Coach and the Boy Scouts

 On Tuesday our meeting was with the Boy Scout troops that meet at the Heritage United Methodist Church up by Countryside Mall.  There were LOTS of little boys (and some girls) there who were very eager to hear about Southeastern Guide Dogs, what they do, what puppy raisers do and to see a puppy and interact with one.

If' I'm not mistaken, the lecture was the most exciting. Haha! Really, Andros, our newest puppy in the group was the most exciting and the mob to get into his group was really a sight to see.  Although, all dogs did have happy children in their groups.

We waited outside while Michele gave an explanation of everything

Here we are trying to wait patiently in the lobby.  We are partially successful.

At last we are called into the main meeting room with the boys.  Now the fun can begin.  Ooops.  Some Q&A first.

Here is a shot of the boys all seated at tables looking at a half circle of puppy raisers with their puppies at the front of the room.

 After a few questions, it was time to divide up into groups of about 4-5 boys to a puppy.

Here's another shot of the boys patiently waiting to get a puppy group.

I have to say that my group was pretty good.  There was one boy who tended to get really excited, but when you explained that you had to be calm around the dogs so that the dogs stayed calm he tried really hard to stay calm.  It is so hard for some boys and he really wanted a dog at home.

The boys sat next to Coach and patted him on his body.

Coach did an excellent job.  When the excitement level would start to rise, he would stand up and we would have to get the boys to lower their voices and get Coach back in a down stay.  Then we would be good for a while.

Coach had one boy who really loved him and gave him a big hug.

Coach is a little unusual in that he is a cuddler.  He has been that way from the start.  He loves to be in your lap and he loves to be hugged.  So, there wasn't a problem when one of the younger kids wanted to give Coach a hug.  We knew that Coach is very accepting of this.  It's one of his super powers.

Fred took over for a while and had another group petting Coach's side and the top of his head while Coach was lying down.

Fred's group was quite a bit more quiet and calm than my group and Coach spent most of the time lying on his side relaxing.

All in all, I think everyone had an excellent time!