.

Retrieve -  we used small bottle, leash, cardboard tube and the dumb bell. He is getting really good at this so now I will be adding in some real world items for him to start bringing.

Nail Biting/Behavior Interruption -  Ara has started helping with this task. She will hold the treat in her hand, I will then tell Luke "Watch Ara", and then give her a nod as the go ahead to bite her nails. Luke will go to her and nudge her hand away from her mouth and she will give him the treat.  "Watch Ara" is one of those cues that I have trained with out really noting it....but it is a very important cue and we will be working more with it.

Block - Ara is now working with us on this one as well. We ran into an issue on how he is suppose to go back into a heel when we are not moving forward after a "block". So we are doing two things. We are teaching "around" were Ara takes her hands off his vest and he circles around to the heel position and "back up heel" where he backs up in the heel position and Ara does not take her hands off his vest. "Around" can also be used as another way of creating space for her as well.

Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT)  and distress response - I am loving that Ara wants everyday to help with Luke's training. Here is a video of one of those sessions. Luke is in a sit off camera.

Obedience - Of course every week we work on obedience place, long down stays, off leash skills, watch me, leave it ect.

Outings:

Walmart -  our last trip to walmart I had on the new hands free leash, we worked on guide tasks, directions right/left, stop, block, behind (yep another of those cues I really have not noted but he knows) find out and find car. Luke did everything with out me having to touch the leash, he followed all vocal commands and is now doing some things all on his own. Like stopping when he gets outside the building, before going into the road, stopping at the intersections at the store ect.  Being hands free is not only awesome for me when we are out but is also for Ara and Luke. I am training him for her not for me. It also means he is understanding his job more and has the confidence and ability to do it.

Hospital - Ara had a blood draw and Luke did great. He wore his new BLD harness and we ran into a problem. The waiting room was full and he could not get under the bench with the BLD on, so we had figure out what to do. We ended up putting him in front of us laying down on my feet. I will need to teach him to back under things instead of going in head first. He had no problem with the nurses (took three of them :( to do it) prepping for the blood draw or during, his focus was on Ara and helping to distract her with nose touch and kisses on her free hand. He also was able to operate the elevator up/down button.

We also went to the Dollar Store, Hobby Lobby, Michaels and got Hair cuts this week. Most of those trips were short and we worked on PAT, guide tasks and distractions.

How to find a Good Service Dog Program

As most of you know our family was scammed by a service dog program. I was so new to the service dog world that I had no idea how to spot a bad program. I have been receiving some messages and emails asking how to find a good programs, so I thought I would write a post about it.

The big thing to remember is "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". If someone is promising you Lassie reincarnate with under 18mo of training time, turn and walk away. Lassie was a TV character and does not exist, that being said Service Dogs are a tremendous help and can be life changers but they are still dogs and can still make mistakes.

Red Flags of programs/organizations to stay away from: (this is not all inclusive)

*If a program claims to be a non-profit but can not give you paper work or proof to show that they are a 501(c)3 company.

*Does not help with fundraising or give you a fundraising packet. Even before you sign a contract I would have them show you examples of fundraisers they have helped with and find out what happens if you don't hit your goal. Also is their a time limit to your fundraising. Also what happens to the money if you don't hit your fundraising goal in time.


*Do not follow their States laws for service dogs in training. For example many states have laws that you must be a licensed trainer or be on a list in order to have public access with a service dog in training.

*Refuse to allow you to see a contract before putting a deposit down. 

*Refuse to show you vet records and training records of the dog they match you with.

* Does not health test any of their dogs. Does not do OFA (hips, elbows ect) or PennHip testing on mobility dogs. In order to do OFA tests the dog must be 2yrs old or older. Penn Hip testing can be done at a year old. Each breed has a recommended list of health testing that should be done for common problems in that breed. These could effect whether or not that dog becomes a service dog or how long the dog will be able to work as a service dog.

*Refuse to show you any proof of the experience of their trainers. Most professional trainers will have some continuing education certificates, have competed in dog sports and/or be registered with one of the professional dog training associations. Also check to make sure any certificate they do give are real by calling the issuing program/organization and ask them if the trainers are in good standing.

*Claims their dogs have 100% success rate in becoming service dogs. Even the bests programs have dogs that wash out. Not all dogs are cut out to be service dogs and there is nothing wrong with that. Usually the dogs that wash out are placed with their puppy raisers or adopted out to good homes.

* The program places puppies or dogs under the age of 1yr as fully trained Service Dogs. Service Dogs take close to 18mo and sometimes up to 2yrs to fully train.

*Anything express or instant. Training a service dog takes a lot of time and slow is best when training is concerned. 

*Use of prong collars on every dog that they train and/or puppies. If a program has to resort to using prong collars on all their dogs or on puppies. I question their ability to train service dogs.

*Claims their dogs are 100% reliable. Dogs are not machines they are living breathing beings and even the best dogs will have an off day or make a mistake.

*Claim that they can train any dog to predict seizures. You can not train a dog to predict a seizure, however some dogs (a very small percent) have a natural ability to sense a seizure before they happen. 

*Places dogs as fully trained service dogs that are not trained in tasks that mitigate the persons disability. For example dogs that sole purpose are to provide emotional support or comfort.

*Program does not train the dog tasks that you need. If a program will only train a certain amount of tasks or certain types of tasks. Service Dogs should be trained for an individual to mitigate their disability. For example if a dog is trained in seizure response but you do not have seizures then that is not a legitimate task. The program should get to know you and help you figure out what tasks you need.

*Place dogs with small children and promote tethering the dog to the small child, leaving the dog and child unsupervised or to function as a babysitter in place of parental supervision. Service Dogs can do a great deal to help children but they are still dogs, not robots or baby sitters. Also tethering can be very dangerous for both the child and the dog, for example if the dog bolts or quickly moves away from the child it could cause the child to fall. On the other hand a child who is tethered to a dog during a meltdown could accidentally hurt the dog and the dog can not move away.  (this is different than older children using hands free leashes)

* A program does not offer continuing training or team training. Handling a service dog takes some know how, they also need to be trained continually or they can become sloppy in their work. If a program/organization does not offer any team training or continuing training after you take the dog home they probably don't have your best interest in mind.

What You Can Do:
So what can you do to find a good program out side of looking for Red Flags? There are many things.

1) Look for Complaints - You can not please everyone but when it comes to raising a large amount of funds take any complaints you find seriously and talk to everyone possible.  Google search the program, call their states Attorney Generals Office and find out if there are any complaints, call the Better Business Bureau, go on facebook service dog groups and ask around.

2) Make sure they are licensed on the state and federal level to do business and are in fact a non-profit and in good standing.

3) Ask for references - from their vet office, past clients and again service dog groups on facebook can be a huge help in this area.

4) Ask to come and see the facility if you are able to also sit in on a class or two before signing a contract. If you are long distance ask for a video chat, virtual walk through ect.

5) Ask about their training methods. Get the details of they philosophy on the training methods they use. If you feel uncomfortable with any of their methods then walk away.

6) Know where the dogs are coming from. Do they have their own breeding program? if so are they in good standing with the AKC or UKC? Use rescues? Use wash outs from other programs? How they get their prospects can tell you alot about the program.

7) Ask how they temperament test and socialize their dogs. Again how they pick their prospective service dogs for training can tell you alot.

8) Ask what happens if the dog you are matched with washes out or is not a good fit for you? Do they replace the dog with another or refund your money?

9) Do your research on all of the above. Make sure you know how temperament tests and socialization works. Become an expert by knowing what you expect out of a program and a service dog before talking to them. Talk to the service dog community on facebook or in forums other handlers have so much they can teach and share with you.

If a program is not willing to talk to you about any of these things or does not get to know you before signing a contract then I would walk away. Remember this is a big deal you will be raising a large amount of cash for them and a service dog is a huge commitment.  Do not let desperation or fear make the choices for you, you have to be your own advocate.

A New Year and some new Goals plus our week in review

Happy New Year everyone. We are starting the New Year off with some new goals and focus.

This year we will be working on several goals here are a few of them -  Luke's mobility training, Ara and Luke's team work, tasks becoming more solid, automatic responses (fading out cues), and Luke taking his Public Access Test.  I will also be posting new posts that have to do with service dogs in general, programs and such.

Skills (At Home Training)

DPT (Deep Pressure Therapy) - Ara loves helping in this training, She will go and lay down and fake cry and I will cue Luke to go to her and lay his paws across her lap. He is still working on the correct placing of his feet/legs.

Distress Response - DPT is one type of distress response we are working on the other is to nose or lick Ara when she is upset before actually needing DPT or other help. Luke has done this on his own so we are shaping it.


Open/Close Refrigerator -  This is a just for fun trick. Ara at this point does not need Luke to do this for her but I believe in making training fun and always doing new things. This will not be considered a task since Ara does not need it to mitigate her disability. Now with all that said, Luke picked this up with in a few minutes. I have taught him to tug (he has a soft mouth) and then tied the tug to the fridge door, he tugs it to open it. For the close he can either do a nose nudge or paw push to close it.  Here is the video of his second attempt

Paws Up- This is body awareness and conditioning exercise plus has practical uses as well. We have worked on this before on a low stool but this week we also worked on other objects such as a stool, a bench, our coffee table and a box. We will be working on many body awareness type of exercises through the new year.

Retrieval -  Get/Bring and Give it - We have worked with empty juice bottle, rube tube, doggie dumbell, cardboard tube and pvc tube. Luke is getting really good at bringing me what I point at and we are slowly moving to heavier objects such as a full water bottle, cell phone ect. Luke has a soft mouth so we are building up slowly the weight he can carry.

Nose Touch - I found a really small push light so I have added that to our box of tools :) We are working on getting a bit harder of a nose touch, so to get the treat he actually has to turn on the light not just touch his nose to it.

Obedience - As always we worked on Obedience sit, down, stand, stay, leave it, watch me, place ect.

Outings

Albertsons- (Ara was not with us) PAT, Directions right/left, guide work. Luke did bark while we were checking out. A worker was sprinting past us and Luke thought it would be a good idea to try and play with him....so he barked excited twice at him. I quickly corrected him by saying "leave it" and he refocused on me. I have now added people running by to the list of things to work on.

Target - Ara was not with us for this trip. We worked on walking by the cart, backing up with the cart down an aisle, , say hi, guide work, PAT, find out and find car.

The weather has been so cold single digits and below 0 with a lot of snow so we have not been doing a lot of outings and our outside training has been very limited. Hopefully this week will be better weather for some outdoor training.

Making huge progress - Two Weeks in Review

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a wonderful time with family and friends, enjoyed some yummy food and church fellowship. I know going to church with a service dog can sometimes be hard due to the fact that churches do not have to follow the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), thankfully we have have found a wonderful church that is very accommodating to Ara and Luke and really go above and beyond to make us feel welcome.

These past two weeks Luke has made some wonderful progress and so has Ara. Ara is doing things now that were a struggle or near impossible for her to do a year ago. She can walk through the grocery store, go on long walks, fun events, she is sleeping through the night, talking in complete sentences, able to sit in church and so much more. Most of this is made possible by Luke help and her speech and OT therapies. We have been so blessed this year and are looking forward to an even better next year.

What We Worked On at Home:

Find Ara - So we have made the game a bit tougher for Luke to include more areas of the house that Ara hides in. This is fun for both Ara and Luke. We are also adding in a "sit" when he finds her. Eventually I would like for Luke to find Ara, and either bring her to us or if unable to come and get us.

DPT (Deep Pressure Therapy) - Right now we are working on where he needs to put his paws/body when she is laying on the floor or bed. We also worked on teaching him to just put his head in her lap. Ara enjoys this as she gets to "act". I will tell her to lay down and pretend to cry and then will cue Luke to her, then put him in a down, then ask for his paws over Ara's legs or hips. He is catching on very quick. Then I will tell Ara to give him his release word so he knows he is done with the task.

Gear Conditioning - Conditioning him to the BLD Harness, he will now put his head all the way through and I can put it on and buckle it. We are working to make it very positive and fun for him, so lots of treats and playing with a ball as rewards.

Behavior Interruption -  Worked on nail biting interruption with a nose touch and also on her zoning out episodes with a nose touch to the cheek.

Outings: 

Church -  (Christmas Eve) - we worked on down stay, guide tasks, brace position, find out and find car. It was very crowded at church and Luke did very good navigating the crowds. Luke has also picked up on where Ara needs him and were he should stand, so we are shaping that. For example in the bathroom instead of doing a down stay he will aromatically go stand parallel to the potty incase Ara needs him. I was able to tell Luke "find out/take us out" and Luke lead Ara (with me behind them holding the leash) outside and waited for the next direction. "Find Car" is becoming more reliable as well. (Sunday) - Guide tasks, down stay, block, "say hi", find out and find car. "Say Hi" is a new command we are working on, we use it when we allow people to pet or interact with Luke. This tells him it is ok to be petted and greet people. If we dont give the command he will ignore people. We mostly use this with small children, teens and such. It gives us a chance to tell them about service dogs. It was snowing heavily when we left church and Luke was able to find the car with no problem. Here is a video of Luke finding the Car.

Lucky's - guide tasks, block, find out, find car and ignore distractions.

Walmart - Guide tasks, PAT, find out, find car and distractions. He is getting more reliable with the right/left turn directions and also with maneuvering through the large crowds. I have add in an "over right/left" cue now as well. With this he will go as close as possible to the side of an aisle, walkway or a wall, instead of walking in the middle ect.

Red Lobster - Under, down stay, guide tasks and ignoring many distractions such as food on the floor, kids ect. When we entered they told us "sorry no dogs" after telling them Luke was a Service Dog in Training they had no problems. I never get mad when someone asks or says "no dogs" as there are many people who try to bring pets into places they should not. Luke did wonderful and the dinning area had filled up by the time we were ready to leave. As we leave we here many people say "wow there was a dog under there" even some of the employees. I actually love hearing that, as that means he did a great job of being well behaved.

Walk through our Neighborhood - We had a day of good weather so we all went on a long walk through our neighborhood to the walking trail. We worked on heel, guide tasks, left/right directions, went through a pedestrian tunnel and had many distractions. We saw a bicyclist, jogger with a puppy and trail went by a busy road. Luke handled everything with out problem, he only looked at the puppy and gave a small whine but did not break from position or pull. Ara really enjoyed the walk and only had a few times where she zoned out or had issues with noise.  Here are some videos

Whats the Difference ? Service Dog, ESA and Therapy Dogs

Many people have the question of "What's the difference between a Service Dog, ESA and Therapy Dog? Dont they all do the same thing?" So I thought I would do a post about the differences and some the laws that cover each of these.  I will state this up front the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act 2010) only covers Service Dogs and in some situations mini horses. I will also explain registries/IDs at the bottom of this.


Service Dogs

From the ADA brief 2010  http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
       " Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA."

This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act.

Some State and local laws also define service animal more broadly than the ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the State attorney general’s office."

Service Dogs come in all different sizes and breeds. They must have the right temperament in order to handle a variety of environments, people and situations. They must also be task trained to aid their disabled handler, under the ADA they must do more than one task or work (emotional support or comfort are not tasks).  Whether owner trained or going through an organization, service dog training takes about 18mo - 2years. Service Dog Handlers have public access rights under the ADA which means that their service dog can go in most public places (some exceptions are sterile hospital situations, commercial kitchens, or where the general public is not allowed)

ESA (Emotional Support Animal)

An ESA is a pet that provides comfort and emotional support to their owner. It has no special training and is usually prescribed by a doctor (you still must be disabled or elderly to have an ESA). ESAs can help people with PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Alzheimers ect.  ESAs can live in non pet housing and fly with their owners the two areas of law regulations that pertain to them are HUD Fair Housing Act and FAA Air Carrier Access Act (both can request doctors letters). The ADA does not cover ESAs in public access and is very clear that providing comfort and emotional support only are NOT tasks.

Therapy Dogs

Therapy Dogs are not a type of service dog, they are not trained to aid their handler but instead to help multiple people. They are a type of working dog with a great temperament and usually have basic obedience and have to pass a test to be registered with a therapy dog organization. Most places will require that a therapy dog be registered with an organization due to insurance and liability coverage. Therapy dogs provide comfort and affection to people in hospitals, nursing homes, after disasters happen and even help students destress during finals. 

Registries/IDs

There are no federal laws that require a service dog or esa to be registered or have ID. The ADA even states "Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task." There are several sites online that offer "official" registrations, certificates and IDs these are all scams to make money off disabled people and people who want to bring their pets everywhere. Most of these registry sites will also state wrong info about how you can take your ESA or Pet everywhere with you in public places (refer to the ADA link above for why this is wrong). It is against the law and even punishable in some states to present your dog as a service dog when it is only a pet.

There is nothing "official" you do to make your dog a service dog except to follow the ADA:
1) have a disability (the full ADA has a definition of disability)
2) Your dog is trained to do tasks that mitigate that disability
3) your dog is behaved in public and not be aggressive or destructive in public

Week in Review Dec 1 - 7

I just want to thank everyone for reading Ara and Luke's Santa experience. It was so special that I could not wait for this week in review to post it.  We did a lot this past week, Luke's training is really coming along very nicely and we are working on a lot of tasks to help Ara. **Please read to the bottom for Luke medical update**

What we Worked on:

Team Work - Ara and Luke are already very bonded and work well together. Every week we work on team work with Ara leading. This week we did recalls with a sit, leash walking (no vest), obedience hand signals and block.

Retrieval (Get It/Take It/Give It/Bring It )- This is one of Luke's favorite things to work on. I am adding in a lot of different items for him to retrieve and take. We worked with a nylon strap, rubber tube, cardboard tube, doggie dumbell, small juice bottle and even a treat. Luke is getting better at identifying the item I am pointing at and also with bringing to me with out too much playing with the item. He is still needing work on holding the item a bit longer until I ask for it. I have added in a sit or wait at the end to try and work on this.

Block - On leash and vest only working on getting a solid perpendicular block. I am training this just like we did for the heel positions. I have him in heel the lure him to the position of the block, once he is there I click and treat.

Behavior Interruption (Nail/hand biting) - We are working on this more and more with myself doing the nail/hand biting behavior and Luke doing a nose touch to interrupt it. We do about 10 sets per session of this.

DPT - Depp Pressure Therapy this is another new one. When Ara is getting upset, overwhelmed or having a meltdown Luke will either put his head in her lap or his legs across her lap/legs depending on what she needs. Here is a picture of one of our first attempts.

BLD Harness Conditioning - Luke is almost old enough to start mobility training, so we are conditioning him to the harness. It is bigger and a very different than his vest so we are going slow and making the harness very positive for him.

Nose Touch - I used the clik stik, post it note, small button and my hand all for targets this week. He is understanding the "nose" cue better each time.  Here is a video of an overview of how I am training Luke for Nose Touch.

Outings:

Church - our church had their Christmas production this week. They kindly allowed Luke and I to attend one of the dress rehearsals as Luke has never been to anything like that and it was a great training opportunity. There were lots of commotion, loud noises, flashing lights and complete darkness, people moving in the dark. He did great and nothing bothered him. When we went to the production as a family Luke slept through most of it unless Ara needed him. He also did a great "find car" in the dark which we had not worked on before (I got video but it was very dark working to see if I can brighten it). Here is a picture from the rehearsal

Mall - We went to the mall a couple of times as I mentioned in my previous blog post :) and saw Santa. We also went to build a bear to have two of the girls' stuff animals fixed. Luke did very well and even used his paw to operate the foot petal of the machines. We worked on right/left guide directions, down stays, under (while at the pizza place), block, recall, and "Find Car" (again did wonderful). There were many distracts such as ZooMers (giant motorized stuff animals people can ride), people trying to distract Luke, strange noises ect. He ignored all the distractions. We did get pictures with Santa and I will share them a little later (want to make sure family see them first),

Walmart - This was an interesting trip. On the way in there were to cars of barking dogs. Luke did a little glance over at them but otherwise ignored them and kept working. Once inside we worked on Public Access Test items, stand stays with Ara holding leash, right/left directions. Once we left the check out counter I thought I would work on a new task "find out/exit" Luke is very smart so I told him "find out, take us out" I figured I would need to redirect him as we went, well I was wrong. He side glanced at every opening and once we go to the front doors he took a right and lead us to a stop at the cross walk just outside the doors. I was so proud of him and he got a hand full of treats for a job well done. Ara told him "find car" and he lead us down an isle we did not come in from (I allow him to take the lead in this and will redirect if needed, as he has gotten very good at this task). I was just about to redirect him (point him in the right direction) when he turned right at the cart return and there was our car. The isle we were parked in was much busier than the one he lead us down, so again very proud and lots of treats for a job well done.

I promise next trip out I will stop and make sure to actually hit the record button on my phone so I can share the "find car" task with everyone....lol

**Luke got neutered yesterday. When we got home yesterday with him Ara sat next to him with a pile of books and read to him. He is still a bit out of it, sore and does not want to eat. If he is not eating or feeling a little better in a day he will have to go back in for a check up. He will be out of active work for about a week or so depending on how recovery goes. **

Due to Luke recovering I will not have a "Week in Review" post so instead I will be doing a few general service dog posts such as the differences between Service Dogs, ESAs and Therapy Dogs, Service Dog Etiquette and Red Flags/Warnings of Scams (organizations/online certifications ect).

An Early Christmas Story

Earlier this week we all heard the story out of California of a “Santa and Elf” that were more like grinches, as they denied a child and her service dog of seeing Santa.

I would like to share what happened to my daughter and her service dog in training Luke a Standard Poodle. Ara has Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, MI and has some physical health issues. Luke is being trained to assist her with her disabilities. I would like to note that in our state service dogs in training are treated just like service dogs.

We went to Rimrock Mall to see Santa. I knew we would probably need to make a few trips to make sure Ara was comfortable and it was also the first time Luke has seen Santa. One the first trip Luke was not to sure about him and just gave him a sniff, Santa was great and told us he loved dogs. Ara and her little sister talked to Santa but were both a little shy.  On the second trip to see Santa, Luke was very happy to see him and Ara even asked to sit on Santa’s lap and told him she wanted a Barbie Elsa (little sister was still a bit shy). On both these trips Santa’s helpers asked questions about Luke, his training and Ara and I was happy to share.

On our third time (picture time) the line was very long and Ara was beginning to get overwhelmed. Luke did some blocks for her and some redirection. Ara, Molly and Luke were all very excited to see Santa. Luke lead Ara up to Santa were he then placed his head in Santa’s lap and tried to sneak Santa some doggie kisses. We got everyone in place to take pictures I put Luke in a sit stay and went to the photographer. It took a little while to get a good picture because Ara was having a hard time with her hands being near her face and being very ridged. We got a good shot and Santa started asking the girls what they wanted while daddy and I picked out pictures. Luke broke his stay to help Ara get down and then nudged her as she started to zone out. I told Santa and the helpers how much I appreciated all the time they had spent with our family and how much it meant to us. Santa came over to Ara and told her he had a very special surprise for her. He opened his hand and there was a golden sleigh bell, he told her that Santa loved her and that the bell came off his sleigh. Her face lit up and she clutched it to her as hard as she could and told him Thank you.  At this point I am trying very hard not to cry. As we left Santa to buy our pictures Ara zoned out for a bit, she was going into overload. The helpers handed us our pictures and told us no charge and to come back anytime to visit again with Santa. Both girls also got reindeer hats and lollipops.

Santa and his helpers went above and beyond what I could imagine. Also everyone who was standing in line with us and allowed us a little extra time, Thank you. I am happy to say the Spirit of Christmas is alive and well in Billings, MT. 

 You cant see it but she is clutching the bell.